How about some fun and games with Cora and the modern world? ;) Thank you to all of those who left a review for the last chapter! I get all giddy and excited when I see a new one! Please leave a review for this chapter as well and I do hope you enjoy the read :)

"So...you have something that will help me...in this tiny little space..."

"Really Miss Swan you think so little of me."

Emma rolled her eyes at Regina's platonic tone and watched as she walked to the side of the sealed stone coffin. She watched with a doubtful eyebrow raised and her arms folded over her chest when Regina stopped at its side but it all made sense when the woman began to push it aside to reveal a hidden passage, "oooooh!"

"Yes. 'Oh'," Regina nodded and started making her way down the narrow staircase.

"That's clever," Emma commented as she cautiously followed Regina down underground, "well this is a lot bigger than I expected."

"It is bigger than this I assure you but I will not be taking you on a tour."

"Bummer," Emma stated plainly as she studied her surroundings. Gaped at them really.

"Come along, Miss Swan," Regina called over her shoulder to grab the woman's attention once again, "we have to find you a trinket."

"Like what?" Emma asked as Regina stopped in front of a mirror. When she touched it a secret door revealed itself and clicked open much to Emma's fascination.

"A ring, a bracelet, preferably a necklace so it is closer to your heart. Try to refrain from touching anything," she instructed over her shoulder and walked in to the bright room knowing full well that Emma was going to end up touching practically everything.

"Wow," Emma blinked as she stepped inside and the door shut behind her on its own accord. It was a bright room but it was comforting and nice. There were mirrors placed everywhere around the room as well as a great selection of truly impressive gowns displayed on black mannequins, "where'd these come from?"

"My closet," Regina answered simply as she searched the room for her jewels.

"You wore these?!"

"Yes."

"I can't see you in these," Emma shook her head as she traced the intricate embroidery over the bodice of a purple gown and then looked up at the collar that flared up and out. Then a mischievous smile curved her lips, "put one on."

"No."

"Awe come on, Regina!"

"We are here to get your magic temporarily placated not play dress up."

"What about this one?" Emma offered as she moved to a red velvet gown with black lace down the chest.

"Miss Swan-"

"Or this one?"

With a roll of her eyes Regina flicked her wrist at the black gown and watched Emma leap back with a panicked yelp when the queen filled the dress rather than the mannequin. It was the black gown she had worn when Snow had managed to cut her with a sword. Embroidered fabric gave it texture and then of course there was the plunging neckline that was covered by translucent black fabric, "satisfied?"

Emma glanced at the modern Regina she knew and then back to the woman stepping down from her pedestal whose dark eyes pierced in to her with predator-like amusement. They were enhanced with dark make up and long hair pulled in to a high ponytail tumbled over her shoulder as she stalked up to her, "holy shit, Regina!"

"You wanted to see."

"Yeah but this isn't exactly what I had in mind!"

"She can't hurt you. She's not really there. It's just an image," she deadpanned and turned back to her searching.

"O-okay," she nodded and when she stopped walking backwards the queen stopped moving forward. She took a breath and shook off the excess nerves so she could study the woman in front of her. Dark, twisted, predatory, "are you sure? Cause you-I mean-she looks like she's going to kill me and thoroughly enjoy it."

"I have mused upon that thought before," Regina hummed sweetly with her words as she walked to another carved wooden box.

"I thought fairytale villains were supposed to be...not attractive."

"It is so much easier to manipulate when you have a particularly distracting appearance," Regina smirked as the queen exuded bone chilling and yet pleasing power and gave off enough to have dear Emma Swan question her life choices. And the queen wasn't even truly there. Regina would be lying if she said she didn't find some satisfaction in the power of her past image.

"I'm pretty sure I'm gonna have some wild dreams now," Emma shook her head as she looked the woman up and down.

"I'm sure it won't be the first time I've plagued your filthy mind," Regina stated indifferently but couldn't help the smirk that pulled at her mouth when she heard Emma laugh.

"Aren't you just hilarious," Emma scoffed at her with a laugh and looked back to the queen who cocked her head at her just a fraction with a smooth blink. Like a cat. A big powerful cat that could kill with a flick of her wrist but you just had to stay and watch, "super sexy though."

