Emma was passed out cold by the time she returned up to the attic. It made enacting the enchantment easier without being watched. When she saw the glimmer shine over the walls, the floors and the ceiling, she pocketed the scroll and stepped past the barrier, passing through with ease. The only thing she felt was the strength of the spell when she had stepped past. She knelt beside the old covered sofa where Emma laid and placed a hand gently over hers.
"Emma?" Regina said quietly. "Emma, wake up."
"Hmm?"
"I am going to try to help you," she said and Emma blinked her eyes open. "In order to help you, you need to stay here."
"I won't leave."
"You can't," Regina said as she pulled her hand back and moved to sit on the wooden coffee table that was covered with a drop sheet as well. "I've put an enchantment on the entire attic. I can come and go as I please, but unfortunately you cannot."
"Guess it beats Rumple's old cell in the Enchanted Forest," Emma groaned quietly before she sat up slowly and ran her hands over her hair. "Regina…I kept trying to come back, but I couldn't."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm not always in control," she said as she lowered her eyes to her hands as she folded them in her lap. "I haven't been in control much, not since that night. When I am in control, the pain it—it is incredibly unbearable. It started happening again and I fought to hold on to this. I'm still—god, Regina, it hurts so much."
Regina just watched her as a flood of emotions flickered through her tearful eyes, eyes that didn't have that spark of life in them as she remembered, eyes that were darker with tiny flecks of gold mixed in with green. She wanted to become lost just staring into Emma's eyes, but now was not the time to let her deepest feelings for the woman surface. Now was not the time to do anything but do all she could to help her.
Emma truly had nothing left to lose. Her soul, the light inside of her, it was fighting the darkness and it wasn't until then that she realized that is exactly what she was going through. Her light magic, magic created by True Love, was fighting the Dark One's essence and for the time being it was winning that fight. There was no telling how long it would last until the darkness won once again, and there was no telling how long it'd take for the light inside of her to find the strength, the power, to fight again.
She ignored the faint ringing of the phone downstairs as she stood up and pulled the drop cloth off of the coffee table, taking her time in folding in under Emma's intense gaze. She placed it down on the coffee table and walked into the kitchenette, trailing a finger across the counter and only finding a minuscule amount of dust.
"Regina?"
"Yes?"
"Are we in your house?" Emma asked, blinking in confusion as she stood up from the sofa. Regina just nodded and checked to make sure the small fridge was still working before shutting the door. "I've never been up here before."
"No, of course you haven't. It's remained unused for as long as I have been here."
Regina watched as Emma pulled off her jacket and tossed it onto the sofa before moving to pull her hair free of her bun. It cascaded in waves as she ran her fingers through her hair, almost white compared to the usual blonde she sported, but still nonetheless as beautiful as always. She continued to watch as Emma wiped at the blood red lipstick on her lips with the back of her hand and she watched as Emma's tears fell momentarily before she furiously wiped them away before turning her back to her.
"I killed them," Emma whispered so faintly Regina barely heard her. "I killed all those people. I—I'm a monster."
"Emma—"
"I didn't want to, Regina," she said tearfully, keeping her back to her. "I didn't want to do those things. I tried to fight. I tried so hard, but I couldn't stop myself from killing them."
"It wasn't you," Regina said, unmoving from where she stood in the kitchenette. "It wasn't you who did that, Emma."
"It was!" She yelled and she spun around, her otherwise pale face now flushed red in anger as tears streamed down her cheeks. "It was me, Regina! I killed them!"
Regina stayed back when she felt the sparks of Emma's magic fill the room. She kept her distance, not trusting her own magic to resist the pull that came from Emma's and because she didn't entirely trust Emma in her overly emotional state either. Right now she was Emma Swan, fighting the darkness inside of her, but she had seen the other side of her, the one the Dark One commandeered, and that side of her could come back at any given moment.
No magic was truly strong enough to fight darkness as black as that of the Dark One's essence. A true evil with no remorse, no love, and no emotions.
