Love Me Apocalyptic
Chapter Seven: Tired and Locked Up
I'm broken underneath/I'm getting sick of it all, sick of it all
-Sick of it all, 4th point-
Regina's frustrated pants filled her bedroom followed by wet squelching noises. She had been like this for the past hour and a half, wrist now cramping up from the uncomfortable position it was in and sheets stained in a giant wet patch under her. Her fingers were pruning and she felt tired and dehydrated and yet not even more than a tiny bit stated.
She twisted her lips in defeat before pulling her hand out of where it had been buried intimately. This was irritating beyond belief! She had already orgasmed countless time but no matter what it only took the edge off of the boiling lust under her skin.
Ever since she had turned, she had been like this and she did not know what to do about it. The beast inside her hungered for Emma. A hunger she had never felt before for anyone. It was carnal and all consuming and it was making her skin itch with madness. Why did she feel this way? Why?
And how could she stop it? Before all this, she would have never dared to touch herself to lewd thoughts of her friend. But now it was the only thing that helped soothe the ache between her thighs.
Damn it. Would there be no respite from this?
Her body protested as she sat up, reluctant to leave the bed. But she couldn't stay here any longer. Pleasuring herself would not further solutions to defeating this virus and she knew that without Emma, the beast would not be satisfied. But there was no way she would subject Emma to this. She had more respect for her friend than that.
So, forcing herself to get out of bed, she used her magic to clean up her appearance. Next, she had to clean up her room. In a fit of anger at her situation, she had taken to trashing all her mirrors, in every single room. Glass sprinkled the floor like spilled jewels but she just couldn't bare to look at herself. At the monster she had become. But, no good would come from having a mess like this. From acting childishly. Whether she liked it or not, she was turned and she was the only one who could do something about this.
She needed to get herself together, pull her mind from the gutter and focus. She was strong. She could resist this.
An open breeze brought in a most delicious smell from outside. Before she knew it, she was at the window, black eyes peering out hungrily. A man was passing by the front of her house, whistling to himself, entirely oblivious to her. She could feel hunger gnawing at her belly, urging her to sink her throbbing fangs into his neck and drink until she was sated. Already her hands were scrambling to pull the window up higher. Could she get to him before the sun's rays hurt her? Her mind began to calculate the possibilities and chances of getting to him, dragging him kicking and screaming to her house before she slaked her thirst.
Emma wouldn't like that a voice told her and she let out a frustrated whimper. She would hate you for it. Don't break her trust like this. Don't revert back to your old ways. Regina couldn't tell which side was telling her this. Was it her human side? Or was it the vampire side? Either way her hunger was culled, frightened away by thoughts of having her precious Emma hating her.
She snapped the window shut and backed away from it, eyes wide in horror and chest heaving like she had run a marathon. She didn't feel the bite of broken glass on her bare soles until later and she shook her head.
She really needed to clean this place up and get her life together.
To focus better, she drew the curtains on every window in her house. This way she wouldn't be tempted to look outside and hunger for fresh food. She knew she could create synthetic blood with her magic and so she did so. She knew logically she had to feed herself to avoid weakening her resolve and snapping and killing anyone. Thoughts of a disappointed Emma held her back for now, but how long would that last for? She didn't want to take the risk and so with a couple of ingredients and muttered words over her cauldron, she whipped something up quickly in the basement of her mansion where she kept an emergency stock of potion making items.
The blood was disgusting. It was like sticky water and it tasted of old pennies. Her beast side loved it and swallowed it up greedily, rested for now. Regina hoped she could find a cure and quickly because she didn't know how much longer she could keep this up. Keep hiding this from everyone. Keep drinking this awful blood. Keep desiring Emma so much it hurt to breathe.
She was used to having tight control over her life and she hated feeling this out of sorts. At mercy to her own body. She was determined to make it through this trying ordeal. She had, after all, gone through worse. She needed to hunker down and study. She was certain she would find something. Maybe she'd use her enhanced senses to her advantage.
Just as she fetched some books from her study, her phone rang, making her jump. Emma was calling her. She practically lunged to grab the phone, needing to hear Emma's voice even if it was over the phone. "Hello?" she asked, sounding a bit breathless.
"Hey, Regina. How are you feeling?"
"A bit under the weather but better," she answered, not wanting Emma to worry over her. Or to suspect her of turning into a vampire. "How's everything in town?"
There was a reluctant pause here, as if it was about to bear bad news. Regina was right. "I was actually calling you to tell you we're missing the third queen of darkness. Ursula's gone."
