A/N - Thank you all so much for the response to the last chapter 3 It is greatly appreciated. Please keep the reviews coming :)
Warning - This chapter is very dark and contains fairly graphic torture scenes. Please don't read if it is at all triggering.
Regina opened her eyes, a dull ache in her temples, as if something was pressing against them. Her attempt to sit up was prohibited by tight straps that pinned her down to the hospital bed which was strangely missing a mattress. She struggled hard against them, unsurprised when they failed to yield. Restraints made her vulnerable. She'd sworn never to be vulnerable again.
Magic.
The debate of whether or not to use her crutch after discovering what her captors wanted lasted all of two seconds before she concentrated on the leather bindings, willing them to snap. A blinding pain coursed through her body at her attempt and she bit back a yell. Shit. She knew in her mind that it was pointless but once again she summoned her magic to come to her aid. More pain.
"Don't waste your energy, Miss Mills," said Tamara, appearing through a doorway, a victorious smile on her face "You'll need it later."
"Where's Henry?" demanded Regina.
"Safe. I have no need of the boy," the wretched woman shrugged, uncaring of anything but her little experiment "I'm glad to be rid of him. He wouldn't shut up. Crying. Screaming. Owen has a nasty scratch from his vicious efforts to get back to you…"
"If that bastard harmed him!" Regina all but screamed.
"Relax, Miss Mills. The boy is back with that girl…" Tamara did not sound at all reassuring as she waved her hands to indicate Ruby.
"Good. That's good."
"This machine here absorbs any magic. Ultimately, this is how I will rid you of it and collect it…"
Now that her son was safe, Regina had nothing to hold her back. She put all of her energy into the most complicated spell she can think of and felt the familiar build-up of warmth and tingling in her chest. Just when she thinks it might work, an electrical current so powerful that it jerks her body violently thunders through her. She lets out a bitten-back cry of agony, the remains of a scream hastily cut off.
"As I said, Miss Mills, it's pointless."
"Who are you to tell me what to do? You are nothing but Baelfire's whore!"
In all honesty, Regina is ashamed of her insult. But after being rocked by god knows how high a voltage from two complete and utter nutcases, she's surprised she came up with anything at all. She feels her body calm down once more but it won't last and she knows it.
"That man means nothing to me. He is good for one thing and one thing only – information," said Tamara, coolly "It would be in your best interests to withhold further insults."
"In my best interest?" replied Regina, tartly "It would be in your best interests to start running. Because as soon as I'm free, and I will get freed, then I will keep my promise to you and kill you, slow and painful."
The fallen queen writhes against the bindings as another shock slams into her, starting at her head and travelling through her to her toes. It's painful. But not terribly. Not yet. It would take a lot more to make Regina Mills scream. She did not gain her title through tears. Her lip bleeds from where she sunk her teeth in.
"Where's my father?" the vengeful man makes his reappearance.
"I see my son was more than a match for you, Owen. An eleven year old boy…" she taunts him for it is all she can say to his question.
"He's cursed to have you as a mother," he spits back.
"Says the man who is working with a murderess bitch to torture magic out of people," she retorts "I may not be the most innocent soul in the world, but I am sure I'm not the first person to be subject to this."
The insult stings worse than the electricity though she hides it under the cold layers. I love you. Her son loves her. After everything she'd done. She focuses on that instead.
"Where's my father," Owen repeats, determined.
Silence. Regina will not be cowed by him. Or her. She is a queen. She is stronger than them.
For the first time, she notices the dial. He walks to it and turns it almost three quarters of the way. She hears a very audible crack as she jerks her body violently as she tries to escape the throbbing pain that now radiates in waves. A broken bone. Or a fracture. This pain doesn't even register. A scream forces its way from her throat. A tear trickles down her cheek. It doesn't stop. Her magic goes into survival mode. She unleashes a spell. It backfires. The pain increases tenfold. Another scream. It will never stop. She begins to panic.
"Enough!" commands Tamara.
