Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT in any way, shape or form.
This was written for an anonymous prompt sent to me by a user on Tumblr. This starts assuming that Regina never cast the curse, and life went as Snow and Charming wanted it, but the Evil Queen is merely biding her time.
Scented linens draped the walls, pale silvery blue and a shade that might have been yellow were it tinted just ever so slightly darker. Balcony doors lay wide open to take advantage of the Spring breeze, the occasional gust shuffling the linens and re-permeating the room with caressing scents of lilies and hydrangeas.
Seated on the chair before her vanity, Emma, crown princess of the Enchanted Kingdom, as the brush in her mother's hand stroked through hair for the...178th time? The blonde's mind was screaming for some kind of activity, something that would challenge her. However, with her mother chattering happily about her first ball and how excited she was to announce Emma's eligibility for accepting suitors and god only knew what else, the blonde was trapped where she sat.
Emma of the White Kingdom was a force of nature by the time she turned two, rushing through the castle with the ease of someone who knew the entire layout by heart. Walking by the time she was barely a year old, running had become her favorite mode of transportation. Taking advantage of this overflow of energy, Emma's father had taught his daughter the finer arts of battling with a sword and hand to hand combat, leaving her fairly skilled by the time she reached her teenage years. If not for her seeming inability to focus on one task for too long, she might have been a master.
As Snow White spoke endlessly on True Love and other such nonsense, Emma considered if she was even ready for such a large step. But with a mother like hers, True Love had been a goal for Emma from day one.
"Are you sure that I'm ready?", the eighteen year old asked uncertainly as her mother swooped her hair partially upwards and fastened it with a pin studded with pearls. Curling another strand around her finger, Emma sighed at her own reflection. Hair drawn over one shoulder to expose the side of a pale, elegant neck and studded with pearled pins holding a complex looking style on the side of her head. A silver chain draped around her neck, one pearl centered just above the bare cleavage the white dress exposed. She felt like an offering, a sacrifice in virginal white, no matter the talk of True Love that had been increasing by the day.
"You are the most beautiful princess that ever lived, and if you're half as strong as your father . you're more than ready." Her mother's voice dragged Emma from her contemplation and into a world in which she was expected to become a wife, a piece of property if she was being honest, despite whatever bullshit her mother might want to insist about True Love. Emma most certainly wasn't going to meet her True Love at some big coming-out ball, and no one would convince her otherwise.
The loud slam of a door could only have been caused by magic, rattling the windows themselves. Within the dark castle, black marble and the occasional piece of pewter dominated the entirety of the decor, lending an ominous air that followed one as a loyal shadow. Not that shadows were a thing of fright in this place, rather just a fact of existence.
Regina Mills, better known as the Evil Queen, seethed as she paced like a trapped animal, nails digging into her palms within tightly squeezed fists. How dare they be joyful? How dare they celebrate when Regina could not?
The curse she had planned so long ago might have been her rescue, might have brought her to a place in which Snow White was the one alone and suffering due to the misery of never having that which you love. But in the end, Regina had chosen to keep that one thing that kept her sane..sane enough. She kept a hold of the only somewhat healthy relationship she had held in her life since the death.. the murder of Daniel.
Her jaw tightened as she drove away thoughts of a love that could have been and focused instead on just how she was going to crash the eighteenth birthday ball and the official presentation into courting society of the daughter of her mortal enemy. In the years that had passed, Regina had grown as a person in one way alone. Cruelty had hardened her to a point where, if now she was offered the dark curse she denied so long ago, there would be no hesitation.
As she toyed with the spoon in her hand before stirring sugar into her tea, Regina contemplated her options at this point. It had been so very long ago that she barged into the wedding of her mortal enemy and swore to destroy her, and yet there was, as of this moment, no follow through. That might have irked Regina in the beginning, but the fear that she could imagine Snow White was suffering from made the wait slightly more bearable.
Now, however, Regina felt the urge once more, the need to destroy Snow White in a way that could not be repaired. And the convenience of her daughter's party only lent to the sense that her time had finally come.
