Regina had instructed her and Charming's army to attack at the weakest points of the castle walls at the same time as launching a projectile attack. She knew that her mother would be protecting the castle with her magic as well as the soldiers so she was hoping that with all of the commotion Cora would be too distracted in keeping the defences to notice her. She had instructed Charming, Snow and Red, who was disguised with a glamour to make her look like the queen, to stay on top of the nearest hill in their full battle regalia astride their steeds. It might not work for long but if Cora believed that all three of them were observing the battle from afar then her attention would not be on Emma. Simple plans were often the better as Cora was too vain and never thought of the obvious.

Whilst the men charged, scaled and regrouped Regina's mist entered through the cracks in the masonry, not bothering to make herself physical until she was with her knight she billowed through the castle corridors. It was when she entered a bare room did she suddenly snap into physical being, at the end of the room, bound to a table was her knight in a sacrificial pose with Hans hovering over her. Emma with her legs and arms bound open and in the smallest of shifts was trying to move away from Hans. He was too busy trying to undo his trousers at the same time as run his fingers up her legs that he did not see the rage filled face of Regina as she blasted him to the other end of the chamber.

'Get up,' she snarled at him as he struggled to stand. His trousers started to fall as he had not done them up and Regina saw fire again. Lifting him by his neck and pinning him to the wall she removed his clothes with magic at the same time as stripping off parts of his skin. 'You dare to try and touch her?' she yelled as she started to peel off the first layer of skin around his groin.

'You have to know,' Hans struggled to get out as Regina slowly squeezed his windpipe. 'I'm the only one who can save her.' Regina stopped removing his skin and looked at him on disgust. 'I have to take her. She has to be mine.' Even though he was bleeding in areas from his skin being ripped off and was slowly being strangled he still managed to glance over at Emma with a lust filled look.

'You look at her one more time and it'll be the last thing you do. You insignificant, disgusting little fool, did you honestly think I would not come for her?'

'It doesn't matter that you did,' he grinned thinking he had won. 'Now you get to make the choice, you either let me have her or let her die. My god I'll have her, I'll take her so hard she will always feel me and you'll have to watch. It's not like you're ever going to let her die.' He started to laugh then choked a little as Regina squeezed his throat again.

'No. I'll never let her die, I'll also never let you touch her you vile creature. Instead I'm going to have her and you are going to die.'

With that Regina threw him against the opposite wall and again held him in place with magic, she started a slow magical blaze at his feet which burned more ferocious than any normal fire and watched as the flames painfully licked their way up his skin. He started to scream as the flames climbed higher up his body so Regina cast a small spell making sure he remained conscious and alive but silent, the fire danced up his body stripping back layer by layer of skin and flesh as it slowly devoured him leaving nothing behind of the monster that had hurt her love. A soft groan snapped Regina out of her stare as she quickly moved to the blonde who was gritting her teeth in pain.

'Emma? Darling, I'm here, can you hear me?' Regina frantically ripped the bonds away from her love and tried to get the blonde to sit up. 'Come on baby, please for me just try and sit up.'

It was a pointless attempt, the dark Queen had done her research and she knew that this particular curse really only had one remedy. She had managed to find out that Emma didn't really need Hans to take her, she also didn't need to be impregnated, she just needed to be penetrated, something that under normal circumstances Regina would have been more than happy to oblige, it was just that now she felt that she would be violating the woman of her dreams if she went about it.

She cast a locking spell on the door and carefully started to remove her clothes, if she had to do this then it was going to be as close to her making love to her woman as it could be. Emma was already in a shift and the dark Queen had no intention of taking that off her, once she was undressed she climbed onto the table and gently straddle the other woman. Emma looked at her with confusion and magic swirling in her eyes. 'I'm here baby, I'm right her. There's only one way to ease your pain my love. I'm so sorry that this is the only way.' She kissed her way up the column of Emma's throat leaving gentle nips along the line of her jaw. Emma's groans and whimpers started to die down a little as she responded to the attention the brunette was giving her. Regina pressed her lips against the blonde and gasped when a tongue was thrust into her mouth. It was true what her research had said, Emma was craving this, she was glad that it was her who was touching and kissing the saviour as neither of them would be able to stand it if there was anyone else doing this.

