Chapter 2: Alone in the Dark

A/N: TRIGGER WARNING there are some scenes describing physical abuse ahead so I'm warning you now. Hope you all enjoy the second chapter.

Emma found herself in a hallway covered in mirrors. She didn't know where she was or how she had gotten there but the place gave her the creeps. It was awful. Everything was cold and since everything was covered in mirrors the only thing she could see was her own image reflected back at her all alone for as far as she could see.

It was dark and decidedly unwelcoming to say the least. She tried to remember what had happened or how she had gotten there but nothing came to mind. The last thing she remembered was "oh god Regina." She had been with Regina at the mansion after Regina had put herself under a sleeping curse.

Emma had to find a way out of here and soon. She had to tell Henry what had happened, which was not exactly on her list of fun things to do and then she had to find a way to help Regina. She couldn't be stuck in this, whatever this place was.

Glancing in both directions they looked the same. She was trapped in an endless dark hallway of mirrors with no discernable difference between directions. "Guess I'll go right then." She muttered to herself before beginning the long trek down the hall, she didn't know how long she continued in that direction but after what felt like hours to Emma but was probably more like twenty minutes the hallway started to change and the mirrors looked more like movie screens flashing random images it seemed in a delirious procession.

As she continued down the hall looking at some of the images flashing before her she thought she could see some familiar things but it was gone so quickly and replaced by another image she couldn't quite grasp what it was.

The hall eventually widened out into a large circular room with one huge mirror in front of a chair that was facing it that looked more like a movie screen than the others. As she approached the larger mirror she realized that that was exactly what it was and instead of flashing images quickly it looked like it was playing a movie, she also realized that this one had surround sound as well it seemed and the people in it seemed familiar to her somehow but she couldn't figure out quite how she knew them, so Emma stopped to watch the scene that played out in front of her.

A young girl, probably no older than nine or ten years old raced from a stable towards a house. She looked frantic with the need to get to the house as soon as possible. As she entered the house and closed the door quietly behind her a voice from behind stopped her cold. "Where have you been? Do you have any idea what time it is? You missed tea time." The girl looked frozen in fear at the voice behind her but even so she held her head high and turned to address the speaker. "I'm sorry mother. I was in the meadow and I fell asleep. I didn't mean to be late."

The woman that was apparently the child's mother sneered at her. "I don't want any of your excuses you insolent child. You know the punishment for disobeying me." At this the spark of fear in the young girls eyes was unmistakable and she was nearly trembling before she began pleading, "please mother, I won't do it again, I'll be more mindful, I'll be a good girl I promise."

The woman whose face remained hidden was unmoved by her daughters pleas as she directed a servant to grab the girl. She was led into a side room that had nothing but a low table with a vertical bar at one end. The girl was led directly to it and made to bend over the table as the servant tied her hands to the pole at the other end. "Ten strokes," the woman ordered without any hesitation.

The girl's breath hitched at the number and she started weeping silently. The servant returned with a long piece of wood and began caning the girl along her buttocks and the back of her thighs. Each time the switch landed she would cry out in pain and the tears would fall more freely.

When the last stroke of the cane was delivered she was untied from the table and made to stand in front of her mother. The woman stared down at the girl looking disgusted at the tears on her face. "Go and clean yourself up, you look pathetic. Then you will join your father and I for supper directly. I will not tolerate this from you again Regina do you understand me?" "Yes mother." The girl replied before leaving towards her room.

At the sound of the name Emma gasped audibly at realizing who the girl and her mother were. As Emma reeled with the knowledge of what she had just seen she heard a broken sob come from the chair in front of her and raced around to the front to see who had made it.

Emma froze upon seeing Regina, her Regina sitting in the chair that was really more like a throne with tears streaming down her face as she watched the screen before her. As Emma glanced to the other screens that were quickly flashing images she was now able to recognize what she had missed before and Regina was featured in every one of them. These were her memories.

Emma approached Regina cautiously not wanting to startle her. She slowly came to stand close to her but Regina still hadn't registered her presence. "Regina" Emma softly called out to her but still received no acknowledgement from the brunette. As she reached out to touch her to get her attention, her hand ghosted right through Regina as though she were never there at all.

Emma stared dumbfounded at her own hand, not knowing what else to do and trying not to freak out. After that Emma tried repeatedly to touch her and call her name but no matter what she did there was no response from Regina at all.

O O O

Emma awoke with a startled gasp and nearly fell out of the chair she had fallen asleep in. "What the hell was that?" She questioned herself before taking in the situation around her. She was still sitting by Regina's side holding her hand and it was nearly morning.

She had no idea if what she just experienced was real or not but she believed it was. There was no way she could dream up something that detailed and real on her own. If it was real which she believed it was, that meant that Regina was trapped in that place with all of those awful memories all around her.

Looking down at the brunette she saw a single tear fall from her eye as though even under a sleeping curse her sorrow was too much to bear. Emma wiped the tear from her face before realizing that she herself was crying as well. "I have to get you out of there," she sobbed. "I'll find a way to fix this I promise and I won't leave you alone in this." Emma promised.

