Regina was brought into a room with a long table and left there. She was so afraid that she stood there, not even daring to look around. Could she really be in the castle of the Dark One, she wondered.

A door on the opposite side of the room where she had entered opened.

"Welcome Lady Regina," the creature said bowing before approaching her. "I hope your journey here to my castle went well."

He walked right up to her and she could only stare at him. He had the look of a man but his skin – his skin seemed almost like a golden color. He was smiling at her and she didn't like it.

"What's the matter dearie, are you not one for conversation?" he said. "Well, no matter. Perhaps it is best if you listen more than speak."

He started to circle her, examining her from head to toe and she moved as he did, not liking being under his eye like that.

"What am I doing here?" she asked finally.

"Didn't the princess explain it to you?"

She shook her head no. Emma had told her she was going someplace safe and that she would join her but this isn't what Regina would consider safe. There had to be some sort of mistake.

"Please have a seat, and I will explain what you are doing here then," he said indicating she should sit at the table. She was hesitant but she also needed to know what was going on so she sat.

He took a seat on the opposite side of the table and leaned forward with his hands clasped together.

"You and I are going to be spending some time together. I promise you will find it most educational."

"I don't understand."

"You my dear have what we like to call potential. It's wasted potential, however. For that, I blame your mother. How is Cora these days?"

"My mom?"

"Yes, Cora is your mother, correct?"

"Yes. How did you know that?"

"I know a great many things, some of which I would like to teach you. That is why I arranged to have you brought here."

"But Emma, she said I was going someplace safe and she would meet me and that we were going to be together."

"As you will be. The deal I made with the princess was that I would help the two of go somewhere that you could safely be together. In order to do that, however, you are going to need to help the process along."

"How?"

"Magic of course, but we can speak more on that later. I am sure you are hungry from your travels and perhaps tired."

He stood and rang a bell that he made appear in his hand. The door opened again and a young woman about her age entered. If this woman thought it odd that Regina was there she gave no evidence of it.

"Belle this is Regina, my new student. See to it that she is fed and then show her to a room where she can freshen up and rest," he said and then he left.

Student, why had he called her his student, Regina wondered. She was confused and her head was beginning to ache.

"I will bring you some food," Belle said.

"Wait," Regina said. "What's going to happen to me?"

"I don't know," Belle said. "Let's get you fed first though."

"He's … he's the Dark One, isn't he?"

"His name is Rumplestiltskin," Belle said simply, and something in the way she said it gave Regina pause. It was almost as if this woman was defending him by making that simple declaration.

…

Emma was worried for Regina. She didn't like that she had to wait to go meet up with her, but she knew she had no choice. There had been no progress in finding her since she had been taken five days ago. Regina's parents had returned to their home in hopes that maybe whoever took her would contact them for a ransom.

As for Emma's parents, well, the possible abduction of their daughter had made them overprotective. Emma couldn't go anywhere without four guards being in sight. She had yet to figure out how she was going to slip out to meet with Regina. First, she had to wait. Rumplestiltskin had told her that he would signal her when the time was right for her to escape to his castle. She knew she was taking a risk in making a deal with him, but she felt like she had no choice if she was to be with Regina.

She had heard many stories about how once he made a deal he was beholden to see it done. She had also heard how many of those deals backfired on the one who made it. The odd thing was, he hadn't asked her for anything – not exactly. In exchange for his help, he had simply asked her permission to ask something of Regina. He said it would be Regina's free will in how she chose to answer him. Emma couldn't think of any way that this might be a trick. The Dark One had given her a day to think of the deal and in the end, she had agreed to it. She trusted Regina and knew whatever the Dark One wanted to ask Regina, Regina would give an answer that was true.

Still, she didn't like the idea of Regina being there. She knew Regina was probably scared and she could only hope that Regina understood that Emma had done this so they could be together.

….

A knock on the door startled Regina.

"Regina, It's me, Belle. I came to get you for breakfast."

Regina opened the door.

"Didn't you sleep?" Belle asked as soon as she saw Regina.

"I couldn't," Regina said.

"You are safe here."

Regina didn't say anything. She had been up all night, afraid to close her eyes, afraid to do anything.

"Are you at least hungry? You must be since you didn't eat anything yesterday."

Regina nodded. She was starving, and her desire to eat was outweighing her fear of eating anything in this castle. She followed Belle down to the same room where she had met the Dark One the day before. Thankfully, he wasn't there.

She sat down and Belle brought her some food to eat.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Regina asked her.

Belle smiled at her. "I already ate, but I will keep you company for a little while if want."

"Please."

Belle sat down across from her, giving her another smile. Regina liked Belle's smile, it was a kind, gentle smile that made Regina feel a little more at ease.

"Have you been here long?" Regina asked her.

"Almost a year."

"What do you do here?"

"I maintain the household for him."

There was no question as to who "he" was.

"Are the stories true about him?"

"You aren't in any danger here," Belle said. "He told me has no intention of harming you. I believe him."

That was of little comfort to Regina. She was almost done with her meal when the Dark One entered. Belle immediately stood up from the table.

"Good morning Regina," Rumple said. "Are you ready for your first lesson?"

"What lesson?"

"Your first magic lesson of course."

"Magic lesson? I don't understand."

"Yes, I am beginning to see that. I take it your mother never told you that you have the ability to do magic. I am not surprised. Your mother also had potential but then she chose to give it all up to get married. But hey, you were the result of that so I could be patient."

"How do you know my mother?"

"We are old friends you could say."

She found it hard to believe that her mother could have known the Dark One. Under what circumstances could her mom possibly have ever encountered him, much less be friends with him, she wondered. And magic? Her mom didn't know magic and she certainly didn't.

"Well are you ready?" he asked.

"I don't know any magic. I think you may have mistaken me for someone else."

He laughed at her, and she found the sound of it unnerving.

"Believe me, Regina, I have not mistaken you for anyone else. You are the daughter of Cora Mills, a woman who could have been an amazingly powerful witch. You Regina, you have the ability to be as powerful as she is, more powerful. And in the end that power will only be beneficial to you and Emma."

"How so?"

"Under my guidance and tutelage, you can be taught magic that will help you and Emma go someplace where you can be together. That is the deal I made with the princess, that I would help in this matter and phase one is complete. Phase two is you learning magic."

Regina thought about this. She knew from the stories that the Dark One would make deals with people, but usually those didn't turn out well.

"What did Emma give you in return for this deal?" she asked.

"Nothing," he said. "Well technically, she allowed me the opportunity to ask something of you, but I am not ready to ask it yet. Don't worry, I am simply going to ask you something, how you choose to answer is entirely on your own and will not affect the deal I made with Emma. If I learned one thing from your mother, it's that women seem to like to have their free will. In the meantime, since you have to wait here why don't we get on with that lesson."

"What if I don't want to learn magic? What if I want to leave here and go home?"

"You ask a lot of questions," he sighed. "As for your last question, if you wish to leave, then leave. I am not holding you here against your will. I am merely providing you a place to be until your beloved comes. If you choose to go, then I will have Belle show you to the gate. Enjoy the walk home."

Regina knew she couldn't walk home. She didn't know exactly where the castle was in relation to her home. She knew Emma had done this because she thought this was a way they could be together, but she wished Emma would have spoken to her first.

Since she hadn't, Regina was going to have to make the best of the situation until she could figure out what to do.

"Ok," she said. "I don't know that you have the right person still. I have never done magic and my mother has certainly never mentioned that she could do it. I guess a lesson wouldn't hurt one way or another."

He laughed again, "That's the spirit. Now let's go outside, we want to make sure you don't catch the drapes on fire after all."