See previous chapters for summaries and warnings.

Thanks for the incredible response to this fic! Keep the reviews coming.

Once more, it is important to remember that Cora has cursed Kathryn to be this way and she is the Evil Queen here. She married Leopold. Regina and Snow are step-sisters and love each other. Thanks for all the reviews. Except the negative troll reviews. I delete those and respond to them accordingly. This story is for true Snowing fans that know something like an age gap would never hinder their love.

There is also a love scene in this chapter and it is marked if that's not your thing and you'd rather skip it.

The curse has lasted 20 years in this verse until they found Storybrooke.

Here are individual responses:

AnonSnowing: I finally got around to reading your PM and responded. Sorry it took me so long. The holidays were crazy and I'm glad they're over, haha. Little David is adorable and Snowing definitely deserved a good night's sleep. Yeah, Snow sort of had to think he was safe to keep herself from losing hope. They do balance each other. No, the papers are real. Gold had them done before he went to jail and Spencer was just trying to intimidate David into calling off the divorce. He may have ripped them up, but it doesn't stop the process. Gold will just draw them up again. Yep, August is going to publish that story. Yes, unfortunately, Cora is about to know everything. Yeah, it's easier to have sympathy for Regina here. Cora is unfortunately up to no good as you'll find out. :)

Grace5231973: Glad you liked it! The fall out of the article will be interesting and as you'll find out in this chapter, Cora is going to go and further complicate things. :)

Jennifer Baratta: Glad you enjoyed it!

Number Ten: I know, it's not really Graham's fault. Yep, a fight is definitely coming.

Sexystarwarslover: Yep, Cora bugged the station, which is really bad. I know, the Snowing scene with their grandson was pure sugar. Unfortunately, Cora knows everything now and has more dastardly things in store. The sapling has to be protected for sure. Yep, August is going to run that story and Rumple is free so we're headed for quite a fight. :)

A Darker Curse

Chapter 19: Walking the Wire

Cora sat in her car in her driveway and she dialed a number on her cell phone.

"Sheriff," Graham answered.

"Did you do what I requested?" she asked sternly.

"I did...it was wrong and I still don't know why I did that for you. But it's done," Graham answered. She smirked and got into her car.

"Good boy," she cooed condescendingly, before she started the car and turned the radio into tune into the bug that she had forced the Sheriff to plant for her. If they wanted a fight...then they were going to get one.

"With this," she heard a man say and it sounded like August.

"This is quite bold. You need to be ready for the backlash," that was unmistakably Rumple's voice and though she had no idea what he was warning them of, he was absolutely right.

"You have no idea, Rumple...and you'll be among those I take revenge on now," she said, as she looked over the files that Sidney had dug up for her. She smirked and continued to listen.

"We are. You once told us that the final battle would begin as soon as the curse was broken and we're going to be ready for it," that voice gave Cora pause. It was definitely the prince, but this talk of the final battle was odd. Unless…

"Which begs another question. The curse is very specifically designed so that the product of your true love is the only thing that can break it," it was Rumple's voice and he was definitely talking to the Prince. A Prince that was very much awake.

"There are only a few ways I can think of that could restore your memories beforehand," she heard Rumple speak again, confirming such.

"It was our sapling...a true love sapling that we didn't even know about," that was Snow's voice and it made her clench her teeth. That little retch had been a thorn in her side for far too long and just when she thought she'd been rid of her, she had returned to foil Cora's happy ending.

"No one knew about it...but after you mentioned it last night, I think I went into one of my author trances, because this was in the book this morning," that voice was the puppet again, but she had no idea what this author nonsense was about.

"Remarkable...for all the things I see, I didn't see this one," she heard Rumple say. She didn't know exactly what he was looking at, but she planned to find out.

"Does Cora have any inkling that this sapling exists?" Rumple asked.

"We don't think so...it's safe for now," the Prince answered. Cora smirked.

"Not anymore, Prince Charming," she cooed.

"You need to keep it that way. This sapling is pure magic...true love's magic," Rumple said, making Cora chuckle.

"Well...thank you for the information, Rumple. It will be invaluable," she said.

