I had a plot bunny come to me last night. So today I frantically wrote out as much as I could of the story until I got to said 'bunny. I have no idea how it will work out but it's worth a try, right? Let me know what you all think!

Chapter 7

When Emma Swan had first arrived on Regina's doorstep, it was as if her fabricated world became just that… fabricated. Her presence had shattered the unstable foundations that Regina had built life upon, reminding the mayor that her power was a veneer against destiny. True, she had not known Emma's role as the saviour at first. But her new arrival held a threat. A threat to Henry and everything she believed to be her happiness. There were fights and malicious words thrown at one another as Regina pushed and pushed and pushed. She couldn't understand why anyone would even begin to show her kindness so she attacked until the other woman had no other option but to hate her son's evil mother.

And then Emma saved her life from Whale's vengeance dripping grasp around her neck.

She was a mystery. One that would puzzle Regina daily, as Emma Swan continued to put herself in front of Regina. How could she still love so fiercely even after the life that Regina had circumscribed her to? How could she protect the woman that hated so fiercely? In a perverted way, Emma and Regina understood each other.

Regina had wanted to give something back to the lady that continuously showed her a kindness Regina would never understand. So she absorbed the death curse that enabled Emma and her mother to return back to their family. Most likely she did it for Henry. Maybe she did it for Emma? Maybe she had even done it for Snow (although this thought was quickly eschewed).

Together they were light and dark, always in combat yet never fully hurting. They never wanted to fully hurt each other.

And now Emma needs saving.

…

"I still can't believe I am going to be free!" the young queen exclaims, practically jumping with her new found knowledge.

Regina is still reeling with anger at the shimmering imp. Now here he is, already beginning to twist an innocent queen in to the murderer he desires. And her former self is excited?

"Leopold will be gone and then I'll meet Emma and get to wear these strange clothes," Regina's younger version hums, gesticulating wildly.

"And Snow White," Regina interjects dryly.

Her past form smiles wickedly, a glimpse in to her evil reign. "And Snow White," she repeats locking her gaze with Regina's. "Tell me is it a horrible death?" Her voice is smaller now, eyes wide and any trace of evil has evaporated.

Regina doesn't respond just stares out of the large window and tries to forget. It will be a decade or so before the genie will arrive and the vengeance will commence. One would think the hatred would thin but no. Every living moment in Snow's presence only tightened the chains of Regina's prison. Sometimes the loathing would throb so loud that Regina had to dig her nails in to her palms to stop herself using magic on the princess. Rumplestiltskin continued to train her. She became a force to be reckoned with in the magical world, a second skin that was only shed once inside Leopold's castle. She was no longer just unhappy; now she was livid. Snow began to lose grip on her dream of being Regina's child. In fact she began to avoid Regina, weary of the wrath that threatened to unleash.

Regina was certain that the princess had known of her magic, only fuelling the child's fear of her step mother. Rumplestiltskin had been teaching her how to light her first fireball. It was exhilarating. The power that consumed her when she held that little flame was enough to make her laugh with excitement.

"That's it, dearie! Keep that concentration," Rumple had hummed appreciatively, dancing around Regina with glee.

The fire was captivating and Regina was lost in the flame, willing it to engulf her completely. The power to engulf her completely…. It was the shadow of a child that broke the hypnotic gaze between herself and the heat. Her hand had swung round to illuminate the small shadow, yet all she could see was her own reflection in the mirror. Strange.

She feels someone slide in to the bed next to her. The past and the present aligned in slumber; a young queen seduced by evil, a woman once tainted.

…

She awakes in the night and looks to her left. Her former self is lying on her back, eyes fluttering with every breath, Emma's jacket in her grasp. Regina sighs and lifts herself out of the covers and onto the hard floor. Her own clothes are folded neatly by the dresser where she had left them the evening before. Hastily, Regina peels off her evening gown, visibly sighing in relief as the material is yanked off her body. A moment of freedom. She then pulls on tight black trousers and her leather jacket, instantly at ease with the familiar clothing. She isn't trapped. Not this time.

"Must you go?" a whisper emanates from the mound under the covers. Regina pulls a hand through her hair, the knots from yesterday's elaborate up do loosening, and sighs. The young queen is now sitting up and gazing at her with earnest.

"You can't keep pretending that this isn't your life. I have to find Emma and figure out how the hell we get her out of this mess! The idiot," the brunette mutters the last line, shaking her head.

