The Queen paced her vault. Bloodlets dripped from her clenched fists, pooling on black, marble floors. She barely registered the bite of her nails against her palms.
She should whip Emma for speaking her name like that. She should whip her for a lot of things… Speaking to her soldiers, keeping secrets, harboring her enemies… How could Emma do that to her? After everything they'd shared…
The Queen trembled; rage and adrenaline coursing through her veins. Her blood felt alive: dark and electric. If she was going to speak with Emma, she needed to calm down. Or find a suitable outlet. Perhaps her knights had managed to track down the pirate. She could torture him. A few hot needles beneath his fingernails should loosen his tongue.
The scream that tore from her throat was primal. Power exploded from her fingertips, shattering windows, potion bottles and mirrors… all save one … She faced the looking glass on her wall and the image rippled.
Emma sat on the floor of their room. She was red faced; her eyes puffy. Her fingers dug at the shackles around her ankles, warm crimson trickling over white ankles and toes. Tears slipped down the girl's cheeks as she whispered the Queen's name over and over. It was a chorus in a love ballad. Soft. Adoring.
The Queen's heart lurched, drawing a hiss from scarlet lips.
She shouldn't have to confront the pirate. Emma was hers. She knew it in her bones. Yet there was one secret between them; one door Emma wouldn't open and the Queen couldn't break.
You could break it…
The voice in her mind sounded oddly like her mother's, despite being her own. It wasn't inaccurate. She could break down the door and take Emma's last secrets, but not without losing all the trust and progress they'd made. Emma wasn't like the others she'd kept at her side. She didn't look at the Queen with revoltion or fear… The Queen didn't want her too. That was the point of all of this. She didn't want to be the Evil Queen. Well, not to anyone besides Snow…
And Emma?
She erased the image from the mirror. She was torn, which was a first… Her affection for the girl was growing. As much as she'd tried to hold back, she hadn't been able to. That forfeited at least a few options at her disposal.
The girl is a weakness. A distraction.
The Queen scowled at her reflection. She couldn't deny her resolve had slipped the last few weeks. Snow White had managed to outmaneuver her at every turn lately. Her soft spot for Emma captured much of her time and now she was losing the chase. How long before she lost the kingdom? Perhaps she should let her go…
No. Emma wasn't the problem. She was the key. She had balance with Emma. She had hope with Emma. Emma saw her as more than the Evil Queen and with Emma by her side, her subjects eventually would too. Snow was losing ground and losing power by the day. The Queen would prefer her dead but banished was another option. The Queen alone was responsible for Snow's escape. And she was responsible for Emma's honesty too. Snow was a danger and she would help Emma see the truth.
Her stiletto boots crunched over shards of broken glass as she collected discarded books from the floor. She'd poured through them for weeks with little progress on where Emma was from or her connection to their world. Emma wasn't from the Enchanted Forest. She knew that immediately. Travel magic clung to Princess Leia as strongly as Rumpel's glamor.
Leia… What kind of name was that anyhow?
Emma didn't speak like anyone from their world either: commoner or otherwise. Her body was fit and lean, which was usual for women in their land… She supposed there were exceptions… but not many. Most lowborn women stayed home with their children. The unmarried worked in taverns. Highborn women were educated enough to be a nurse or governess, if they chose not to marry. They didn't have the toned calves of a runner, defined abs or muscled arms.
She licked at dry lips.
No. Emma definitely wasn't from their world. Their confrontation with… she chewed over the name Emma had given her… Alderson… had proven that. The luxuries he had surrounded himself with were completely foreign to her…
She scoffed at the memory. She may not have comprehended the items of his home, but she recognized the finery of a "respected" man of the community. She knew those types of men well. She'd married one. A camouflaged predator. Their cruelty was hidden from the world. But not from her. They called her the Evil Queen but failed to recognize the monsters she destroyed. They failed to see the demons inside their beloved idols… Idols like Snow White.
