Chapter X: I Want Your Soul

A/N: So sorry, again, for the delay. I was once more struck down by illness, but I seem to be all better now. I do hope you find the chapter worth the wait. please drop me a line if you do; I love reading them.

My thanks, as ever, to killer-elephants for being a phenomenal beta.

~M

Breath catching in her throat, Emma watched the woman across the room with wide, uncertain eyes. Her hand clenched into a fist, ready to try to defend herself should the Queen be unable to resist the urges she now knew were roiling inside. The sheets of her bed shifted beneath the Queen as she moved, soft fabric rustling. "...Regina," Emma warned, her voice a low growl of defense.

But the brunette was only changing positions to get her trembling under control, finally relaxing onto the bed and nearly burrowing into her covers. Her face turned away from the Hunter, planted in her pillows. "Go to sleep, Miss Swan," she hissed, voice harsh and condescending. "I'm not going to bite you." She settled deeper into her bed, and looked for all the world like sleep was very nearly about to claim her.

Still wary, Emma only watched her for a long moment, her pulse still racing beneath her skin. When long, silent seconds had gone by without the Queen so much as moving, much less attempting to sink her fangs into her neck, Emma finally allowed herself to breathe normally again, and slowly lowered herself back down to the chaise. Evidently Regina had more self control than it had at first appeared. The druggy haze from Henry's drinking of her was finally completely gone, leaving only weariness in its wake. She doubted she'd be able to fight off Regina all that well anyway. She'd had a very long day, after all, and her body was sluggish enough from blood loss. Her son might only be eight years old, but it felt to Emma like he'd obviously inherited her appetite.

Another reason why Regina was able to resist drinking from her? Maybe she could tell that Emma didn't have any further blood to spare. Deciding in that moment that if Regina truly wanted to bite her, she probably could do so rather easily, Emma just allowed herself to sink into the easy embrace of the chaise-lounge and curl herself into her blanket. Her eyes closed, she gave a soft sigh, and sleep was hovering over her within minutes.

…

The sound of the doorbell jerked her awake, her weary body protesting as much as it could before the taunts of sleep danced away. Groaning, she leaned up on the soft cushion of the chaise, watching with bleary eyes as Regina already slipped out of her bed, muttering her own soft curses beneath her breath as she fluffed a hand through her hair, pulled on a robe and headed out the door.

"Wait," Emma called, weakly, and rose herself. "You shouldn't go alone." Her body stretched up, arching until her bones popped and and shuddered in a sluggish attempt to shake away the fatigue.

Raising an eyebrow at her, Regina looked about to snap that she certainly didn't need Emma's help, but she shook her head and waited anyway, perhaps realizing that the Hunter could be useful. Together, they padded quietly by Henry's room, stopping to pop heads in and reassure themselves that yes, he was still there, sleeping peacefully.

Lucky kid, Emma thought glumly, and followed the brunette down the stairs to the door. She stopped Regina from immediately opening it with a gentle touch to her shoulder, bending to the coat rack to pull one of her guns out of the bag she'd left there after they'd returned from the school. Rolling her eyes at the gesture, Regina nevertheless allowed it. She still didn't much care for the fact that Emma had guns in her house, but she no longer demanded their immediate removal. Especially after seeing for herself just how adept the blonde was at using them.

The doorbell rang again, and Regina cocked an eyebrow at the Hunter, as if to say 'well?' Emma nodded, cocking her pistol, and Regina resisted the urge to roll her eyes again before opening the door.

"Can I help you?" she offered in her best mayoral tone. Because even if her death lay outside, she'd greet it with a smirk.

Hand still poised over the doorbell, Ruby just blinked at the greeting, looking beyond the mayor to see Emma lowering her gun with slumping shoulders. "...Good evening, Madame Mayor," the wolf offered with a small smile, and extended the large basket she held in one hand towards the vampire. "For you."

With a furrowed brow, Regina stepped out of the doorway, to take the basket, eyes darting to the side to notice Granny standing with her back to the house, crossbow at the ready; as if to guard her house from any additional threats. Regina smiled, turning her attention back to Ruby. She did not immediately take the basket, but felt her fangs drop into prominence of their own accord when she saw the blood packets steaming from under a towel. "What's this?" she asked, as if it weren't obvious.

Ruby shuffled, shifting her position to hold the heavy basket more securely. "Granny figured that if your ...supply was tainted, you probably needed some more," she shrugged, and shook the basket, hoping the Queen would take it soon.

"How... thoughtful," Regina stated simply, but made no move to take the basket. Her eyes seemed glued to Granny, who finally turned to look at the Queen.

Huffing behind her, Emma brushed forward. "For god's sake, Regina," she growled, stepping up to take the basket from Ruby's arms. She gave a faint 'oof' at the weight. "Good god," she groaned, paling a bit. "How much blood is in here?!"

"We brought food for you, too, Emma," Ruby explained, trying not to laugh at the expression on the blonde's face.

