A/N: For the following chapter you have my friend Sarah to thank! It was her messages earlier in the week that helped me get back into the writing mood and mindset, and without her there likely would not have been anything posted this weekend. Thank you Sarah xx
WARNING: Chapter contains sexual assault.
Regina's eyes blinked weakly as she tried to fight the sedative, or whatever it was that Whale had given to her before leaving. Sidney was still with her, but after telling her that she was the only thing he had ever wanted, he had remained quiet for a time.
She knew he was watching her, still debating his actions. Even though the drugs were slowing her down she was still consumed by the fear that she would have to endure what she saw as the worst, most humiliating assault yet. She knew Sidney's plan had been to take advantage of her, but she was also aware of the doubts she had been able to place in his mind regarding his decision to carry through with it. For the time being however, she didn't know yet if she had been completely successful in talking him out of hurting her further.
"Sidney..." Regina said quietly.
She was able to keep her eyes open long enough to see him meet her eyes expectantly.
"Please tell my family where I am." She whispered.
Sidney sighed at the repeated request.
"I don't know Regina... Whale will be coming back soon."
"All the more reason to go now, this may be your only chance to save my life. Please, I've never needed your help more than I do now." The desperation was shining in her watery eyes.
He still looked conflicted.
"Sidney I don't want to die here." She said in a broken voice.
"I don't know... There is still time for your family to find you without my assistance."
"No, there's not." Regina whispered closing her eyes tightly as she continued to fight the sedative. "Even without this... torture," she said quietly, "if I don't get to Boston I'll likely be dead by the end of the week. Or worse..."
"Worse?"
Regina gave a soft sigh, she wished she could just sleep, she wished she didn't have to explain this to him, but she knew he was likely her only chance at this point. Sidney needed to understand how urgently she needed to get to a hospital. She didn't know if her family knew who had taken her yet and she didn't even know if Emma was still alive... Regina didn't want to think about what could have happened to the blonde.
"Because I've lost kidney function my body is slowly filling with toxins." Regina started to explain slowly. "Did Whale not tell you any of this?"
Sidney shook his head. "He just said you had renal failure, he didn't go into detail."
"Well then let me fill you in," Regina replied tiredly. "If that poison builds up too high before I am able to get to a hospital, the damage could be irreversible. My mind could be permanently affected; I could go into a coma that I might not be able to come back from. Please Sidney, I don't want to die this way."
"Whale has been giving you medicine, he wouldn't let that happen to you until you've done what he wants."
Regina breathed a sharp laugh. "We both know Whale's demands of sending him back to the Enchanted Forest are a load of bull. He knows that I have no magic, he knows I'm not hiding it. He just wanted an excuse to keep hurting me. And so I must disagree with you; he is letting it happen. The medicine he's giving me isn't changing anything, it's only a very temporary fix. I need continuous treatment. I need a real hospital." Regina's voice wavered a little emotionally. "Emma was going to take me to Boston, and that would be my only real chance of pulling through this."
Sidney's brow creased slightly as he considered all of this. When it became clear that he wasn't going to reply, Regina reached out to take his hand.
"Sidney..." She whispered. "I am sorry for everything I've done to you. Please believe that."
The reporter gazed down at her with a pained expression in his eyes, but Regina couldn't tell if that was a good sign or a bad one.
For a few moments they remained in silence. Regina was much calmer than she had been earlier now that the light sedative had fully kicked in. Her pain levels were a little more bearable and even though she was still desperately homesick, she could almost feel herself relaxing. That was until Sidney leaned forwards and reached out for her with both arms.
Not having expected it, Regina took a sharp intake of breath as Sidney lifted her carefully into a sitting position. He leaned her gently up against the headboard.
"What are you doing?" She asked in a hushed voice.
Despite the fact that her eyes were continually falling closed due to the effects of the drug, she forced herself to stay as alert as possible.
Her heart started beating more quickly when Sidney ran a hand through her hair, and then leaned towards her, bringing his lips towards hers.
She made a small noise of protest, turning her head away from him to avoid the contact. He however, just took her face into his hands and turned her towards him again. Regina whimpered fearfully as their lips made contact.
Her heart sank when, after a few unpleasant moments of this, he deepened the kiss by moving his body closer to hers and drawing her towards him. The panic grew inside of Regina. She had dared to hope that maybe she had been able to get through to him, but now she understood that his lust was simply more important to him than she was.
A tear rolled down her cheek as his lips withdrew from hers and he instead began exploring her neck and collarbone. This was really going to happen, she realized.
"Please don't do this Sidney," She whispered, trying to push him away from her. "Please... you're better than this. I know you are."
He reached up and grabbed her arms to prevent her from pushing him away.
"Sidney let go of me..." She begged, pulling against his grasp as fresh tears filled her eyes.
