A/N: Hello again! Here's another one for Mischief Queen. My lovely friend Devin is responsible for this title, as he has a knack for them I do not possess.

Summary: When Loki returns to the Enchanted Forest to find Regina's curse making its way across the land, he vows to continue to protect her even if it's from a distance.

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from either universe!

Enjoy!

Reflections of Gods and Queens

Loki was not on Midgard when the curse was enacted.

Thor had requested his assistance with a rebellion on Vanaheim, and when he told Regina she surprised him by smiling at him. He could still remember the loving look on her face as she encouraged him to go, saying she would see him upon his return.

Regina was wrong.

Loki wasn't sure how much time had passed on Midgard, but when he returned to the Enchanted Forest he was shocked to find it being ravaged by the Dark Curse. He knew immediately it was Regina's magic when he looked at the giant storm of purple. He could feel it, the signature of her magic in the air around him. There was so much pain and anger attached to it that it stole the breath from his lungs, and he wanted to rage.

Loki knew instantly that this was Rumplestiltskin's doing. That ant had somehow managed to manipulate her into casting his curse while Loki wasn't around to interfere.

His first thought was to find his beloved, but he was quickly forced to concede that the effort would be useless. The curse had almost completely overtaken the land. It was closing in on him fast and he had no idea where Regina was.

There was no time.

Loki's own magic shot out to meet the purple cloud almost on its own. From what Regina told him of the Dark Curse, he knew it would take everyone to a place on Midgard without magic, that it would alter their memories.

Everyone that is, except for him.

He altered the curse just enough to include him with his memories intact. Loki could have easily avoided it, he knew, but he had no desire to do so. The curse had never been designed to include him, but the moment he saw it Loki knew what he needed to do.

His queen had been swept up by this curse, and even if she didn't remember him, Loki would never leave her to face it alone.

For thirty unchanging, agonizing years, Loki watched Mayor Regina Mills from afar. He never introduced himself, nor made himself known to her in any way. His sole purpose was now to simply observe, silently protecting her from a distance.

In the beginning, Loki considered waking her up himself. He knew that his seidr could do it with ease, but those thoughts had been brief. If he woke her before the curse was truly broken, Regina would remember two very different realities that would be at constant war in her mind. Loki knew Regina too well. He knew she would likely tear herself apart agonizing over what was real and what wasn't, and no matter how much he wanted to bring his Regina back to him, the idea of subjecting her to that was far too cruel.

He knew it would be safer for Regina to simply wait. Loki had never been a patient creature, but he did it for her. He swore to himself he wouldn't interfere; He knew showing up would only cause questions that he wouldn't be able to answer, so he told himself he would only get involved if Regina was in grave danger. Besides, he believed in Regina's abilities even in a world without magic.

It was painful to watch. The curse removed Loki and their time together from her memories, so this was a version of Regina that still believed no one had ever loved her, nor ever could. He saw it in her face on a daily basis; the loneliness and self-loathing he hadn't seen since the first months after they'd met.

Being so useless to the woman he loved and had sworn to protect was excruciating. Watching her retreat further into herself every year, Loki came to the unsettling realization that this was what things would have been like for Regina if she'd never known him at all. He feared it would even be worse than this. He saw this exact scenario playing out like some awful, twisted alternate universe where he'd never been present in her life. It made his heart lurch and he had pushed the thought away violently almost the moment it entered his mind.

He watched in anguish as Regina slowly realized that the curse, that her happy ending wasn't everything she'd hoped it would be. He watched as she crumbled one night upon realizing that something was missing, that it wasn't enough. Every time he saw the increasingly hopeless and lost look in her beautiful brown eyes after that, the same treacherous thought about the alternatives would find its way back into his head.

No! This isn't real; it's just a curse. She's perfect. Regina is loved; she knows she's loved. I told her I loved her every day. She just can't… remember.

It always made him want to cry and tear this town apart at the same time. Loki lost count of the number time he'd had to stop himself from finding the Dark One in his idiotic pawnshop and break every bone his body slowly.