Gliding across the dance floor would have been nice, in Emma's opinion, were it not with the shortest prince she had ever danced with. His head came just about to her breasts, providing him the unfortunate (for Emma) ability to ogle her easily, an opportunity he thoroughly abused. When the song ended, Emma made a swift exit, returning to the throne placed just to the right of her mother's.
The ball itself was not a terrible event, and even the people were all friendly. The only bitterness Emma held towards the night was the fact that she was very nearly required to dance with every suitable bachelor that had chosen to attend, her mother throwing encouraging glances in her direction every single time she caught her eye.
As she surveyed the ballroom, keeping an eye out for any one face that might catch her eye in particular, there was a loud bang of doors forced open and an immediate hush through the crowd of party goers. Immediately all eyes were drawn to the dramatic entrance of the newcomer, murmurs tinted with fear diffusing throughout the room.
"Regina, you're not welcome here!" Charming declared loudly, having stood from his throne. Shoulders set as firmly as his expression, the King did not flinch as the Evil Queen stalked towards the raised dais on which the thrones sat and it conjured an awful sensation of deja vu. He was, however, halted from drawing his sword and attacking immediately by Snow, holding up a hand as if to signal that they should see what Regina had to say before jumping directly into a battle that would no doubt end in many fatalities.
"Oh, don't worry, I didn't plan on staying.." Regina said haughtily, smugness exuding from her every pore. "I merely came.. to pick something up."
Without another word, Regina vanished in a cloud of purple magic, as did the princess. There was a split second of silence before pandemonium broke out.
The Princess was gone and at the mercy of the Evil Queen.
Emma had had barely a glimpse of the woman before the magic took her, but in that glimpse she was captivated. She saw dark hair, red lips, eyes that made promises that she didn't doubt would be kept. The very air around the woman seemed to back away from her, as if fearful. The teenager's heart had raced for that split second as the magic seized her. And though she knew that she should be frightened, she could not help but feel that this might be the adventure she had been seeking.
The surroundings in which she found herself were dank and smelled vaguely of wet animals. Emma was cold and without the layers of underthings, corset, petticoats and stockings that she had been bullied into the for the ball, sitting now in a long brown burlap tunic. Scratching rough against her skin, the cloth was unlike anything the princess had ever worn, and in some small way it satisfied a deep need inside to experience something outside of her pampered world.
Examining her immediate surroundings more carefully, Emma found moist stone walls and a set of sturdy bars that likely could have held a troll, if not a dragon itself. Panic mingled with a eager sort of sensation that came to a head when a voice sounded through the darkness, clear and strong.
"Hello, princess." Strands of hair that had escaped being pinned back (as somehow her hair had not been a part of her magical disrobing), fluttered violently as Emma jerked her body around to face the sudden intruder.
The Evil Queen, in all her glory, was no more than three feet from the crown princess. Emma could not pull her eyes from the woman..no, the ethereal being. The Queen wore an ensemble that Emma could only describe as devilish. Deep red, so dark as to be nearly black, clung to every curve, the front dipping low enough to make the young girl blush as she forced her gaze upwards. Regina's expression was smug and confident, fully aware that she held the entirety of the power in this situation and there was nothing the little blonde could do about it.
"You're the Evil Queen", blurted Emma suddenly, finding words to be a difficult concept at this precise moment. Lifting a brow as if to say 'duh' was Regina's only response as she began to pace around her victim in the already tiny cell, admiring the way the burlap even had trouble disguising the blonde princess's strong beauty. Where Regina was sly, deceptive, her eyes playing out only what she desired, Emma was an open book, her fascination and fear displayed as clearly on her face as if she had intended it.
It was this alone that gave Regina pause, causing her to shift her plans to torment the girl and send her head back to Snow on a spike, that and the glow that looked as if it radiated from her very flesh. The very clear way that Emma was not cowering in fear in a corner was enough to raise up curiosity in the jaded Queen.
Her expression remaining even, a mix of smug victory and the promise of destruction, Regina hummed low, "It's good to know my reputation continues to precede me." She continued to circle the girl.
"Why am I here?"
Ah, this time the princess's voice shook just a bit, Regina noted. Surely Snow had shared with her daughter the history she shared with the Evil Queen, but how much?
