The dank air echoed with intermittent drips from the rivulets of water that ran down the stone walls. Occasionally there was a slight shuffling sound as rats forged amongst the dirty hay that was strewn across the ground. A solitary figure sat hunched in a cell, muttering incomprehensibly to himself. A prisoner. There was no chance of escape, the bars of the cell were enchanted with magic and the walls were solid granite, stretching endlessly into the earth around him.
One would think this man a pitiful soul, slowly going mad with hopelessness and solitude; when, in fact, one couldn't be more wrong. The man was a powerful force, the embodiment of magic –the Dark One. And as far as his mental state, he was simply waiting. Waiting for the one person who would ultimately seek him out and eventually return him to freedom.
The man perked his ears at a particular noise. It was slightly different that the other sounds he had become accustomed to during his stay in the dungeon, and he smiled as he knew his waiting had come to an end.
"You can show yourself, dearie. No one here but the two of us," the Dark One called out into the cavernous space.
A plume of purple smoke billowed from the floor, and a beautiful woman materialized out of thin air. She was dressed in the finest clothes, her dark, silky hair piled atop her head in an elaborate up-do, and her expression sneered regally at the prisoner.
The man giggled. "What can I do for you, Your Majesty?"
"This curse you gave me," the woman waved a piece of parchment in the man's face, "it's not working," she dictated in a cold, demanding tone.
"Well I can assure you there is nothing wrong with the curse. Perhaps you didn't follow the directions closely enough."
"I did everything perfectly!" the woman argued. "I summoned the vilest scum of the realm, the ones with the darkest souls. I gathered every specific ingredient to the letter. I even sacrificed my prized steed, Rocinante, who I've loved since I was a child, and it still didn't work!"
"A horse?" the man asked incredulously. "You think some smelly beast is enough to enact the Dark Curse, the most powerful curse in existence?" He tisked condescendingly. "You have to sacrifice the hart of someone you truly love; someone who loves you back. A horse isn't capable of love."
"What then? The only person I every truly loved died years ago, thanks to Snow White." The brunette hissed out the name. To her, there was nothing and no one she hated more.
"Really, dearie? There is no one else you truly love? No one at all?" the prisoner prodded.
The woman stared at the man, biting her tongue. Of course there was one other person she loved, but she tried not to let her thoughts go there.
The prisoner smiled. "I never said this was going to be easy. In order to cause pain, you must inflict pain. This is the Dark Curse – no one escapes unscathed."
The woman straighten up. "So be it. I don't care what I have to do, as long as I get my revenge."
"Oh yes, you will have your revenge. Unless…" the man trailed off.
The woman glared at him. "Unless what!" she demanded.
"Well, all curses can be broken, dearie, even this one."
"What can break this curse? Tell me!"
"The only thing that can destroy evil is love; True Love. And seeing as how Snow White and her charming husband are expecting their first child, a product of True Love, I'd say there may be a slight chance this child could be your undoing."
The woman smiled darkly. "Then I shall destroy this child, if it is the last thing I do."
SQ
Regina awoke abruptly, the dream still fresh in her mind. She could still smell the dankness of the air and the stale hay on the floor of the dungeon.
Shaking her head and rubbing her eyes, Regina tried to erase the memory, but to no avail. It had been years, decades even, that she had dreamed of her former life, and Regina couldn't figure out what had triggered this specific memory. She recalled the events of the previous day: she had gone to work as usual, then lunch in the office, followed by a short afternoon so she could take Henry to the festival.
The Festival. For some reason the thought of the event sent shivers down the back of her neck. Regina remembered how excited Henry was for the games and funnel cake. They had run into Emma and toured her around the festivities until she had to go meet up with Graham at the water pistol game, and then Emma brought that stuffed horse back to Henry…
Her skin froze. That fucking horse!
Regina popped out of bed and marched down the hall. She eased Henry's bedroom door open. Luckily he was still asleep, the toy deposited on the desk in his room. Regina snatched the stuffed animal up and closed the door.
Examining it in the daylight, she inspected it more closely. It was uncanny, the resemblance of the toy to the real horse she owned in her former world. The color of the horse, the white blaze down the front of the head. The bridle sported the exact same silver rings and studs, and the saddle was the same shape and cut as her own. All of Regina's clothes, jewelry, and belongings were customized, especially her saddle. It was the only one of it's kind; she would know it anywhere.
