Right now, Emma Swan was thinking happy thoughts. Images and memories of the Charmings, Henry, and Regina flashed onto the back of her eyelids like a movie projector. She remembered first meeting Mary Margaret and David Nolan separately, and then together as Snow White and Prince Charming, her parents. Visions of Henry in Regina's arms played over and over. She swore she felt a smile creep on her lips, even though given her current situation, that would be extremely inappropriate. Emma felt herself slipping and all the memories that played darkened in saturation, became fuzzy and —
A deep chuckle entered her ears.
"No, you don't," Greg's demeaning voice entered her mind.
Emma's head pounded as her eyes met a bright light. She hissed at it and pulled at the tight restraints around her arms and torso with all the power her body had left to give.
"Killing you would just be too easy," he continued. "No, it has to hurt for longer."
The machine behind all the blonde's pain whirred in the distance and unfortunately, The Savior was far from being able to panic. Tears burned tracks down the sides of Emma's face leading into her hairline. Her dark green forest eyes lost all their warm color long ago.
When the torture began, all Emma knew was to scream. After just barely an hour, her body gave up and her walls had to come crashing. The blonde wasn't quite sure how long she'd been enduring this. It could have been a couple of hours, but it felt like weeks.
"What could you possibly want, you utter piece of —" Emma began before another current ran through her body. The electricity surged straight to her brain as every vein in her body bulged to the surface. She clamped her eyes down hard as her jaw fell open loosely. As if someone was taking a wrench and tightening it, her open mouth refused to close as her back arched off of the table below her. No sound came from Emma.
Once Greg flipped the switch to turn it off, her eyes opened. She felt his fingers grip her chin as her mouth remained wide. Inches away from her own, Greg's face stared with pure disgust and rage.
"What do I want?" He nearly mocked the blonde.
"I want to bring the Evil Queen to her knees, and make her pay for what she has done to these people," The man spat. Emma could feel his aggressive breathing on her face he was so close.
"And what better way to accomplish that then harm one of the things she holds closest to her dark heart: her precious Savior."
The instant his fingers released the blonde's jaw with a push, Emma snapped it shut. She released a long sigh through her nose that she didn't even realize she was holding in.
The sound of the machine coming to life was heard in the distance and Emma felt like she was underwater. She clenched her jaw, preparing for another flow of electricity.
Before Greg could flip the switch, the door opened.
"They found us."
Emma recognized this as Tamara's voice even though she was out of the blonde's view.
"And unless you want them to catch us, we better start packing to go to home base."
"Give me five more minutes," Greg demanded. Emma heard Tamara start to protest, but it quickly faltered. She heard the woman turn on her heel and leave with a slam of the door.
"Sadly, our time here is going to have to be cut short." Greg smiled devilishly. Emma thought she almost heard him laugh. For the third time in the past half an hour, she heard the devil machine rev to life. The blonde heard buttons flick and electricity crackle.
Emma Swan swallowed hard. She knew that this would kill her.
"This time, Emma, you're going to scream," Greg taunted. The little moisture left in the blonde's throat evaporated at his words.
"You will scream her name so loud that she'll know you're dying and there isn't a thing she can do about it."
Emma began to cry as Regina flashed through her mind. After living her entire life in the system and never having a solid home, the supposedly Evil Queen opened her heart to Emma. Regina's soft brown eyes became Emma's home and thinking of never seeing her home again brought her more pain than any sort of torture could ever make her feel.
"Regina…"
Emma could only mutter weakly. She wasn't particularly calling out to her lover but just reminding herself of the brunette.
"Louder, Emma."
The Savior never took orders from anyone (one of the many things Regina loved and sometimes hated about the blonde) but in this situation, Emma wanted to live.
She called out, screaming at the top of her lungs, to Regina Mills. She closed her eyes and let her voice take over all the energy she had left in her body. All the blood rushed to her head as she cried out, praying that the woman Emma had fallen in love with would be her savior this time.
Just as Greg's finger grazed the switch, the door opened with so much force it almost flew off its hinges. In seconds, an unidentifiable force brought Greg off the ground and all Emma could hear was his struggle. She opened her eyes and squinted. He was floating off the ground and scratching at his neck, even though nothing was there.