Their tongues battled and Emma ripped at the top of her slip exposing her bare chest, with a growl Regina made her way down the blonde's chest and started to suck at the aching nipples. She knew that she had to do this quickly as the spell was very precise; Emma had to be filled with 'essence' on the stroke of midnight. Regina started to manifest her magic and forged herself an appendage, it was a twist to the curse and she hoped that it would work. It had been a curse written by a horrific man who needed to dominate and claim the magic and soul of a strong, independent witch hundreds of years ago. The penetration required to break the curse did need to be a 'male' appendage and 'essence' did need to be passed into the cursed, but Regina knew that there was often room for interpretation and she hoped that this was one of them.

Her magic extended her body to produce something that looked just like the strap-on she had worn on the Yule ball, the only difference was that this time it was fully her.

'Darling, I love you. I love you so much, please forgive me for this but I won't let anyone but me be inside you.' She kissed the groaning blonde again who had succumbed to the ravings of the curse and gently guided herself into the tight, wet channel of the woman she loved. Emma instantly reacted and started to thrust her hips against Regina, her moans turning from pain to pleasure. It was something that the brunette could not resist, as much as she wanted to hold back the feeling of the blonde wrapped around her was too much and she started to thrust back in earnest. 'Oh god, when you are better we are doing this again. So good, so tight, Emma, baby, I can feel so much.' Regina wrapped her hand around the back of Emma's leg, lifting it around her so she could get a better angle as she plunged herself into her love. There was nothing that could stop her at this moment, Emma was making all sorts of noises and it was just fuelling the brunette's want for her.

Suddenly, Emma wrapped her legs around the other woman and flipped them over so she was on top, grinding down and impaling herself fully. Regina was slightly surprised by this move but could not stop her moan when she felt herself going deeper into her knight. Looking into her lover's eyes she could see the curse swirling and bubbling beneath the surface, she thrust up inside the gorgeous blonde, harder and deeper causing Emma to bite her lip in pleasure. The two women were lost in each other and when Emma started to squeeze her internal muscles Regina nearly lost it but she refused to climax without her blonde and not before midnight. Grabbing the back of Emma's head she brought their lips together in a searing kiss as she gently started to circle the throbbing bundle of nerves that set the other woman bucking and grinding madly, knowing that her lover was coming and hearing a clock sticking twelve, Regina let herself go. It was an amazing experience, feeling all of what Emma had to give as she came all over Regina caused the brunette to have the most intense orgasm as she felt her magic swirl and shoot into the blonde. Both of the women lay panting as Emma collapsed over the spent queen, Regina did not even have the energy to pull out of the blonde so willed the appendage away, content to just lie there for a moment.

'Hi,' the blonde said softly a few minutes later as she pressed a kiss to her queen's jaw.

Regina's eyes snapped open as she lay there grinning, wrapping her arms around her saviour she nuzzled against the blonde head. 'Hello my love. I'm so glad that that worked and I'm so sorry it had to be that way but...'

'Why are you sorry?' Emma interrupted.

'I took advantage of you my darling.'

Emma chuckled a little at this, 'You did nothing of the sort; you loved me and helped me. It's not like you had much of a choice giving the circumstances.' She reached up, kissing Regina softly and looking lovingly into her queen's eyes. 'I'm so glad that it was you and not that bastard. Where is he anyway?'

Wrapping her arms even tighter around the blonde just to make sure that she was safe in her arms Regina was silent for a moment. 'I'm afraid I reverted back to my not so nice ways. He threatened you, so I kept him conscious and alive as he slowly burned to death.'

'Fair enough,' Emma mumbled as she snuggled even deeper into Regina's embrace. 'I would have done a lot worse if he had hurt you.'

There was the sound of an explosion in the distance and still the two women did not move from their embrace. Only relishing in being in each other's arms, occasionally placing a soft kiss to the nearest bit of skin. 'Do you truly not mind?' Regina asked quietly.

