Mayor Regina Mills left her office later than usual after a long tiring day of work. Besides the fact that there really was a lot of work backed up, the main reason she had decided to stay late was because if she went home she would be on her own for hours in the large Colonial house she shared with her son Henry. Regina wasn't Henry's birthmother, but rather she adopted him at birth. Lately Henry had been holding this among other things against her. He had been spending all of his spare time with his birth mother Emma Swan, who had unceremoniously shown up in the little town of Storybrooke a few months ago. Since then she had somehow managed to convince the townspeople to elect her as Sheriff, and along the way disrupted everything good in Regina's life.

The air was getting a quite cold and Regina wrapped her arms around herself as she made her way home. It had been warmer earlier in the morning so she had decided to walk to work in order to enjoy the fresh air. Now she was regretting it as the frosty night air chilled her through her expensive coat. Her high heels clicked rhythmically against the pavement, but as she was about halfway home she thought she could hear something else behind her; the faint thudding of boots, a rustle in the bushes... She stopped and turned around quickly but nothing was there. Maybe she had imagined it. Even so, when she continued to walk again she quickened her pace. There it was again; the eerie sounds that caused Regina's heart to beat faster in her chest. Should she phone the Sheriff's department to come check out the area? Absolutely not, the last thing she wanted to do was to phone Emma because she was afraid of some silly noises in the night. If Graham were still the Sheriff she might have given the idea more consideration. Why were the streets so empty tonight? It must be the cold, Regina thought. She hoped that Henry was safe and warm at home already, she would be glad to see him even if he was still shutting her out. Henry... she loved him unconditionally, but he hated her. He hated her so much that he had no problem calling her 'evil' to her face, and half the time he didn't bother to even say hello to her. She had tried her best to be a good mother, but she was cursed. Her curse was that no one would ever love her again, and she would remain alone forever. This was the last thing she thought of before two strong arms grabbed her from behind. One arm pinned her arms to her sides and held her against the other person's chest while the other arm held a sweet-smelling cloth over her mouth and nose. As Regina struggled, she breathed in the chloroform and darkness engulfed her as she passed out.

XxXxX

Regina stirred slowly as she regained consciousness. Her head was throbbing and her vision was blurry. She squinted as she massaged her head and took in her surroundings. She was in a dark basement with stone walls and she was trapped in a cell that slightly resembled the ones at the Sheriff's station. Seeing this she sat up in panic, but the motion was too fast and it brought on a wave of dizziness so she shut her eyes tightly. Her sudden movement also caused something else, a clanging sound. She felt the weight even before she looked down to see that her left ankle was shackled in a chain that was bolted to the wall. Letting out a breath she told herself to stay calm, but she had to admit she was a little scared. She didn't know where she was or if anyone even knew she was missing, and it had been long since she possessed the magic she needed to defend herself. Scanning the room again Regina noticed that there weren't any windows in the cell, or even in the basement, so there would be no escape that way. There was a door at the top of a staircase but if she couldn't get out of the cell it was of no use to her.

She started to worry about Henry; he would be all alone at home, not knowing where she was or when she would be back. Hopefully he would phone Emma and she would look after him. Maybe even start looking for Regina. Or maybe Emma wouldn't care enough to even bother searching... Closing her eyes, Regina leaned back against the wall, not knowing what else to do. It was then that she realised how cold she was. Opening her eyes again she noticed that someone had removed her coat and saw it folded neatly on the ground a few feet away. Sliding towards it carefully so as not to bring about more dizziness, she reached out and grabbed it, pulling it back with her to her previous position against the wall. Instead of putting it on she just draped it over her legs like a blanket and hugged herself tightly. She was smart enough to know that there was no way out so it was no use to waste energy on trying to find one.

Although... she hastily searched through her coat pockets looking for her cell phone, but unfortunately, her kidnapper must have removed it. The after effects of the chloroform made her too tired to do anything else for the moment so she just rested her head against the wall again and waited for the effects to wear off.

