A/N: So, do you remember when I said "If I have to, I will come back from the dead and posses someone to finish this story."? Well thats what happened. My motivation died on the altar of finals and holiday craze. Life sunk it's terrible claws into me, and I got busy! Then I had to rework my outline for the story, as well as finally figure out what the magic system. Once I did that, I got writers block! I'm struggling to actually write anything, but I hope it doesn't show too much in this chapter. Hopefully things will be a bit more consistent from now on!

Please enjoy the chapter!

Regina's POV

Time seemed to slow down as Regina and Ruby struggled to move through the crowd. Each step forward took too much time, the people surrounding them essentially a wall. When gentleness didn't work, Regina gave up trying to be decent and started shoving people. This didn't work either, however, because the people she shoved had nowhere to go, they were just as stuck as she was.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" A man yelled at her, shoving back. He was lucky she had given up on muder: she was a Queen and no one was allowed to touch her like that. As she tried to find a way to move through the crowd, Regina could hear more shouting and the clanging of metal. Ruby came up behind her and whispered hurriedly, "Now would be a good time for some magic. It looks like there are guards coming."

Sure enough, as Regina looked through the small gaps between people, she saw a half dozen people in metal armor approaching Emma quickly. Without wasting any time, Regina held up her hand, and called upon her magic. She could feel it moving through her veins, pulsing warmly in time with her heart. She thought about pushing away the guards, and people stopping her and Ruby from moving forward, then pushed her magic out, like she usually did.

But nothing happened.

"Come on Regina!" Ruby nearly shouted at her as the guards started pulling Emma off the man. She thrashed and hit at them, her words carried away by the growing noise of the crowd. Once more Regina attempted to reach out with her magic, calling upon every bit of emotion she could feel. Worry, irritation, anger. But the magic wouldn't leave her body. "It's not working!" Regina said hoarsely. Ruby grunted loudly, "Dammit."

While they were talking, two of the guards that weren't dealing with Emma started ushering the crowd away. Only a few people actually obeyed, but it was enough for the two women. Regina grabbed Ruby's arm and pulled her along. As they approached, Regina could hear the words Emma was screaming.

"How dare you spread such lies! Your lady is nothing but a disgrace!" Not even a second later a guard managed to hit Emma over the head hard enough for her to go limp in his arms, unconscious.

How dare he!

Anger and protectiveness flooded Regina's mind, and she had a strong urge to punch the guard in the face. As she moved forward, her magic surged throughout her body, finally responding. Her speed became far beyond that of a regular human, her muscles felt full of strength. The shock of this happening distracted Regina, it was new and unnatural to her, and she was sent crashing into a guard. As she attempted to scramble back up, fighting the guard at the same time, she was overcome by exhaustion. It felt as if she had run a couple of miles. The guard managed to get up and push her back down.

Vaguely she could hear Ruby shouting her name, before someone sent a kick to her head and everything faded to black.

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The first thing Regina noticed when she woke up was how much her head hurt. The right side of her skull throbbed heavily. With a groan she raised her hand to touch the hurting part of her head, and felt a good-sized bump. It took a few moments before she gained enough strength to open her eyes. The first thing she saw was Emma leaning over her, eyes shadowed by the darkness of the room.

Startled, Regina growled, "What the hell are you doing, Emma?"

Emma didn't even blink at Regina's outburst. She just kept staring. This made Regina quite irritated, and a bit worried. Summoning enough strength, Regina moved out from underneath Emma and sat up. Ignoring Emma for a moment, Regina looked around. The stone room they were in was shrouded in shadows, the smallest amount of light coming from the sides of a door. A thin blanket layed in the corner of the room, the only other thing in the room besides the two women. With a sigh, Regina turned to face Emma again, only for her face to be only just a few inches away. Jumping slightly, Regina channeled her rising irritation into a hard slap against Emma's face. "Will you stop that, you idiot!" Regina barked at her.

Emma leaned back on her heels, rubbing her face gently, blinking for the first time that Regina could see. With a small chuckle under her breath, Emma leaned forward again, eyeing Regina as if she were a strange creature, "What is it about you?"

