Disclaimer: Once Upon a Time, Storybrooke and any recognizable characters are property of ABC Studios and the Walt Disney Co. No copyright infringement intended.

A/N: I am sorry for keeping you guys waiting even more than I said I would. I've actually had a lot of the story written for a while, but I am going through something really really shitty right now, so I couldn't even bring myself to come here and update. But now, for your patience, you are rewarded with the longest chapter yet. Also, I apologize for not replying to some of the reviews (I usually do my best to reply to all of them), but like I said... tough week... Hope it was worth the wait!

Chapter 9 - The Pull to Darkness

They spent the next two days balancing the subject of magic with other ones. Regina did not want to talk about it nonstop with Emma, in fear that it would stress her out even more, so she was trying to give her just enough knowledge so that she became more at ease, but also allow her to relax and think about other things. To her credit, the blonde had yet to ask to leave the cell, something Regina figured it would happen after her first day there. She didn't think Emma would take it seriously for too long, but she was wrong. More than that, she seemed to trust Regina so freely when it came to magic, which puzzled the brunette. She wouldn't even trust herself that much if she were on Emma's shoes. Nonetheless, they had developed a routine which consisted pretty much on what they used to do before Emma's magic appeared, with the sole difference that they were both on the same side of the bars now. Snow would visit every day, and was starting to become more at ease with the arrangement. David, on the other hand, still refused to even show up.

"So, what's the plan for today?" Emma asked as she stretched herself in bed, trying to find the courage to get up. She tried to hide a yawn then, which earned one of Regina famous eye rolls.

The brunette, predictably already fully awake, studied the woman and spoke in a tone she hoped was calmer than she felt. "I was thinking that maybe," she hesitated, but went on, "Maybe you should try taking a walk outside, to see what happens." She noticed Emma stiffing at the suggestion. To be honest, she did not expect anything else. "I really think it's about time you tried. You are calmer now, you know much more about your powers than you did before, and I believe you are able to control yourself a bit better."

"You don't think I will try to hurt anyone this time?"

"You probably will, at some point," her voice was apologetic, but she refused to make promises of outcomes she had no control over. "But you're in a better place to deal with it now," she gave the blonde a small, yet honest smile, "You can stay here for weeks if you want, Emma, but it won't make you any less nervous when you take that first step. So you might as well start right now, and you tell me what the most difficult part was, and we'll go from there. The last time, you were scared you had only dark magic, and you didn't know what was happening. Now you know better, so it should be easier."

"Why do you keep saying 'you'? You're not going outside with me?" she suddenly sounded so much younger than she was, it made Regina close her eyes and take a deep breath. The last thing she wanted to do was let Emma go by herself.

"I don't think anyone would be all too willing to just release me and let me go outside," she spoke the obvious truth that Emma didn't seem to grasp.

"They will if I tell them I need you there with me," Emma pleaded.

Regina's breath caught in her throat at the sincerity behind the words, and it felt… good. Good to be needed, to feel like she was protecting someone instead of hurting, for once.

"Will you go?" she started, and then thought about Regina refusing to leave before, "Do you want to? Trust me, I kind of get it now, this feeling that you're not ready for the real world just yet," she bit her lower lip, unsure if she was crossing some sort of line. "But I think, if we have to face it, we might as well do this together so that we can help each other, you know?"

"You're only saying that because you don't want to go alone," Regina retorted, even though her words held no hostility at all. In fact, Emma was almost sure she'd seen the sides of the woman's lips turn slightly upward.

The blonde took the lack of direct objection as a yes, and proceeded to call Snow. She now had the nearly impossible task of convincing the woman that Regina could be trusted outside that cell.

It did not go well.

After a lot of yelling from Emma's part, a lot of self-control from Regina's, and a lot of deep breaths from Snow, they agreed on a compromise. Snow opened the cell, and as soon as Emma left, she felt it. The tingling sensation that always served as a warning for what was about to follow. She was just so angry at the short haired brunette she had yet to call her mother. Angry for not understanding, for not trusting her own daughter's instincts, even for refusing to help Regina, just when she was truly changing and she needed people to have some faith in her.

There was no physical manifestation of the magic she felt coursing through her veins yet, so, when Snow asked how she was feeling, she did not expect Emma to just close her eyes and ignore her completely.

