So, as I said, the chapters will alternate between the past in the Enchanted Forest, and 2011 in Storybrooke, until finally leading into when Maleficent is resurrected and some DSQ sexy times can commence ;)

So this is a Storybrooke chapter, and chapter 3 will pick up where chapter 1 left off in Maleficent's bedchambers… just giving a heads up so no one feels like I cheated them out of what happens in the Forbidden Fortress… trust me, you'll get to read all that ;)

Also, someone pointed out that Maleficent was OOC… well, it's AU and it's pretty plot-driven, tbh, so there will likely be some OOC-ness here and there...

Chapter Two

Storybrooke, 2011

"You're Henry's birth mother?"

"Hi."

Regina was in her kitchen, tearing through her cupboards to find two tumblers that looks liked they even remotely matched, while Miss Swan waited in the foyer. Of course, all her good tumblers were in her drinks caddy with her decanters, but she hoped to hell Miss Swan didn't realize that, and that the blonde had no idea that Regina had needed to come into the kitchen to get some air before facing her again.

In the back of her mind, she could hear Maleficent's voice speaking to her, even after all these years apart.

"You've outgrown me, Regina. I always knew this day would come. It's time for you to move on."

"But how will I… find someone?"

"More often than not, we fall into these things by happy accident. When you meet her, you'll know."

Regina had thought Mal was full of shit at that point, and that she was just finding a polite way to end things when Regina had grown tired of being her sub and wanted to try a role reversal. Of course, Mal was having none of that, and the strain it had put on them had eventually become too much.

But that was all in the past.

And Miss Swan was waiting in her foyer now.

Regina plastered on her fakest smile, hoping it wouldn't betray her nerves, as she questioned her visitor about her motives and Henry's biological father. Truthfully, she was surprised the young woman was even sticking around at this point. She's been thrown off when she'd actually accepted her offer to come inside for a drink. Why on earth had she not bolted yet?

Happy accident. That's what Mal had said would happen. Sure, it wasn't exactly the same situation, since she had gone to the Forbidden Fortress deliberately seeking out Mal. She'd gotten far more than she'd bargained for, that was for sure, but that was also beside the point. This woman, this Emma Swan, she wasn't here for her, she was merely dropping off Henry after he'd rudely interjected himself into her life, when she'd been quite clear she wanted no contact with him.

And yet, here she was, still chatting with his adoptive mother.

And Regina was at a loss to decipher exactly what that meant.

"I sized you up in two seconds," Mal's voice rang through her mind again. And she had, truly. She'd seen right through her in an instant, and known exactly how into it she would be, even before Regina, herself, knew.

But Regina had been twenty-two and had zero experience beyond kissing at that point. She was an innocent mind, free to be molded and shaped into whatever Maleficent had so desired, and she'd given herself over, willingly. But the same was certainly not the case with Emma, was it?

Regina could already tell this woman was jaded, and anything but naive. How could she be sure that Emma wasn't sizing her up as they spoke?

Regina knew she had to take control of this situation fast. Emma wasn't like her heartless Sheriff - she would need to be persuaded. Seduced, just as Regina had been all those years ago. So she put on her best air of authority - something that came naturally to her, now, really - and spoke about managing work with being a single mom, being sure to point out her penchant for strictness, just to test the waters with the blonde.

But Emma was hard to read, and before Regina even knew it, she was preparing to leave.

"I really should be heading back…"

Regina stiffened, knowing she had to act now or Emma would be back in her car and off to Boston before she knew it.

"Oh. Are you sure you should be driving? I'm sorry but my drinks tend to be a little… strong," Regina said. It wasn't really a lie, her drinks were strong, and she was sure it wouldn't come off as overstepping by simply showing basic concern for the welfare of a stranger in her home.

"Oh, uh, I'm fine. I can handle my liquor," Emma replied, with a small cheeky smile.

"Right, of course you can, but there's also a storm heading in, you know. It's late, and I'd hate to see you run into any trouble. Boston's a bit of a drive from here."

"A storm? Really?" Emma asked, glancing around the room and realizing for the first time that there were no windows in the study, and she had no way of assessing the weather conditions for herself.

"Yes, dear. The weather in Maine can be quite… unpredictable," Regina warned, glad that she was finally onto something that compel Emma to stay.

"Yeah, okay, well I think I saw a bed and breakfast down the road? Granny's, or something? I guess I'll go see if they have a room," Emma said, nodding as she stood to leave.

"Oh, no dear, you don't want to stay there. Bedbugs."

"Bedbugs?" Emma repeated, scrunching up her nose in disgust. "Gross. Okay, well there was a Super 8 a few miles out of town, I'm sure I can make it there without any trouble."

"Nonsense, dear. You can just stay here," Regina said, trying to hide the hopeful look on her face.

"Here?" Emma repeating, stiffening a little at the forward offer.

"Of course. Unless you think I'm some sort of psychopath or social deviant," she said with a small, dismissive laugh.

"No, but I'm starting to think you've got an overly trusting small town mentality," Emma replied, raising an eyebrow. "What if I'm a psychopath?"

" Are you?"

"No, but that's beside the point. I catch bail-jumpers for a living, you know. There's a lot of bad people out there," Emma explained.

"I'm sure there is. But you brought my son home and offering you a safe place to sleep this evening is the least I can do. But I can't force you to stay," Regina said, with a small shrug.

Emma hesitated for a moment. She really didn't like storms to begin with, and she definitely didn't like driving in them. She sighed, and nodded before speaking. "Yeah, okay, maybe I should stay. It is late, and then I can say a proper goodbye to the kid in the morning before I head back," Emma reasoned, as Regina's smile grew.