Regina recalled reading through Gold's diary he'd kept in his early days and while most of it was nothing but the ramblings of a madman, it helped her to understand a little more of how the Dark One consumed one's soul, piece by shattered piece. She knew Gold had fought to keep a hold of a sliver of his humanity, his own soul, and all through the strength of the love he had for his son. She could only hope that Emma had that same power, that same deep love for Henry that would keep her fighting against the darkness that threatened to consume her completely.
As the Dark One, she had nothing left to lose, but as Emma Swan, she had everything to lose, and Regina was going to help her in any way that she could even if she didn't know how to yet.
The first step had been taken care of and Emma was confined within the third floor of her house, but when it came to the second step, Regina wasn't certain how to proceed. She was close to the stairs where she could get out quickly if Emma gave in to the darkness crawling and burning inside of her. She could see her fighting, but she was giving up, either by choice or because she didn't have the strength to fight any longer.
"I'll see to it that you have some food and a change of clothes," Regina said as she slowly made her way to the stop of the stairs. "Any special requests?"
"Anything is fine," Emma said lowly. "Whatever."
"I promise you that I am going to help you, Emma, but I don't know how to do that or how long it is even going to take. Gold is in a coma and—and I don't know who else to turn to right now," she sighed and she slid her hand inside her blazer pocket and curled her fingers around the Polaroid of Henry. "There is a bathroom just over there and the bedroom is next to it. I'll bring up some fresh sheets and towels later for you. In the meantime, I have things I need to do. I left the council meeting because you showed up in my office."
"You're going back?" Emma asked. "You're leaving me here?"
"Yes."
"Regina—"
"I am not telling anyone that you are here, not until I can figure out how to help you," she continued and she curled her fingers tighter around the Polaroid in her pocket. "You've taken many lives, Emma, all within the past few days. You've been gone for weeks and only now you decided to reappear. Why is that?"
"I tried to keep away, but I also tried to come back too," she said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I—I don't know where I was, but coming back here wasn't easy. Where I was…it was dark. Empty. Lonely. I don't remember much, but it didn't feel like weeks, Regina. It only felt like a few hours had passed."
Regina clenched her jaw tightly, wanting to know more about what she had gone through, but she wasn't sure she was ready to hear more just yet. The phone downstairs started ringing again and she took her hand out of her pocket, pulling the Polaroid with it.
"I don't know what this means," she said and moved to place it on the small wooden table in the kitchenette. "But I know that you would never hurt Henry."
"Never."
"Whatever game you're playing, Emma, it ends now."
Emma's lips curled into a snarl and she sprinted towards Regina quickly. Regina stepped down the first step and Emma hit the barrier hard. "I'll get out of here, you bitch. I'll figure it out. You can't keep me in here forever!"
Regina stood firm, her face expressionless as she watched Emma try to use magic, but no matter what she did, it was stopped by the enchantment. Inside, her heart was screaming and she wanted to cry, but she couldn't show her weakness, not in front of the Dark One. She took a step backwards, descending down the stairs one by one as Emma roared furiously and charged at the barrier once more.
When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she could still hear Emma and with a wave of her hands, she enacted a soundproof spell on the third floor and the house fell into silence until the phone began to ring for a third time. She headed down the stairs and ignored the phone, heading into the kitchen instead to prepare a snack for Henry to have when he got home from school. Once she was done, she transported herself back to her office in the town hall, her migraine coming back in full force.
A knock on her locked door startled her and she quickly walked over and unlocked it, opening it to find two of the council members standing on the other side. With a forced smile, she walked out of her office and shut the door behind her.
"I apologize for the delay," she said as she strolled out of the outer office and towards the stairs, pausing to look back at the two council members who were following her. "I have a slight migraine. I needed the quiet during the break. Did I lose track of time?"
"No, Madam Mayor, not much. It's only been twenty minutes. Should we adjourn for the day? We can continue on Monday morning," the man asked and Regina shook her head no and headed down the stairs quickly.
