Authors: adi_dion & singinprincess
Fandoms: Once Upon a Time/Legend of the Seeker crossover
Title: Broken Girls: With Every Breath
Characters/Pairings: Denna, Regina Mills
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,176
Summary: A life. That's the price that must be paid for a death. And Regina is ready to collect that fee.
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. We do not own these fabulous characters; they just like to do our bidding ;)
Author's Note: Written for OnceUponaLand's "Let's Write Together" challenge & as our "wildcard" for OnceUponaBingo. Prompt: death.
We wrote this as a sort of teaser for a potential chapter fic or series of fics, so we'd really love to know if there's any interest in that.
.:.
The woman in red was standing in the middle of her dungeon, examining the latest addition to her weapon collection. She was so proud, so happy; she had been dreaming of this moment for far too long. Nothing could ruin that moment.
Suddenly, a faint sound of unfamiliar footsteps echoed throughout the hall behind her, catching the woman off guard.
Something clung around her leg, delivering a sharp pain as it struck her ankle from behind. Quickly, she reached for her belt, bringing her hand to her weapon, but just as its power tickled her fingers, the threat wrapped itself around her ankle, slithering its way up her leg and around her waist. Before she could lift her weapon, it trapped her arms against her body.
The sudden attack, which - through inexplicable circumstances - she hadn't foreseen, provoked an anger which grew from the pit of her stomach. She tried, but she couldn't move.
Her newly immobilized body rose from the cold, stone-clad ground and still she didn't know the cause of the attack. And so, she listened.
The room was silent; save for her own struggled breathing and the foreign heels tapping against the hard floor behind her.
Soon the tapping stopped.
She waited, but nothing happened.
Sick of the sound of her own heavy breathing she forced her lips to release a sound which she hoped would be words, but unfortunately sounded more like a strained gurgle.
Tap. Tap. Two steps.
She loosened her lips to the best of her ability, opening and closing it. And then, she tried once more.
"Wha -" she closed her eyes hard as she realized it worked... well, sort of worked. She pushed herself harder, breaking the rhythm of her breath, "Wha'd... What do you... want? Show... your... self you... coward!" She opened her eyes in relief as she finally managed to force the words from her mouth, but unfortunately, they hadn't come out in the intimidating manner she had hoped them to. She rolled her eyes at herself and let out a huff.
Soon after she felt a sharp ringing in her ears, its power so intense she had to close her eyes, as though that could shield her from it. It took her a moment before she realized what had caused the ringing, a piercing laugh, so high it could reach the mountains. She opened her eyes and waited. The laugh continued on. Even after the woman was finished, it continued on, bouncing from wall to wall as it echoed throughout the dungeon. It seemed to drag on and on, eventually draining out. But even when it seemed it was gone, she could still feel it in her ears.
"My, my. And here I thought Mord'Sith enjoyed the art of slow, lasting torture." Her voice was almost melodic as the mysterious figure finally spoke.
"I prefer administering it." She mumbled under her breath.
"What's that, dear?" the woman inquired, a playfulness to her voice. The amused nature of her voice made her an even greater threat, and it was obvious that she knew it.
"Who are you?" the words came out a little too quickly and a little to weakly, but with her own whip constricting her breathing, she had no choice but to be pleased with the result. "Who sent you? What do y-"
The other woman cut her off with mocked disappointment, something that sound like 'tisk tisk,' making the woman in leather roll her eyes.
"Well dear, it's been a while." she said flatly. She moved around the woman suspended in air, her hand gently sweeping across her prisoner's leg as she moved.
The Mord'Sith did not speak, she simply waited. This woman is mad, she thought. Quickly she searched her mind, trying to remember if she had heard that voice - that laugh - before. But hard as she tried, she just couldn't place it. She had met so many people, killed so many people, and she had hurt even more. A grieving mother, perhaps? Had I trained her daughter? She wondered. Well, if I did, she's clearly better off. Before she could stop herself, she let out a low chuckle. Far better off.
"I'm glad you find this amusing," she walked in front of her victim, continuing to mask her identity, as she faced away from her, "because I certainly do".
"Just show your face and tell me what you're doing here!" she demanded, becoming more and more irritated by her captor.
She turned very slowly, showing off her curves as her dress swirled with her. She was wearing a long black dress, which swung open in the back, revealing her smooth skin. The front wasn't much less revealing, with a low cut neck just barely covering her chest, covered in crystals which seemed to fade as they travelled down the dress.
The Mord'Sith looked at her from bottom to top, finally glancing up at the stranger's face. There was something familiar about her. The penetrating gaze in her big brown eyes that could kill anyone if it was possible, and her dark hair, which was carefully pulled up tight.
The woman paced slowly around the helpless Mord'Sith, examining her like a hawk. When she finally stopped and stood in front of her victim, she spoke again.
"You killed father. His death is on you. And now," she cocked her head to the side, a sly grin on her full lips, "you die."
"I've killed many," she snorted. "You'll have to elaborate."
"You'd think a woman would remember her most significant handiwork." She said, speaking more to herself than to the woman in her grasp. And though she was angry, her words kept steady, and the Mord'Sith thought she could hear a small hint of amusement within them.
"Don't you worry your pretty little face; I remember all my... handiwork." She mused, a thin smirk on her lips, "Every thrilling scream. Every blissful drop of blood."
The woman smiled as she shook her head slowly. "And still, you don't remember me, do you?"
"I want you to stop playing games with me, or I swear -"
She cut her off with a laugh. "I don't think you're in a position to make threats, dear."
The woman took a few steps toward her prisoner. The smirk on her lips made the Mord'Sith feel sick to her stomach.
After taking a few moments to study the woman's face, a sudden realization hit the Mord'Sith.
"... Regina?" she gasped.
"Hello, Denna." She grinned, though there didn't seem to be much joy in her piercing brown eyes. "Such a shame we couldn't spend more time together..."
With a flick of her fingers, the snake-like weapon wrapped itself around Denna's neck. Regina smirked as she watched Denna struggling to breathe.
"But I'm afraid that's a price you have to pay."
Denna was helpless. She was desperately trying to gasp for some air but Regina was simply standing in front of her, watching as Denna felt life slowly slipping away from her body.
Finally, after all this time, victory was within Regina's grasp.