AN: You guys had such love for the last chapter that I decided the only way I could possibly thank you all for your wonderful comments, was to spend my day off writing you the next one. Let me know what you think ;-)

"The well!?"

Zelena and I are stood in front of the old well, in the middle of Storybrooke's forest. The same well that I once absorbed a death curse from in order to save Emma and Snow from my mother's clutches.

"Why not the well?" My sister replies.

"It just seems so…" I search for the right word, "…clichéd!"

Though I created this town and have run it for the best part of three decades, I realise now that I have no real idea where this well leads to. But as it seems to be the focal point of anything dark or magical that occurs in Storybrooke, as mayor, I really should look into getting it removed.

Zelena snorts at the irritation such a trivial fact instils within me, "Then be sure to tell Thanatos that his use of wells as conduits isn't very original," She quips, humour lacing her words.

Taking a deep breath, she spreads her hands wide as if sniffing the air, "Can't you feel the dark magic?" She asks.

If the joy in her expression is anything to go by, then I'm pretty certain that I can't feel it the way that she can. But then, as my magic is now a mix of light and dark, maybe there's a reason for that.

Either way, I can feel something. A sort of energetic buzz that ripples the air like static electricity.

"Yes," I reply, ignoring its dangerous pull as I reach into my bag to retrieve the apple of discord, "I can feel it. So what do I do?"

As if suddenly remembering that we're actually here for a reason and not just to glorify in the powerful darkness that surrounds us on all sides, Zelena turns to face me. "Rumple, said to use your magic to carve the apple with whatever you want to say," She informs.

I glance down at the mythical item in my hands, and pause to carefully consider how best to express what I want to say. Past mistakes have taught me that when making any kind of deal, when issuing any sort of challenge, your chances of coming out on top are greatly dictated by the original wording.

Look at Gold's current predicament with Belle and his unborn child for example, or the Charming's when they used Lilly to ensure that Emma would always be good. If these things aren't worded exactly right, they can have disastrous consequences for those involved.

Confident that my challenge is clear, concise and not open to misinterpretation, I generate a small amount of magic in the palm of my hand and slowly swipe it across the top of the apple.

I watch, amazed, as my carefully thought out words appear ingrained on the gold surface in a beautifully written script.

As the champion of Killian Jones, I, Regina Mills, challenge the God, Thanatos.

Simple, elegant and straight to the point.

With an air of determination and only a hint of trepidation, I step up to the well, preparing to toss the apple into it's dark, murky depths.

"Wait…" Zelena suddenly calls out, grasping my wrist to prevent me from letting go, "Are you sure?"

The concern in her voice though touching, only serves to feed my rising doubt. Yes, I'm confident of my own abilities, but I also have a son to think about, a family that I need to consider before I undertake this potentially dangerous quest.

"You said I could win this?" I state, needing to hear her reaffirm my odds.

She nods, "And you can, but these things never come without risks."

I think again of Rumple's recent error in judgement, of the price that Belle has ultimately had to pay, and I never want that to be Henry.

I glance back down to the apple in my hand.

"I know that," I reply, willing to place my faith in the wording of my challenge and the strength of my magic, "But I have to do this."

She sighs heavily, searching my determined expression for an explanation that she can't find, "Why?" She demands, her voice gentle but firm, "Who are you trying to prove yourself too?"

Her question is one that I've asked myself a hundred times over in the last few days and though she probably assumes differently, the answer is the same as it always was. "Me," I reply simply.

She shakes her head, her brow creased in confusion, "I don't understand."

"This town was so quick to judge me when this happened," I explain, gesturing to the large crack that runs through the forest, perpendicular to the well. "They always are. The second something goes wrong, it's my fault, the Evil Queen is back. They're still scared of me. Despite the fact that I've changed, they still think that I'm going to hurt them…"

Zelena huffs, clearly disagreeing with my sense of logic, "They're idiots!" She shrugs.

"They're not," I reply, having finally seen what they do when they look at me. It's the same thing I see whenever I look in the mirror.

"I tormented them for years in the Enchanted Forest," I continue, determined to prove why this fight is suddenly so important to me. "I cursed them all to forget who they are. And the Evil Queen, she is still inside of me. She still hates every person in this town."