While he knew it might make him feel better, it wouldn't make the curse break any faster, and Loki had to admit to himself begrudgingly that they might need the treacherous imp one day. It certainly didn't stop him from using his talents for mischief on him whenever he got the chance, though.

When the curse finally broke, Loki almost didn't believe it.

He was frantic that day after seeing what happened to Regina's son. He'd been watching them both for years, and he'd come to care for the boy a great deal even from a distance. That wonderful, beautiful little boy had succeeded in bringing back some of his love's happiness, and he had never been more grateful for something in his life. Loki had seen the child lying far too still in his hospital bed, he'd seen Regina's tears and the way she'd shattered at the sight. At that moment Loki pledged to find some way in any of the nine realms to wake him. He would not allow Regina to lose Henry.

But when the curse broke, Loki froze. He felt it long before the bright light and rush of air that signaled it could reach him, and he knew what had happened immediately.

Somewhere inside him, Loki knew Henry was all right. He felt immense relief, and then it suddenly dawned on him.

Regina.

She would remember now. She would remember him.

His instinct had been to find her, until he became aware of Heimdall attempting to reach him. In truth, he'd felt the Gatekeeper for days but steadfastly ignored him to focus on his queen.

This time though, it felt different. This felt like a command, and with a jolt Loki realized that it had come from Odin himself. The God gaped, frozen in the middle of the forest as he tried to figure out what to do.

He was still a Prince of Asgard, so no matter how much he wanted to find Regina, even Loki couldn't ignore a direct summons from the All-Father. He left Midgard mere minutes after the curse was broken, but he sent a silent apology to his queen, asking her to forgive him. He made a silent vow to Regina that he would come back to find her before he allowed Heimdall to transport him back to Asgard.

When Emma Swan kissed Henry and the curse broke, Regina felt so many different emotions at one time as her memories from the Enchanted Forest came rushing back. She'd been so relieved that her son was alive, but she knew she couldn't stay there in the hospital with him and allow the others to capture her. Regina knew logically that they would eventually, but she needed time to get her head together, so she did the only thing she could think of.

She fled.

It wasn't until Regina was back in her mansion that she had a sudden thought that made her breath catch and she froze.

Loki!

Even just his name threatened to make tears run down Regina's cheeks. She couldn't believe she'd forgotten about him. Suddenly her already trembling legs would no longer support her and she sank to the floor and leaned against the door. She felt an overwhelming ache and felt like a piece of her had been missing during the last thirty years even with just his memory gone from her mind, let alone the god himself.

Regina didn't know how long she let herself cry for, but eventually she did raise her head off of her knees and wipe her eyes. She didn't recall seeing Loki in Storybrooke during the curse, but that didn't surprise her. He'd been off world when the curse was cast, and the curse itself wouldn't have affected him even if he had been in the Enchanted Forest at the time.

She hoped, prayed, he wasn't too angry with her, but she also knew she couldn't blame Loki even if he was. Regina also hoped with every ounce of her being that he wasn't too worried or frantic looking for her. She knew that returning to find that she'd disappeared without a trace must have absolutely terrified him.

I'm so sorry, Loki.

Regina didn't bother to say the words out loud because she knew he wouldn't hear them, but she still felt like she needed to acknowledge it somehow.

The former queen finally managed to pull herself back to her feet. The fallout from the curse breaking would be horrific, but she couldn't hide forever. Regina knew the people of Storybrooke would be at her door any moment. Despite this and the obvious impending threat, Regina found that she didn't care. She just kept thinking about Loki even though she knew trying to find him would be fruitless, and she had no idea how to contact him even if she knew where he was.

Somewhere inside her, Regina knew with 100% certainty that Loki would return to her. He was a prince after all, and the God of Mischief. She could hardly expect him to hover over her all the time no matter how protective he was. She just hoped it would be soon.

The sudden, loud banging on her door made Regina jump, but she still smiled when she pictured Loki's bright and loving green eyes.

I love you.

It was the last thing Regina thought before she opened the door to face the mob on her front lawn.

A/N: Thank you for reading! Please review!

Until next time...

~Neve