"Good," Regina nodded, quite satisfied with herself. The first part was done, now she just needed to figure out how - and when - to spring the rest of her plans on Emma Swan.

Emma laid awake in the large, impossibly comfortable bed in the guest bedroom, unable to sleep despite the silk sheets. It was just past three, and she hadn't heard so much as a gust of wind outside. There was no storm, and she could have been safely home in her own bed by now.

She sat up, hugging her arms around herself instinctively, while mentally kicking herself for actually agreeing to stay the night in a stranger's home like this. She was smarter than this, and yet, there was something alluring about the dark haired Mayor that had made her forget her better judgment.

Emma sighed and threw the covers off herself, slipping back into her jeans as she stood with her barefeet on the soft carpet below. It had been a bizarre night, to say the least, and something was up with this Mayor Mills, and Emma, was determined to figure out what.

Emma slipped quietly out of the guest bedroom, and tiptoed down the hall, passing the closed door that Regina had pointed out as belonging to her when she gave Emma a cursory tour of the house. Emma crept down the stairs and glanced around the main level, looking for a door to lead to the basement - the basement being where most people kept their darkest secrets, she was sure.

Well, most serial killers, anyway, Emma reasoned. And since she was more than a little over-tired, the idea of walking into a freezer filled with decapitated bodies or something seemed a little too real in her brain at the moment.

And she needed to know.

After a minute, Emma located a locked door which she guessed might lead to a basement or garage. The fact that it was locked at all was slightly troubling, and Emma wondered if she should just run now, hop in her Bug and take off before anyone else woke up.

But she needed to know.

It only took a few moments to pick the lock with the disassembled components of a pen she found on a nearby end table, and she was in. She found a light switch quickly and flicked it on, before closing the door behind her and beginning her descent down the stairs.

"Fuck, Swan, you've lost it," Emma mumbled to herself, in disbelief that she was actually doing this. Worst case scenario, the Mayor really was a psycho killer. Best case… well, best case was she snooped around and invaded the privacy of a woman who was kind enough to offer her a place to stay when a storm was coming.

But there was no storm, was there?

Emma rounded the corner when she reached the bottom of the stairs, and gasped at what she saw.

The basement was completely finished, with cold black and grey marbled tiles, and charcoal coloured walls with white crown moulding. In the centre of the overly large space was a giant four poster bed with deep red silk sheets on it, and wrought iron chains affixed to each bedpost that reminded Emma of something out of medieval times.

In fact, every thing in the room - the various chains, whips, and other positively torturous looking devices - all looked medieval.

"So much for not being a social deviant," Emma muttered to herself, shaking her head in disbelief.

"I only discuss the details of my sexual deviancy with individuals I've known longer than twenty four hours."

Regina's voice nearly made Emma jump out of her skin as she spun around to face the Mayor, who was standing there in her silky dark purple robe, her head cocked a little to one side as she regarded Emma with curiosity.

At least she didn't look pissed.

"Oh, um, I'm sorry… I couldn't sleep and…" Emma stammered.

"And you decided to invade my privacy?" Regina suggested.

"Yeah, I guess… I just… what is all this stuff?"

Regina raised an eyebrow. "You think I owe you an explanation? The door was locked for a reason, you know."

Emma blushed and looked at the floor, feeling very much like a teenager who'd gotten caught sneaking out by her foster parents. "Yeah, sorry. I just wanted to make sure you really weren't a psycho killer. It never stormed, you know."

"I told you the weather was unpredictable," Regina replied with a shrug.

"So… I guess I should just leave then?" Emma said, though suddenly she wasn't really too keen on the idea of actually leaving.

Regina shrugged again. "You can, if you want to," she said, before looking past Emma and letting her eyes fall on the array of whips and riding crops. "Or, if you're really sorry, I think I could find a way for you to make it up to me."

Emma blanched as her eyes followed Regina's. She swallowed hard and opened her mouth, unsure of how to respond to that.

"Don't worry dear," Regina said, with a small smile. "Everything that happens in this room is consensual." It really wasn't a lie, considering nothing had actually happened in this room, not since she'd transported Maleficent's entire bedchambers to her basement with the Dark Curse. She'd spent twenty eight years waiting for the right woman to come along.

"What, uh… what happens in this room?" Emma asked, her voice betraying all of her nervousness. "Like, bondage and stuff?"

Regina smiled again. "More… stuff, than bondage, really. But you can choose to leave now and you'll never have to know. I won't even kick you out of my house. You can go right back up to the guest bedroom and I'll make you breakfast and send you merrily on your way tomorrow morning, and you can forget everything you just saw tonight," Regina offered, though she was already fairly confident that Emma wasn't going to take her up on that. She finally understood what Mal had meant when she said she'd sized her up.

"And if I choose to stay? Down here, I mean," Emma asked, a little more boldly than before.

"Well, dear, if you choose to stay, you'll need to be punished for this transgression," Regina said with another nonchalant shrug. It impressed her how natural the dominant role was already starting to feel.

"Punished," Emma repeated. "So, what, you'll whip me?"

Regina chuckled as she shook her head. "Well, that would be highly inappropriate, don't you think? We barely know each other. But maybe a little spanking will put you in your place," Regina teased.

"Shit," Emma whispered, swallowing hard as began to realize how serious Regina really was about this.

"What's the matter, Emma?" Regina said, flashing her perfect white teeth in a smile. "Didn't your mother ever tell you not to talk to strangers?"