'No, I can't imagine anyone else will have anything bad to say about it either. As long as you are alright with what you did that's all that matters to me. I won't have you worrying that I'm mad at you or something like that. Like I said, if he had hurt you, I would not be able to stop myself from making him suffer.' There was another explosion that sounded a little closer than before. 'What's going on out there anyway?'

'Ah, well that would be mine and your parent's armies attacking the castle to cause a distraction so I could rescue you.'

'Hmm, my hero.' Emma mumbled as she kissed the woman who she was currently lying on top of. 'I love you so much, do you think that now we can finally be left in peace?'

'That would be lovely my darling. Is that what you want?' Regina asked.

Emma looked straight into the brunette's eyes so there was no room for misinterpretation. 'I want to live with you away from the castle and all the ridiculous politics and lords trying to be master over us. You, me and Henry, as far away as we can from all of the madness and as our own little family.'

'Yeah?'

'Yeah, I want to marry you Regina and never leave your side ever again. What do you think; maybe we could look into having another child?'

Before Regina had a chance to answer there was a sudden flash of light in the middle of the room. 'Well, well, well, what do we have here?' The two women jumped apart at the sound of Cora's mocking voice. Regina instantly dressed them both in leather trousers and tunics so they were at least not naked and vulnerable. Emma, even after her cursed ordeal, insisted on putting herself between mother and daughter to protect her love. 'Now Saviour, you should not be in this state, you should be writhing in agony whilst burning to death or writhing on the end of Hans, either would have suited me.'

Regina growled at this, there was nothing she could do to erase the image of Hans hovering over her knight, preparing to enter her. 'Luckily that is not the case mother.' Reaching out she gripped Emma's hand and pulled her slightly into her. She was not letting the blonde leave her side for an instant and was calmed when she felt Emma's body pressed against her.

'Regina, I told you, love is a weakness. Look at you, being bound to this idiot has made you go soft as you seek out comfort. No matter, I had hoped to harness her power with the offspring she would have produced but I'll settle for the next best thing.'

'And what is that mother?'

'Why, taking her from you, obviously.'

Regina had no chance to react and put up a protection spell around her and her love, with no warning Emma crashed to the floor and started to spasm. Dropping to the ground she tried to stable the convulsing blonde, 'What have you done?' she yelled.

'Did you really think I didn't have a backup plan? Although I have to admit I had no idea you would be able to lift the original curse.'

'Please mother, what have you done to her?' Regina was starting to sob, why couldn't she be left alone with the woman she loved? Why did everyone have to try and take everything away from them?

'It's the Feral Curse.' Cora scoffed at her daughter's look of absolute horror at the information. The Feral Curse was basically exactly what it sounded like; it caused the infected to lose themselves completely into a wildness that is unknown. They become wild, savage and barbaric; they don't recognise their loved ones and more often than not fiercely attack them as they struggle with their surroundings and situation. The curse also traps the mind of the infected and torments it slowly with every nightmare possible as they lose themselves to a brutal madness whilst hurting everyone who crosses their path.

'No!' Regina cried. 'Why would you do something like that to her, to me? You knew when you cursed her that I'm in love with her!'

'Of course I knew.' Cora sneered. 'When I placed the first curse I put this in as well with a magical barrier preventing it from acting unless I needed it. I'm trying to help you my darling, love is weakness and just think of the pain you would have avoided if you just closed off your heart. Now you have to suffer, again. One day you will learn.'

Emma had stopped convulsing and was lying prone on the floor. Regina scooped her into her arms cradling her to her chest, knowing that this was likely to be the last time Emma would let her hold her she was not going to waste a moment of feeling her knight in her arms. 'What do you want?' Regina asked, tears running down her face as she kissed Emma's forehead.

'That can wait. I'm interested to see what happens with this little situation. Don't try and fight the curse Regina, there is no possible cure. Not even True Loves Kiss can break this kind of magic, she is truly lost to the wildness and soon she will hate you all and turn on you. You need to come to your senses, let the blonde go and join me.'

Pulling the blonde closer to her body, she looked down at the unconscious woman, 'I will never leave her,' she whispered.

'We shall see.' Cora vanished instantly leaving her daughter clutching her cursed love whilst sobbing uncontrollably.

'I will never leave you, do you hear me? You're it for me Emma, you are my true love.'