How could Emma protect her?
Darkness clouded her vision and The Queen closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. She held her breath and counted. Slowly, the sulfuric cloud seeped from her chest, escaping her lungs. Her shoulders relaxed.
Snow was the worst kind of Evil. She was evil that thought it was good and deceived even the wisest of foes…
The Queen flipped through a leather-bound book on magic theory. She'd searched through the contents at least a dozen times. There was only one answer for Emma's appearance in her life. Or the plethora of questions she'd developed since then… A parallel universe. It was the only explanation for the travel magic, Emma's uniqueness, her desire to help Snow and their personal familiarity… Emma knew her in another life. She knew them all.
Parallel timelines were not easily crossed. But it wasn't impossible. Every now and then there was a wormhole and someone fell through. It wasn't something easily detected either. Not by most people, anyway. But Rumpelstiltskin? The Dark One felt all magic. And who better to do his bidding than a girl with no power in this world? It would be next to impossible for Emma to get back on her own. Especially without magic. She assumed that was what brought Emma to Rumple in the first place but didn't explain much else. Was the imp even capable of sending her back? Or was it just the return of Emma's magic that he had offered?
Unfortunately that wasn't the only question that plagued her. She hadn't encountered this world's version of Emma... The people in your life remained consistent across parallel timelines. If she knew Emma in another world, she should have known her here as well. But she didn't.
She had considered every possibility. Just because Emma was already in her life in another world, didn't mean they'd met yet in this one. But they would. It was inevitable. In Emma's world they may have went to school together or lived nearby. In the Enchanted Forest, she might not meet Emma for another ten years… the only thing that remained consistent across parallel timelines was the person's age. Everything else had the potential to look completely different. So who was Emma in the Enchanted Forest and why couldn't she find her in her mirrors?
Death.
It was the only thing that made sense. If Emma had already died here, she had missed her opportunity to know her.
Perhaps that was for the best. Two versions of Emma couldn't survive in the same timeline. Not for long anyway. One of them would begin to weaken until one or both were removed.
The Queen cocked her head. Hook didn't look like himself the last time she saw him… but she hadn't paid too much attention. She was more focused on his efforts to help her enemies and Emma's preoccupation with the entire thing.
"Mirror?" Her genie appeared in the glass before her. "Find Hook and show him to me."
The translucent face faded only to be replaced by another… and then another. The mirror blurred jumping from forest to tavern and back again. Hook by a fire. Hook with a girl on his lap. Hook studying a map. Hook devouring a mug of cold ale. Faster and faster it flipped before disappearing all together.
Her genie emerged from the clouded glass, his forehead scrunched in concentration. "I can't hold his image."
The Queen flashed pearly white teeth. "That's because there's two of them."
Emma hadn't fallen through the portal alone. She'd fallen through with another version of Captain Hook. At least now she understood why Emma was concerned by his presence with Snow. He was a friend.
Or more…
She rolled her eyes. She seriously doubted that. She had noticed the pirate's infatuation with Emma right away, but Emma didn't seem to reciprocate. She cared about him but there wasn't love or passion there. Emma had never even mentioned him until she heard her guards discussing the situation. So what about him made Emma slip up? She was going to find out. Emma was going to tell her the truth, the whole truth, tonight.
Regina startled. Her hand covered her pounding chest as she pushed up from her pillows. Her satin gown clung to her skin: damp and clammy. For a moment, she wasn't sure where she was. The dream wasn't just realistic… It was a memory.
Emma had knelt willingly before her, accepting the Queen's punishment. She hadn't wanted to hurt Emma, but she'd be lying to say the leather hadn't felt good in her hand. She enjoyed watching the creamy skin turn a sunset pink and purple. She delighted in the moan that fell from supple lips and the way the blonde's hips rolled, seeking friction.
Normally, the Queen allowed Emma her pleasure. She adored Emma's willingness to submit; the vulnerability Emma offered to her.
