It was two days before Regina and Sophie met again. Emma had been doing her best to get Regina to explain how they knew each other, without much success. All Regina had divulged was that Sophie used to be her Captain of the Guard back in the Enchanted Forrest and that under no circumstances was anyone to harm her until they got to the bottom of all this. There was more to it, Emma was sure. That was not a look two people only in a professional relationship shared.

They were at her parents, Emma secretly hoping that Snow and David could help her convince Regina to open up.

'Is she the threat Van Helsing warned us about?' demanded Emma. 'She did admit to being Dracula…'

'I don't know…she can't be, not the Sophie I knew' Regina replied. 'If she is, that would mean she's a…'

'Vampire?' Snow interjected. 'Didn't Van Helsing say he was being hunted by Count Dracula?'

'She would never physically harm me…us' Regina stutters. 'I'm not sure I trust everything Van Helsing has told us.'

'What's the big secret with you two anyway?' Emma pushed.

'There's nothing to tell' Regina snapped back.

'Where is Van Helsing anyway?' Emma asked David.

'He said he would stay in the forest to track Dracula. I haven't seen him since' David shrugged.

'Convenient' Regina muttered.

They were interrupted by a knock at the door. Emma opened it to find Sophie standing nervously outside. Emma walked back to her seat, leaving Sophie fidgeting in the doorway.

'Well…?' Emma said while gesturing for her to come in.

'It's not enough', Sophie sighed, 'you have to physically say the words.'

'Come in!' Snow exclaimed from the table. 'I'm guessing that answers our main question…'

'Snow! You have no idea who she is or how dangerous she is!' David exclaimed.

'Regina seems to trust her' Snow retorted.

'I'm not here to harm you' Sophie said whilst taking a seat at the table. 'I'm guessing you have many more questions?'

'Are you really Count Dracula?' Emma asked. 'All of the tales in this land refer to Count Dracula being male.'

'Yes, but Dracula is not a person, it is my family name. I come from the most prestigious vampire line there is.' Sophie tilted her head, 'the one you have stories of in this land is likely to be Uncle Vincent- he always had a flair for the dramatic…' She chuckled to herself, 'he wanted the fame and notoriety that came with playing with humans, which ultimately got him killed. I am the last in my family; therefore the title of Dracula and everything that comes along with it belongs to me. Don't believe everything you have read about Vampires, some of it is pure myth. I can walk in sunlight and only have a slight intolerance to garlic, rather than an aversion. I do however have to be invited into a private residence before entering, and I can glamour humans.'

'Any more questions?' She asked with a raised eyebrow. Pointedly looking round the table, her eyes rested on Regina longer than anyone else. A cacophony of noise filled the room, Emma, David and Snow all throwing questions at Sophie. Regina however, kept silent, refusing to make eye contact.

'What do you mean you can glamour humans?'

'Why are you tracking Van Helsing?'

'What's the deal with you and Regina?'

'Can you fly or shapeshift?'

'Do you need to drink blood to survive?'

And the one question Sophie heard above all the others-'Is being a vampire a curse that can be broken?'

Sophie laughed. 'I was turned into a vampire. I died and was put through the blood rituals. No, it is not a curse that can be broken with some stupid romantic notion of 'True Love'.' She spat out the last part.

'Did you have a True Love?' Snow asks.

Silence filled the air.

Emma looked at Regina. 'Why aren't you saying anything?' she whispered though clenched teeth. Regina just shook her head and continued to fidget with her hands.

'So,' David said in an attempt to change the subject from the awkward silence. 'You said you can glamour humans. How do we know you haven't put us all under your thrall?'

'It doesn't quite work like that.' Sophie explained. 'It's mainly used so that I can drink from humans without traumatising them. Plus I need to have physical contact.'

Emma snorted, 'I really doubt anyone would willingly let you drink from them.'

'Oh really?' Sophie said, flashing a dangerous smile. She walked round the table to stand in front of Emma. She placed her hand on Emma's cheek and stroked it lightly. 'Stand up' she almost purrs the words at Emma, whilst still keeping eye contact. Emma felt her mind clouding over and melted into the touch. She stood and was rewarded by seeing Sophie smile at her. 'Good girl. Now show me your neck' Sophie said seductively, whilst sweeping Emma's blonde hair over her other shoulder. Sophie chuckled when Emma tilted her head to one side, exposing her neck. Sophie leaned in…

'That's enough!' Regina exclaimed, standing up abruptly. 'Outside! Now!'