He lifted his lips to hers again and in the brief few seconds that she had caught a glimpse of his face she was taken aback because she could have sworn she saw tears in his eyes too.
He kissed her one more lingering time before ultimately pulling away from her.
"I'm sorry Regina..." He said, his voice starting to quiver with emotion. "I'm sorry."
She sniffled, blinking back her tears as she looked up at him in confusion.
"I should never have helped them bring you here. I should have tried to stop them."
"What?" Regina whispered. Her brow creased, she was certain she must have misheard.
"I'm sorry I let him hurt you. And I'm..." Sidney looked away from her. "I'm sorry I helped him."
"Sidney..."
He looked up at her again. "But he promised me that you could... that you could finally be mine. And I knew it was probably my only chance to... to be with you."
Regina's eyes were full of emotional pain as she gazed at him. Despite the fact that she felt sick to her stomach at what he was implying, there was a tiny hint of pity in her expression. "Not like this." She responded. "Never like this."
He gazed into her eyes, and she could see in his what she had seen so many times before, that longing for her approval, for her affection.
"Did you really mean what you said before?" He asked. "Could you really forgive me?"
Regina was silent for a few moments, before sighing softly, and wiping away the tears that had fallen down her cheeks.
"If you help get me home, and if you truly do regret what you've done... yes, I could try to find a way."
"Oh..." He said, the relief clear in his eyes. "Thank you... thank you."
She raised her hand to stop him. "That being said, I may not be able to," she said softly, "at least maybe not right away. It's just... difficult, please understand. But I can promise you Sidney... I certainly wouldn't punish you."
Regina realized that it might have been best not to mention that first part but she thought her safest option right now was to be completely honest with him.
Regina glanced towards the door. "Now Sidney... if you really do mean what you say, you have to get me out of here now. We both know what will happen if you don't." She said with a catch in her voice.
"Whale will kill you."
Regina's eyes saddened, she gave a small nod in agreement. She hoped he was truly prepared for this. She wouldn't be able to make it home by herself in her current state.
"We'll have to be careful in town," Sidney said. "There is still a big group of people who want you dead."
"You're really going to take me back? Back home?" Regina asked, feeling a growing hopefulness in the pit of her stomach.
There were tears of regret shining in Sidney's eyes again as he took in the sight of her. "I'm sorry I didn't try to help you sooner. I didn't know you still thought of me as a friend. I thought you were merely using me all these years."
Regina sighed softly, she didn't have a response for that. What was she supposed to say? That it was okay that he helped someone beat her nearly to death? That he shouldn't worry about it? Neither of those responses were appropriate because of course, they would be the furthest from the truth.
Sidney was and always had been weak, she shouldn't have been surprised that he had been so easily manipulated by Whale.
"Just make it up to me by getting me out of here." She finally replied.
Sidney nodded as he reached a hand out to help her up.
Regina gave a small smile, relief flooding her for what felt like the first time in an eternity.
However just as she was reaching out to accept his aid, they were both startled by the sound of someone clearing their throat.
"What's this?" A voice asked from the doorway.
Regina jumped, her blood ran cold as she turned to face the door and saw that Whale had returned.
"I'm afraid you're not going anywhere." Whale said to her, before turning to the room's other occupant. "Sidney, would you care to explain to me what's going on here?"
"You're–you're back early." Sidney stammered in surprise.
"Yes I am, that doesn't answer my question."
"I– I couldn't do it."
"What?" Whale snapped.
"I changed my mind. I couldn't... hurt her. Not in that way. She doesn't deserve it, and I care too much about her to force her."
"You can't be serious; you're honestly telling me that you let her get into your head again?!" Whale replied in angry incredulity. "She does deserve this! She's held the power over all of us for decades, she screwed us over back when she cast the curse, she has never given a second thought to anyone except herself since the day she was born and now it's our turn to prove her wrong!"
"Whale..." Regina said, her voice quivering slightly at his angry outburst. "Please, just calm down and listen to me, you've got this all wrong."
At that he turned on her, coming towards her quickly. She drew away from him but he grabbed her by her upper arms.
"You're not the one in control anymore Regina." He threatened darkly. "You are no longer the queen, and you don't hold any dominance over the people of this town any longer."
A frightened Regina tried to speak again but Whale wouldn't give her the chance. He roughly shook her one time to keep her quiet.
"For years, you thought you could do whatever you wanted to the people of your kingdom? Burning villages, killing innocent people? Torturing them?! And let's not forget what you did to your huntsman, we all know how you treated Graham. Well look at you now Your Majesty. You're nothing."
"Whale I–" Regina's voice shook.
"Shut up! We're the ones with the power over you now. And in case you still don't understand that, I'm going to prove it to you once and for all." He said, ignoring the tears streaming down her face.
Before she knew it he was over her, pushing her down onto the bed again, "I can do whatever I want to you." He said, straddling her hips tightly and pinning her down.
