"You have been doing an exceptional job; for a princess." The Evil Queen's husky voice took Emma's attention away from her fried eggs; the very ones she had been pushing around her plate for the past twenty minutes. When she looked away from the mess she had made of them, her breath was taken by sunlight that surrounded the brunette in a golden aura, making her appear ethereal.
Her fork was abandoned next to her eggs. "Thank you," she murmured softly and averted her gaze when the Queen's own turned her way. The last time she had been caught staring – which was yesterday morning during breakfast - the older woman had quirked a brow and asked if she had something on her face. She couldn't answer and the quirk of the brunette's lips only had her face turning red.
As it did, now, when she noticed that same smile on the Queen's crimson lips after the chalice had parted from them. Nothing had been said on the matter, instead, she spoke of the morning's proceedings. "Are you prepared for the execution?"
"Yes." That was a lie. She had been given several days to prepare; or moreover, train. Exhausted was an understatement for what she had felt. Every muscle in her body ached, but she could feel the improvement; she could feel herself growing stronger.
"I can only hope so, princess. We are to head to the courtyard soon," she purred softly.
Emma could feel herself shrink when the Queen had spoken. Soon. She would have to take someone's life. How could she ever do such a thing? What little she had eaten was threatening to come up and the scent of what was left did not help.
The sorceress noticed this. "You look pale. You do not like the thought, do you?"
"Of course not," she managed to say, turning away from her plate.
"I will offer you a piece of advice; clear your mind, do not think of it, let yourself grow numb. Think of them as nothing more than an animal." Her words only seemed to grow the queasiness in her stomach. Think of them as an animal? Is this what the Evil Queen had done? Think of people as no more than a mere animal to slaughter?
The princess didn't get the chance to ask, nor had she planned to for fear her head would be rolling in the dirt, as they stood from the dining table and left to the courtyard where her life would no doubt be changed.
"You 'ave stolen from the Queen's carriage, a crime punishable by death," a deep voice rumbled.
Emma's attention was brought to a stringy young man with a mop of dirty brown hair as a bulky guard pushed him toward herself and the Evil Queen. He was the first prisoner of three, and telling by how young and desperate this boy was, it was only foretelling what she would have to face.
Her eyes went momentarily to the Queen to catch her reaction but her face was made of stone.
"Please, m'lady!"
"Your Grace," said the same bald man, knocking the young man to his knees with the flat of his blade.
"Please, Your Grace, I dinnit mean no harm! My mother – she's ill. Please, Your Grace… she will die…"
The Evil Queen seemed deaf to his pleas as she summoned the guard to bring him to the chopping block. She stood at the side of him, receiving a greatsword from her knight. The blonde swallowed thickly as the light reflected off the sharp piece of steel. This was, by far, the most tame of executions in which the dark witch had spoken of, but it still held a heavy message for the witnesses.
"Watch, princess, and learn. You are to take my place next."
The young man continued to plea, but the Queen silenced him as she brought the heavy sword down upon his neck, cutting clean his head from his shoulders. Blood sprayed the grass a terrible red and a warmth splattered her face, and, for a moment, that's all Emma could think about. She felt bile rise in her throat, and when the Queen turned to look at her, she was met with small droplets of crimson against olive.
She swallowed her impending fear – and illness – and pointed at the older woman's face. "You have blood on your face, Your Majesty."
Seeming pleased, the sorceress guffawed, head thrown back in a mighty roar of laughter. When the bout finished, she turned to hand the bloodied sword off to the knight who had given it to her and faced the princess once again, a smile on her lips and a mad look in her eye. "Indeed? Tell me, girl, do you think you can handle it?"
"I…" The princess began to nod, her fingers digging into the palms of her hands. The Queen made it look so easy, but she knew it was far from that, and the look of impending insanity in her eye told her just that. But, she hid her bubbling emotion behind a mask, and answered, "Yes."
"Keep in mind, dear princess, to be sure of your swing."
The Queen gestured for the next prisoner and Emma waited, eyes on the blood left behind from the man before.