"We'll finish up with the meeting now, sir. It has already been delayed one too many times and the town needs us to come up with a plan for sufficient road repairs to the main roads before the winter months come."
"Ma'am, no disrespect, but we've been talking throughout the break," the woman said just as they reached the landing and came to a stop. "Everyone wants to talk about what happened yesterday."
"Everyone in town is in danger as long as the Dark One is free," the man said nervously. "She—she slaughtered the entire Merry Men camp! Who is to say she won't come after me or my family next?"
"And who are you exactly?" Regina asked and the man just stammered awkwardly. "No disrespect, but I hardly think she'd attack without intent. You and your family are safe."
"But for how long?"
"Sir, let's continue with the council meeting with the others. If you have any concerns, you can raise them after we've discussed the issues at hand."
By the time she made it back down into the hall, it was buzzing with angry council members, each and every one of them talking about Emma and what she'd done. It was easy to point fingers since everyone in the entire town knew what happened that night. It was easy to place the blame on the new Dark One, because really, who else was capable of doing such a thing?
The remainder of the meeting didn't go smoothly and after a few very tense arguments made between the council members and Regina, she adjourned the meeting indefinitely and returned to her office without another word. She found the bottle of aspirin in her desk and swallowed three dry.
She sat down at her desk and thought back to the moment just after Emma had called herself a monster. She knew then, just from the way she saw Emma fighting the smirk that almost slipped when she called herself a monster that she was being played by the Dark One. Emma had been there and in control, but not the entire time. It had been Emma who appeared in her office and it had been Emma when she took her to the house. She still wasn't sure if it still had only been just Emma after she enacted the enchantment around the third floor, but there was a high chance that she was, even if just for the minutes that followed.
Her confirmation that she was speaking to the Dark One happened only in the moment she had placed the Polaroid on the table. She had never seen such anger in Emma's eyes before, anger filled with such darkness, and it had scared her as well as broke her heart at the same time. In the weeks since that night Emma sacrificed herself, she had thought about all the ways it would affect her, not just with her appearance, but within herself too, but nothing prepared her for what she had already seen.
Regina went to lie down on her sofa, wanting to wait until the town hall cleared out for the day before she left. She wasn't in the mood to be confronted about Emma Swan again. She was the only one left in that town with enough power to overcome the Dark One. The fairies at the convent were powerful, but to fight darkness, one needed dark magic inside of them and even Blue, despite some of her past shady dealings, didn't have quite enough of it inside of her to fight against the Dark One.
It was almost five before she finally left to head home. Her head was still pounding, but not nearly as bad as it had been before and when she arrived home she immediately went up to Henry's room and found him laying on his bed with a math textbook open in his lap and his headphones in, the music from his iPod blaring loudly. Regina picked up a few clothes he'd left on the floor and picked up his Marvel t-shirt. She clutched it for a moment, remembering the Polaroid and she tossed it into the hamper before walking towards the window closest to his bed.
"Mom, what are you doing?"
"Nothing," she sighed softly. "Henry, I want you to clean your room."
"Right now?" Henry asked as he closed his math textbook. "Seriously?"
"Yes. You do that while I prepare dinner."
"What are we having?"
"I don't know yet," she sighed again. "Just clean your room, Henry. I'll call you down when dinner is ready."
"Mom?" Henry called out when she reached the doorway. "Thanks for making me a snack today," he smiled. "It was good."
"You're quite welcome," she smiled back at him, one that didn't last long. "I want you room spotless, Henry. I will check under your bed and in your closet when you're done and bring those dirty dishes down to the kitchen, please."
"Okay, Mom."
Regina walked down the hall and stopped at the doorway that led to the third floor stairs. With a quick snap of her fingers the key to the door appeared in the palm of her right hand and she locked it before pocketing the key and headed downstairs to prepare dinner for herself and Henry. She settled on making something simple, spaghetti and meatballs with a garden salad on the side with plenty of fresh vegetables she conjured from her garden out in the backyard. She made a little extra and put it in a container she planned to bring up later for Emma before she called Henry down for dinner.