A single tear slips down my cheek and as Zelena notices it, she grips tighter onto my fingers, "I need to prove to myself that I really am redeemed," I confess sadly. "I need to know that she's never coming back. I can't expect them to forgive me if I can't even forgive myself."

She offers me a sympathetic smile but her expression remains steeped in doubt, "But why now?" She asks, "Is it because of, Emma?"

I think of my initial reason, of how it hurt to realise that Emma would never chose me over her pirate, of how the town were so quick to see the worst in me, and I know that she certainly had some influence over my choice.

But then I think of how this all began. The bitterness I felt the second I saw that Hook was alive. The dream I had in which I ripped out his heart. The way I cursed my friends for having their happy endings when I was left with nothing… and I know in an instant, that this is about so much more than them.

"I'd be lying if I said that my feelings didn't play some part in this decision," I admit truthfully, "I want to be someone Emma could be truly happy with. I want to be a mother that Henry can be proud of…."

"Henry is proud of you!" Zelena interrupts, her determination to change my mind as strong as my determination is to see it through.

"But it's not about how he sees me!" I reply, finally getting to the root of all this, the inner demon that plagues me night and day. "It's about how I see me. You and Emma are the only people who know how I feel about her so I'm not doing this to prove myself to any of them."

I take a deep breath, swiping at the tears that now fall freely, "But all I ever wanted was to be happy, and the Evil Queen was born from that desire. If I can risk my life to save that of the man Emma loves, to ensure that if she chooses to spend the rest of her life with him then she can…" I shake my head, struggling to find a way to accurately articulate my feelings, "…it means that for the first time in my life I'll have put someone else's happy ending above my own. It means that she doesn't have control of me anymore."

Finally understanding, Zelena reaches up to wipe my tears. The hand still gripping my fingers, moving to push the apple over the opening of the well.

"Do it," She instructs, and I can see the strength of her blessing in the loving expression she directs my way. "Just make sure you bloody well come back."

I nod my reply, a silent promise between two sisters, and together we both toss the apple into the well.

There's no watery splash, no echoing thud as the message drops into the abyss, no way to know whether or not the apple has even gone anywhere. We wait in silence. Anticipating a rush of dark magic and the sudden appearance of a flying, winged God, but the still forest and the soft bristle of the wind in the trees is the only thing that greets us.

"Nothing's happened!" I announce, casting a questioning look towards Zelena.

She shrugs, as clueless about the whole process as I, "It must take time," She replies, "I guess we just wait."

I try to hide my disappointment. Having psyched myself up for an immediate fight my body is coursing with adrenaline and ready to strike. At this moment in time, waiting is an almost unbearable thought, and my sister can sense that.

Stepping down from the well, she holds her hand out to me, smiling warmly. "In the meantime," She suggests calmly, "How would you like to spend the rest of the morning with your big sister and your niece?"

I smile at the thought of spending such quality time with my family, and realise that a little love is exactly what I need right now.

Reaching out, I take my sisters hand in my own, "I'd like nothing more," I reply, quickly forgetting the impending fight, as we begin to make our way back through the peaceful forest.

xxx

I'm in my bedroom. Laid in my bed. The room is dimly lit by several candles and an apple and cinnamon incense stick burns on my vanity. The atmosphere is intimate, romantic, and if I dared to look under the duvet cover I'm pretty certain that I'd discover I was wearing my most expensive lingerie set and not a lot more.

Everything about this setting is exactly as I'd imagined it. The time, the place, the company, but something about the scenario just doesn't feel right. And I'm not talking about the obvious fact that as this is a dream, none of it is real.

Without turning my head, I continue to stare at the ceiling as I whisper the name of the person I know I'll find lying next to me.

"Emma…"

A blonde head pops up from the pillow next to me, and my gaze subconsciously shifts across to greet the smiling saviour.

Her princess curls fall perfectly, framing her beautiful face, and her eyes are full of adoration and love. She looks so happy, the way that I always hoped that she would if we ever found ourselves alone together in this way.

My eyes slowly drift down her delectable figure and I swallow sharply when I realise that like me, she's wearing nothing but a lacy set of lingerie. A flare of heat rushes through my body, pooling in my lower abdomen, and I have to wet my lips against a suddenly dry mouth.