She had to find a way to fix this. She needed to talk to someone who understood magic and curses and since Regina was out that meant she would have to talk to Gold. Another conversation she was not looking forward to.

Her next course of action decided she grasped Regina's hand once more and promised to return soon. She left the mansion and returned to the vault before carefully grabbing the needle Regina had pricked herself with and wrapping it safely to take with her. Next stop Gold's shop and then to talk to Henry.

Just as Gold opened his shop for the day he was confronted with a furious Emma Swan barging through his door. "I need to talk to you." Emma said after slamming the door behind her. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this early morning visit?" He replied looking unfazed by the anger the Savior was projecting.

Pulling the carefully wrapped needle from her pocket and shoving it towards him she asked, "I need to know what the hell kind of magic this is." Not daring to reach for the object he studied it silently for a few moments before answering, "It's a sleeping curse dearie, and a powerful one at that. Now where did you get something like that?" He asked as he grinned evilly.

"That's none of your business, now how do I break it." Emma asked. Gold actually laughed at that "You already know the answer to that Miss Swan. The only thing that can break a sleeping curse this powerful is true love's kiss."

Truthfully Emma hadn't expected him to answer any differently but hearing him say it just confirmed what she already knew. To wake Regina up she would have to find her happy ending. She deliberated silently with herself for a few minutes about whether she should share what happened this morning with her dream and the hall of mirrors, before concluding that she didn't really have much of a choice.

Turning to Gold she grudgingly asked her next question. "Regina cursed herself with this last night." She started as Gold looked at her with what might have been a flicker of shock. "I took her home and I stayed by her side last night. I had this dream that I was in a hallway of mirrors and when I got to the end, there was a huge room of them playing what looked like scenes from a movie. Regina was in a chair in front watching them but when I tried to touch her I passed right through her like a ghost. She couldn't hear me either."

Not sure if she should reveal the next part or not she hesitated but decided that she needed the imps help. "I..I think the scenes that were playing were her memories." A look of genuine surprise crossed his features. "What makes you think that, and how can you be sure it wasn't just a dream" he asked.

"It was very elaborate. I don't think it's something I could have made up on my own and the memory I watched was of her and Cora when she was young." Emma replied. Gold frowned at this and studied her intensely for a few moments. "That shouldn't be possible," he stated.

As Emma started to refute his statement he held up a hand to stop her as he continued. "I have no doubt that what you saw was real," he said "but it shouldn't be possible for you to have seen it at all. Sleeping curses as powerful as this one trap the victim in their own bodies with nothing but their own regrets and worst memories, in a nether realm but you should not have been able to enter that place." He stated matter of factly.

Emma scowled at what he just confirmed. "Then how did I, and how can I do it again and make it so she can see me and hear me?" Gold continued to observe her. "I have no idea. It's a mystery, but an intriguing one. I'll tell you what, dearie, I'll look into a way for you to be able to communicate with her while you're there, I'll even do this one for free because it's an anomaly that I find interesting."

Emma eyed him suspiciously, she had been around here long enough to know that the Dark One never gave away anything for free and that magic always comes with a price but really what choice did she have. She had no one else to ask for help with this and she refused to leave Regina alone in that awful place. If she couldn't find a way to wake her up she could at least make sure she didn't have to go through it alone, and she would pay whatever price she needed to in order to do that.

In that moment she decided, "Deal, how do I get back there though?"

"Well that dearie is the question now isn't it and that part is up to you to figure out. I'll call you when I've got my end of the bargain ready." With that Gold bid her good day and she left the shop.

Now all she had to do was tell Henry which was going to be a lot easier said than done.

O O O

As Emma made her way from Gold's shop to the apartment she tried and failed to think of a way to tell Henry what happened that wouldn't crush him. How the hell was she supposed to tell him that his mother might never wake up again unless Emma could find her happy ending.

Sighing as she reached the apartment she braced herself for what she was about to do. As she entered she noticed Henry was already awake and at the kitchen island working on something but the moment she arrived he rushed to her like he couldn't wait to talk to her.

Emma sighed and knew right away that this conversation was going to be hard for the both of them. "Hey kid, come sit over her and let's talk ok," she stated as she led him back to the kitchen.

Before she could begin Snow and David made their way into the kitchen as well with concerned looks on their faces. They must have heard her come in. "Emma, honey I'm so glad you're okay, we were getting worried. How's Regina?" Snow asked.

Emma looked at the three faces around her and made the decision to just tell them all at once what was going on but before she could begin she saw what Henry had been working on.

"What's this?" She asked.

Henry smiled at her and pushed it closer to her so she could see inside. "I'm making a break up basket for Mom. I have some movies and chocolate and a bottle of wine. I know it's not much but I thought maybe I could bring it to her and spend some time with her to make her feel better about the whole Robin thing."