"Emma?" She heard a familiar voice call, bringing her attention to a dirty, young girl guided by a tall man.
"Brynly?" Emma's eyes lit up at the sight of her lost friend. The girl was still alive. At the sound of her name, that lively girl broke free from the guard's grasp and ran toward her, soon flinging her arms around the blonde princess. Despite the sour smell of the girl, Emma returned the embrace, her heart rapidly beating against her chest.
"I thought you was dead," Brynly said, pulling from the blonde. "I saw you passin' by with the Queen and I thought for sure she was gon' take your head off."
"She cannot harm me," she repeated, eyes falling to the Queen who stood with a dark smile on her face. Suddenly, the joy in seeing her friend faded as the realization dawned on her. The smile she wore wilted into a frown.
"What- What is wrong?" the girl asked, swallowing. "I take it you dinnit find an escape. S'okay… I've accepted my fate."
"If you are through with your reunion, princess, we have an execution to forward." The Evil Queen's voice broke into their conversation and the bald guard came upon them, taking Brynly away from the blonde with a soft growl. Tears came to the peasant girl's face as she was forced onto the bloody stone to her knees, body convulsing.
"I…" Emma's eyes found the brunette, her chest tightening. "I cannot…"
"You cannot?" the witch growled, her dark eyes on fire. "Here, I thought you had potential, but you are just as weak as your mother."
"I am not weak," the princess defended herself, her heart thundering in her ears. "I am just not heartless like you."
"Heartless? Is this what you think I am?" She laughed coldly. "The only fault that I have is keeping the godforsaken organ." The Queen's lip curled. "If you do not do it, I will, and trust me, you do not want me to take this into my hands."
Emma hesitated, her gaze falling to the girl who still knelt by the block. Her lungs turned to stone and she found it hard to breathe, let alone think, in that moment.
"You- you dun 'ave t'do it, Emma… please…" Brynly caught her gaze, soon realizing what was going on between the two, and it left the blonde princess helpless.
"Tell me, what will you do?" The husky voice of the Evil Queen sounded beside her. "Will you let your weakness win or your desire for freedom?"
"What is this freedom worth?" she queried, the hot sun beating down on her pale skin. "She is innocent of these crimes you accuse her of."
"No one is innocent, girl," Regina growled. "If you truly wish to follow the path that I have opened for you, emotions are things that you must grow numb to. Friend or foe; it is meaningless."
Emma knew that she was not going to win this argument and save the girl that she had befriended in the dungeons. She had agreed to the Queen's terms and had prepared herself for this moment. The question was, though, would she be able to do it if it were someone other than Brynly?
"Emma?" Her name on the Queen's tongue sounded strange and made her heart flutter inside her chest. "I am growing impatient. This girl is dead whether by your hand or mine. Decide." The last word was a growl and Emma knew Regina's patience was waning.
The blonde tried to turn her emotions off, bidding the fear and the heaviness away as she moved from the Queen's side to approach Brynly without another word. Each step she took was heavier than the last. She saw the witch slowly smirk as she passed her and couldn't help the chill that ran up her spine.
"Do it quick, Emma," Brynly sobbed, her dark eyes looking up at the blonde. "I understand. You've no choice."
Emma swallowed thickly and kept her face cold as the tall guard handed her the greatsword. She took it confidently despite the weight and unbalance it provided. It was far larger than the blade she had trained with, but she held it steadily, her knuckles turning white against the ebony hilt. There were red gems encrusting the top of the hilt. Fitting, she thought, as they matched the blood that stained the blade.
"Tell my brother I love 'im."
Her heart squeezed in her chest at the words and, for a moment, she looked desperately to the Queen in hopes she could back out of this, but she was lost when Regina merely stared at her, expectant.
"You will be free," she said, pressing her lips together, and prepared the sword. Brynly let out another sob as she closed her eyes and bowed her head.
"Go ahead, princess," the Queen urged.
When Emma lifted the sword, she heard the villagers rumble with anxious chatter, knowing well enough that she would be as hated as the Evil Queen if she were to do this. She looked to them for a moment, delaying her swing, and found them parting as a party of familiar white horses trotted between the sea.