"No." Regina was trembling fearfully as she looked to Sidney for help. She couldn't verbalize her pleas but he hadn't needed her prompting.
She saw that Sidney was lunging towards Whale but the doctor seemed to have realized it before any action could be taken. He was off of Regina before Sidney could force him off of her, and instead he dodged the attack. In the next few seconds Sidney was knocked to the floor.
Regina couldn't see what was happening but she heard a strained yelp from Sidney, and she could hear them both continuing to struggle.
Knowing that this could be her only chance, despite the sedative, her heart was pounding and her body was pumping with adrenaline as she practically fell out of the bed in her rush to get away. She was still weak and she discovered that her leg muscles were very stiff, but she forced herself to move as quickly as she possibly could towards the door.
She willed herself to run, but when she made it within two feet of the door she was grabbed from behind and forced down onto the floor, flat on her stomach. She screamed as an incredible pain tore through her when her already damaged body took the impact. Despite the agony, she continued to fight with all she had. Unfortunately she just wasn't strong enough. He grabbed her by her legs, her hips, her hair, whatever he could to keep her from escaping.
She cried out in fear as Whale climbed on top of her again. She quickly looked around as best she could from her current position, but there was no sign of Sidney.
"No," she cried again in panic. "Whale please."
She was struggling against him but it was extremely difficult to fight him while facing the floor. She reached her arms out to try to pull herself across the floorboards and out from underneath him, but the weight on top of her was too much.
"If this is about Elizabeth I'm sorry..." Regina said in a gasped sob. "I didn't know you were trying to bring her back. I didn't know I was taking you from her."
The side of her face was pressed against the hardwood as Whale suddenly held her head down. She jumped when she heard what sounded like a blade sliding open, and her guess was proven correct when a small knife glistening with blood was brought in front of her face. He pulled her head up by her hair to force her to look at it more fully.
A horrible chill ran through her, and she took a sharp intake of breath as she realized the blood must be Sidney's.
"Stop fighting me unless you want me to use this on you too. And no, I don't mean to kill you with. You wouldn't be so lucky." He threatened.
Once the blade was removed from her vision Regina closed her eyes tightly, causing more tears to spill down her face.
Despite what he had said, she was still trying fiercely to get out from underneath him but he only continued to hold her down. She felt his hands pressing heavily on her back, holding her down as he shifted positions on top of her.
Suddenly he pressed himself against her and a panic grew inside her as she felt the unmistakeable bulge against her backside. She tried to turn herself over to fight him but she couldn't.
"Do you feel that?" He asked in a venomous whisper close to her ear. "Not so high and mighty now, are we Your Majesty?"
Regina made a small noise of hateful disgust. He was pushing her so heavily against the floor that she was having trouble breathing, but she tried her best to keep taking in oxygen. Yes it would be better if she were unconscious for what was about to take place, but it would be even more preferable if it didn't happen at all. Despite the fact that she knew she was hardly in any physical state to fend him off, she wouldn't let him take her without at least trying to fight.
She could feel his fingers along the waist of her pants and it was as if her heart stopped when he finally pulled them off of her. She kicked her legs back against him to try to make it more difficult, but after a time of struggling he was the more successful one. The weight on top of her lessened briefly as Whale let go of her to take her pants completely off, leaving her bottom-half covered only by her undergarments which had miraculously stayed on. She used that time to turn herself over so she could have the use of her arms again.
He tossed the first piece of clothing aside and was immediately back on top of her, squeezing her thighs between his legs to prevent her from kicking him.
Using both hands, he grabbed her arms before she could do him any harm and he pushed her roughly back down to the floor causing her to cry in pain.
He brought her wrists together over her head and transferred them both to one of his hands, holding them tightly. With his other hand he reached into his pocket and withdrew another a needle.
When Regina saw it a jolt of fear ran through her and she fought even harder. If that was another of the first needles he had used on her then this was going to be a living hell.
"Please don't." She begged in a trembling voice. "Not again. Please, it's too much."
"Relax," Whale said, taking the cap off with his teeth. "This isn't going to hurt."
Regina pressed her lips together in a distressed cry as tears streamed down her face. She didn't believe him. And even if he was telling the truth, he had given her so many injections already. Surely by this point even a healthy person's body would be reaching its limits? What was this doing to hers?
One of her shirt sleeves had already been pulled up in the struggle, and so Whale went for one of the veins. He pulled her wrists up further over her head to make her arms lie straighter, which made it less likely for her to be able to move them while he injected her.
Her chest was rising and falling rapidly. Regina followed the needle with her eyes, but then closed them once she felt it being administered.
She was shaking again, she couldn't believe how close she had come to escaping. If only Sidney had acted more quickly, maybe she could have been spared this.