"Gone? Are you sure?" Regina said, her eyes widening.
The queens were going missing.
"Yup. Checked everywhere. Nada. Zip. Nothing." Emma sighed out, worried and fearful. "Do you know why they're gone?"
"I don't know," Regina rubbed her hand over her forehead. "But keep a look out on them. Cast some trace spells. That way if one of them shows up, even briefly, then the spell will be triggered and point you to where they are. But do be careful. Please." Regina whispered at the end into her phone. She couldn't stand it if some harm came to Emma.
"I will. Why don't you help me cast the spells?"
Regina shook her head even though Emma couldn't see it through the phone. "You'll be fine. And I'm very busy with research right now. I probably won't leave the house until I'm done finding even a shred of what's going on. Call me if anymore vampires pop up, and for god's sake, don't do anything stupid." Regina would have loved to be by Emma's side but she didn't trust herself enough to be in public right now.
She knew there was a magic spell that could feasibly help with restraint but she didn't know too much on casting it, just yet. So until then, she was to be locked up here.
She hung up on Emma, though the beast inside her screamed to keep talking to the blonde, and turned to the boring books in front of her.
And the days of self imposed imprisonment finally bore fruit. Three days alone with nothing but her thoughts, and her newly minted mind processing information and sensations quicker than a human mind could, she had discovered a truth that had evaded them. Dusty tome after dusty tome, multiple paper cuts from turning pages, eyes blurring on text. Regina finally made a potent discovery. That the vampire affliction, that the outbreak, affecting thousands of people, wasn't real.
It wasn't a real curse of vampirisim. It was like someone had read the stories and then made a cheap version of it. A knock off.
It wasn't something nature could create, but that was man made so to speak. The only issue lay in discovering who had made it, how, and for what purpose?
Regina's victory at finding a partial answer was swept away by her need to find out more. But she was at a dead end. Books could only lead her so far. And so could human reports, which had become scarcer with time as the world found fighting for their lives more important than broadcasting news.
Regina plopped down onto her chair, sighing heavily and pushing her hair out of her face. She felt restless, the beast inside her crawling and pushing against her skin. It demanded her to go outside, get some fresh air, kill something or another, and then go see Emma.
Yes, if it was one thing that the virus had brought Regina, it was the inability to go more than an hour without thinking of Emma. And it was utterly frustrating. Her deep studies were often interrupted by thoughts of the blonde wearing nothing at all, her hands ghosting over Regina's body and lips descending down to hers for a kiss.
It was utterly frustrating because it was like a dam had broken on all the feelings Regina kept repressed on Emma. Had Regina truly liked Emma before all this happened? Or was it just the virus making her act this way? But then why would she be affected this way? When no one else had. All they cared about was feeding their gut. But when Emma was around Regina, blood lust wasn't even important. All Regina wanted to do was touch Emma, and have her over and over again until they were both so sore and spent they couldn't move a single muscles and even then Regina knew she still would want more.
Regina let out a growl and smacked one of the books to the ground. And here she went, thinking on Emma once more. It was utter madness, really. And she fears it more than she does anything else. Because unlike the blood lust that can be slaked, this need cannot and it grows bigger and bigger until Regina feels she will explode from it and possibly drag Emma down with her.
She doesn't want to hurt Emma. So she needs to hold on. She knows she can be close to a cure. Yes, think about the cure. She gets up from her seat and paces around, grinding her teeth to keep her fangs from throbbing.
All she knows is that the humans found this was genetic. And they had isolated the specific genome codes too. But fairytale creatures weren't genetic beings- they didn't have genomes. They couldn't, because they weren't real technically speaking. So perhaps the curse affected them slightly differently?
She tapped a finger to her chin. Hmmmm. Maybe just maybe...an inkling of a theory invaded her mind. She would need to speak to Whale about this and get his help. But for now, only she and he would know of it. She didn't need Emma finding out because no doubt, the blonde woman would not be happy with what Regina was about to do.
And that was another thing. Emma was going to get suspicious of Regina soon. Regina would have to go out there and act normal to fool her. She didn't need Emma knowing she was a vampire because she was certain it wouldn't end well. Emma wouldn't want her walking around town, or even helping in stopping the crisis, but Regina knew she could do this, that there were ways that magic could help her control this beast until she reverted the virus.
There was always the risk that Regina could be entranced by someone's blood and attack them, which was why she would cast spells on herself to make sure she could prevent that from happening as best she could.
Going down to her potions room, she took a couple of books on self control spells and got to work on concocting one for herself.