Her emerald eyes fell to the Evil Queen as she cursed, hovering near the princess.
"There she is!" She heard a feminine voice call from the group and her eyes honed in on the source, finding a familiar pale face and long dark locks.
"Mother?" The word tumbled from her lips in recognition, the sword that she held clattering to the ground. Regina moved in front of the princess as if she were protecting her, a ball of flames bursting forth from her hand.
"Get away from her, witch!" Emma's attention was brought to her father as he spoke beside her mother. Her heart fluttered inside her chest.
"How did you get past the border?" the Evil Queen hissed, not moving an inch from her spot. "It was an unbreakable magical barrier. There is no possible–"
"We had a little help," Snow spoke and the two parted from one another as their horses moved aside. A darker horse trotted between the pure white ones with a small form on its back. Emma didn't recognize the man but she could feel the hostility rise off the Queen beside her.
"Your magical barrier is not as strong as you think it is, dearie. Remember, I am the one who taught you these things."
"Rumpelstiltskin, I should have figured they would resort to you," the dark sorceress hissed, earning an eerie smile from the man that she spoke to. "What price did they pay this time? Have they promised you Emma's first born?"
A high-pitched laughter filled the courtyard, sending a shiver down Emma's spine. She heard of the man and his antics, but she never had the opportunity to meet him; only his son. Suddenly she was glad that she hadn't for the very presence of the man made her feel exposed and the darkness that he emitted drowned her.
Rumpelstiltskin dismounted his horse and moved toward them, the King and Queen followed suit until the three were standing before the two; the Evil Queen's guards standing tense with their swords pointed in warning. The Dark One merely giggled as he approached, his skin sparkling peculiarly in the sun making him appear inhuman.
"You seem to have something of mine," he simply said, yellow eyes falling to the blonde who stood behind the Evil Queen.
"She is not your property, imp," Regina hissed, taking a step forward, the flame in her hand only seemed to glow brighter.
"And she is not yours, Regina." His smirk stretched wide and Emma shuddered. "Now, if you are through playing with her, I am sure her parents would love to have her back in the safety of their castle."
"I bid you good luck trying to do so." The dark Queen moved forward, her voice a low growl. "Because it will be over my dead body that you will take her back."
"That can be arranged."
"Regina, please," Snow spoke, stepping in beside Rumple as the man merely looked between the blonde and the brunette with amusement sparkling in those eerie golden eyes. "Violence is not necessary. If you hand over Emma, we will leave you be."
Regina's laughter filled the air, but it was short-lived as she shook her head in disbelief. "To pay the price of your pact to Rumple?"
"That is none of your business, Regina." The Queen stepped forward, her eyes hard. "Come, Emma, let us return to the castle. We cannot hold your wedding off for much longer."
The princess's eyes fell to her mother; her legs felt like gelatin. The wedding. The thought left a bitter taste in her mouth. Her hope had grown when Regina had offered her freedom from her life as princess and now that her mother stood before her, expectant, it was slowly diminishing.
Emma knew that she needed to follow her mother. To go back home and fulfill her duty. Yet, she remained, eyes on the dark Queen that still stood before her. She felt as if she had a duty here to fulfill, even if she did not know quite what it was.
"Emma? We must leave."
"Do you not see, Snow?" The Evil Queen's voice answered instead. "She does not wish to return; to be married off."
"She is my daughter, Regina. You have attempted to corrupt her and plant seeds in her brain."
"I have planted nothing in her brain. She has done so, herself."
"Come, Emma. We must prepare. There is much to do." The good Queen stepped forward despite the warning growl from the witch and offered a hand to her daughter, though the gentle smile on her face slowly faded. "Why is there blood on your clothes?"
Emma sucked in a breath, her eyes momentarily falling to Brynly who now stood next to the third prisoner, guarded closely by a stocky knight.
"That is because she was witnessing an execution, Snow." A pleased look crossed the Evil Queen's features. "And I have yet to taint her heart for it was her duty to complete the second before you so kindly interrupted."