"Why do you think you're here?" Regina asked in a sultry voice, entering Emma's personal space without fully making physical contact. Her eyes lingered over every inch of Emma's body enough so that it left the teenager feeling some sort of violated. She realized with horror that as her mother's mortal enemy looked her over like prey, it was thrilling.
"You want to use me against my mother." Emma wasn't stupid, and she had been raised on stories of the awful Evil Queen. No matter how Snow would try and tell her that the woman had been good once, it couldn't fight away the fear that the mere mention of the dark woman summoned.
Sinful lips curled into a patronizing smile and Emma could have sworn that Regina was about to pat her on the head like a child. "Very good! Now, be a good girl and come here." Regina gestured to the ground before her, indicating that Emma should kneel.
Unaccustomed to following orders, Emma stalwartly refused, arms crossing. "No."
Torn between annoyance and amusement over Emma's defiance, Regina settled on the former. Her expression contorting as she waved a hand. Instantly, Emma was on the floor on her hands and knees, bowing to the Evil Queen as if before a deity. Gasping as the magic seized her body and forced her down, she grunted as her knees slammed down onto the stone.
"What the.." Fear had truly taken hold of the girl now, after the demonstration of Regina's power. Laughing mockingly, Regina looked down triumphantly from above. "Magic, dear", the Queen answered the unspoken question.
"Please, just let me go!"
Regina was thoroughly amused by this point. "Mm.." she leaned down just enough to expose more cleavage and invade her prisoner's space, "I like you begging. I shall have to remember that." Emma's breathing was swift and shallow, leaving her lightheaded and utterly incapable of forming coherent thoughts, much less fight against Regina's magic.
As Emma pleaded to be released, to return home, Regina hissed and gripped the blonde's chin hard to force her to make eye contact, but the very instant skin touched skin, there was a spark, a surge in the Evil Queen's power that she did not expect whatsoever. Burning through her like a wildfire all at once, it was truly the second time in which this sensation took over so completely.
Daniel.
Startled, Regina did not notice for a moment that Emma was staring at her with eyes full of fear. Adopting her firm expression once more, Regina tightened her grip. "If you want to go free, you must only complete one task." The blonde's fear was still very present, but the curiosity and hope to return to her family alive was only too tempting. There was a long pause before Emma asked in a small voice, "What?"
Regina grinned.
Palms sweaty, pulse racing. Emma fortunately did not have to deal with the emotional components of what she was about to do, as Regina had taken her heart. Emma supposed it would prove as a reassurance that she truly would return .
With the assistance of Regina's magic, Emma appeared just outside of the enormous home that belonged to none other than Rumpelstiltskin. When Emma had agreed to do this one task, even after finding out who it was, she had not realized that it took a specific weapon to destroy the Dark One. Now here she was, sneaking around the castle in order to find what might as well have been a needle in a haystack. The magical cloak that draped around her shoulders was meant to make the eye miss seeing it, very nearly making one invisible.
Emma had to assume that Regina knew what she was doing, sending her off into one of the most dangerous places in the Enchanted Forest, and that she would keep her promise to send the princess home once more. Stepping lightly, Emma prowled through the Dark One's immense castle.
Uneasy pacing might have worn the floor by this point were it not for Regina's father, ever the calm voice of reason, reassuring her that everything would be okay, despite not knowing what had happened to leave his daughter so distracted. Regina was not a woman who cared to share herself, but in this moment she could not control the very likely accurate fear that Emma.. no, the princess. She could not escape the fear that the blonde might not come back.
When she had plunged her hand into the princess's chest and stolen Emma's heart, from the split second up until the current one, there was a spark. A literal spark. It surprised Regina that the blonde had not noticed, though she supposed having your heart torn from your chest would serve as an excellent distraction.
What worried her more was certainly not the little spark however, but rather what it meant. If the research that Regina had so meticulously gone through was correct, that would make the two of them soul mates. Regina had not believed it possible to love again after her first was murdered, but there must have been some small part of her that clung to the hope for love.
On the other hand, how on earth would Emma react over even a hint of True Love? From this thought had been born The Idea. Why bother trying to woo someone that likely didn't even share her proclivities when it would be so much easier just to have complete control.
