Tethered
A/N: In reference to whether we knew Robin was dead or not… it was alluded to in the first chapter that Regina had let him go to make a life with Zelena because of the baby. It was also briefly touched on in another chapter but not in detail. Things are about to come to light and I do hope you continue to enjoy this fic.
There is a mention but no details of rape.
I know it's been a short wait since I popped up the last chapter. I'm hoping to finish this fic in the next few chapters. Also, there will be some flashbacks in them which will clarify a few things as well.
And on another note… I totally went out of my comfort zone (as in publicly encouraging people to, 'hey look I at what I wrote!' sort of thing) and signed up for this year's SQ Supernova. I am very nervous but also excited.
Chapter 20
The confession had been unexpected at best and almost unbelievable at its worse. They had moved to Regina's study and Regina had poured herself a very dilute apple cider as she encouraged Emma to talk.
At first, the blonde had hesitated, waiting until Regina was seated next to her and ultimately expected from her distant tone for there to be a vast amount of physical space between them. But she sat close enough to rest her free hand upon her knee, her thumb absentmindedly stroking tenderly across the skinny joint.
"What is the promise?" Regina prompted when it became evidently clear that the younger woman was not going to speak again unless cued.
"First, maybe I should tell you about her…" Emma sighed as she tried to ignore the stirring that the affectionate trail of a thumb was eliciting. In the end she opted for threading her fingers through Regina's and resting their entwined hands in her lap. "Henry only half touched on it but I suspect that has a lot to do with how it was changed throughout the years and how some things, ultimately, after time, get left out of stories."
She paused, lifting her gaze to sepia and noted that she had Regina's full attention and the thumb was back, stroking the top of her hand instead.
"Go on," Regina urged huskily as she took another sip of her drink.
"What isn't known is how she became The Dark One," the blonde said lowly. "She thought was doing the right thing… even with her already being this monster that required lifeblood… she abandoned the only child she ever had…"
Regina noticed the flicker of Emma's irises once again and put her glass on the table in front of her, inching closer. Though they were already incredibly close in proximity she switched hands so she could gently massage the nape of her neck. She hoped that a physical reminder would keep her more grounded as she told the story.
"She… was human first and young. Barely even a teen…" The blonde's voice trailed off and then she cleared her throat as she phrased her next words delicately. "She was taken rather… violently by a group of men one day. She wasn't of a wealthy family but when she returned home late, she was discarded as if trash as soon as they figured out what had happened. She was sullied in their eyes, for something that wasn't even her fault. Not only that but she ended up pregnant from the liaison."
Regina could tell as she spoke that while it was Emma in control, the words flowed as if from another mouth. It might have been Emma's voice, but the words were not something the blonde would usually use and dark eyebrows knitted together as she remained silent.
"Her parents sent her away and afterwards she was sold, far from her village so as to not taint their reputation while lies of her death spread like wildfire. She worked hard in her new home, nobody suspected she was pregnant because they were not interested in a 'filthy slave'. She had no friends as after her experience she no longer trusted anybody."
Emma took a breath if only to continue and her voice wavered, pale features tight and bitter looking.
"It wasn't long after that she made a pact with a demon, trading her soul and ultimately giving up her child. She didn't know or care what happened for a long time. She did go after a few children… scared them but she never fed from them… it was enough though for them to pass the tale on. From there it grew into a story that was just told to children to scare them… what they didn't know… was a part of her…"
"Was searching for her child…" Regina finished for her and Emma lifted her head, looking directly at the brunette with conflicting emotions, as well as pulsing dark orbs, that ultimately shifted back into their bi-coloured lenses once again.
"Yes…" Emma breathed. "While she may have been a demon and sold her soul, her curiosity was enough to know that she was missing the knowledge of what happened. One condition when she gave up her child was that they not be harmed. Which was surprisingly upheld."
"Go on," Regina encouraged, her thumb still caressing the back of her hand.