Fire flared in Snow White's dark eyes. "I am sure you forced her hand to do your bidding, witch." Her attention fell to the princess who stood silent before returning. "My patience is through with you, Regina. I have given you many chances and I cannot risk any more."
The light Queen turned to the sorceress then to the Dark One who stood with a giddy smile on his face. "Rumple?"
"I will take care of her; do not worry." Rumpelstiltskin's words drew Emma's attention toward the imp, yet even as his words sounded threatening, there was a knowing look in his eye.
The blonde found her gaze meeting Regina's chestnut one and, for a moment, she thought she saw a hint of fear in them. She felt her blood run cold when Rumple's words caught up with her and what they meant for the dark Queen that she had grown to admire.
Yet, why should she care if he ended the Evil Queen? She was just that; evil and full of contempt. But she couldn't find it within herself to hate the woman that had fascinated her for so long, and she couldn't leave her to whatever fate the imp had planned.
"No." The single word came from the very woman on her mind and she heard the desperation in it.
"I am the one that built you up, Regina, and I can take you back down." The Dark One moved toward the woman who tensed in her spot and snapped his fingers. As soon as he had, the Evil Queen let out a gasp and lifted her hand to reveal a cuff, and she hissed, charging for the imp who merely smirked.
"Take this off!"
"Mother, this is not us!" Emma's voice finally came as the blonde princess stepped toward her mother, but the Queen immediately grabbed her arm and tugged her closer, away from the Evil Queen. "He will kill her."
Snow looked at her daughter as if she were mad. "I have given her many chances to redeem herself and she passed up each one." The woman with the snow-white skin looked to the dark Queen, her brows furrowing.
"But you would let this happen?" She saw Rumple roughly take the bound Queen by the arm; the guards that had once stood to defend her were now on the ground with their necks broken. Emma swallowed thickly.
"Yes," the good Queen simply answered and Emma stared at her in disbelief. "Emma, my sweet daughter, I have made the mistake of letting her free long ago when we planned to execute her before your birth. I could not do it then; something in me would not allow it. But I cannot bring it within myself to let her go now and continue this reign of terror."
"Where is that part of you now, Mother?" Emma's attention was given to the imp and the witch and the crowd of villagers behind them, watching in both horror and delight at the sight of their malevolent Queen being captured. "The mercy that you have given her long ago?"
"That mercy for this woman is gone, Emma," Snow muttered coldly. "You should have no compassion for her. She took you and has done Gods knows what to you."
"I cannot deny what she has done, but she has not harmed me."
Queen Snow ignored her daughter's words and turned her attention to Rumpelstiltskin who had been talking with her husband, King James. The latter man turned, his blue eyes piercing his wife and daughter. "He says he would like to deal his punishment to the Evil Queen before her people. It is his price for his aid."
"Have you not shamed her enough?" Emma asked unconsciously, eyes falling to the dark Queen whose eyes smoldered with hatred as she looked at each accusing person. "What is he going to do to her?"
"Shush, Emma." Queen Snow pulled her closer as the King joined them, all three pairs of eyes on Rumple whose hand soon disappeared inside Regina's chest. Emma lurched when the Evil Queen let out a strained grunt and doubled over when the imp's hand left her, a black heart interlaced with red glowing in his palm.
"Behold, your Queen's heart." Rumple held the beating organ out for the villagers earning murmurs and gasps. "Her one weakness as you will see." He smirked, his pointed fingers curling around the heart until he squeezed it. Regina stiffened in her spot, but remained quiet, though when Emma looked into her eyes, she saw the guarded pain. It only intensified the more the imp compressed that precious organ in his fist, an anger inside Emma stirring.
"Stop!" she yelled, unable to take the torture playing out before her. She didn't care if they thought Regina deserved this, but perhaps that was her mother's mercy that was fueling her to plead to Rumple, or something else, burrowed deep inside.
"Emma."
"He's hurting her, Mother. Can you not see?" She was flabbergasted that her mother, the Queen of benevolence and mercy, would allow this to happen.
The imp's grip faltered and the witch straightened out, her breath labored. Sudden relief flowed through the princess.