As Emma heard what their son was trying to do for his mother, she was so proud of how thoughtful he was but at the same time this made what she had to tell him infinitely harder all of a sudden and a tear slipped unbidden from her eye before she could wipe it away.

"What's wrong Ma? You don't think it's a good idea?" Henry asked looking dejected at her reaction to his gift.

Emma cleared her throat and tried to reign in her emotions in order to get through what she had to do now. "It's not that Henry, I think it's a beautiful gesture and very thoughtful of you…but the thing is," she paused willing herself to continue. "Last night when I went to talk to Regina, I found her and we did talk a little bit but then…." Emma froze not sure how to continue.

Henry's face fell at her continued silence, already sensing something was really wrong. "Whatever it is Ma you can tell me" he encouraged her.

Emma took a moment more to breathe before continuing and closing her eyes hoping it might be easier to get the words out if she wasn't looking at the three people waiting for her to speak. "I talked to her for a bit, but when I was done she… she told me to tell you that she loves you, and then she…she pricked her finger and put herself into a sleeping curse."

She heard the gasps of astonishment from her parents as Henry shouted "WHAT" before standing and knocking over the stool he had been sitting on.

Emma opened her eyes to see the look of confusion and hurt on Henry's face as well as the dual looks of shock her parents wore. "I'm sorry Henry. I didn't realize what she was doing until it was too late. I caught her as she fell but there was nothing else I could do. I took her home and stayed with her, but I went to Gold this morning and he confirmed that it was definitely a sleeping curse."

As she saw Henry trying to hold back the tears in his eyes her own began to fall and she immediately pulled him into a strong embrace. "Why would she do that?" Henry sobbed into her shoulder no longer able to keep the tears at bay.

"I don't know Henry, I really don't. She told me she finally realized what your book has always pointed out, that villains don't get happy endings and that was it."

"But Mom isn't a villain anymore." Henry stated with such conviction that Emma was sure there was no doubt about that statement in his mind.

Pulling from the embrace to look him in the eyes as she spoke she told him, "I know your Mom isn't a villain. I'm going to fix this. I don't know how yet but I promise you I won't give up until I find a way."

"I want to help. Mom needs my help too. Maybe I can kiss her and wake her up like you did for me." Henry stated, his eyes holding a glimmer of hope that he would be able to break this curse.

Emma gave him a pained smile at that knowing that Gold had implied that that might not be enough this time due to the strength of this curse but also knowing that she had to let him try. "I think that's a great idea. I need you to go and get your things and can you pack a bag for me too Henry? I don't want to leave your mom alone, so you and I are going to stay there until we get this figured out."

Henry immediately rushed to obey, leaving her alone with her parents who still had yet to say anything.

Snow was the first to speak, "Emma honey, why didn't you say anything last night when I talked to you?"

"I didn't know how. I was still in shock and I wanted to tell Henry in person. What else was I supposed to do?"

Snow frowned at that and looked at David appearing to be having some silent conversation that couples often do. "Emma I'm not sure Henry kissing her will work and if it doesn't then I…I'm not entirely sure we should wake her up."

Emma's gaped at what Snow just said. There was no way she heard that correctly. "What do you mean we shouldn't wake her up? I can't just leave her there. Have you lost your mind? I can't believe you would even suggest letting her stay like that."

Snow flinched at Emma's harsh tone but continued with what she had to say. "I know that that might seem harsh to you, but the last time Regina perceived that her happy ending was taken from her she went on a rampage. She tried to kill us so many times and she murdered a lot of people in pursuit of her revenge. This is a little bit of a different situation but the circumstances are very similar. She thinks you took her chance at a happy ending and there is no telling what she might do if you wake her up."

Emma stared at her parents incredulously. She thought that her parents and Regina had been getting along much better since their return to Storybrooke. She helped protect their new baby from Zelena and had even saved David's life after they cast the second curse to return here. She almost couldn't believe what she was hearing right now.

Her face mottled with anger Emma tried very hard to calm herself "She is not the Evil Queen anymore," Emma spoke through clenched teeth. "It's been over 30 years since then and she has saved our lives more times than I can count since then. She helped save your newborn son from the wicked witch yesterday for fucks sake. Not to mention if she wanted to go on a rampage as the Evil Queen and get revenge she would have just done that instead of cursing herself. She's changed. She's not that person anymore and I will not leave her there alone."

Snow and David looked like they were about to argue with her about her statement but before they could she held up her had to silence their protests. "No, we're done here. This is not up for discussion. Henry and I will be at the mansion until we find a way to help Regina."

Turning to the stairs she called to Henry, "hey kid, you packed up yet? We need to get out of here and get started on saving your mom."

Henry appeared carrying his bag of stuff and a suitcase, "I'm ready Ma, let's go."

Emma grabbed the suitcase from Henry and walked out the door with him without even a backwards glance at her parents. It was time to save Regina.

O O O

A/N: Hope you guys are enjoying this so far. Let me know what you think. I probably won't be able to update again until early next week but I wanted to get this out before the weekend. Happy New Year's everyone.