When Emma showed up later that evening with food for Regina once more, she found the mayor looking healthier than ever. Her skin was glowing, there were no bags under her eyes and she was smiling, as opposed to looking pained like she had every time she saw Emma.
"Wow, did something good happen? Because you look very...happy," she said, setting down the root beers and salad she got for Regina. The woman had been eating better too, though not in front of Emma. Emma would have to take Regina's word on it, because each dish would disappear by the time she had come back.
"I've made good progress on my research," Regina announced, tentatively taking the root beer and opening it. She took a small sip and seeing it was okay to do so- no riotous pain at it-, took another one.
"And what did you find out?" Emma asked.
"Nothing that I can explain to you just yet."
"Is this 'cause you think I might have a hard time figuring stuff out? You know I'm not that dumb." Emma set her hands on her hips, unhappily.
Regina scoffed playfully. "Your parents are the Charmings. I wouldn't be too sure." But in a more somber manner she said, "It's missing a few pieces from it making utter sense, but as soon as I figure everything out, I will let you know."
"Alright," Emma would have to content herself with that lacking answer for now. "The search on Ursula isn't going well. I can't find her either and it's really worrying me because she and Mal could be vampires. Yet, I haven't heard a single word on any attacks going on, so it makes me worry: what are they up to?"
"It's possible they've gone into hiding, or left the town entirely," Regina offered.
"But why would they leave the town when there's an apocalyptic going on outside?"
"You're forgetting they could have used a bean and portal hopped to another dimension."
"I hadn't considered that. But they would really leave Cruella like that?" And then wouldn't they cause problems for the other worlds? Emma's head was beginning to hurt. Right now they couldn't do anything about that. She and Regina needed all their attention on this front, the home front.
"Villains aren't known for their sense of friendship, Emma. Relationships are born out of necessity and not because we like each other."
"So, basically you make a girl group because you wanna kill this one person?" Emma asked.
"In a way, yes," Regina said, though it was clear from her face that she was losing focus, thoughts deep on something else. Her eyes had slid down Emma's body and were resting on her chest. Emma found that odd, though her heart rate picked up at it. Was...was Regina checking her out? No, that couldn't be.
"Hey, you alright?" she leaned in and Regina snapped back, as if afraid to be too close to Emma despite the fact that a desk separated them. "Yes. I, um, I'm fine, just lost my train of thought," Regina said, blinking rapidly and sitting back in her seat.
It was starting again, and Regina was annoyed and feeling helpless at the sensation of her body heating up hungrily to Emma's presence around her. Regina had implemented some spells on herself. One to mask her appearance so she looked more normal despite her skin still being pale and her teeth being sharp. And another to dampen the instincts and wants battling inside her. It worked well, hunger in the back of her throat only a distant thought. And she had hoped it would work when she was around Emma as well, but whatever the spell had targeted in controlling about the blood lust did not apply to regular lust. And slowly it was creeping back, with greedy fingers, peeling her apart.
She bit her bottom lip as a particularly violent shudder ran through her insides as her eyes could not help but trace over Emma's breasts, making the faintest of indents in her shirt.
She needed Emma out of the house. Now.
"How about dinner's at Granny's?" she asked, voice slightly tight. She was already getting up. "I have a few more books to scour and then I'll join you there."
Emma stood up too, a bit taken a back by the abrupt dismissal. "Uh, sure. Should I bring Henry? He misses you."
Regina shook her head. She wouldn't risk having Henry there in case worst came to worst and she snapped. Emma narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Regina, not wanting Henry around? How odd.
"I want to talk about vampire matters; there's no need for him to be there. I wouldn't want to scare him," Regina explained when she noticed Emma's look.
Well, that made sense, Emma surmised to herself and then nodded her head in agreement. "See you there."
The slam of the door allowed Regina to let out a sigh of relief. Was she going to react this way every time she was around the blonde?
She rubbed her forehead in worry and then hurried down to her basement so that she could do some more work on those restraining spells.
She finally emerged onto the streets of Storybrooke, with tentative fear. She felt paranoid, like everyone would take one look at her and just know she had turned. She knew it was silly to feel this way, but she couldn't help it. It kept her guard up and her nerves humming at full percent.
It was dusk now, so it was safe for her to walk without burning or becoming pained. Everything was louder than normal and her restraining spell was put to the test as heartbeats played in her ears, as rushing blood through veins called to her. She had fed before leaving just in case and though she could feel the beast inside her stirring with want to kill, it wasn't an overwhelming urge. She was certain she could make this work. No. She would make this work. It was her job to protect her town and those she cared about.