She actually thought her daughter was just being stubborn, it wasn't until Regina carefully crossed the threshold between the bars and approached Emma, gently taking her hand on hers, that the younger brunette understood.

"Emma?" her voice shook slightly as she took one hesitant step towards the two women.

"Just focus, ok? She's your mother, you don't want to hurt her, you know that," Regina whispered on Emma's ear, giving her hand an almost imperceptible squeeze, "It's ok to be angry, it's normal to be angry. Just don't use that anger to channel your magic," she gave a moment's thought before smirking, "You know, you could always just punch her."

At that, Emma's eyes snapped open and she burst into laughter, much to Snow's confusion. Regina's smirk never left her face, but it changed into a real smile when she could see Emma relaxing, and the tension, along with the spark of magic, leaving her body.

"And you still think I can do this without you, Regina?" she smiled easily now, before looking back at Snow, hesitantly freeing her hand from Regina's soft grasp, a little bit of the tension returning, "At least this time there was no fireball," she shrugged, both her hands in her pockets.

"Yes," Snow was still trying to dissipate the fog that her brain seemed to be stuck in. She had noticed the calming effect that Regina seemed to have on her daughter, but she couldn't help feeling a pang of jealousy at the way Emma had just laughed, so freely. That Regina was able to affect the blonde so naturally, when every effort she made seemed so forced, so difficult for Emma to reciprocate. She shook her head quickly, and put on a small smile, "Yes, that is definitely progress, I'd say," the silence was thick between the women, until Snow decided she did not want to make things any worse, "I'll leave you two to it," she smiled and nodded at her daughter, and then Regina, before quietly walking away.

The compromise was that they could practice magic outside the cell, so that Regina could teach her the more practical side of it, but they still didn't want the prisoner walking around the grounds. It was clearly not good enough for Emma, and she became even angrier when Snow assured that she could go up and take a walk anytime she wanted, and then they would discuss about Regina. The blonde made a point right away that she was not leaving those dungeons until the other woman was allowed to leave, too, at least for a few hours each day. When it became clear that this was not happening at that moment, she could not contain her anger.

"Did you see that? I barely left the cell and I already wanted to attack someone!" Emma's hands went to her head, brushing her hair back as she made her way back to her bed.

But Regina's voice made her stop. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Where do you think? It's not safe out there," but she stopped all the same, looking between her bed and Regina as if trying to decide on what to do. Regina made the decision for her by magically closing the cell and locking it so that she could not go back in.

Noticing the annoyance on Emma's face, she walked closer to the woman, taking her hand once more, but this time to guide her away from the bars. "You did good," she assured her, "You managed to stop it before it really started. You will feel these things, Emma, you will feel the pull, the beginning, but having control is not about not getting the urge, it's about working around that, and not giving into it. You did good," she repeated.

"No, you did it. You did something to calm me down, didn't you? I felt it," she looked down.

"All I did was talk to you," she could hear the sincerity on Regina's voice, but also the confusion and the hint of worry, "Why? Did you feel any magic from me to you?"

"I can't explain, but when you took my hand it was like your energy connected to mine, and mine became more… balanced, I think," Emma looked back up, her eyes squinting, "Does that make any sense? Can this happen?"

Yes, it could. "It's unusual," the brunette's expression mirrored Emma's in a way, "It doesn't happen much, but yes, sometimes." She knew she was being vague, and right now she had no intention of elaborating more on it than she absolutely had to. Because she had felt the same thing, but had hoped it was simply the surge of power coming from Emma. But she knew it was more. It was as if their energies, their magic, recognized each other, connecting immediately. And if magic was all about emotion, well, she really did not want to think further. "Still, you controlled it," she went back to the more important subject. "I just helped you get in a state of mind that would allow for that to happen."

"It was easier than last time, to be honest," the smallest hint of a smile showed on Emma's face. "I think because I recognized the signs, so I knew what was happening before it actually did. When I closed my eyes, I was trying to, you know, count to ten, take deep breaths, whatever," she shrugged.

Regina laughed softly, "Don't forget you're not doing yoga, dear. Sometimes it takes a little more than that. But you will find out what works for you," she promised, "You just won't have the chance to find out if you keep hiding down here."

"Hey, I'm not hiding!" at the raised eyebrow she got in response, she sighed, "Fine, I'm not just hiding, I'm also learning."