She threw the toy onto the couch. This is crazy! It had to be a coincidence. There was no other explanation. The curse she cast wiped everything from her previous realm, all tangible and intangible evidence, from the houses that people lived to the memories inside their heads. She had created a fresh start; a new beginning.
But if there was one person to fuck with it, it would be Mr. Gold, formerly known as the Dark One. He was the most unpredictable and diabolical person Regina had ever met. He was the kind of man who was always 20 steps ahead, often putting plans and schemes into motion years before anyone knew what was going on. Regina didn't know if he was planning anything, or if the toy horse was just a harmless toy, but it definitely put her on edge.
She mulled over the words the Dark One had left in her dream: this child could be your undoing.
Regina remembered as Queen how she planned to get her hands on the child of Snow White and Prince Charming, and how she would revel in Snow's despair before extinguishing the child's life with relish. She probably would have smothered it, or drowned it; that would have been the kindest way.
The thought nauseated Regina. Becoming a mother had been life-changing to say the least. Over the past 10 years, bitter thoughts of hate and revenge had been replaced with concern over scraped knees and plans for birthday parties. There was no way that she could cause harm to a child after raising one.
Regina was trying to become a new person in this new life, reconciling the darkness of her past with the hope of her future. With the help of Henry teaching her how to love, and Emma teaching her how to live, she just might find her happy ending; but like everything else, it had to be on her terms.
SQ
Emma was coming home after a long weekend. She had to work both Saturday and Sunday, and and the lack of a weekend was grating on her nerves. She was feeling a little worse for the wear, but then a text caused her phone to go off and she knew who it wold be before she even looked.
Usual time, usual place, dear?
Emma smiled, hearing the Mayor's voice perfectly in her head as she read the words on the screen. Emma picked up her pace walking towards her apartment, a sudden lightness in her feet.
Can't wait, she sent back, hoping that a shower and maybe a power nap would help ease the exhaustion in her body.
Unfortunately, Emma was still fighting the urge to yawn as she was counting down the minutes to 11:00. She had taken a catnap after she showered and ate dinner, but the strategy seemed to have back-fired and now she was even more tired. She mused over the idea of canceling at the last minute, but grimaced at how she knew the Mayor would respond to being stood up. Instead, she flipped through a few channels on the TV, shaking her head to ward off the desire to close her eyes.
She knew that these late night rendezvous were starting to have a cumulative effect of chronic tiredness, but she figured that life was to short to sleep through the good parts. She imagined how the evening was going to go, knocking on the door, wrapping her arms around Regina, kissing, stroking and licking all the parts she liked best about the woman before stumbling home sometime around 1:00 am.
No rest for the weary, Emma thought to herself, wondering how nice it would be if Regina just let her sleep over for once. She could hide from Henry until he left for school, still giving her time to run home and change before having to be at work; but she knew it would be fruitless to ask. She resigned to the fact that she would be dragging the whole rest of the week, compliments of Regina Mills.
SQ
"Ow!" Regina exclaimed, as Emma pushed her a little too roughly against edge of the shelf. Emma had lifted Regina onto the ledge of one of the bookcases in the study and settled between her thighs as the pair started their foreplay; she was surprisingly strong and Regina often appreciated the way Emma could place her body anywhere she wanted.
"Sorry," the blonde muttered, not sounding very apologetic as she breathed into Regina's neck. The tiredness she was feeling was diminishing her finesse as well as her patience. "You know, if we did this upstairs in your bed we wouldn't have to worry about sharp corners of furniture," she ventured, already knowing what the Mayor was going to say.
Regina answered her with exasperation, "You know why we can't."
Emma pulled back and looked into Regina's face. "Do I? Because for someone so eager to bed me, we have yet to actually do it in a bed."
"Henry might wake up and hear us," the Mayor repeated for the umpteenth time. They had been over this, and Emma still persisted in bringing the topic up for discussion now and again.
"He could also wake up and walk downstairs just as easily, and that doesn't seem to be stopping us," Emma argued.