"What are you talking about?" Regina asked with a hard edge to her voice. Emma's acting strange again, could it be the curse? If it was, then she needed to learn as much as she could.

Both women were silent as Emma leaned forward. Slowly, as if she were moving through molasses, she placed a hand against the base of Regina's neck, where it met her shoulder. When she spoke, it was so opposed to the soft touch of her hand, that Regina really didn't know what to do with it. "All I want is to strangle you right now," She whispered, her eyes staring at Regina's neck.

Regina twitched but held still, not wanting to break the moment and cause this not-quite-Emma to do just that. A second later she moved her hand away, "But I can't," She glared at Regina now, their noses almost touched as she leaned forward even more, "Why can't I hurt you?"

She slammed her hand against the ground, but Regina refused to jump at the noise, to show how much this was affecting her. "Tell me!" Not-quite-Emma practically shouted, the noise caused Regina's headache to intensify. Without much thought, Regina shoved her away, causing the woman to fall back. "You do not get to talk to me like that." She growled firmly. Even though Emma was under the influence of a curse, Regina would not be so easily run-over. Quickly, she staggered to her feet, swaying only slightly before she got her balance back, "Now, if I'm correct, this is The Curse talking, isn't it?" Regina crossed her arms over her chest.

Not-quite-Emma only growled as she stood up as well. Almost as if it were yesterday, Regina recalled the last time Emma had been overtaken by the curse to this level. Just the memory of it left a pit in her stomach. Cautiously, Regina asked, "Or is it 'Her'?"

Not-quite-Emma sneered, heaving heavily for several moments. Her anger, her darkness, feeling almost tangible in the dark room. However, Regina held her gaze, unwilling to back down. They were at an impasse. Then, almost as if someone had flipped a switch, not-quite-Emma took a step back, completely calm once again. It was a bit unnerving to see the change happen so quickly.

The woman studied Regina for several long moments, seemingly contemplating something. When she spoke, Regina was admittedly surprised, "How about we make a deal?" She offered with a sly smile, "An answer for an answer?"

Regina thought for a moment, hesitant about making a deal with the Dark One, even if it was Emma. Thinking about the wording for a moment, Regina eventually answered, "The answer must be truthful. No lies." Not-quite-Emma just shrugged nonchalantly. Before Regina could ask her question, the woman asked hers, "I've never met someone with such a connection to the darkness, who could pull another out of it. How do you do it?"

Regina definitely wasn't expecting that. But one thing that she knew now, was that it definitely wasn't Emma talking. At first, she thought that it had been the curse influencing Emma's thoughts and words, but now it seems as if it is separate from her.

She closed her eyes and thought for a few seconds, before answering, "I know how the darkness feels, yes, but I have also learned how the light feels. Someone…" Regina opened her eyes to look at Emma, "Someone important to me helped me learn how to change. With their help, I learned how to fight against my darker urges, and I learned I don't have to be alone. If I can help someone out of their own darkness, it is through the lessons I have learned."

In the silence after Regina spoke, she could hear sniffling coming from the other woman. "Regina." Emma whispered, and Regina immediately knew it was Emma this time, not the curse. Her voice was lighter, not filled with malice and anger. Regina felt the smallest amount of anger that she would not be getting the answer she wanted and a bit of embarrassment that Emma had heard what she said. But, overwhelmingly, she felt relief that Emma wasn't lost.

Rushing forward, Regina placed her hands on Emma's shoulders, "How are you feeling?"

Emma slumped into her arms a bit, "Like hell."

Regina nodded silently, her right hand brushing against Emma's hair, "At least you're back in control now."

Emma reached out and hugged Regina. They stood like that for a few moments. Regina thought it was… almost nice, if a bit awkward on her end. In the end it was Emma that pulled away, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, "So… how do we plan on getting out of here?"

"Well," Regina began, only to be cut off by footsteps sounding outside the door. Both women stepped apart, and turned to face the door.