"I believe you have something of mine," Regina's deep and sultry voice erupted throughout the entire room. Emma whimpered. Part of the blonde knew that her girlfriend would refuse to let her die.
"And trust me, Owen," Regina gritted the words through her teeth. The use of his real name made the man's eyes widen as he stayed suspended in the air.
"I am not the type of woman who enjoys sharing."
The mayor's utter rage blinded her and she stalked toward Greg. Her heels clicked against the floor.
"Give me one good reason as to why I shouldn't tear you to shreds and feed you to Ruby." Regina felt the Evil Queen seep into her words but she was beyond caring at this point.
All the man could do was choke and raise a finger, pointing towards Emma.
"Regina…" Emma whined. The fire that stared into the torturer's eyes suddenly snapped to the blonde who was still very much strapped to the table. The mayor's brown eyes softened. The anger seemed to fall off her body as her muscles relaxed. Not a trace of evil remained on her. The sight of Emma in so much pain broke the brunette's heart.
The mayor dropped the man to his knees.
"If you don't run out of this room right this instant, oh so help me —"
Before the older woman could finish her classic death threat, the man was on his feet and sprinting out the room.
Once alone, Regina instantly was at Emma's side. She fumbled with the thick leather straps holding her to the bed. Emma could only turn her head slightly and squint with a small smile. The blonde felt extremely light-headed and Regina in front of her right now felt like a dream. She didn't know if she'd stay conscious.
"Emma, honey," Regina began to plead. "Stay with me, dear."
The blonde's body felt like pure ice to the touch, although her white tank top stuck to her body from sweat. On the inside, Emma felt like molten lava, but as far as Regina was aware, Emma had just spent an entire day in the snow.
The older woman picked up the woman bridal style and sat down on the floor, still holding Emma closely. She held her with one arm snaked around her back. The other came to Emma's face and brushed her damp and matted hair off her forehead. Emma brought a shaking hand to the back of Regina's neck and held on with everything she had left.
Regina's hand came down to cup Emma's cheek. Warmth spread from the brunette's fingertips into Emma's face. It travelled down her neck and into her chest, spreading throughout her entire body. Slowly but surely, Emma's cheeks and lips returned to their rosy pink colors. After a couple of moments of Regina using her magic, Emma's eyes flooded with light green and those also returned to their leafy green color.
Regina stopped releasing her magic into Emma, only able to do so much.
She moved her hand to intertwine with the blonde locks. She rubbed her thumb just above Emma's temple.
"I thought you told Henry you wouldn't use magic on me anymore." Emma chuckled lightly. Her voice was still weak, but there was an improvement.
"If you wanted me to let you die, Miss Swan, all you had to do was ask." Regina smiled.
"Although, we both know I love you too much to let that happen."
This caused Emma to blush furiously and raise her head into the crook of the former Queen's neck. Regina sighed of relief and brought her hand to the skin just above Emma's heart. She felt the beating under her palm and it calmed her.
Emma is alive. Emma is here.
After minutes of laying in each others arms in silence, the brunette decided it was time to return Emma to her worried parents.
"Hold on, dear."
Emma nodded meekly. She brought both arms around Regina's neck and held on. Her head stayed resting on the woman's collarbone.
The mayor raised herself to her feet, holding Emma bridal style in her arms. The Savior felt a reassuring squeeze on her thigh and side from where Regina's hands lay. The blonde tried sinking herself further into the brunette, cuddling against her.
"Now," Regina exhaled.
"Let's return you to your parents. I have no idea how you deal with them all the time."
The remark made Emma laugh softly.
Never had she eve felt more loved in this second than she did now. Part of her always saw a challenge in making the unloved love. The Evil Queen was only a thought, for Emma had always seen the person behind the elegant dresses and heavy makeup.
Emma Swan felt her eyelids flutter shut from exhaustion as Regina walked out of the room to find the Charmings. The last thing Emma heard before drifting off to sleep was her mother's scream. Emma assumed it was from joy and fell fast asleep in Regina's arms.