Regina started to look annoyed and moved her hands from Emma's waist to her shoulders, pushing the blond back slightly. "If you came here to argue, Miss Swan, you may leave. I am not in the mood to go rounds with you."
"I don't want to argue Regina, I just want...I want...I..." she scrunched her eyes and searched for the right words to express how unsatisfied she was becoming with their arrangement.
"Don't hurt yourself, dear," the brunette snarked.
Emma took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Regina always had some sassy remark to throw in Emma's direction, and usually the deputy found them humorous; but tonight it just came across as mean.
"Nevermind," Emma resigned, and leaned in for a kiss, but her arousal was fading as her discontent grew.
Regina sensed something was amiss, and pulled away from Emma's half-hearted embrace. "What is it?" she asked, trying to sound caring.
It was so much. It was feelings of disappointment that Regina never asked her to stay overnight. It was the feeling of rejection knowing that Henry and Regina were a family that Emma wasn't a part of. It was spending time together at the Miner's Day Festival, only to be dismissed as Regina and Henry went home without her. It was frustration, and heartache, and loneliness.
Emma sighed. "I know what we agreed, ok? But I would just like more. More than just late-night hook-ups and secret affairs."
"So all of a sudden I'm not enough for you? My my, you do have a way of making a girl feel special." Regina said with heavy sarcasm.
"No, that's not what I mean. I'd just like to do more things with you. I'd like to take you out to dinner. I'd like to go for a walk on the beach and hold your hand. I'd like to stay overnight for once and wake up with you in the morning. I'm just tired of sneaking over after Henry's asleep. I hate acting like what we do is wrong, because it doesn't feel wrong to me Regina."
Regina was starting to look uncomfortable, and her body stiffened at Emma's confession. "Hey, you asked. I'm just being honest," Emma finished.
"Miss Swan, we have been over this, and you know the boundaries of our arrangement. Remember, you signed up for this," Regina dictated matter-of-factly.
"Stop with the 'Miss Swan' crap. Jesus woman, you can call me by my first name. It's been three months, and I've been inside you more times than I can count," Emma was exasperated with the many subtle ways Regina had at keeping her at a distance. "And, yeah, I do know what I signed up for, but I can't help the way I feel. I want to be with you, but I don't want to do it in this capacity anymore. We are adults, Regina, and we can have an actual relationship if we want to. And call me crazy, but I think you want it too."
Regina tried to push Emma away from her, but the blonde had better leverage and wouldn't budge. Pressing forcefully against the brunette's grip, Emma continued to provoke Regina.
"And what would be so bad about us being together? Are you ashamed of me?" Emma leaned her face towards Regina's, challenging the Mayor to admit the real reason she wouldn't go the extra step and make some kind of commitment. "Are you scared of what other people might think? That they'll know you are human and that you actually have feelings? Or are you afraid that I might hurt you, because I can tell you now, if we keep doing this, we are both going to get hurt."
"Henry, Miss Swan! Somehow I don't think it would healthy for him to know the reality of his mother and birthmother's situation. He wouldn't understand, and he would be crushed when this doesn't work out."
Emma's jaw clenched. "When? Great, I'm so happy to know how much you value our relationship," she spat.
"We are not in a relationship!" Regina cried out.
"Yes we are!" Emma fought back. "I care about you, and I know that you care about me. If we're not in a relationship, then I guess you wouldn't care if I went out and screwed Ruby, or Graham?" Regina's eyes flashed with possessiveness and ferocity at the mention of Emma being with someone else, and Emma knew the Mayor would blow a gasket if that actually happened. "But you would. You would care. It would devastate you if I slept with someone else and that means we are in a relationship!" Emma finished, making her point.
"Stop it," Regina commanded, continuing to try to pry Emma out of her personal space, but the blonde was incredibly mule-headed and strong, and reached her hands past Regina's body, grabbing onto the bookcase shelves and established a human cage around the other woman while Regina writhed and growled in protest.
"No. I'm not going to stop. You can't control me!" Emma stated forcefully, pushing her body against Regina's. She was angry at how the Mayor was always pushing her away, denying her feelings to protect herself which only continued to hurt and confuse Emma. It was selfish, and Emma was sick of it. She let her emotions get the better of her and asked the question she dreaded the answer to.