Emma glanced towards the fireplace, her gaze resting there for a moment as she briefly recalled the time she had seen it with flames dancing. She sighed softly before turning back to the older woman and continuing her tale.
"It wasn't until after she became The Dark One, the second one I might add, that she found her. The reason she became The Dark One in the first place was because she wanted more power." Emma half smiled then as Regina made a slightly sarcastic grunt.
"Fancy that, A Dark One with a penchant for more power," Regina quipped, sepia orbs twinkling playfully as painted lips smirked.
"Well, you know," Emma shrugged as her grin grew wider and her blended gold locks fell over a skinny shoulder. "She was already pretty powerful. She and the original Dark One were enemies for quite a while until she successfully took the darkness from her when she least suspected it."
She took a breath and continued, watching the brunette closely as she did. "After she became The Dark One the magic allowed her to find and know who her child was. Though her child, by the time she found them, was no longer a child… she was a grown woman. She was not ready to have a relationship with her daughter but… her daughter made one request of her. That she could remain alive until her mother's curse was broken or even if it would be. Having never been asked anything of her daughter before, she grants it and allows one more… which in itself, instils a sense of hope within the young woman. A hope of reunion. But she also created a fail-safe which was then granted to her daughter... An enchanted urn…"
Emma waited for her words to sink in but when Regina simple waited, ever patient, for her to continue she half whispered, "A box if you will…"
"Oh," Regina breathed, cherry stained lips forming a perfect circle distracting the blonde momentarily.
"Do you mean..." Husky tones conveyed curiosity.
"Yes," Emma nodded.
"When you say a fail safe? What exactly do you mean?"
The blonde's eyes shifted briefly as she zeroed in on the brunette's almost convulsive swallow and she stared intently for a moment as she watched her heartbeat thrum away in her neck. Before she forced her gaze back up olive skin, across painted lips to sepia orbs where she was met with a concerned expression.
"It will release the darkness... it won't kill the vessel it just renders it void… but it will release that darkness back into the world…" The words dripped from her lips like a painted promise.
"Are you saying…" Husky tones wavered slightly but Emma was the one to shift closer this time, her other hand coming up to grasp the older woman's chin gently.
"I'm saying, that there is a way… I'm saying…" Emma hesitated but as the word weak taunted her inner thoughts, she fiercely, mentally growled back in response and moved closer almost defiantly and placed petite pink over full lips.
The kiss itself was soft and tender and held true to the words she whispered. "I want you… I want us… I want our little family. Together. I want all of it… I want a future… where I'm not infinite darkness. I want to give that up… I just hope that once you get your memories back… there will still be an us."
"Emma," Regina sighed, pulling the younger woman firmly onto her lap, trailing long fingers through her hair and resting her forehead against the blonde's cheek. She could feel the blonde's breath on her lips and she lifted her head slightly to kiss her briefly. "You don't have to worry about that. I know myself. I know I've had these feelings for a very long time and not just because of any implanted memories."
"Are you sure?" Emma asked carefully, her bi-coloured eyes staring intently into dark orbs.
"Yes," the brunette insisted. "Unless you planted memories from the first curse that I created…"
A slight shake of the younger woman's head and a small smile in response she pressed a kiss to the blonde's jaw line, relishing when she gave a sharp intake of breath indicating exactly what effect it was having on her. "I promise, that you don't have to worry about that. Just… know… that I'll have lost a friend and there might be pain with that. But it doesn't mean, that what I feel for you isn't true."
"Okay," The blonde said, her voice so small that Regina looked closer to see if the other woman's irises had transitioned back to emerald. While they were still two separate colours, they had lightened dramatically and upon seeing this, her stomach flipped happily and she lifted small hands to place a torrent of kisses on them.
"Now then," Regina purred. "When do you wish to do this? Do you know if she will see us?"
"She will…" Emma nodded again. "I would like to do this… sooner rather than later. But I understand if you need time."
"Why would I need time?" Regina queried, dark brows furrowing.
"To prepare yourself for the memories…" The blonde replied, her voice lowering into an almost whisper right as long olive fingers lifted her shirt and tenderly caressed her lower back.