"And you are a surprisingly good student," Regina conceded, "Which means that, sooner rather than later, there will be no reason for you to stay locked here."

Emma pouted, much to Regina's amusement. "But I don't like it up there," she whined. "And I meant it, I'm not going until they let you go, too."

"We don't have to talk about this now. Here, I want to show you something," she reached both her hands, palms up, so that Emma could hold them. Immediately, they felt the connection, and smiled despite themselves. "Close your eyes, and tell me something you want to change around here. Nothing too big."

She tried to think of something, and remembered one little thing that bothered her the past two nights, "My blanket could be a bit warmer, maybe thicker?"

"Good, now focus on that. Focus on the feeling of warmth, on the memory of a good night of sleep, and just relax."

She started feeling it, the usual tingling, and suddenly her hands gripped Regina's tighter.

"It's ok," the brunette spoke softly, feeling Emma's tension, "You are safe here, no one is threatening you, there is no reason to be scared. It won't hurt you," when she could still feel Emma's magic, but didn't feel her relaxing, she sighed, "Emma, open your eyes," she did, and Regina looked right at her, "You are safe," she repeated, "I promise. Don't be scared, ok?"

Nodding and closing her eyes again, Emma took a deep breath and let herself be consumed by the feeling coursing through her. Regina was right, it didn't feel threatening in any way, and she still felt completely in control. She focused on what she wanted to change, imagined the brown blanket over her bed turning into a duvet, one of the really thick ones she had grown accustomed to in Storybrooke. Just when she had the perfect picture on her mind, the magic stopped, and she felt normal again.

"What happened? Why did it stop?" she opened her eyes slowly, meeting Regina's already open ones. The woman had a smile on her face, and guided her to the side so that she could look at her bed.

"Because you already did it," she smiled proudly as they looked at the much nicer and warm looking duvet. But what struck her the most was that something else was changed.

"I didn't picture any specific colour, why did it change?" she smiled, happy to see it was now a light shade of blue. She looked back at Regina, grinning, "Were you responsible for that detail?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, dear," she smiled back, and after a moment of silence, took one step back, "So, how did it feel?"

"Good," she never thought she'd ever describe any kind of magic that way, "Peaceful, even."

"You see, now? That is the feeling you need to focus on, when doing magic. Now you know it doesn't have to be all about darkness."

"How did it feel for you?" Emma surprised her by asking.

"Lighter than what I'm used to."

"And that's a good thing, right?" she bit her lip and glanced at the woman, who nodded.

"Yes, Emma," she replied. "It's a very good thing."

"So, should we do yours now?" Emma grinned, already putting her palms up for Regina to take.

When she did, she noticed how much calmer the blonde seemed now, she was immediately relaxed and let the magic flow through her. They both closed their eyes and Regina couldn't help noticing that she herself felt much more relaxed when connected to Emma as well. As if she grounded her, keeping her from doing anything on impulse and hurting someone. The thought put her even more at ease, and soon she had a nice and warm duvet, pretty much like Emma's.

Well, except for one thing.

"PINK, Miss Swan?"

"What? I was just repaying the gesture, and you never really told me what you would prefer," Emma shrugged with a smirk of her own, which seemed to grow wider the more exasperated Regina got.

"And you didn't think to go with something a bit more… neutral?"

"Oh, come on, it doesn't look that bad," she tried.

"It looks… fluorescent. Do I look like Glinda, the Good to you?" she spoke, not even attempting to hide how distasteful she thought the comparison was. With a heavy sigh, she closed her eyes and the colour immediately shifted. "There. That looks better," she gave a satisfied smile.

"Black? At least go with something a bit nicer." It was Emma's turn to focus, trying to turn it into a creamy tone, but all she managed was to light it enough to make it a dark shade of grey instead. She then proceeded to pout again, "Why can't I do it?"

"You will, with enough practice," Regina replied, "Now do you want to try something else, or should we keep reenacting this horrid scene from that stupid Sleeping Beauty animation?"

"Hey, that was my favourite scene! Can we splash your duvet so that it's half blue and half pink?"

"Don't even think about it," she warned, and when she saw Emma trying to change something again, she grabbed both her arms and turned her so that her back was faced to the cell. Just in case.

By the end of the day, Emma was actually excited to be learning that kind of thing. It had worked perfectly – she wasn't scared anymore – and she felt more confident than ever about herself and her abilities.

