A/N WARNING: This chapter is abusive

Swiftly, like the passing of stormy clouds, Emma's heart began to race with the accompanied confusion of her mind. Something was off, something was wrong, but she couldn't yet figure out what, for her eyes were just now awaking from a hard slumber, but this wasn't like waking for a deep sleep by a disturbing sound. No, it was as if she had been impolitely yanked off the bed so fast that her limbs couldn't move to catch herself.

But something did catch her. And now she couldn't move. Period.

The result of this realization stirred a frantic reaction within her when she tried to pull from the odd position. The pull of gravity on her body felt different. Corn-silk hair wasn't fanned around her head, but dangling down past her shoulders.

It was then when her mind met up with reality that she wasn't in her bedroom at all, nor even close to a bed. Her pale body hanging in an upright position; slender arms above her head were held by metal cuffs that burned her skin with frost. Upon trying to kick her way out, whatever aid that would have been, she discovered that her legs were in a similar predicament, held about three feet apart to the ground.

"What the hell?"

A cloud of air came out of her lips as she spoke to verify that the room was indeed far below normal temperatures. Where was she? The last thing she remembered was lying down to rest, the thoughts of the day's events still on her mind.

"You caused a distraction, pulled me away from important business. Therefore, you must be punished"

Was this Regina's doing? Surely not, for the entire scenario seemed ridiculous. She had to be dreaming still.

Looking around the room, she tried to gather information on where she might be. A rustic chandelier was flickering above her head casting shadows on the various objects around her.

The first thing that caught her eye was shackles that greatly resembled the ones that had been put into in the first days of her visit. The rest of the objects around were foreign to her, but they resembled devices that might be used for torture. Several strange items hung on the walls, and so gruesome were the images that came to Emma's mind on how they were to be used.

"Don't worry, dear," the brunette's voice called out, yet she was nowhere to be seen until she stepped into the light before the princess, "Most of these things are used for disobedient idiots who think they've gotten away with something." A shiver ran through Emma, but not from the cold. "Luckily for you, your life is too important to toss away."

The flickering flames of the chandelier made the Queen's eyes dance with an elusive hue, tempting yet so devious. She wasn't wearing her usual gowns; instead she sported a corset and trousers with knee high boots that were all black as a raven's wing. Emma couldn't take her eyes off of her.

Gliding forwarding, Regina took hold of a leather handle with cat o' nine tails hanging like serpents. She ran her fingers down the length of it with a pleasing grin of crimson lips. Brown eyes found Emma's and suddenly the blonde put together the pieces of where she might be. Nevertheless, she asked.

"Where are we?"

"You were looking for a secret, so here you are, my dear. Welcome to my torture chamber."

Had people died in here before? Dark stains marred various stones around them. The thought made the blonde's stomach roll with unease. Emerald eyes flashed with worry as the brunette took a few steps closer, her hand securely wrapped around the whip.

Without a whisper of a warning, Regina raised her arms. The cracking of the lashes against pale skin echoed throughout the small room and Emma yelped as her body awakened instantly. She didn't have time to register the sensations as another blow came down upon her, this time wrapping around her biceps with a wicked snap.

It was like the time Emma had fallen out of a tree; she had been smacked by a dozen branches on her way down which left several unconcealed scratches. However, these lashes were much more painful and instead of cutting her skin with jagged lines they left bright red welts that seemed to glow against her paleness. Each hit felt sharper than the other, yet she fought back the tears that were demanding to cascade down her cheeks. Crying would be would be submitting and she wanted to fight back; she wanted to prove that she was strong.

With a sharp breath she drew her eyes closed and waited for impact, but none came. Any second now. She opened her eyes and noticed that Regina was smirking at her and without a word she hung the leather devil up on the wall.

The blonde drew in quick breaths and attempted to ignore the burning, but having her limbs restrained didn't help the matter. In the little time she had been there she was already aching; this had to be her punishment, surely. Was it over?

Regina watched the young woman with intrigue, taking great pride in the marks she had left, but still annoyed at the remnants of bruises from the last evening that Draven had left. She wasn't quite sure why she had stopped her lacerations so soon; there had been a sudden twinge within her that drew her to pull the whip away and it bewildered her mind. She almost let the woman down until she recalled her previous anger of the day muddled with the stress that had been stirred ever since Emma came to the palace.

"Have I not given you enough kindness?" Regina harshly inquired and waited for the blonde to meet her eyes. When they did she saw a fine line of water along the rim. "I could have fed your heart to the wolves, but I chose to let you walk freely within my palace. First I tell you to leave yet you disobey even with the threat of your life. You threaten to turn Red and my Huntsman against me. Next you cause me to dismiss the life of one of my men and then I find out you're sneaking around my palace? Your innocent looks may fool the rest, but I know you're up to something."

"I didn't mean to upset you," Emma said between breaths.

"You're such a precious liar."

The blonde gritted her teeth. She would have lunged forward if she could.

"What did they ever do to cause such hatred in me? Regina, I'm not my parents."

"But you are their blood."

"Then why have you kept me here? As an incentive to start another war?"

"Start?" Regina scowled, "The last thing I need is war, but by now it's imminent. Rumors spread like wildfire and I'm sure your parents know of your whereabouts now. If I would have handed you back they would have used that as reason to pick a fight. Regardless of the choice I make, they'll never let me be in peace."

She oddly looked defeated as if the years had finally weighed down upon her heart. It didn't make any sense; the Evil Queen was all powerful, right?

"But you're the one who tried to kill them."

Regina rolled her eyes with a sneer. The distorted truth always was the only truth.

"Don't talk about things you don't know, Princess."

"Why not? Are you afraid that I may see you for who you really are?"

Those words hit the brunette straight in the heart and her anger flared again. No one knew who she really was. She didn't even know who she was. Her nostrils flared and her eyes narrowed moving as close as she could to the blonde. She wanted to grip her by the throat. She wanted to slap her across the face. If it had been anyone else they would have been dead, but she didn't do it.

"I am the Evil Queen. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Don't keep me trapped in the shadows, Regina. I know you haven't always been evil despite what anyone says."

The brunette's eyes closed and she recalled a past when she wasn't this power obsessed, evil ruler, but those times were but a faint memory. They seemed like a past life. She saw Daniel crumbling to the dirt of the stable and her anger arose again like a raging fire.

Her eyes went violet and her hand began to glow crimson. Placing a hand between the younger woman's breasts, she couldn't bring herself to gaze at her.

"You were trapped the moment you were conceived."

A strange substance erupted from her fingers like hot wax with its own mind and it spread like vines along the entirety of the woman's chest until it traveled upwards along her neck. At first Emma didn't feel a thing until it began to glow, and when it did it felt as if a thousand hornets had taken over her body.

The scream that escaped her lips was loud enough to shatter glass.