He carried the few glasses and plates he'd had in his room and put them in the dishwasher before joining her in the dining room for dinner. Neither of them spoke much at all until Henry asked her if he could go visit his grandparents the next morning. Regina, unlike most time, wasn't hesitant when she told him he could. With Henry out of the house, it'd be easier for her to visit with Emma for a short while without raising any suspicions with him.
Regina retreated to the study when Henry offered to clean up after dinner and despite the migraine that was still making her skull throb, she poured herself a glass of cider and glanced at the whisky tumbler that still sat on top of her desk. She frowned as she ran her fingers over the spot that Emma had been perched on and grabbed the tumbler, putting it back in its place before downing her glass of cider in one gulp.
She still didn't know what she was going to do to help Emma, but at least now the town was safe from the Dark One, and that put her mind at ease, if only just a little. She poured herself another glass of cider and was about to take a sip when the doorbell rang. With an irritated huff, she placed the glass down beside the tumbler and walked out into the foyer and down to the front door.
"Sheriff, what can I do for you?" Regina asked when she found none other than David standing on her front porch. "I was just having a drink, would you like to join me?"
"I could use a drink," he said quietly and he followed her inside the house. "Regina, I'm worried about Emma. After the things I saw, I—I can't imagine her doing those things, killing them like that. I thought maybe she would stop with Hook, but she didn't. I keep trying to figure out why she went after Robin and his men. I can't find a reason that makes a shred of sense."
"The Dark One is in control of her right now, David, it's not her that killed those people. What she feels right now is immense anger and power. When Gold was the Dark One, he had hundreds of years to control the essence, to control the craving that made him want to kill," Regina said and she poured David a glass of cider once inside the study and she picked up her own. "The Dark One doesn't need a reason to kill."
"I'm just trying to understand what she's going through."
"I know."
"Snow, she—she's beyond herself right now. She wanted to know how bad it was at the camp, but I can't tell her the full truth."
"News got out about it anyway, David. I was certain you would've tried to keep this quiet for as long as possible, but the whole damn town knows what she did out in the woods."
"Does Henry know?"
"Yes, because it was on the news last night," Regina sighed and the two of them took a seat on the sofa by the fireplace. "People are terrified right now because they think she is going to come after them and their families next."
"Is she?"
Regina swallowed hard, knowing if she said no, she wouldn't be able to keep up with the secret of her having Emma trapped in her attic, bound with the very same enchantment that kept Rumpelstiltskin locked up in their castle many years before. She covered up her silence by taking a sip of her cider.
"I don't know, David."
"Why do you think she went after Robin and his men?" David asked and Regina felt the lump rise in her throat and she sipped her cider. "Do you think one of them might have seen what she was doing to Hook behind the Rabbit Hole?"
"I don't know!" Regina snapped. "Why do you automatically assume I have the answers, Charming? I know as much as you do, perhaps even less. Why don't you do your job and find out yourself, hmm?"
"I've done all that I can, Regina. I came to you hoping that maybe you could see more than what I can," he said quietly. "Emma, she used a dream catcher before when Archie was thought to have been murdered. I thought that maybe you could—"
"Use one to see for myself exactly what she did?" Regina asked bitterly. "Whatever logic or reason that was behind those murders, it is something only she knows. It doesn't truly matter now, does it? We know who did it and we can't bring those who died back to life."
David looked distraught and she knew he had every reason to be. His daughter had become the Dark One, and not only that, she'd killed almost twenty people in the last two days for absolutely no reason other than because she could. Regina downed the last of her cider and rose from the sofa slowly.
"Regina, I need you to find her," David pleaded. "You need to find her and stop her before she kills anyone else."