"Do you think...the sapling could break the curse?" she heard Snow ask.

"As powerful as it is...the curse is written with very specific language. I must confess that I bottled a potion made of your true love and hid it...for a rainy day," Rumple answered.

"Oh Rumple...I'm disappointed in you. Putting all your cards on true love...especially Snow White and Prince Charming's is foolish," she said quietly.

"I know...my son is the author," she heard Snow say. The author...she didn't know of what significance that was, but she knew texts in her collection that probably could tell her something.

"Wait...that was what was in the golden egg you made me hide in Maleficent?" Charming exclaimed. Cora smirked.

"Bingo...so Maleficent is here somewhere in Storybrooke. That was a very nice touch getting that one past me, Rumple," she mused.

"But there's no dragon in Storybrooke,"

"Sure about that, dearie?"

"You brought a dragon to Storybrooke?"

"No...but the curse did. She's...asleep, for now,"

"Okay...so I think the question I'd like to know is, how do I break the curse? Cause we've been here for a while and I still have no idea how to get it done,"

"Sorry dearie...I didn't foresee how you do it. I only saw that you did."

"We'll see about that, Rumple," she mused, as she turned off the radio as her phone rang and she answered.

"Hello," she said.

"Is this Mayor Cora Mills?" a voice asked.

"It is...to whom am I speaking?" she asked.

"This is the Portland Police Department. I'm Captain Selvig. What can I do for you?" he asked.

"I think I may have a couple of persons of interest responsible for crimes in your area here in my very nice, small town," she said.

"Really? And how did you become aware that they may be suspects?" he questioned.

"Like I said, Captain...I run a very small, quiet town. We don't get many new people, but when we do, I take the protection of my people very seriously and I had my Sheriff run their names through the database. I realize it's not exactly ethical, but I must see that my town is protected," she explained.

"I understand that. I assume they popped up in the criminal system?" he asked.

"They did. Neal Cassidy and Emma Swan," she replied.

"Cassidy? Cassidy is in your town?" he asked in surprise.

"Yes...then you remember his case?" Cora asked.

"He's wanted for Grand Larceny here and in Phoenix. I'm going to have to fight them for who gets to prosecute him," the Captain replied.

"Well, if I'm correct, it would be whoever gets to him first gets to throw him in their jail and I don't plan on calling Phoenix if you send a couple detectives to come pick him up," Cora said.

"That's good of you, Madam Mayor. I will dispatch a couple of my detectives. Where are you located?" he asked.

"A very small town in Maine. In fact, it's so small that we often get left off most maps. However, I have taken the liberty of mailing a special map to you so your detectives can find us. It should be in your mail today hopefully," Cora replied.

"That's helpful of you...I'll look for it and dispatch my best," he said.

"Oh, you have no idea how much at ease that puts me, but there is the matter of his accomplice, Emma Swan. Her records show that she has an association with Mr. Cassidy," Cora replied.

"Yes...we suspected she was helping him knock off convenience stores, but we could never prove anything other than guilt by association. The district attorney wanted more than that to bring her in," the Captain answered.

"Well, she is definitely in association with him. She had his child, after all. Isn't that enough to at least extradite her for questioning?" Cora asked.

"That I didn't know and it may very well be. I will be in touch," he answered, as they ended the call. Letting outsiders into Storybrooke would be risky, but if they could take the Savior away and she could ensure she was tossed in jail, then it would ensure her curse wouldn't be broken. And getting Baelfire put in jail beside her was the perfect revenge against Rumple for his betrayal of her. She smirked and dialed a number on her phone.

"Now to keep tabs on the two idiots," she murmured.

"Hello," Sidney answered.

"Mr. Glass...I have a job for you," she said.

"I thought I was supposed to be laying low. Deputy Swan will arrest me if she sees me," he argued.

"You're going to do what I tell you to do!" Cora snapped.

"And you'll not worry about Deputy Swan...I'll be handling her," she added.

"What can I do for you, Madam Mayor?" he asked.

"As we speak, Mary Margaret Swan and her boy toy are leaving the station. I want you to follow, unnoticed of course, and take photos of any and all exploits they may engage in. Then report back to me and do not get caught," she said sternly.