Her former self has now adopted a quizzical look. "You talk as though you do not like Emma very much."

Regina snorts. Rolling her eyes she says, "Emma and I have a lot of history, believe me. But… this is something you will discover."

"I suppose you must now perform a spell on me," the young woman sighs, stroking Emma's jacket tenderly.

"And why would I do that?"

"I have to forget everything. I have to forget that I ever met you… and Emma," her younger version says simply.

Of course! Stupid.

"I cannot perform such a spell here. Rumplestiltskin might recognise our brand of magic and start asking questions. Or worse," Regina muses. She is beginning to develop a migraine from all of this confusion.

"I am due to ride in Leopold's carriage to the nearest town tomorrow afternoon. Perhaps I could meet you there?"

The brunette nods her head at her younger self, gracing her with a small smile. Her urge to leave the castle is becoming increasingly overwhelming. Out of the balcony window the forest elongates in to the distance, the trees tiny pinpricks on an ever expanding current of freedom. It calls for her, aches for her presence. And Regina suddenly cannot be sequestered inside this prison for a moment longer.

She moves quickly, leaving the queen to slumber, as she pads through the corridors. In her hands she holds her heeled boots, knowing that they will alert the guard's senses almost immediately if she slips her feet in to the warm encasing. She passes Snow's door and bows her head, a silent sorry for what the princess is about to endure. Regina would never regret her actions, though. Never.

"I heard that she told him to get out of her chamber!" an excited gasp leaks from behind a dim lit door to Regina's right. She is almost out of the castle, yet her ears prick at this particular statement and she averts her eye line to the small fissure in the woodwork. A young maid is perched atop of a table, legs swinging mindlessly as the gossip circulates around the other heads gazing up at her. Another (older) woman is rolling her eyes and Regina instantly warms to her.

"Regina's feisty," chuckles what looks like an adolescent boy. "I think her mother is too. Someone told me that her mother is Cora, the heart-stealing witch!"

"Really? Well I saw her with the Dark One!"

This particular statement elicits several amusing jaw drops. "What were they doing?" the young maid is squeaking. Regina can practically hear her tiny brain conducting a million scenarios.

The boy shrugs. "I don't know… although they did look rather intimate," he whispers cheekily, eyes glowing.

Regina has to swallow bile. Emma Swan would most certainly be in hysterics. After leaving the immature teenagers to fawn over this ludicrous insinuation, Regina continues to sweep across the corridor until, at last, her feet reach the soft grass.

…

Emma has lost all senses. One moment she thinks she can see black and the next moment she is breathing it in. She is vaguely aware that the darkness is tightening its grip on her soul. Anger balloons inside her chest as she finds her palms in the usurping void of black. Her nails dig in to the skin, already raw from her previous transformation stage, providing her with a sliver of stability as she falls further and further in to the abyss. She has lost all bearings. When she tries to open her eyes, the pain is so severe that they automatically clamp shut again. The anger is proliferating, stimulated by that monster of a man. Leopold. Emma shivers in disgust and pulls her arms tighter around her fragile body. No. She isn't fragile. She's the dark one. And yet she pulls her arms tighter.

…

Regina has lost count of her steps. Since when did the Enchanted Forest have so many darn trees? Oh great, now I sound as ridiculous as Emma. Idiot. It's the Enchanted Forest. Her rather odd mental chastising is cut short when pools of light begin to filter through the branches. The nearest town. Regina swallows and begins to make her way towards the pockets of brightness. Trees begin to diminish, eradicated by crumbling straw cottages. The brunette wrinkles her nose in disgust. I did you all a favour by cursing your pathetic villages. Several peasants scurry past her figure and Regina keeps her head down in secrecy. She's still not sure exactly where she will spend the night, as her face is rather recognisable among the kingdom. Perhaps she will conjure up a shelter using magic?

She is just about to pick her place of temporary residence when the sound of hooves coming to a standstill behind her back leaves her rigid.

"Are you lost, my lady?" His tone is sincere enough to relax the brunette by a hair, yet she still doesn't dare turn around.

"No, I am quite alright, thank you."

"Dare I ask why you are out so late?"

Regina sighs. Maybe he won't recognise me? It is dark. Running a hand through her hair, she pivots to put a face to the concerned tone.

…

There, on top of a steed, gazing down at Regina with a warm smile is none other than her soulmate: Robin Hood.