"I'd rather go at your pace than worry about that… if you're ready, then I most certainly am also," Regina answered softly and nudged her nose to the blonde's chin.
Emma purred at the contact, her breath hitching and she pulled the brunette into her bodily with a low but brief moan.
"My pace is trying not to change gears right now," Emma said as she breathed in the brunette's intoxicating scent of apples and musk.
The low throaty chuckle did nothing to quench her desire, in fact, it only served to fuel the longing and she kissed delicately along the brunette's jaw until her mouth covered the other woman's, capturing full lips heatedly.
Regina kissed her back fervidly before she tilted Emma's head back and laid claim to her neck, with gentle nips and slow flicks of her tongue.
Slowly she made her way down the blonde's neck with heavy breaths and pressed delicate kisses to her collarbone.
The low moan caught her attention and the blonde sat up, their gazes caught as Emma determinedly pressed the brunette back, full lips pulled into a smirk as they both moved into a horizontal position on the couch.
Pale fingers trailed slowly down and over delicious olive skin, plucking away the undergarment until hardened peaks were exposed. Emma swallowed, pulling her lip between her teeth before she lowered herself and explored both breasts with lips and tongue.
Regina's breathing grew heavier and she held fast to blonde curls.
It wasn't long before the blonde lifted her dress, shucking the soft material up her navel and kissing a trail down a taut abdomen to tease mercilessly through her already soaked underwear.
She could still feel the dagger pressed temptingly upon a tan thigh, the brunette's hand coming almost absentmindedly to touch the hilt right as the younger woman briskly pushed the wet material aside and touched her tongue briefly to where she needed her most.
Regina's breath caught and her free hand came to direct the blonde only to have the other woman laugh, very much like what would have been expected from her darker counterpart. The younger woman dodged the brunette's hand and blew teasingly on the nub instead, delighting in the sensual shiver and moan it resulted in.
Emma teased Regina until she was literally writhing beneath her and after a very husky beg, the blonde caved and gave the brunette exactly what she wanted.
Regina's nails dug gently into a skinny shoulder urging her on until she quivered with a louder moan.
As the brunette was catching her breath, their eyes connected and instantly the blonde was kissing her, almost feverishly. Hands searching and grasping at dark skin as she returned them both to an upright position.
Regina popped the button to the jeans she wore and pressed her hand inside, pleasantly finding no underwear and that the blonde was more than ready.
She kissed her passionately and revelled in the slight gasp as she entered the blonde with long fingers, her thumb butting beautifully against her sweet spot as she did so.
Emma rocked on her hand, kissing the brunette harder until she had to breathe between her moans and she came apart in the brunette's arms with a series of sharp spasms. When it was clear that the younger woman was done, Regina removed her hand carefully.
Emma simply stared then as she pushed a long strand of blonde hair out of the way so she could take in the flushed olive skin and the almost giddy look that was now present on dark features.
Petite pink pulled into a small smile and she just stared for a moment until Regina interrupted her thoughts.
"What?" Regina asked with a slight chuckle as she grasped the blonde's chin and pressed a brief kiss to younger woman's lips again.
"I'm very lucky," Emma whispered and bi-coloured irises twinkled but pale cheeks flushed a deeper red. "Even with everything that is going on and you still want me…"
"Emma," Regina breathed and kissed her tenderly, almost as if she was fragile and not as though she held an infinite darkness. "I'm going to promise you something now and mark my words," she exhaled and then smiled encouragingly. "Even when I was chasing my happy ending, even when I thought I had it… I knew I didn't. I knew that my heart was elsewhere and had been for a very long time. Before you came it had been a very long time since anyone had even tried to climb my walls let alone break them. I realised that you were evoking in me something simpler and albeit complex. But I know… in here…" She lifted Emma's hand and pressed it firmly against her chest, where the blonde could feel her rapidly beating heart. "You've been in here for a long time… and it's where you're going to stay."