Regina exhaled heavily as the drug hit her system. This one took effect much faster than the previous one. Maybe they were different types, or maybe this one just seemed faster because the other sedative had only just been administered very recently.
A tear ran down her cheek as her tense body began to relax, and her head lolled sideways as she involuntarily rested back against the floor.
"That's better isn't it?" Whale said, caressing her bare leg with his fingers. She shivered slightly at his cold touch.
Now that she was no longer fighting him, Whale was able to let go of her slightly. He continued to run his hand along her leg, up and down her thigh, pressing a little too hard in his eagerness to start. His hand slid to her inner thigh and slowly started moving upwards.
His eyes flicked up to hers when he heard a quiet whimper. She was blinking weakly and Whale could hear her crying softly.
Regina closed her eyes, turning her head once to the other side.
Whale scooped her up easily, lifting her back onto the bed. She struggled weakly, trying helplessly to fight him off.
Regina's heart sank as he effortlessly overpowered her again.
Why couldn't she have just died in that fire, she thought. How the hell was she still alive? She was ready now: ready to give up, ready to accept death. Somehow she had managed to escape it for months, but now she welcomed the end.
"I suppose as a queen you want to be treated with a little more respect don't you?" Whale asked, climbing on top of her delicately trembling form again. He caressed her neck with the back of his fingers before reaching down to tug at the collar of her shirt. "Well that's not going to happen."
With that he ripped the shirt open, causing her breath to catch at the suddenness of it and sending buttons clattering to the floor.
His eyes swept over her body hungrily as he undid his belt. However he stopped himself as his hands lingered on his button and zipper. Leaving his pants on instead, he forced her legs apart and settled in between them. With hands on either side of her to hold himself up, he contented himself for now by pushing his front against hers, rubbing against her a few times. He groaned in longing and in frustration as he forced himself to wait. He knew that Regina herself just wanted it to be over with and he wanted her suffering to last. However the small tease he had given himself only made him impatient for more and he pushed himself harder between her legs.
Regina whimpered as she felt him against her, but he soon pulled back. His fingers traced the remaining bruises on her stomach as he admired the damage he had done. His hands slid up her bare torso and over her bra, but by the time she had reached weakly up to push him away his hands had gone down to her underwear, leaving the bra still in place.
He rubbed his hand against her before his finger slipped under the fabric, ready to pull the garment down.
"I've never been with a queen before..." Whale's voice said. "This should be fun."
"Get away from her!" A furious voice said from behind them.
Regina gasped softly, opening her eyes. For one horrible moment she wondered if she had imagined it.
When she saw that she hadn't, she nearly started to cry again as she was flooded with inexplicable amounts of relief.
Half a second later, Whale's vision was blinded as he took a severe blow to the side of his head.
Emma's punch had thrown him to the floor, rendering him briefly dazed.
Her mouth hung open as she saw Regina lying there, shaking, crying. She was badly beaten, her clothes had been torn off, and clearly she barely had enough strength to even open her eyes.
Emma felt sick. Her first instinct was to go to Regina, to help her, to comfort her, to cover her up, but at the same time she knew she couldn't let Whale get away.
Heart beating wildly, Emma glanced at Whale and saw that he was stirring on the floor. She had a few seconds, she decided. She rushed to Regina's side, careful to keep Whale in sight at all times to avoid an attack from behind.
"Regina," Emma said in panic, reaching for the brunette. "Regina oh my god... oh my god. What did they do to you? Oh my god..."
"Emma," Regina whispered in a trembling voice, closing her eyes as tears of relief poured down her face. "Emma is it really you?" She blinked her damp eyelashes open again to try to keep the blonde in focus.
Emma placed a gentle hand on the side of Regina's head. "Yeah it's me, I'm here. I'm going to get you out of this place okay?" She said softly. "Just hold on." Her voice broke emotionally as she tried not to let any tears of her own fall.
Regina made a small noise, pressing her lips together as she weakly reached for Emma's hand, holding onto it desperately.
A disgruntled moan was heard from the floor beside them and Whale began to get up. He glanced at the two women. He took a step towards them, there was hate blazing in his eyes.
"Take another step and it'll be the last thing you ever do!" Emma was immediately in front of Regina, shielding her from Whale.
The doctor's eyes shifted down to the gun that that had been pulled on him, and with a final glance towards Regina he turned and ran.
Emma quickly turned towards the brunette. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she said, quickly pulling a blanket from the bottom of the bed up and over Regina, "but I can't let him get away. I'll come right back okay?"
"Emma no," Regina whispered tearfully, trying to hold on tighter to her hand.
"I'll be right back I promise." Emma's voice broke again as she saw the fear in her friend's eyes. She heard Whale nearing the stairs and knew she had to leave now. Forcing herself to tear her eyes away from Regina's, Emma turned and ran from the room.
...
A/N: Please don't forget to review xx