Rumpelstiltskin was no fool, and Regina did not doubt that he would kill the girl should he find her in his home. But that was a risk that Regina desperately needed Emma to take.
The dagger Regina had described had a place of honour in one of the Great rooms in Rumple's castle, and as Emma weighed the thing with both hands, it baffled her how light the weapon was in comparison to appearance. Into the metal itself was etched the name 'Rumplestiltskin', the blade appearing all the more ominous for the curves that formed the edges.
"Rumplestiltskin.." Emma murmured curiously. Before the word was hardly out of her mouth, there was a voice coming from behind her and an unmistakable presence. The blonde jerked around without any grace whatsoever and stared wide eyed at the face of an enraged Dark One.
"You picked the wrong house, dearie."
He lunged at her, ready to strangle the intruder with his bare hands. However, the second Emma raised her hands to both defend and fight back, the Dark One came to an abrupt halt. If anything, the man (monster?) only became more enraged. Except this time he had gone a darker shade of ragged gold, his outward appearance betraying how important the dagger was to him.
When he made no more move towards her, Emma stepped cautiously closer. And though his eyes remained fixated on the dagger, it was clear that the hatred in his eyes was all for Emma. "I don't think you realize the gravity of this situation, dearie", he said dangerously, pointing to the weapon in Emma's hand. "Why don't you put that back and no one will get hurt."
Emma stuttered slightly, interrupted by the swirl of magic signifying Regina's arrival just behind the golden man.
"No, Rumple, I think you're the one who doesn't realize the gravity of the situation." Regina stood tall, hands propped on hips and eyes daring anyone to challenge her. Even with the way things were happening, and even knowing the stories of this woman and the terrible things for which she was responsible, there was a part of Emma that admired her and very secretly might want to be slightly like her.
Perhaps with less killing.
Before Rumple was aware, at Regina's barely perceptible signal, Emma used the ornate weapon to stab Rumple solidly in the back, the blade slicing through flesh and muscle like a hot knife through butter. Breathing deeply, then shallow, then nearly hyperventilating as the man collapsed, Emma dropped the dagger in shock and stumbled backwards.
She had just killed a man. Albeit an evil man, but a man nonetheless. Glancing at Regina for approval, she found the brunette having picked up the dagger and holding it close, her greedy gaze shifting between the weapon and the blonde who had wielded it.
As Rumple took his last breath on the marble floor, a dark cloud began to build, sifting out of his body through every pore, benign and almost beautiful. She had a half moment for admiration before it struck, thrusting itself through the air and straight to Emma. A whirlwind lifted her hair, screams of pain filtering through the thick cloud that had over taken her like a shroud, forcing itself into her body.
Watching with hungry eyes, Regina felt as if she could see the blonde princess's hair lighten even as her soul darkened. Regina watched as the name 'Emma White' etched itself onto the blade, then held it to her chest as if to protect it as the whirlwind died down little by little.
Emerging from the smoke and darkness and magic, Emma wore an expression of terror and betrayal. "What was..what was that?" The blonde was insecure, the unfamiliar power thrumming through her veins just about serving as a second heartbeat. Regina held the dagger to her lips and licked the expanse of the flat part of the blade and placed a kiss at the very tip, noting Emma's intense shudder.
"That..my dear, was you becoming mine and mine alone."
Emma panicked, stepping back, with terrified eyes. "But you said I could go free if I got rid of Rumpelstiltskin!"
Lips twisting into a condescending smile, Regina purred, "A princess is never truly free. You are more than welcome to go home, but this" ,she gestured to the dagger now bearing Emma's name, "will make certain that you will come when I call."
The servitude to which she had just condemned herself hit Emma like galloping horse. Those days in which she dreamed of freedom were essentially over now that she was at the beck and call of a mad royal.
Hello all! Being that I am a poor student, I've only just barely been able to afford to fly from Berlin to Florida for my sister's wedding, and I've gotten the cheapest ticket possible to get back to Berlin, but I do have four little sisters whom I would like to take to a movie or something. If you'd like to help me out a little, you can check out my Tumblr, which is the same UN as here.