I sometimes wonder what I did to deserve this level of torture. How am I supposed to get through the night without laying Emma down, and taking her in the way that I've so often fantasised about.

"What's going on?" I ask, finally finding my voice and wondering what we're supposed to do now that our shared subconscious has placed us in such a tempting situation.

She leans teasingly towards me, her eyes skimming over every inch of my bared flesh, "I would have thought that was obvious!" She drawls.

Her words set my entire body ablaze with raw lust, and I fight the urge to simply throw caution to the wind for one unforgettable night of passion, with the woman of my dreams.

I swallow again, trying desperately to clear my mind of dirty thoughts, "But…" I protest with little conviction, "we agreed that we weren't going to do this. You said you were going to give Hook a chance…"

"I never agreed not to do this," Emma replies, her voice dripping with pure sex as she runs a teasing finger down my exposed cleavage. "Besides, this is a dream. It isn't really happening so we're not doing anything wrong."

Somewhere in the back of mind I hear a warning bell signal. A gentle reminder that something about this still doesn't feel right. But it's a feeling that is quickly forgotten when I feel Emma's near naked body sliding closer to mine.

"Emma, we've talked about this before," I gently chastise, distracted by the warmth of her body heat under the covers. "It may only be a dream, but it's lucid. To act on our feelings here is as wrong as if we acted on them in the waking world."

She leans in closer still, her lips mere millimetres from mine, "This is your dream, Regina," She whispers sensually. "It's your bedroom."

Those lips push forward to lightly brush against mine before playfully pulling back, "This is your desire. I'm not doing anything that you don't want, am I?"

My gaze is pulled down to the mouth that was so recently pressed against mine, "No," I reply, quickly losing the argument to my raging desire. "I do want you, so much, but..."

"Sssh," she interjects, hooking a muscular thigh over my hip to pull me closer, "just let it happen. Give in."

Completely helpless to resist her, I surrender, capturing her lips in a searing kiss. But the kiss doesn't taste right, her tongue is too rough, and when I pull back briefly it's to notice that the colour of her eyes are just slightly the wrong shade of green.

"You're not, Emma…" I gasp, scrambling backwards to the other side of the bed. It's then that realisation dawns on me, "…Thanatos!"

The room instantly begins to transform, twisting and turning until my bedroom simply disappears. Before I can so much as blink, I find myself stood on a marble plateau in the middle of the Acropolis, thankfully I'm now fully clothed.

I watch as a winged Thanatos circles in the sky above me like a vulture moving in on its prey. He lands with a soft thud, directly in front of me, and I get my first full look at my new enemy.

In truth, he's a very handsome man. His hair is thick, black and shaggy, his eyes a pale lilac. His features are chiselled and his body muscular. He's topless, wearing only a pair of black leather trousers, and the wings that protrude from his back are large and bat-like.

"Good Evening, Ms Mills," He greets, in a voice as smooth as silk. "It's such a shame we had to meet like this."

I study him suspiciously, uncertain how or why he'd chose to confront me in my dreams, "What are you doing here?" I demand, drawing off the confidence of the Evil Queen.

He smiles, a dazzling, perfect smile that shows off his pearly white teeth, and bows down to me in respect, "Why taking you up on your challenge of course!"

"You got my message?"

He folds his arms across his hairless chest, and his large wings retract onto his back, "If you mean the apple of discord, then yes," he replies. "It dropped out of the sky right in the middle of dinner, a most inconvenient distraction."

I briefly contemplate what - if anything - the God of death would actually eat, but quickly abandon such curiosities in search of his much needed response.

"So you accept?" I ask.

His smile widens into a broad grin, forcing the appearance of a single dimple, "You think that I'd seriously turn down the chance to drain your life force?" He guffaws. "You're the Evil Queen, one of the most powerful magical beings of any realm."

I wince at the mention of an alter ego that try as I might, I can't seem to free myself from. But despite the hatred I feel towards her, I have to admit that a little of her gumption would be most welcome right now.

"Do you promise that Killian Jones won't be harmed?" I demand, determined to procure my terms before I agree on a time and a place for this fight to occur.

He shrugs, the thought of Hook as insignificant to him now, as Sidney always was to me. "Why would I want him when I can have you," He replies courteously, "This is quite the conquest for me."