"David—"
"Please, Regina," he begged as the tears began to fall. "When we find a way to fix this, when this is all over, all the lives she's taken is going to haunt her forever. It's going to destroy her!"
"What do you propose we do when the time comes?" Regina asked tightly. "Give her some kind of a potion that'll make her forget all the things she's done as the Dark One?"
"Is that possible?"
"Of course it's possible, but there's no guarantee she'll let us—"
"We'll make her take that potion and once she does, she'll forget everything she's done and she'll forget that we forced her to—"
"Are you even listening to yourself right now?" Regina asked incredulously. "Snow sent you here, didn't she?"
"Yes, but—"
"No," Regina cut him off. "Look, I don't know how else to convince you that I am trying to help your daughter in every way that I can right now. There is only so much I can do. The dagger doesn't work and I don't know why, but I will find a way to find the answers I need so I can help her. Save her. I don't need you two idiots trying to help me either."
Her hands were shaking while she poured herself a third glass of cider, knowing that perhaps it wasn't the best of ideas because she could already feel a slight buzz kicking in. Keeping this from Henry was going to be hard enough as it was, but keeping it from the Charming's would prove to be impossible.
"What can we do, Regina?"
"Look out for one another," Regina replied quietly and she barely flinched when she felt David's hand fall onto her shoulder. "Look after your child. I know you are worried about her, David. We all are. I am going to fix this. I promise you, I am going to do whatever I can to fix this, to save her."
"I know you will."
"I don't need you coming around every day asking if I've found her," she continued, finding it impossible to look over at him because she knew her emotions would give her away even if he didn't quite catch on at first. "I have been looking for her for weeks and I have been trying to find a way to pull the Dark One out of her without killing her for weeks. I am no closer to finding out how than I was when I started, but that does not mean that I am giving up. I will never give up on her."
"I know," David whispered, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Regina?" He paused as she turned to look at him. "I never told her, Snow I mean, what we talked about last night. It's okay that you are, you know, in love with her. It's hard not to fall in love with someone like Emma."
"David—"
"It's okay, Regina. I'm not saying I'm giving you the okay if you want to…date my daughter after all of this is over, but I'm saying that it's okay if you feel that way for her."
"I don't need your approval for feelings that I harbour and choose to keep to myself, Charming. I care for your daughter and yes, I love her, but I'm not in love with her. There is a very stark contrast in loving someone and being in love with them. I don't know where you are getting this ridiculous idea from, but you need to forget you even thought of such nonsense."
David's lips twitched before he nodded his head. He didn't believe her and she knew he had every right not to. She hadn't sounded convinced when she said those words and she knew the pain of lying about how she felt had been so obvious and clear in her tear-filled eyes in that very moment. David gave her one last squeeze before he downed the last of his cider and placed the glass on the table.
"Will you call? If you find her or get any leads?"
"Yes."
"Thank you."
"I trust you'll do the same," Regina said as she followed him out of the study and towards the front door. "I don't want you doing anything idiotic like trying to go after her yourself. She could kill you."
"I know. I won't."
They were quiet until they reached the front door and Regina opened it for him. "Henry would like to come over tomorrow morning to visit. Would that be all right?" She asked and David just smiled and nodded. "I'll drop him over at your place around ten?"
"That's fine. Snow will be happy to have him for a visit and Neal, he adores Henry."
"Of course he does," Regina chuckled. "Have a good night, Charming."
"You as well."
Regina shut the door once he was halfway down the front walkway and she headed into the kitchen and grabbed the container she'd made up when she'd finished preparing dinner. She grabbed a fork and a bottle of water before ascending up the stairs. She paused as she stood just outside the doorway to the third floor and she could hear Henry in his room and the sound of music playing just over the unmistakable sounds of the video game he liked to play in the evenings before bed.
She unlocked the door and made sure to lock it behind her before climbing up the narrow steps to the third floor. It was dark save for the lone candle that burned on the coffee table and she could see Emma sitting on the still covered sofa, her elbows on her knees and her eyes staring intensely at the flickering flame.