Sophie gently placed Emma back into her chair, the effects of the glamour already starting to wear off, leaving the saviour slightly unbalanced. She followed Regina outside the apartment, leaving the Charming's looking slightly alarmed at what had just happened and Emma embarrassed, but definitely aroused.

As soon as Sophie entered the hallway, she turned to find Regina pacing up and down. 'Oh relax, I wasn't actually going to drink from her. She does smell divine though, must be something to do with her being the saviour…' Regina just stared wide eyed at Sophie. 'That's all you have to say? After all of this time? Where have you been? You don't get to just leave me with no warning and waltz back into my town. You abandoned your position, left the kingdom open to attack. You swore an oath to me!' The pain was evident in that last phrase.

'I left to protect you.' Sophie tried to explain, hoping Regina would understand the guilt she had carried for so many years.

'Protect me?' Regina scoffed. 'You leaving destroyed everything. You set me down the road to being the Evil Queen!'

'Don't you dare try to put that on me! Do you have any idea what I did for you? For us!?' Sophie combed her hands through her hair, exasperated with Regina.

Inside the apartment, Emma was torn between not wanting to eavesdrop on her friend and desperate to find out what was making Regina act so strangely. She cocked her head when she heard Sophie exclaim that whatever she had done had been 'for them'. There's so much about Regina I still don't know, Emma thought sadly.

'For us?' Regina hissed. 'There IS no us. You left. I was devastated, spiralling out of control.'

Sophie laughed in amazement. 'You still don't get it, do you? You pushed me away after everything I did for you.' Her voice raised as she tried to get through to Regina. 'Jesus Christ Regina, I loved you!'

Upon hearing this, Emma's eyebrows shot into her hairline.

'I loved you and all you did was close yourself off. You told me I meant nothing, the sex meant nothing, that all I was… was a good fuck.'

Snow squeaked inside the apartment, going bright red, and David dropped the tea cup he had been meticulously washing for the past 10 minutes.

'I…' Regina faltered, unable to say anything. She looked into Sophie's eyes, all of the feelings she had kept locked away threatening to bubble over.

'I can't do this right now', Sophie whispered, holding back tears. She turned and ran down the stairs, leaving Regina still unable to speak in the hallway.

Regina took a deep breath and readied herself to go back into the apartment. She slowly opened the door, trying to think up some excuse as to why Sophie wasn't returning with her. She was greeted to a silent room. David was washing up in the corner, refusing to look at anyone. Snow was bright pink and Emma was just looking at Regina with compassion.

Regina sighed 'I take it you heard everything?'

Snow squeaked in response.

'I promise to explain, but right now, I need to be alone'. Regina disappeared in a puff of purple smoke.

Back home, Regina was sitting in her living room with a large glass of her apple cider, trying to understand the argument that had taken place. She was still trying to get her head round the fact that her Sophie was a vampire. Hours passed and she was still shaken by the meeting. She heard a knock at her door, sighing, she went to answer, guessing that Emma was not respecting her wishes to be left alone.

She opened the door and was greeted by a pair of huge emerald eyes. Sophie looked at Regina and without saying a word fell down onto one knee with her head bowed.

'My Queen...' Sophie faltered. 'I swore a vow to you once, and my behaviour earlier was not in keeping with that vow. Can you ever forgive me?' Sophie presented the sword Regina had given her above her head. It was the sword Regina had bestowed upon her Captain of the Guard when she was sworn in. Etched onto the blade was the apple tree Regina had lovingly cared for. It glinted in the moonlight, the emerald sunk into the pommel, gleaming as bright as the eyes of the owner. 'I am unworthy of this gift and the position you gave me. I abandoned you, even though I was doing it for you. My love for you never faltered. I swore to protect you with my life… And I did.'

Seeing Sophie on one knee made Regina feel like she was back in the Enchanted Forrest again. All of the emotions she thought had been locked away came rushing back to the surface. For a moment she was a queen once again. 'Put your sword away' she commanded. Sophie did so, but kept her head bowed. Regina stretched out her hand, catching her finger under the vampires chin. She tilted her head upwards, their eyes meeting. Everything around them faded away, leaving just a Queen and her Captain. She pulled Sophie gently to her feet, moving her hand to caress her right cheek. Sophie shivered at the touch as she had done so many times before and Regina's eyes darkened. Wordlessly she lowered her lips to meet Sophie's, who melted into the kiss.