The Queen didn't understand the full depth of that gift or how rare a moment it was from Emma Swan. But Regina did.
Emma had fortified walls around her heart and for good reason. She had lived through more than any child should… more than any person should… The Queen may have understood that on some level, but it wasn't the same. Emma surrendered even as the Evil Queen broke through the most fragile wounds inside her… because Emma had trusted her. Because she saw Regina in the Queen, even if she had tried to separate them in her mind.
She shouldn't have. Regina didn't deserve that trust.
The Queen hadn't allowed Emma pleasure that night. Pleasure was a reward and something Emma hadn't earned. The only reprieve the Queen gave from her prying, pain and penance was to heal Emma's wounds.
Regina had to admit, those moments were tender for her former self. She wasn't often soft with her bedmates. Emma was different. She'd held Emma in her arms. She had rocked her, wiping sweat from her brow as she waited for the healing potion to wipe the canvas clean. Creamy skin ready for new lash marks.
"Emma… Emma talk to me… How did you get here?" Crack. "What did Rumpel want from you?" Crack. "Why were you helping Snow White?" Crack.
Silent tears were her response. Over time, the Queen's frustration grew. She didn't want to break Emma, but if the girl wouldn't speak, she'd take her screams… just enough pain to help her let go. Emma needed to surrender one last time. One last answer and Emma would be hers completely. Why couldn't Emma give her that? The Queen knew she wanted to. Her silence didn't make sense. If she wasn't protecting Snow White, who was she protecting?
The scream that answered wasn't a memory. It was a sound she was too familiar with; the sound of fear and pain.
Regina bolted from her bed, her comforter pooling on the white carpet. She needed to wash it anyway. Her blankets and her nightgown.
Emma's room was only two doors down but it felt a lifetime away as she burst through the paneled doors. Emma was sweat soaked, thrashing beneath the covers. Whimpers keened from somewhere deep in her chest as she twisted and turned, fighting to get away from an invisible assailant.
Not invisible to her.
No. The Queen had dealt with these dreams before. Many times. The more walls the Queen broke through, the more Emma's demons were free to revel in her torment. Was she one of them? Was Emma dreaming about her?
Regina swallowed. Even if she wasn't, she hadn't helped matters. Emma was this way because Regina had stripped her of her defenses, leaving her raw and with no places to hide. Emma had no protection. She had depended on the Queen for everything. Even this. That was the point. Tucked away at her castle, Emma was sheltered. Her wounds were guarded and protected by the Queen. She didn't have to function or fight her own battles.
That was never the goal though. The Queen had wanted more than an empty shell. She wanted a companion. She wanted someone to laugh with and understand her. Someone who would have her back and see her as more than just evil. She had always planned to put Emma back together.
After you destroyed her?
Regina winced.
The Queen had wanted to put Emma back together in her image. Strong. Obedient.
But Emma had always been strong. She had built herself a protective fortress. She had learned to love herself and be her own family.
What she hadn't learned was how to trust. The vulnerable piece of Emma… Regina had always noticed her. The girl who ate grilled cheese… who sat cross legged in any chair. The girl who forgot to wipe her boots at the door. The girl who played video games with Henry. The girl who still felt lost despite finding her parents. Emma had buried her deep, but Regina still saw her.
The Queen had uprooted her, pulling her into the light, but at what cost?
"Emma." Regina reached out, placing a hand gently on her chest. She didn't try to pin or restrain. She'd learned the hard way that only made Emma thrash harder. "Emma. Listen to me. Listen to my voice."
Emma's movements slowed, her head tilting.
"Listen to my voice. Wherever you are, whoever you are with, they hold no power over you. They have no claim on you. But I do…" She paused. Pleasure and loathing twisted in her gut. The Queen shivered with anticipation, but Emma didn't belong to her or shouldn't. Not in that way… She swallowed down the ache to conquer. The need to possess. "As your friend. As someone who cares about you… I want you to wake up now."
