It was quiet in the forest by the palace. Dark, too. The full moon was sparkling down, but only just barely sliced through the trees. It was an ominous place. Not only that, but it was almost terrifying. Only five people were out there. All of them had a reason for being there. Almost none of those reasons were the same. In that sense, it led to a deeply anxious silence. Nothing felt quite right. There was something off about where they were, too. For all of them, things were difficult. The forest seemed to be alive, but in a way which seemed to have a quality to it that led to a sense of discontent. Unease. That was, perhaps, the only common feeling among them. There was too much. Too much was left unsaid between them, and too much was precarious. What they were about to do - or, at least, what one of them was about to do, and the others were witness to - was almost unbelievable. When it was done, things would be completely different. The world would never be the same. What exactly would it look like when they were on the other side of the curse?

Regina, the queen.

Sherry, one of the ladies of Willowsand, the older one.

Red, the enigma.

Caity, the other lady of Willowsand, the younger one.

Henry, the queen's father.

"Who among us is tired of losing?" Regina's eyes narrowed with each word she spoke. "That's why I called you here. To put an end to our misery."

Red bowed her head. Part of her did not even know why she was there.

"Today," Regina went on, her voice shaking a little. "We claim victory, and move to a new, better realm. A place where we can finally win."

Red glanced at her behind her hair, hanging in front of her face, her cloak rippling around her in the wind.

"And we'll be happy?" She said quietly. Her voice was so soft, it terrified her. "Won't we?"

"I guarantee it," Regina said, crossing her arms, shivering a bit with the cold wind of the night around all of them. "But, first, I need something from you."

Silence.

The two ladies of Willowsand seemed unfazed.

Red stayed in the state where she was so lost, so confused.

She didn't want to hurt Snow.

She didn't want to hurt Lynn.

She didn't know who to trust, not anymore.

Silence.

It was brutal.

"A lock of hair," Regina finally said with a sigh. "From those with the darkest souls. You must trust me, because, if you don't, there are other ways."

Red looked up, startled.

It was more than clear who she was talking about.

She pulled out a lock of hair, letting out a short cry of pain when she did.

She wished she had magic to use like Caity and Sherry, who simply burned off a bit of their hair.

Magic really did have its uses.

"A wise decision," Regina briefly looked at the hair in her hands, "All that remains…is the final ingredient."

Henry hesitated. Part of him did not want anything to do with what his daughter was about to do. He only stepped forward when she sent him a dark look.

"A prized heart," Regina took the box her father had brought into her hands. She briefly closed her eyes before she could bring herself to slowly open the box. "From my childhood steed. A glorious beast whose passing will fuel our victory."

Her hands shook when she pulled the heart out of the box, then letting the box drop to the ground. She stared at it for a moment, before tossing it into the fire.

"Let my wrath be unleashed."

The fire went up, then completely dissipated. This…the curse…it had failed.

"Damn it!" Regina's hands shook badly, and she stared at the embers, almost lost in thought. "What the hell did I do wrong?"

"Maybe it just needs something a bit stronger?" Sherry suggested. "A human heart?"

"If it didn't work with that," Red grimaced. "It probably won't work at all."

"That's impossible," Caity told her. "The curse exists for a reason. If it wouldn't work at all, then it simply wouldn't exist."

"What?" Red stared at her, shocked. "Is that honestly -"

"Yes," Sherry said gently. "All magic exists for a reason. Curses are no exception."

Silence. Regina looked unusually weak, unusually like she would fall over if the wind got too strong.

"Perhaps it's for the best," Her father eventually said. "The forces you're summoning are darker than we can conceive."

Regina sent him a dark look. "Oh, so now you're trying to protect me?"

Henry sighed. "It's what I do."

"I know," Regina glanced between him, Red, and her friends. "You're the only one who does."

"The only one she'll let get close enough to," Sherry murmured, taking her wife's hand. "You know that as well as I do."

Caity shook her head. "Not necessarily."

"Helping you," Henry shook his head. "Is my life."

"Well, then," Regina crossed her arms, almost as if she were trying to hold herself together. "Help me to understand why this curse isn't working."

"If you want to know that, then you have to go back to the person who gave it to you in the first place," He briefly sent Caity, Sherry, and Red a pleading look. "Revenge is a dark and lonely road, Regina," He paused for a moment when she started to walk away. "Once you go down it…there is no heading back."

Regina paused.

"What is there for me to head back to?"

She disappeared into the woods, leaving them alone.

She was not at the palace when they returned there, only relieved to find that Lynn was still there, safely, and asleep.

"It's just us, dearie. You can show yourself!"

Regina hesitantly stepped out from the darkness of the trees.

"Well?" Rumple laughed when she scowled at him. "What's on your mind, dearie?"

"That curse you gave me," Regina pulled out the scroll, and just about shoved it into his face, her voice shaking a bit. "It's not working."

Rumple started laughing.

"Do you think I would say that lightly?" She narrowed her eyes when he kept laughing. "You ought to know better than anyone how serious I am about this."