The torture pauses. Regina breathes deeply, trying to control her racing heart. She knows she has to or the consequences will be fatal. For a moment, she closes her eyes and wishes she could take her mind somewhere else. Then she opens them. Blindness is a weakness to her, even if she is powerless to stop it.
"Are you trying to kill her?" rages Tamara.
Silence. Owen has no respect for the other woman. But he knows she can kill him with a flick of her electro-shock gun.
"Where's my father, Regina? What did you do to him?"
"Torturing me won't bring him back."
"WHERE IS HE?"
His hand hovers over the dial, prepared to turn it up to full and never turn it off. He's prepared to kill her. She knows this, she sees it. But she won't back down.
"There is no coming back from the grave."
"I'm going to kill you! You took my father from me! The world is better off without you in it!"
Silence. Again. Regina is done talking. She knew she was going to die the moment she signed her life in exchange for Henry's. The finality of death does not scare her. She's faced it head on countless times. The pain unnerves her and does scare her. But it's not that. It's what she'll leave behind that scares her. A town where these monsters can harm her son. Emma crosses her mind. She has no idea why.
"For gods' sake, Owen. You're living out your revenge. Now let's get on with this," orders Tamara.
"Yes, do what you're told," quips Regina.
If she's going down, she'll go down fighting.
She'd always been of the opinion that to die for someone was a weak way to go. That's what she'd told Maleficent. But perhaps her sacrifice would give her an upgrade to purgatory. At least Henry was safe.
Take care of him Emma, she thinks, while she can form coherent thoughts. Take him out of Storybrooke.
The dial turns to its maximum. She lets out a guttural animalistic scream of pain and anguish. Her magic tried to fight back and as the witch Tamara had so carefully planned out, the severity of the pain got steadily worse and worse. Spasms racked her body as she screamed like nothing she'd ever heard before. It rung in her own ears. This was hell. She prayed for death and some relief. Screaming. Screaming. Screaming.
"Please," she croaked out, her throat as raw as sandpaper.
Weak. Weak. Weak. She still manages to mentally berate herself even though she's in hysteria now.
Owen stands, arms folded, a pleased smirk on his face as he watches her suffer and even beg. The Evil Queen begging was his deepest desire.
Tamara stands by her machine, a pleased smirk on her face. She cares not for the woman's pain. There are less torturous ways of taking magic, if the person deserved it. But Regina Mills deserved to suffer more than anyone else. No pleasure came from the screams and cries. It only came from the magic that she was able to collect.
Regina, face wet with tears, continues to scream. Look after him, Emma, she pleads. Her mind leaves her and she descends into an oblivion of pure pain and torment.
Screaming. Still screaming.
Henry collapses in Ruby's arms as Owen drops him. The woman is shocked as the crying boy is dumped unceremoniously on her. She could chase him. But the child is more important.
"Henry. Oh my god. What happened?" she fawns over him, like a concerned auntie.
"They have my mom," he cries, desperate.
"Emma? She's looking for you…"
"Not Emma. Regina! My mom!"
Ruby is stunned as he drags her back into the centre of town. If the two strangers can kidnap the most powerful sorceress, then what chance do they all have? A slight pang of worry for Regina blossoms. But mostly for the boy she's become so close to.
"What happened, Henry? What did they do to you?" asks Ruby as they run.
"Tamara kidnapped me. My mom came and sacrificed herself for me. They're going to hurt her! We have to help her! She can't die!" he garbled in reply.
Not what she'd expected. Regina Mills was not the sacrificing type. Perhaps she had changed since the curse had come and been broken. Perhaps love had helped to heal her.
"It's ok, kid. We'll get her," she tried to reassure him.
"But what if we don't?" he panics.
"We will. If there's one thing I know about Regina, it's her strength. She won't just give up and die."
"They want her magic, Ruby. And he wants revenge. They're going to hurt her!"
"Hey, we won't let that happen. It's going to be alright."
A/N - There will be one final part uploaded (hopefully tomorrow, school dependent) and things will start looking up for Regina.
P.S - I hope Henry and Ruby's characters weren't too off. I'm not the best at writing them...