Emma whimpered, her bottom lip trembling. A look of pleading painted blotched features, reminding her of Henry as a toddler.
"He'll find me." The whisper was small and high pitched.
Regina slid her hand into Emma's. "Who will find you?"
"Kyle.
She squeezed Emma's fingers gently. "Who's Kyle?"
"The Norton's son."
Regina took a steadying breath, preparing herself to cross the threshold into the home of monster. Emma's monster. "Do you live with them?"
The blonde head nodded, tears sliding from tightly sealed eyes.
"Has Kyle hurt you?"
Another nod. "See?"
Regina chewed her lower lip. She couldn't see but imagined a younger version of the blonde showing her an injury. She wished she could kiss it away. She wished she could kiss them all away. Every home she had lost. Every injury...
She scoffed. As if slaying the girl's demons could ever make up for everything Emma had suffered. For every loss she had experienced at the Queen's hands. Forget their time together in the forest. All the demons that created Emma… All the abuse Emma had endured… losing her parents, neglectful and abusive foster homes, being sent back to social services again and again… it was because of her curse. It was because of her need for revenge.
You might not have sought revenge if Emma had stayed… The Queen's voice countered.
A carousel of blame. There was no breaking that circle. Her curse caused Emma's suffering. Emma's presence in the past would have broken the curse before it was cast. But then no Henry. And eventually no Emma. At the end of the day, there was nothing more important to her than her family.
"Emma, you don't have to be afraid of Kyle anymore. I'll keep you safe. Can you wake up for me?" She brushed blonde strands from Emma's brow. "Wake up, Emma."
Long lashes fluttered as her rapid eye movement slowed. Green eyes stared into her brown, peaceful…. Serene… then terrified.
Emma shot up, her eyes darting around the large guest room as her consciousness pushed it's way to the surface. She wasn't dreaming and she wasn't in the Queen's castle either. She was back in Storybrook, in the Manor's guest bedroom, in a situation neither of them knew how to navigate.
"Emma, it's okay." Regina held out her hands, palms facing up. "You were having a nightmare."
"Am I still?"
They stared at each other. Regina didn't know how to respond. To Emma, being away from the Queen probably did feel like a nightmare. Having Regina know everything that happened in the past was another nightmare. Or she imagined it felt that way to Emma. They hadn't really had a chance to talk about any of it, and they didn't really have time now either. The sun was rising and she could hear her alarm sounding from down the hall.
"I'm sorry," Emma whispered. "I didn't mean to wake you. If you want me to-"
"Don't even finish that sentence. You know I don't want you to leave. I want you here. With me."
Emma swallowed but nodded. "You aren't going to kill him are you? Kyle?"
It wasn't like the thought hadn't crossed her mind. Any time she shared one of Emma's dreams, she wanted to end the demon on the other side. But Kyle was also a child at the time... or so she assumed. Who knew who he was today.
You could always find out…
Regina smirked, ignoring the voice of her former self. For now. "If I were the Queen still, then maybe. In this world, unfortunately, we have rules to play by. Such as getting to work on time."
"We have a whole hour still."
"And we both need showers and breakfast." Regina stood, helping Emma to her feet. "I'm going to go get ready. I want you to do the same."
Emma's brows lifted. "Wait. You want me to-"
"Yes, Miss. Swan. You are perfectly capable of selecting your clothing for the day."
Madam Mayor wasn't exactly the Queen but Emma still knew when not to argue. Emma needed to get back to some semblance of normalcy and at the very least needed to take care of her own basic needs. Regina hoped telling her to get dressed would be enough to get her moving in the right direction.
She watched as Emma disappeared into the washroom and then poofed herself back to her quarters. She stared at the blankets on the floor. She normally enjoyed housework. It kept her grounded during the curse and gave her a sense of control. Today, she couldn't focus on it. She snapped her fingers and her bedding disappeared along with Emma's. She'd buy new bedding and wash these later.