"Of course," he answered, as the line went dead.

"You think you've all won...but this battle has just begun," Cora muttered.

Snow and Charming got out of his truck, as he parked it near the troll bridge. They shared a smile and joined hands, as they trekked toward the cave.

"Just when I thought this place couldn't have more meaning to us," she said wistfully.

"It's the place we fell in love. The place we first talked...I mean really talked when I was still cursed," he said. She nodded.

"And it's the place where I got you back," she said, as they stopped outside the cave.

"And now we're here...just a prince and a princess on an adventure," he mused. She smiled and her eyes fluttered closed, as he leaned in to kiss her tenderly. She slipped her arms around his neck and their lips parted briefly, as they stared at each, before they came crashing together again. She mewled into his kiss, as he moved his lips passionately over hers. When they finally parted, they pressed their foreheads together, as they attempted to get their breath. As usual, he left her feeling breathless and unhinged, in the most euphoric way possible. He smiled at her, as they joined hands again and went inside the cave.

"It's amazing...there's no sunlight or water in this cave and it's survived all these years," Snow mentioned. He smiled at her.

"Just like our love," he said, as a green glow was cast upon them, breaking through the darkness of the cave. He stepped closer and cupped her face in his hands, as he kissed her passionately. Snow slipped her arms around his neck, as he kissed her deeply and she lost herself in him once again. Her breathing came in ragged gasps, as his lips slipped to her throat and he nipped purposefully. She was beside herself in pleasure, as the hands and lips she had craved for twenty-years were kissing her and touching her. He gently backed her against the wall, as her hands skated all over his strong back and he alternated between kissing her lips and her throat. She thrilled, as he sucked at her pulse point, ensuring she'd be wearing his mark. So like her Charming to mark her for all to see. Their lips finally parted and they panted together, as he pressed his forehead against hers, their faces only lit by the dim green glow of their true love sapling.

"I want to be with you…" he confessed, through gasps of air, as he gazed into her eyes. She bit her bottom lip to keep a scream of pure joy from escaping her lips and swallowed.

"You know that I'll wait as long as you need. I get it if you're not ready…" she promised. He smiled gently at her and nuzzled her nose with his.

"I know...and if it was anyone except you, then I'd probably have no interest in sex," he admitted.

"But it is you and I'm always going to want you, Snow. Not just because you're my wife...my real wife, but also because it's never just been sex between us," he said softly. She smiled coyly.

"That's very true," she replied.

"With us...it's just so much more than that. I'm not even sure lovemaking quite describes it," he said, as they looked at their sapling.

"I guess it's no wonder though if just our touch could create that," he said, nodding to it. She giggled and kissed him soundly.

"We make magic, my love," she said, with a giddiness she hadn't experienced in twenty-years. He smiled at that.

"Yeah...magic is a good way to describe what's between us," he said, as they gently picked up the sapling.

"This will be safe with us tonight and we can take it to Gold in the morning. Let's go home," he said, as they with their sapling in hand and arms around each other.

"Mama…" little David whined in his highchair.

"All right, buddy...I think the fries are cool enough now," Emma said, as she put some fries on his tray. Neal smiled, as he watched their son pick up the french fries with his chubby little fingers and start chowing down.

"He's a good eater...just like his mom," Neal teased. She looked at him in mock outrage and then dissolved into a smile, with a shrug of acknowledgement.

"So true," she agreed.

"I remember...anything with a high sugar content or deep fried and breaded," he teased again.

"I find it hard to believe that Snow would let you eat all that junk," Regina commented.

"She didn't, but she didn't know I usually used my milk money for the vending machine," Emma said.

"And she definitely doesn't know about your stash of junk food you keep in the drawer at the station," Neal said, as she looked at him incredulously.

"You better replace anything you took," she said seriously and he rolled his eyes. Emma really took her pop-tarts seriously.

"Fine, I owe you a box of blueberry," he admitted, as Regina got a text.

"It's Snow...they got the sapling and they're heading back to the loft," she said.

"I thought they were coming here for dinner?" Emma asked, as she munched on her onion rings. Regina chuckled.