"She deserves this after all that she has put us through. She has hurt us." The good Queen grabbed her shoulder gently. "She murdered your grandfather, Emma, and countless others."
Rumple's grip tightened on Regina's heart once again, taking the Evil Queen aback as she cried out, doubling over with the invisible pain in her chest. Emma attempted to fight her mother's grasp and when she broke through, her father was the one to tug her back. The Dark One's grip never faltered, instead, he played with the organ as if it were a toy, forcing the once mighty sorceress to her knees.
Something inside Emma flared to life like a warm fire. Her finger tips burned with unbidden energy.
"Stop! You're going to kill her!" she cried out and forced herself from her parents' grip, her hands lifting before her, ready to tackle the man if need be. She felt detached to herself as she watched a powerful, white light flow from her fingers, instead, and hit the Dark One, forcing him to fly off the ground and land among the crowd, dropping the Evil Queen's heart onto the dirt.
When she looked up, her eyes met the thunderstruck gaze of Regina's that widened them. She didn't look back to her parents, instead, she made haste to the witch's fallen heart before the imp could take it. Seconds later, the magical cuffs clattered to the stone and as soon as they had, the Evil Queen took her heart from Emma's hand to thrust back into her chest.
It took her a moment to recover to the familiarity of the organ before she growled, "It seems as if your daughter has chosen a side."
"No!" Queen Snow's voice was the last thing Emma heard before the world went dark.
After a heartbeat, the blonde princess opened her eyes to find herself in an unfamiliar room, but the ebony stone and delicate structure told her that she was inside the Evil Queen's castle.
"Wh-what happened?" Emma's head felt as if it were among the clouds.
"You never told me you had the ability to wield magic." Regina's accusing voice had the blonde's fingers curling into her palms.
"I-I…" She hid her hands in her arms as she crossed them, any confidence in herself suddenly gone. "I had no knowledge of it beforehand."
The Evil Queen laughed coldly, those dark eyes falling to the blonde's covered hands. "You must be fibbing."
"Why would I have the need to?" Emma pressed her lips together, eyes steadily meeting the brunette's. "I would have used it against you long ago."
The Queen's lips twitched before she broke contact and turned to pace toward a large set of windows. "Then you have never had any indication before today that you harbored magical powers?"
The princess quickly shook her head, arms dropping to her sides, before she realized the witch couldn't see her. "No. Never. I was just…" She swallowed, thinking back to the moment that the buzzing power of magic flowed through her being, making the tips of her fingers warm and her body burst with an energy that she had never felt before, and then to what had caused it. "I was angry that my parents would allow this to happen and… I could not take seeing you in pain like that; being tortured by that imp. No one deserves it."
"They believe I do." Regina's back was facing Emma, but she could hear the thickness in her words. "You do realize, by saving me, you have upset your mother."
"Upset is an understatement," she murmured softly. "After what she had witnessed today, I am quite sure she would want nothing more from me."
The Evil Queen snorted and turned, a wicked smile on her face. "I doubt that. She needs you to pay the price of the pact she made with that dreadful imp. And I am quite sure she has dug herself a deeper hole when she used him to break into my land."
"Gods, what will you do? Will they break into the castle, next?" she asked, shifting in her spot.
"These castle walls are impenetrable," the brunette growled.
"What of Rumpelstiltskin?" Emma moved toward the windows where the Queen stood still and peered out into the vast sea of green.
"We needn't worry about that man. For now." The older woman looked to the princess, dark eyes smoldering. "He lost this battle, but he will no doubt return for the prize."
"Prize?" Emma frowned. "Your heart?"
"No," she murmured, eyes falling back to the window. "You."
An unpleasant tremor moved down her spine; a heaviness settling in the pit of her stomach. "How could I ever believe that I would be able to escape this?" She leaned against the cold stone wall, her brain swimming. "I should have returned."
There was a deep growl next to her, "no! Foolish girl. You mustn't resign to a fate that is forced upon you by others. You must escape it while you can."