She made way to Granny's diner, the smell of greasy food making a lump of disgust stand in her throat. The whole purpose of this outing was to trick Emma into thinking she was okay. That she hadn't changed into a vampire.
She couldn't help from being jumpy, however. She was worried something could trigger her, or that someone else would notice. But so far, nothing of the sort happened. She sat in the booth, observing her surroundings. Her enhanced senses really were a marvel. She would hear conversations across the diner if she wanted to and everything was rich in color and detail even the plain gray tiles.
Ruby approached her, and Regina could literally smell the wolf hidden under the young girl's skin. It smelled like damp fur and bloody teeth.
It did not sit well with her vampire side which growled out in frustration. Regina tightened her muscles to prevent herself from leaping up and lashing out at Ruby with sharp fingernails. But Regina wasn't the only one strained. Ruby was too. Though she looked more confused by it. "You smell different," she said slowly, brows furrowed.
"Are you saying I stink?" Regina tried to play off playfully but inside was holding her breath. Could Ruby smell the beast inside her?
"No," Ruby shook her head, eyes still glimmering with confusion. She rubbed her nose. "No, I think my nose is just acting up funny from doing Granny's knickers in the laundry."
"What you'd say about my knickers?" Granny called out, her sharp hearing catching that.
Ruby stiffened. "Nothing," she assured in a sweet voice. She pulled out her pad and put pen to it. "So what will you have? And I'm guessing you're meeting Emma?"
Regina relaxed a minuscule. She was safe, for now. But she would make sure not to go to the diner again. It was too risky. "Yes, she's running late. Get her one of those deplorable grilled cheeses she likes so much. And just get me something to drink. I'm not really hungry."
Ruby left with the orders and a second later the door jingled open.
Oh. As Emma strode into the diner, Regina didn't know that she had a thing for uniforms until now. On Emma it looked almost skin tight, emphasizing the gluts and biceps she had, and those miles and miles of weapons she called her legs.
Regina's body was a sudden inferno and the beast inside her was roaring awake.
"Why are you wearing an uniform?" Regina managed out of a throat too dry after she had stared at Emma with ravenous eyes.
"Uh, because I've been utilizing the units and making them do some heavy leg work in order to find Mal and Ursula?" she said, scratching the back of her head, confused by Regina's reaction. She sat down in the seat in front of her, frowning heavily when Regina continued to stare at her, conflict written all over her face. And something else. Something hungry.
"Regina? Are you okay?" Emma asked, noting with concern the brunette's flushed face and the way she had her hand pressed against her mouth to stifle the moans that wanted to come out.
Regina nodded her head weakly yes. But no, she wasn't fine. Nothing was fine anymore and she couldn't understand why. She clenched her thighs as closely as she could but it didn't help. She could feel a trickle of her wetness escape the confines of her underwear and bead down her leg.
"Regina?"
Leave me alone! Regina hissed in her head, trying hard not to panic and failing. She had to get out of here. But she couldn't get up and leave in the state she was in. The blonde stood up and leaned across the table, hand out to touch Regina's forehead for temperature and Regina knew that the touch would crush her. So she teleported away back to her house, leaving a confused Emma mid motion.
She made it to the foyer, leaning back heavily on the door, gasping for air. What the hell was that about? She hadn't even made it more than ten seconds with Emma. There was a pulse of magic nearby and Regina knew that Emma had arrived on her front porch. But the blonde was too courteous to use the magic to force her way in.
"Regina, what's wrong? Speak to me," Emma's demanding but caring voice came.
Regina wanted so badly to open the door and launch herself into Emma's arms but she held herself back, grinding her teeth hard and nails sinking into the wood of her expensive door.
"I'm having a hot flash," she explained, trying to make her voice sound as steady as she could. "And I'd appreciate it if I could be alone for this."
Silence on the other end, but Emma hadn't left yet. She could smell her through the door. "Alright," was voiced reluctantly. "But if you need help-"
"I don't. I just need some alone time," Regina urged out harshly and finally, the pulse of magic signaling Emma teleporting away sounded off. Regina sank to the floor and took in deep shuddering breaths, trying to tame the monster inside of her that was screaming at her for letting Emma away. It wanted Emma to come in and take care of them. Regina feared to let the beast loose on Emma. She knew all too well the debauched things it wanted to do to the sheriff.
Regina stayed there, on the floor, until her persistent arousal finally drove her upstairs to her bedroom for some much needed relief.