"Oh, I know," Rumple replied. "It's simply amusing to watch you get upset."

Regina's fingers started to curl, one of them almost strangling the scroll.

"See, that's what I'm talking about!" Rumple declared, clapping for a few seconds. "You have almost no emotional control, Regina."

"That," She could not hide the contempt in her voice. "Is not true in the slightest."

Rumple snickered. "Your mother, dearie, was dangerous because she had no heart," He said, sounding rather amused. "You are more dangerous because you do."

"That's great to know," She bit off. "Perhaps that will mean I'll develop the capacity to kill you."

Rumple raised an eyebrow but then nodded.

"You win, your majesty," He said, silent when true darkness showed in her eyes. "Oh, so worried!" Rumple cracked his fingers. "So, so worried…like Snow, and her lovely new husband!"

Regina startled.

"What?"

"They paid me a visit as well," Rumple continued. "They were very anxious. About you…and the curse."

Regina slipped the scroll back into her pocket, and stepped a bit closer to him.

"What," She drew out the word in nothing but pure anger. "Did you tell them?"

"The truth!" He said, starting to snicker again. "That nothing can stop the darkness. Except, of course, their unborn child."

"Is that so?"

Silence.

Though he knew he was vastly more powerful than the disgraced queen, there was something in the way Regina spoke that made him uneasy.

She was unpredictable, yet predictable at the same time.

"You see," Rumple went on, starting to walk slowly around her in circles. "No matter how powerful, all curses can be broken."

"I'm well aware of that," Regina briefly closed her eyes in thought. "But, more than likely, their child will not be in the picture in this new land. They'll leave the child here…or send them somewhere else that will never be able to reach them."

Rumple paused, kneeling down a bit to be eye to eye with her.

"Their child is the key," Rumple confirmed. "Of course, the curse has to be enacted first."

Regina tensed when he began to continue walking in slow, deliberate circles around her.

"Tell me," She tried to mask the tension in her voice. "What did I do wrong?"

"For that," Rumple leaned in for a second, pulling back when she, this time, did not flinch. "There's a price."

Regina glared at him. "What do you want?"

"Simple," He said, with a falsely innocent tone to his voice. "In this new land, I want comfort. I want a good life."

"Fine!" Regina threw up her hands in exasperation. "You'll have an estate, be rich!"

"I wasn't finished!" Rumple shoved a finger in her face. "There's more!"

Regina slapped his hand away. "There always is with you."

Rumple shrugged. "Yeah…yeah…" He smirked. "In this new land, should I ever come to you, for any reason, you must heed my every request. You must do whatever I say…so long as I say please."

Regina frowned. "You do realise that, should I succeed, you won't remember any of this?"

Rumple rolled his eyes. "Oh, well, then what's the harm?"

"No," Regina crossed her arms. "What must I do to enact this curse?"

Rumple started to argue, but did not when he saw the look in her eyes.

I wonder what her heart would look like if she pulled it out for examination…would it be as dark as I imagine? Or would the darkness be small?

"You need to sacrifice," Rumple flew out his arms in a flourish. "A heart."

Regina scowled. "I sacrificed my prized steed."

Without thinking, Rumple jumped at her, and grabbed her throat.

"A horse?" He shouted. "This is the curse to end all curses! You think a horse is going to do? Great power requires great sacrifice! The heart you need must come from something far more precious!"

Regina pried him off her, kicking him back.

"Tell me," She hissed. "What will suffice?"

"The heart," Rumple said simply. "Of the thing you love most."

Regina began to shake in pure anger. "What I loved most," She snapped. "Died because of Snow White!"

Rumple gave her a merely bored look. "Is there no one else you truly love?"

Regina fell silent. She felt sick.

"This curse isn't going to be easy," Rumple reminded her. "Vengeance never is, dearie. You have to ask yourself a simple question: how far are you willing to go?"

Regina eyed him mutinously. "As far as it takes."

"Then, please, stop wasting everyone's time, and just do it!" Rumple started laughing madly. "You know what you love…now go kill it!"

She turned and walked away. He disappeared with a sharp crack. Then, the queen turned back around at the top of a hill, ensuring she was still alone, one hand wrapping around the curse in her pocket, and the other wrapping around a necklace which matched her daughter's.

"I hope you can forgive me for what I'm going to do, Lynn…" Regina barely heard herself speak aloud. "I hope you can forgive me for what I'm going to do to your grandfather."

Replies To Reviews:

jasouatfan: and…..you were correct! in all honesty, i love Lynn as a character too much to ever kill her off, and i think that shines through. besides that, she is what Regina always needed in the show, too, so that she could be better balanced. as for Snow, she and Regina remain completely at odds, emotionally and generally. Charming, however, has no idea of the full picture and, while neither Snow nor Regina are particularly good about that themselves, they have a better understanding of each other. it's an interesting dynamic for sure.

Sammii16: hell yes! next chapter is the curse, and, then, Storybrooke! i'm so excited, and it's great to see other people excited too!

barrattajennifer: thanks love! i'm glad you enjoyed my approach to the character(s)