"And how might you propose I do that, Your Majesty?" Emma's nostrils flared. "You keep me here and disallow me freedom. And, even if I do obtain freedom completely, I will be hunted by the Dark One and no doubt my parents to be locked away in some castle to bear children for that sniveling boy."
"I offer you more freedom than you have as princess, girl." The Evil Queen stepped toward the blonde, pinning her against the wall as Emma shrunk against it. "And protection. But, if you are going to be ungrateful, I will gladly turn you over and perhaps keep my heart where it belongs."
The blonde princess quieted, eyes falling away from the glaring chestnut hold, and sighed.
Regina took her silence as an answer and smirked. "Tell me, princess, why did you save me?"
Emma frowned, taken aback by the question. Honestly, she did not quite know why she had, herself. "I-I told you."
"Because you did not like seeing me in pain?" The sorceress snorted. "Did you intend to stop Rumple or to free me?"
"I…" She swallowed, gaze unable to meet the Queen's. "Perhaps both. I wanted to stop him and I wanted to free you. I wanted… I did not want to return and be married off. I wanted… I wanted to continue training here and strengthen myself."
Her words earned a smile from Regina – something small, yet genuine. "How endearing," she murmured softly before turning away. "We can commence as planned and you may continue your training. Although," she continued, her dark eyes on Emma once again, forcing the latter's heart to flutter, "I wish to discuss your magic."
"My magic?" Emma pursed her lips, the words foreign on her tongue. "What of it?"
"Do you feel it?" The Queen pressed, olive fingers moving along the ivory skin of the princess's cheek. "Do you feel as if you could use it again on will?"
The blonde shook her head. She hadn't felt the odd energy since the incident and, aside from the slight nausea, she felt the same as before.
"We can work on that," she continued, a smirk blooming on her features. "You have the potential; a very strong magic is dormant within you. I can feel it." Her palm flattened against Emma's darkening cheek. "If I can draw the source to your power out, you will master it in no time."
"What if I do not want to use magic?"
"You already have it, Emma, and it will grow and become uncontrollable if you let it build within yourself. That outburst in which you had earlier was derived from raw emotion, and if you were to experience that again, there is no telling what will happen – to you, or to someone else." The Queen's hand fell from her cheek and balled at her side. "If you can control it, Emma, the options are limitless."
Emma allowed Regina's words to soak in and thought. Magic was something foreign to her. Both the King and Queen never allowed her near sorcerers and spoke ill of them when mentioned. It was powerful and dangerous and the thought of having it as a part of her terrified the princess more.
"And you will help me?"
"Yes," she answered with a nod of her head. "Of course, we will work on this later. For now, I want you to continue as we have planned."
"Will you teach me dark magic?" The question was hesitant and suddenly she feared the answer – or the wrath.
But the Evil Queen wore an amused grin on her lips. "I will teach you how to control it, child, but what you do with it is of our own volition. If you wish not to use it, then so be it."
"But if I am to be under your liege, Your Majesty, I would only use it for evil."
"Evil," she murmured softly and let her gaze break once again, falling to the endless world outside, remaining silent. Emma watched her for a moment, entranced by the emotion welling in her eyes, yet her face remained as stone.
"Regina?" The princess's voice was soft, but the single word brought those mesmerizing dark eyes to hers. "You are only as evil as you make yourself out to be."
"There is no going back on what I had done, princess, if that is what you are implying." Her features hardened. "And no matter how much I am to redeem myself, they will always look at me as the Evil Queen. No amount of benevolence will change that."
"I saw your heart. There is something left in there; some good. You may never know."
"I do know," the brunette hissed and stepped away from the window. "Should you not be training, girl?"
"I…" Emma inhaled deeply before nodding and pacing toward the large set of doors. "I do not know where I am."
"Must I hold your hand?" The Queen's eyes felt like daggers. "You are in my bedchambers. Your own are only down the corridor."
"O-oh…" Emma paused by the door and took a heartbeat to look around the large room before her. The Queen's personal space. Why had she brought the princess here? "It… is lovely."
"Go."
Emma quickly nodded, the roar from the Queen shaking her to her core, and headed out to the courtyard.