"It is what I am known for."

"Shameless too."

"What is there to be ashamed of?" Regina smirked at the blonde and moved to another jewelry box.

Emma laughed with a shake of her head and carefully walked past the queen to look at other outfits and when she looked over her shoulder to check on the queen she was gone and the dress was on the mannequin untouched. When she turned around again she spotted a different outfit. A very different outfit. A gentle baby blue coat that had a corduroy-like texture but was far too expensive to be corduroy. Beneath it was a white blouse with a puffed collar and it was paired with beige riding pants and black riding boots.

It was a softer outfit. A more youthful and gentler outfit but it was no smaller in size than the rest of her wardrobe. "What's this one, Regina?" She called curiously and reached forward to touch it. She gasped and jumped when Regina appeared out of nowhere and snatched her wrist and pulled it away as she leaned forward in to her space with a threat.

"Do not touch that," she tucked her chin in a stern warning and Emma quickly nodded her agreement. Regina let go of her and with a final stare she turned and walked away.

Emma let out a breath she didn't quite realize she was holding and then looked at the outfit again curiously before she went and followed Regina. She had several necklaces hanging neatly from her hand and seemed not to bother herself with rings and bracelets which was smart because Emma found she really wasn't the type to wear them and she had already assumed she was going to have to wear it constantly.

"What about this one?" Emma questioned as she lifted a dainty silver chain with an impressively detailed silver horse caught at a gallop hanging from it. She watched Regina glance up at it for more than a moment before she looked back at her moving fingers.

"No. Snow gave that to me when she was younger."

"Oh..." Emma responded and watched Regina for a little longer before she looked back at the necklace, "sentimental then," she added quietly and gently placed it back on its hook.

"Saving us the trouble of Snow recognizing it and questioning why it is that I am giving her daughter pretty jewelry."

"Fair enough," Emma nodded but carefully and silently noted that there was no whisper of a denial in Regina's reason. She was beginning to learn that Regina was a very, very complicated person. Very complicated.

"Any of these?"

Snapping back from her thoughts on the little horse, Emma looked through the necklaces hanging from Regina's fingers and couldn't help but smile at the woman's selection. Apparently Regina knew her better than she had thought. All of them were simple and small, nothing big or heavy or noticeable. She also noticed that they all carried a gem of some sort, "are these all real?"

"Of course."

"And you are just going to give me a diamond?" She questioned up at her with a raised eyebrow.

"If you have not yet noticed, I am swimming in diamonds and various other precious gems down here. That coat alone is embroidered with thousands of them in various sizes. I assure you I can part with a few slung on a chain. Besides, the enchantment will work better with the inclusion of a diamond."

"Alright. If you say so," and with that she dropped her attention back to her choices. "This one," she nodded and picked the thin silver chain from Regina's finger. Hanging off it was a single round diamond set in silver and it was roughly the size of a small pea.

"Very good," Regina nodded and tidily hung the others back in the standing box and walked toward the exit, "let's go."

...

"I feel like I need safety goggles or something," Emma commented as she watched Regina mix various things in her small cauldron-like pot. She stood bent at the waist with her folded arms on the stone table and her chin on her arms so she could watch Regina closely.

"You'll be fine," Regina shook her head and then looked up and reached forward, plucking a strand of blonde hair from Emma's head.

"Ow!" She yelped and stood up abruptly with a hand on her head, "warning next time!"

"Would it have made a difference in your level of pain?"

"No but still. It's not nice to just rip people's hair out without warning."

"Would you like me to try again?"

"No thank you," Emma grumbled and Regina laughed under her breath, "so do I have to wear it all the time?"

"Until routines get sorted out, yes."

"What do you mean?"

"Once everyone is settled we can start working on your control."

"...we?"

"You and I."

"You're going to teach me magic?"

"No you already have magic. I am going to teach you how to use it and control it so you are not dependent on a sparkly rock around your neck," she pushed her hand forward in a request and Emma placed the necklace in her palm.

"Oh...I didn't think you were actually...uh, thank you."

"You're welcome."

"...you're not going to have me rip out hearts and shit are you?"