"Yeah, something tells me that those two are going to have each other for dinner," she said bluntly, causing Emma to choke.

"Seriously? I do not need those kind of mental images, ugh…" she complained.

"I'm really happy my parents are finally together, but there are things a daughter should not know," she added.

"I agree, but you might want to wait a bit to go back to the loft tonight," she mused.

"Great…" Emma muttered.

"Don't worry...you can come to my house and I'll make us cocoa. I'd love to spend a bit more time with my grand nephew," she cooed, as she lifted the little boy into her arms.

"Okay...as long as you have cinnamon and I guess if anyone deserves a night alone, it's definitely my parents," she agreed, as they got up and put their coats on.

"You coming?" Emma asked to Neal.

"I wasn't sure I was invited," he replied. She rolled her eyes.

"You're little David's father...so it's implied now. Let's go," she said. He smiled and joined them, as Regina paid the check and they left the diner.

When they arrived home at the loft, Snow placed the sapling on the bedside table, while he hung up their coats. For twenty years, this moment hadn't been far from her mind. Naturally, she was nervous, because she was older and there were changes in her body. He was still the same though, young and handsome. He would always be handsome though, she was sure, even when he did get older. And he insisted she was still as beautiful as they day he met her. Still, there were a lot of people out there that would tell them that they couldn't work anymore. Most people would say that they had each been through too much for this to ever work. And she knew how narrow minded it was of those people to think that something like a number could come between a love like they had, but their words still gnawed at those insecurities she had in the back of her mind.

"They don't know us," she heard him say, as she turned to see him come through the curtain she had around the bed.

"What?" she asked in surprise and he smiled at her.

"I don't care what people say, Snow. Something like an age gap can't sully what we have," he said.

"How…" she started to say and then stopped. She knew how. Many things may have changed, but his ability to read her like a book was not one of those.

"My love for you is...boundless. It's in my blood and sinew," he said passionately, as he gazed down at her.

"It goes beyond our world and this world. I told you once that we have eternal love that transcends any realm...even death someday. If you remember, that whole death do us part thing wasn't in our vows, at least not in the first time when Lancelot married us," he reminded. She smiled and tears welled in her eyes at the memory. It was such a bittersweet day. It had been just them, their very dear friend Lancelot, and his dying mother.

"Having you back in my life is a blessing I will not take for granted, nor will I let idle gossip intrude and make a mockery of our vows," he added. A tear slipped down her cheek.

"Nothing could do that. They can try...but they can't tear asunder what they do not understand. I'm just still getting used to it," she said. He smiled gently, urging her to continue, for he sensed that she needed to say a few things as well.

"Life was always so hard out there and I knew it was hard, because I didn't have you. I got used to everything being so hard," she said.

"I lost hope once in my life, when I was on the run from Cora, but then I met you and it was awakened in me again," she added, as her face became sad and her eyes watery.

"And then when I had to leave you behind, it almost died in me again. Emma and August are the only reason I had any hope at all during those years," she cried.

"Every time our daughter smiled...there you were and the tiny flicker inside my heart reminded me that hope was still alive and that I would find you. I had to, because I knew my heart would eventually give way without you. It would have long ago without my kids," she confessed.

"And now that I have you back, it's still taking some getting used to the fact that I'm not alone anymore and I have you back; someone that understands me like no one else does," she sniffed.

"I know that we still have a lot to face and that none of it is going to be easy. All the stuff around us has never been easy...but our love is. My love for you is as easy as breathing and I know that we'll face it all together," he said. She smiled.

"My love for you is as easy as breathing too and now that I have you again, I'm never letting you go," she replied.

"Good...because I'm not letting go either," he agreed, as they stared deeply into each other's eyes and their lips crashed together in a passionate coupling.

"You're sure?" she asked breathlessly, as their lips parted.

"Oh yeah…" he breathed, as he kissed her again.

"Are you?" he asked, just to be sure when their lips parted again. She gave him a sultry smirk.