When Snow came to see them by the end of the day, the blonde ran to her and proceeded to telling her the good news. "Emma, that is great!" Snow was genuinely happy to see the huge progress since that morning. She was still fearful that she would go there only to find her daughter even more distraught and angry at her.

"I really think I can do this. It's not always easy, but I can stop myself, I know what to do now."

"Does that mean you are ready to get out of here?" Snow sounded so hopeful that it broke Emma's heart to have to shake her head.

She did not want to fight anymore, and she was sick of feeling as if she would always have to be between the two women who were now with her. Still, as much as she didn't want to bring the subject up, she didn't feel like she had a choice. "I was serious before. I am not leaving until Regina has some sort of freedom around here."

Regina's heart skipped a beat. When Snow asked about Emma leaving, she expected to hear a 'yes' from the woman. Truth was she was as ready as she ever would be, to start facing things as they came. There was still a lot to learn, of course, but she wouldn't learn them by being locked in that cell, only by allowing herself to live her life and face the situations as they came. There was no reason for her to stay. So the feeling that someone was standing up to her that way, she didn't remember anyone doing that for her before, ever since Daniel.

"Emma… before, you said you needed her with you, to keep you calm. It seems like you are a lot more confident now," Snow tried, which seemed to infuriate her daughter even more.

"Oh, that's really nice of you. Just staying here as long as I need her, and then locking her up alone again and go live my life."

"I didn't mean it like that," and she really hadn't. She wanted nothing more than to be able to reach out to Regina and help, but she was at complete loss as how to go about it this time. None of the other times had worked very well to her, only bringing everyone more problems.

"The hell you didn't!" she was angry again, she felt it. She felt the same as before, and she half expected to feel Regina close to her, like last time. But when she closed her eyes and thought back on everything she had done with magic that day, she tried to focus on the peaceful feeling. It was much easier to push back the magic this time, and let anger be nothing more than just that: a feeling, which did not take over her. She took another deep breath, feeling like herself again. "I think you should go now," she turned and, as calmly as she could manage, walked back inside the cell, sitting by her bed and bringing her head to rest, supported by her hands. "I'm getting a headache," she spoke more quietly, and heard the sigh coming from Snow.

The queen looked from her daughter to Regina, who was still outside, much closer to her. To her surprise, she found herself approaching the woman. "I really didn't mean it the way she thinks I did," she dared to look into Regina's eyes, and found all sorts of conflicting emotions there. "I know you will keep her safe, I can see it," she whispered, risking a glance on Emma's direction and making sure she wasn't listening, "But I know you have risked everything to hurt me before, so that puts me in a really hard position," she stopped, waiting for some sort of a reply, and when it didn't come, she swallowed hard and finally said the words she wished she didn't have to, "Emma is the most important person in my life. I don't want her to have her heart broken."

Regina really wanted to do as she had suggested Emma earlier and just punch the woman on the jaw right now. But she couldn't. Not just because she could not teach Emma how to control her anger and then go and do the opposite, but because she was too stunned by what she'd heard to be able to formulate a proper response, or any reaction to it whatsoever. "I don't like you," her words were cold and restrained. Snow looked down and nodded, not expecting much else from the Evil Queen she had lived with for so long.

"I know," she replied, "You made a point in showing me in very creative ways," she almost cringed at the satisfied smirk that appeared on Regina's face.

"But I mean no harm to Emma," she guaranteed, flicking her wrist to make a small flask of aspirins appear out of thin air as if to prove her point.

"That doesn't mean you won't hurt her. Sometimes we harm people, even with the best intentions," she spoke, still not able to face Regina fully.

"Well, then it's a good thing I have such vast experience with good intentions causing harm, isn't it? I can try a bit harder than other people have," she spat and walked back inside, locking the door herself and throwing the keys on the floor for Snow to take.

As soon as the woman left, she heard a quiet muffled cry coming from the other bed. Not knowing what else to do, she grabbed some water and left it close to Emma's side, placing the medicine next to it. "You did good today, Emma," she spoke quietly. "Better than most people would," when Emma looked up slowly and Regina saw the tracks of a few tears she had allowed to fall, she felt uneasy. But then the woman gave her a small appreciative smile and things did not seem so bad. "Good night." It was way too early to go to sleep, but she didn't know what else to say.