"No," Regina laughed with a shake of her head and carefully dropped he necklace in to her enchantment, "no I won't have you doing that."

"Alright cool. This is still a secret though...right?"

"Of course. I won't tell anyone until you want me to."

"Thank you," she nodded and Regina nodded in return before she lifted the necklace out of the pot with her magic.

...

The house was filled with silence and when David stepped in to Henry's room the boy didn't even glance up at him from the comic book he was reading on his bed. He had to win him over somehow. Without a word David sat on the floor next to the bed and still Henry didn't acknowledge him. "I've got a plan."

Henry didn't want to talk to him. He wanted him to go away but he had better manners than that, "a plan for what?" He asked tiredly without looking David's way and then a little red dot from a laser pointer appeared on his comic book and he watched it curiously.

"Cora's downstairs," he grinned and it only widened when Henry started to smile that devious smile of his.

...

Cora stepped around the room with her fingers touching the spine of every book. When she stopped it was when her fingertips found a black spine with no title or author. Curious as to what it could be, she pulled it from its place and opened it to find pictures of Regina and a little baby. No one had yet explained how these captured moments were created but she would ask later.

With her eyes on the book she walked to the couch and sat down and began studying each and every image. She couldn't help but smile at her daughter's joy with the small child in her arms. She wanted that. She wanted Regina to smile like that in her presence. Spending so much time alone had given her a different perspective and what little maternal instinct she had, had managed to kick in. After years of holding the throne as the Queen of Hearts she found herself missing the thing she had put so much time and effort in to.

Her daughter.

While in Wonderland she heard the stories of her daughter's reign and it made her proud. And while waiting in time for twenty eight years she felt the want for her company grow stronger. She missed having her close more than she realized. It was only when she had seen and lost her back in the Enchanted Forest that she felt the full blow of that loss.

Her thoughts stopped when a small red dot appeared on her hand and began moving around. Her eyebrows furrowed together as she frowned at it and lifted her hand a little to inspect it closer. She tried catching it in her other hand but it moved and rested atop that hand instead. She couldn't say what it was. She had never seen anything like it before. It was quite an interesting creature whatever it was.

"KILL IIIIIT!"

Cora jumped up and shouted in panic at Henry's sudden and very loud war cry, "what-"

Henry let out another vicious war cry and leapt over the photo album that had fallen to the floor and chased the dot around the room. He had intentions to get Cora wearing an equally ridiculous outfit as he. A small pot on his head with a long handle, bright red oven mitts on each hand, his black apron, and bright orange swimming goggles. What else would he wear while hunting bugs that burst in to flame? In all honesty he was trying hard not to laugh at himself and break character.

"What are you doing?!" Cora huffed out as she tried to calm her heart rate.

"It's on you! Get it off get it off!" He pointed and Cora lifted her arms as she looked down at herself, "get it off!" He shouted and jumped at her causing her to jump a step back.

"What is it?!"

"It's an ember gnat! It sets fire to anything it touches!"

"...what?!"

"I'm serious! Don't let it-!" He jumped forward again, swatting at Cora's stomach as she jumped back, "touch anything for more than four seconds! That's how long it takes to get hot enough to set fires!"

"I've never-"

"Hurry! Help me kill it before it sets the house on fire!" He yelled as he followed the laser pointer across the room and tried not to laugh as he slapped at the books with his oven mitt hands, "use your magic or something!" And moments after the words left his mouth he nearly burst out laughing when a section of books went flying off the shelf.

"No! Paper lights faster! What are you doing?!"

"I don't know!"

"We have to catch it or crush it!"

"Alright, alright!"

Henry froze for a second and looked around the room without moving his head, only his eyes moved as he looked out through his goggles, "where'd it go?" He whispered and pivoted half a step, pushing aside a few fallen books with his feet.

He bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from laughing as Cora looked around the room with wide hectic eyes in search of the little red 'bug'. "It's in your hair," he whispered and Cora's wide eyes snapped to his, "mum says hair can catch on fire...hence the pot."

Cora watched as he tapped the pot on his head and half a second later she was jumping to the side and shaking her hands through her hair.