XxXxX

What felt like an eternity later, Regina heard footsteps on the floor above. She lifted her head to follow the noise and stood up slowly, though the dizziness seemed to have subsided. The door to the basement banged open and Henry appeared, followed closely by Mr. Gold who had a vice-like grip on the ten year old's arm.

"Henry!" Regina shouted in horror as she moved as close to the bars as the shackle around her ankle would allow.

"Mom!" He answered his eyes wide with confusion and fear while he struggled against Mr. Gold as they descended the steps.

"If you have harmed one hair on his head I will kill you Gold!" Regina fumed.

"Oh nonsense!" Mr. Gold replied mockingly, "I would never hurt a child, that would make me a monster."

Regina narrowed her eyes and studied the man more closely. She noticed the absence of his cane. Also, the way in which he moved was unsettlingly familiar.

It was that of The Dark One.

"How the hell did you obtain magic here?"

"That's a story not for today", Gold smiled. "However I will give you the short version; A bottle of true love, and a wishing well that has the power to return what one has lost." Seeing her dark expression he continued, "That's right, I brought it over with me and kept it well hidden until it was needed."

He took a set of keys out of his pocket and unlocked the cell door, pushing Henry in.

"I found Belle."

Regina's blood ran cold as Henry ran into her arms and buried his face against her. She held him tightly and stared at Mr. Gold, her expression unreadable.

"I know it was you who kept her prisoner and you will pay for it!" He said as he locked the door again.

"Really?" She scoffed, "And what are you going to do?"

He studied her for a few seconds before replying nastily "Oh you'll find out soon enough dearie." And with that he was gone.

Henry was shivering. Regina gently removed herself from his arms in order to kneel front of him.

"Are you alright?" She asked him quietly as she wiped a tear from his cheek. "He didn't hurt you did he?"

Henry shook his head.

"Is it true?" Henry asked almost angrily as he stepped away from her. He did have a right to be upset with her, but it hurt all the same. It hadn't taken him long to recover from the shock of Gold's abducting him. His mother's expression filled with sadness as she realised he still hated her and probably always would.

Regina sighed, "She's in the hospital".

"And you put her there?"

Regina stared up at him for a moment before nodding. She didn't want to lie to him anymore. She had only done it in the past to try to keep him closer, but it only ever made things worse. He was glaring at her, giving her the same look she'd seen on Emma Swan's face many a time and she couldn't bear it. She tried to hold back tears as she tore her gaze from his and sat down on the ground again.

Henry saw her distress and his expression softened. He couldn't help it; he did still care about her even if he sometimes tried to deny it.

When Gold had abducted him he had been terrified not knowing what was going to happen to him, but when he'd seen his mother he was relieved because he knew he wasn't going to be alone. She wouldn't let anything bad happen to him. In that moment when he'd first seen her in the basement her all he wanted was for her to hold him. In the past he had believed that just because she was the Evil Queen he should be compelled to hate her because of the terrible things she had done in the past. But now seeing her falling apart in front of him, he remembered that she was human. She was his mom. He thought of all the good times they had shared. She had always been there for him, whether it be a scraped knee or a nightmare, she had always looked after him and comforted him as best she could.

Henry moved closer to her and sat down beside her. He rested a hand on her shoulder and felt her jump slightly. She turned to him surprised. He have a small smile, followed by an affectionate hug.

It took a moment to register, for this was the last thing Regina expected from Henry right now. Even under the present circumstances, Regina felt a surge of happiness as she wrapped her arms around her little boy, pulling him closer. This was something she had thought she would never experience again, and she wanted to enjoy every minute of it. It had been so long since he had shown any kindness towards her, and it felt wonderful to feel wanted again. She closed her eyes as happy tears began to fall.

A/N: Thank you for reading! This is my first fanfiction so I'm sorry if it's really bad! The next two chapters are a little bit darker.