"Tell me why you don't want to be with me!" Emma yelled desperately. It was the one question that had followed her her entire life, from her parents abandoning her, to the foster parents that "returned" her when she was three, to the families that never adopted her, to the one person she cared about who left her. No one ever wanted her.
Regina reached her hand to Emma's throat, squeezed and pushed with all her might. Emma stumbled backwards, shocked at the Mayor's aggressiveness. Regina hopped off the bookcase and strode towards the other woman.
"How dare you! I made my intentions perfectly clear when we started this whole thing. My house, my rules, remember? And if you even think about going behind my back with someone else, I will destroy you," she stated harshly. Her eyes had grown dark and cold.
Emma sneered at Regina, not letting herself be intimidated by what she knew was a petulant threat.
"Yeah, I've heard that one before, so I'm just gonna go. I'm tired, and I'm tired of this," she said, gesturing to the both of them. "When you're ready to be honest with me, and with yourself, I'll be waiting." Emma grabbed her jacket and exited the room, walking with purpose towards the front door and closing it defiantly behind her.
Regina just stared at the doorway, stunned. It was the first time Emma had walked out on her, and Regina didn't think she actually had it in her to just leave and not come back.
The Mayor paced in the study, not sure what to do. She was positively fuming at the actions and words of the blonde, but she couldn't deny the part of her that desperately wanted to run after Emma and drag her back. The Queen in Regina wanted to go after Emma and drag her back to the house, force her to stay and make her apologize for her insolence; but the lover in Regina wanted to go after Emma and beg her to come back, to give Emma what she wanted and to take that leap of faith into the realm of commitment.
Regina placed a hand to her head in an effort to clear the swirling thoughts in her brain; the indecision that was driving her crazy. She decided the best thing to do was pour a large glass of Scotch and drink herself into apathy.
SQ
The next morning Emma stared absently into her still-full cup of coffee that had grown cold, barely even acknowledging it's presence. She had huffed out of Regina's house last night in an attempt to break the woman down, but so far it had back-fired. Emma half expected Regina to stop her, run after her, do something other than just let her go; but she didn't. It was dawning on Emma that the Mayor may not be as attached to Emma as Emma was to her.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Mary Margaret ventured, trying to break Emma out of her stupor.
Emma had moved into Mary Margaret's extra room a while ago as she was quickly running out of money to keep staying at the B&B. At first Emma was unsure of how to accept Mary Margaret's generous offer when she suggested they become roommates, but they fell into a natural state of cohabitation and Emma was beginning to like having someone to come home to everyday; to make meals with and to talk to about mundane matters that had never seemed important to Emma before. A few days ago they spent a good hour talking about Mary Margaret's irrational fear of balloons, and how Emma hated it when people shortened words to their first syllable.
"Oh I'm just thinking, you know..."
"Does this have anything to do with your late night mystery dates?" Mary Margaret cocked one eyebrow in piqued interest.
Emma stared at her, unsure how she knew as Emma had never mentioned the fact that she was seeing someone. If you can call late-night booty calls 'seeing someone', Emma thought to herself.
"Maybe," Emma conceded, not wanting to give away more than she dared.
"I'm not blind Emma, or deaf. I can hear when you leave the apartment in the middle of the night. I just wish you could trust me enough to talk to me about it."
"I do trust you Mary Margaret, it's not that. It's just that the person I'm seeing isn't so great at being open about us. I'm not even sure there is an 'us'," Emma explained, putting air quotations up with her fingers.
"Well have the two of you talked about it?"
"I've tried, but it always ends up in a fight...or sex...or both."
Mary Margaret blushed slightly, but was encouraged by Emma's openness. "Sounds passionate; that's a good thing," she offered, not knowing exactly how to help since her own sexual history was pretty limited.
Emma nodded. "I guess."
Mary Margaret looked hard at Emma, trying to decide the best course of action. "We haven't been out with Ruby in a while. Why don't we have another girls night this weekend? We can make dinner here, then go out and forget all about this crap for a night."
Emma smiled. "Sure, sounds good."
"Yay! Girls night!" Mary Margaret cheered, hoping it would be just the medicine her roommate needed.