"Quick! It's getting away!" He pointed and ran out the door of the living room and passed David who quickly made himself hidden so Cora wouldn't see him when she hurried out of the living room. "You have to help me kill it before mom gets home!" He slapped his hand against the wall and then his other hand on top of that and then repeated the movement knowing quite well that he was never going to catch the light.

"I can't reach it!" He growled as he jumped up and tried to reach the dot. Cora quickly came to his aid and began slapping the wall and Henry swallowed a laugh before he shouted, "no! Not with your bare hands! Are you crazy?! It'll burn you!"

"What else am I supposed to use?!"

...

Regina opened the front door to her home to find chaos. She didn't even manage to close the door all the way before she stopped in her tracks. Henry ran down the hall in to the foyer yelling at the top of his lungs and slid to a halt in his sock feet before he sprinted off in to the dining room. He had a silver pot on his head, goggles over his eyes, oven mitts on his hands, and a glass of water in each hand. Her eyes widened even more when her mother appeared running after him with tinfoil wrapped around her head so her hair was up inside it, her own pair of oven mitts, and her own glasses of water.

"What in the hell," she whispered to herself as she closed the door behind her and cautiously walked further in to her home. There were spilt splashes of water on the floor as well as the walls, the chairs in the dining room had been tipped over and stacked, vases shattered, books scattered, mirrors and picture frames hanging crooked on the walls.

Henry came tearing down the hall once more having looped through the kitchen but abruptly bounced and slid to a halt when he laid eyes on his mother. "Hi mum," he grinned and slunk back a little in preparation for his lecture.

"What in god's name do you think you are doing?"

"Cora's helping me catch the ember gnat that got in the house."

"The what?"

"It would have been nice to know that such dangerous creatures live in this land," Cora added and motioned to her daughter who looked back at her with her mouth open and brow furrowed in furious confusion as her hands were up a little at her sides.

"What are you two talking about?!"

"Right there! On your hand!"

Regina looked to her hand as Cora leaned toward her in preparation to leap at her. She stared at the red dot on her hand and flipped her hand from palm up to palm down and then back again. When Henry broke and covered his mouth with his red oven mitt to keep himself from laughing, Regina took a long breath and closed her eyes. Henry merely started laughing harder and when Regina opened her eyes she found David coming out of hiding laughing so hard it was silent.

"And here I thought I could leave you here alone without supervision," Regina shook her head at him but he simply leaned back against the wall and sunk to the floor with a loud laugh that had Henry laughing even harder.

"What is happening? I don't understand."

"Was this really necessary?" Regina sighed as she stretched her arm forward in a demand for the laser pointer. David was laughing too hard to answer from his place on the floor but he did manage to toss her the laser pointer and she caught it with one hand. With a huff of air out her nose she lifted her hand so Cora could see her palm and then clicked the laser on and off a few times so the red dot appeared and disappeared from her palm, "it's just a little red light. Not an...ember gnat or whatever they told you it was."

"Regina!" David called suddenly but then lost himself in a long bout of hard laughter before he tried again, "Regina, Regina, I got some of it on video!" He clapped his hands and fought for air through his hysterical laughter.

"So this was all a joke?" Cora bit out as she sharply pulled off her yellow oven mitts but David and Henry could only nod as they laughed until they were wiping away tears.

"So damn funny! I don't know how you didn't break character," David laughed and squeezed Henry's shoulder after Henry dropped down beside him.

"I will get you back for this," Cora growled as she unwrapped the tinfoil from her head and let her hair back down.

"Clean up the house you three," Regina shook her head and walked past them all in to the dining room to make it to the kitchen so she could start on dinner.

David took a couple of breaths to quiet his laughter and then raised his hand with three fingers up. He counted down from three silently, lowering his fingers one by one has Henry tried his very hardest not to laugh out loud. Three. Two. One.

"What in the hell were you doing in here?!"

Once again Henry and David burst in to uncontrollable laughter as Regina's enraged and baffled voice rang through the house. The laughter was only increased when Cora whipped her oven mitts at them before walking away muttering angrily under her breath. When David raised his hand, Henry lifted his as well and followed through with a high five as they continued to laugh.