I offer him a dangerous smirk, allowing the Evil Queen to come out to play, "On the contrary you haven't won yet," I confidently remind. "When it comes to the fight I think you'll find me quite the formidable opponent."

He laughs loudly, a raucous sound filled with equal parts humour and pity, "Oh my sweet, naïve child," he condescendingly replies, "The challenge has already begun."

"What?"

I feel my stomach drop with fear, my heart beating double time at the thought of being played. That can't be true. It can't…

"Why do you think I took on the form of the one you most desire?" He informs, my hope fading with every word he speaks. "Seducing you is an easy way to drain your life force. It's also the most pleasurable for you."

"But…" I search my brain for a clause to get me out of this potential disaster, a way to turn this back in my favour, "…we're supposed to meet in the waking world, in Storybrooke…"

With a wave of his hand the apple of discord appears in his palm and he studies my written challenge intensely, "Now where does it specify that?" he inquires.

I close my eyes, silently cursing my stupidity when I realise that it doesn't. I thought about the wording so carefully. I thought that I was the one in control. But just like Rumple, the manipulative little bat has found a way to turn the challenge to his advantage.

"You bastard!" I growl, channelling a burst of my magic into his chest.

The impact knocks him back a step but causes no further damage than that. I swallow sharply, aware that there should have been enough power in that strike to knock him clear across the Acropolis.

"You're immune to my magic?" I gasp, a sense of dread flooding my body at the realisation that while here, I'm completely defenceless against him.

He shakes his head but the cocky grin that spreads across his smug face indicates that I'm not going to like his answer. "Not immune as such," he informs blithely, "but your asleep you see. You're regenerating your energy. Your magic can't possibly be as effective while your unconscious." He thumps his chest in a show of strength, "My magic however, is designed for this world. Here, I'm at my strongest."

"So I can't defeat you?" I ask, already fearing the answer and imagining the distraught look on Henry's face when he discovers the truth.

"In theory you could," He disagrees, though his tone holds no hint of someone who fears for their life. "But your magic drains my life force at a fraction of the speed that mine drains yours. Who do you think is going to succumb first?"

The truth hits me like a ten tonne truck. I tried to outwit death and I lost. It was a reckless decision based on a selfish desire, and once again the results of my actions will bring pain to those that I love.

But surely, when the grief passes and the pain heals, they'll all see that I was just trying to do the right thing for once. Despite his heartbreak, Henry will be proud of me for that. Zelena will forgive me for breaking my promise, and Emma will know that I loved her enough to guarantee her happy ending.

"Fine," I reply, trying my best to make peace with the poorest of my choices. "Just do it. As long as Emma has Hook then I know she'll be okay."

I brush down my jacket and straighten my shoulders, preparing to meet my fate like a queen. "Do it," I instruct, "Kill me."

He actually has the gall to wince.

"I'm afraid it's not that simply or that easy, my dear," He informs almost apologetically. "These things take time. Draining a life force takes a lot out of the both of us. No, this will take several days at least."

He gestures to the sky, pointing to something unseen, "Are you sure you don't want to go back to my original scenario? I assure you, you'll know nothing of what's really happening to you."

I suddenly remember reading about how Thanatos is normally associated with merciful deaths and realise that he's as genuinely reluctant as me, to take my life in this way.

But the thought of making love to a dream manifestation of Emma hurts more than the thought of leaving her, of leaving them all.

I shake my head, "No."

"Very well, don't say I didn't give you the opportunity."

His magic strikes me in the centre of my chest, spreading out like white hot needles over every inch of my body. It feels exactly how I would imagine being struck by lightning would feel, only this isn't painful as such.

I feel the energy slowly drain from my muscles, and when my legs no longer possess the strength to hold me upright, I drop to my knees.

I briefly consider fighting back, but knowing the minimal effect it will have on him I know that at this moment in time it will only drain precious energy.

No, he said the process will take time, so I'll concede round one to him. And when I wake up tomorrow I'll meet up with Zelena, regroup, replan, and be ready to come back stronger.

The last coherent thought I have before I pass out from sheer exhaustion, is that if there is a way to beat him then I'll find it, because Regina Mills never goes down without a fight, and this is one fight that I don't intend to lose.