"Here I thought you were going to starve me," Emma chuckled lowly as Regina flipped on the light switch. "Took you long enough."
"I've been busy."
"You're a shitty captor, Regina."
Regina clenched her jaw tightly as she placed the container, fork, and bottle of water on the table. "It's spaghetti and meatballs. I didn't bother saving you any salad because I know you wouldn't have eaten it anyway."
"You sure know me, don't you, hmm?" Emma asked as she slowly approached her. Regina pulled off the lid on the container and heated the food with a small wave of her hand. "Neat trick."
"I'm sure you've realized by now your magic has been somewhat contained and that the more you try to use it, the faster it drains."
"Yeah, just how did you manage to do that to me, hmm?" Emma asked with a purr to her voice as she took another step closer to Regina, grabbing a hold of her wrist before she could make a dash towards the stairs. "You know, your little soundproofing spell only works one way. I could hear everything, Regina. Everything," she chuckled mirthlessly and moved until their lips were only inches apart. "You care about me," she whispered, her breath falling hot over Regina's lips. "You love me."
"Emma, stop it."
"Yet," she smirked and let her go, "you are afraid of me, aren't you, Regina?"
"No, I am not," Regina said shakily and curled her hands into fists at her sides. "Leave the container and fork at the top of the stairs. I will retrieve them in the morning. Eat and I'll bring up fresh sheets and towels as I had promised you earlier."
Regina turned and descended down the stairs quickly, knowing she missed the hateful snarl that Emma shot in her direction. She left the door unlocked while she made a quick trip down the hallway to the linen closet. She checked in on Henry, finding him on his computer, music still playing and he was completely immersed in the game her was playing. Satisfied he had no idea what was happening or that Emma was just upstairs, Regina returned to the stairway and climbed up them slowly.
The container was on the table and the fork stuck into the food that was half gone, but Emma was nowhere to be seen. With a heavy sigh, she tentatively made her way towards the open bedroom door. She wasn't sure what she was walking into, but thankfully it was nothing salacious as Emma just stood by the window that looked out over the backyard.
"I tried to eat it," Emma muttered and Regina kept her eyes on her as she approached the double bed and placed the towels and bed sheets down. "Nothing tastes the same anymore. Nothing. It all tastes like dirt, like garbage. Can't even remember the last time I ate anything that didn't taste that way."
"And here I thought you were going to tell me what a horrible cook I am."
"You're not," Emma said and she turned around. "I keep getting these cravings, you know, and I couldn't figure out what it was, but when I tried to eat what you brought me, I knew then exactly what I was craving."
Regina swallowed thickly at the predatory gaze Emma had fixated on her. She felt the heat rush to her cheeks and she took a step back towards the open bedroom door. Emma licked over her lips every time she took a step closer to her. Regina's heart was racing so hard she was certain that Emma could hear it if she listened closely enough.
"I like the way the darkness tastes," Emma drawled as she scratched her nails over her hips and smirked. "I think I'll like the way that you taste even better."
Regina didn't have a second to react because Emma was suddenly right there, holding her hard against the doorframe and her lips were on hers, kissing her hard and deep. It wasn't quite like the way she'd kissed her in the woods, but Regina could still taste the anger behind the kiss. She wanted to push her away, but she gave in, just for a second, and kissed her back with just as much hunger. It only lasted a second before she felt Emma's hand between her legs, possessively cupping her pussy over her pants and that's when she pushed her away hard and she rushed towards the stairs with Emma hot on her heels.
Regina didn't stop when Emma called out for her and she didn't stop until the door was locked behind her and the key safely in her pocket. She took a few deep breaths before she walked to her bedroom, the tears only falling one she buried her face into the pillow on her bed in an attempt to muffle the frustrated scream she just couldn't hold back.
Don't forget to tell me your thoughts on this chapter/the story! I would love to hear from those who are reading what you think so far :)