"What do you think, handsome?" she asked coyly. He smiled and their lips met again and he slowly backed her toward the bed for what would be a reunion that they had waited twenty-years for…

_Snowing_

Snow breathed in ragged gasps, as her husband kissed his way down her throat and to her collarbone. She struggled with the buttons on his shirt, but finally managed to undo them all and eagerly let the garment fall from his shoulders and become a puddle on the floor.

"Ohhh…" she moaned internally, as she bit her bottom lip again. She'd seen him like this hundreds of times, but she had been without him for so long too so having him like this again was almost overwhelming. In the very best way though. She licked her lips gently palmed her hands along his bare, muscled torso. He kissed her deeply and grasped the hem of her shirt. Their lips parted and she held her breath, as he pulled her shirt over her head. She looked into his eyes and saw nothing but love and desire shining in them. Their lips crashed together again and she pulled at his belt, as he went for the button her jeans. They managed to find their way out of their jeans and she gasped, as she felt his arousal pressing against her belly. She panted, as he kissed his way down her throat and to the tops of her breasts.

"Charming…" she pleaded and she felt his hands go to her thighs. She locked her arms around his neck and her body thrilled, as he lifted her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist, as they tumbled to the bed. Intense making out resumed and hands roamed, their bodies responding in kind as they always did when they were intimate. It had been a very long time, but it seemed their bodies had not forgotten each other's touch or feel. His strong hands caressed her shoulders and pulled her bra straps down as they did, until they finally traveled to her breasts, cupping them gently and earning an impassioned cry from her. Snow managed to unhook her bra for him and he tossed it away, as touched her there with his hands and his mouth.

"Charming…" she whimpered, lost in a haze of pleasure, as she arched her hips against his. He groaned, as she rubbed her sex against his and he slipped her panties down her shapely legs.

"I love you…" he managed to say, his voice husky and full of passion.

"I love you...I need you…" she begged, as she finally rid them of the last barrier between them and his hard shaft was freed from the confines of his boxers. She licked her lips and mewled, as her eyes devoured his bare form. He was even more gorgeous than she remembered. He finally pushed inside her, slowly at first, until he was all the way in. He stopped briefly, as they breathed together and stared into each other's eyes. He braced himself, palms on either side of her head, as he began to move. She lost herself in him, as he brought her pure ecstasy with his languid thrusts. Their lips crashed together, as they took and gave pleasure to each other in equal synchronization. His cock pulsed inside her and her walls hugged him tightly, as he pumped his hips, faster and faster. Their skin glistened with perspiration and Snow kissed him passionately, moving her lips over his, just as he moved inside her. She released his lips, as her climax drew closer and pressed her forehead against his, as he sought to make her come. She cried out for him, as he made love to her and as he always did, he held her as she came. It was incredible and beautiful as always, with stars exploding behind her eyes and her insides quaking in the storm of pleasure. He was seconds behind her, as he came inside her, and she welcomed in her arms when he collapsed atop her. She kissed his forehead and caressed his face, as he pressed his lips to hers again and finally managed to pull himself from her hot depths. He rolled onto his back and pulled her with him, as she now lay atop his glistening chest. Oh how she had missed their lovemaking and now they would cuddle and he would hold her in his arms; something else she missed desperately as well.

"I love you…" he whispered, as he entwined his fingers with hers. She smiled up at him.

"I love you too...and I'm never letting you go again," she promised.

_Snowing_

Cora sat in her house and idly looked through the photos Sidney had gotten developed for her. She groaned and downed more alcohol as she was forced to see the two idiots in all kind of intimate embraces and kisses. But that wasn't all she saw and she took curious note of this mysterious sapling that she had heard about. Now that she was seeing it, she wanted to scoff at the ridiculousness of it. But the glowing in it was unmistakable. This thing was magic and Sidney had been very confused by what he had seen, as his cursed mind had a lot of trouble comprehending it. She had brushed him off and told him it was none of his concern. She really didn't have a clear plan to combat this yet, but she knew that this sapling had to be destroyed. Once she did that and neutralized the threat of their daughter, then she'd take great pleasure in making these two pay for all their trouble. She smirked and took another drink.

"Enjoy your time with him, dear Snow. I took him away once...and I can take him away again...