Emma eyed the contents more thoroughly, taking note of the copious amounts of foodstuffs hidden beneath the packages of blood. "Oh," she grinned at Ruby. "Well that explains it." Her stomach growled in anticipation.

"Why don't you assist Miss Swan in taking it into the kitchen, Miss Lucas," Regina ordered, still not looking at either of them, and stepped aside to allow Ruby into her house.

"Uh..." Ruby licked her lips, nervously, eyes darting back to glance at her grandmother. Granny's eyes were likewise only on the Queen, but she gave a brief nod. "...Okay." Looking warily back and forth between the two older women, Ruby finally just swallowed and slid past the Queen, following Emma into the kitchen with a confused expression on her face.

"What the hell is that about?" Emma hissed at her. If she was aware that both Granny and Regina were still fully capable of hearing her, she didn't show it.

Shrugging, Ruby slid into step next to the blonde, taking hold of the other side of the basket for her as they walked the heavy thing into the kitchen, setting it down on the counter. "I have no idea."

On the porch, unconcerned with the mutterings of the two younger girls, the Queen and the Alpha continued their silent game of staring. Regina's head titled slightly to the side, awaiting an explanation.

Running her free hand up to adjust her glasses, Granny finally just huffed and broke first. "I couldn't let you go hungry," she groused.

Regina raised a hand to rest on her hip, letting out a short bark of disbelieving laughter. "You'll forgive me if I don't jump at the chance to openly accept such a... gift. I do remember the last time."

A long moment of silence, broken only by Granny's hands resettling over her crossbow. "That was a long time ago, Regina."

"For you, perhaps. But it was the last time anyone tried to poison me."

"Regina..." Granny began, waving her hand at the house, "this has nothing to do with me. I know you and I have had our differences, but I would never try anything... I wouldn't do this. Not after all we've been through together."

Warily, the Queen ran her eyes over every inch of the old wolf, watching her pulse beat beneath her breast, taking in the steadiness of her eyes. "I believe you," she finally sighed, relaxing enough to rest her head against the back of one of her pillars.

Slowly, Granny extended her hand as if to place it reassuringly on Regina's shoulder. She seemd to think better of it, and finally just sighed. "You look tired, Regina. You should eat."

"Such concern for my well-being from a former Hunter," the Queen mocked. "I'm flattered."

Hackles raised, Granny growled, "Look, Regina... if someone really is trying to kill you... well, I want you to know that my wolves and I will do whatever it takes to keep that from happening. And the same goes for Henry. You know I adore the little pup."

The Queen felt the barest hint of a smile teasing at her lips, and allowed it to spread into a slight smirk. "Why, Eugenia," she almost laughed, "Getting sentimental in your old age?"

"Hah!" the grandmother exclaimed, shaking her head. "Fat chance. It just ...took me this long to get used to you, your majesty. Hate to lose you now."

…

The next evening, Principal Nolan had to assure Regina multiple times that she would be contacted should even the slightest side effect from either the poison or feeding from Emma assert itself while Henry was at school. With a ragged sigh and a nod of her head, Regina finally allowed him to go. Henry hadn't been the intended target, after all, so he would be quite safe. And she had her own meetings to arrange to discuss the aftereffects of the attack on the town. All of which left Emma with nothing to do but her least favorite thing in the world. Paperwork.

With a weary sigh, Emma sunk her head down into her hands, her breath scattering a number of the old bits of paper piled around her. This was impossible. She was in the back room of Granny's- the only place big enough to have brought decades of town records into- searching for any kind of clue as to who might have motive to wish ill on Regina. It wasn't her preferred method of research, certainly, but it seemed the only one available in a town full of centuries-old wolves and vampires.

At the moment, she was going through the contents of Kathryn's desk, a lump in her throat each time she found some small notation written in the concise, clean hand of her friend. She proceeded to lose herself in the nearest file, and willed there to be something, anything, that would explain all of this.

After a while, the door to the room opened to reveal Ruby with a fresh cup of coffee, setting it down on the table with a grin. Granny entered right behind her with the newest batch of records she'd dug out of her own storage. Emma had no idea how she'd escaped sitting in on Regina's meeting, but assumed it had something to do with Graham. The Hunter wasn't about to complain; Granny's presence was proving very beneficial in sorting through the piles of old paper. "Having any trouble reading my chicken scratch," she asked, setting the box down on the rapidly depleting free space of the floor.

"Not yet," Emma sighed, pushing back from the desk with a groan.

Ruby scooted herself onto a tiny smidgeon of clear space on the table, looking down at what Emma has just been reading. "Any luck?" the younger wolf asked.

"Not really," Emma muttered, rubbing the back of her head and stretching out her shoulders before reaching for the coffee. "Be easier if Regina could narrow it down for me, but she seems to have very little ideas as to who's trying to kill her."

Granny gave a small chuckle, pulling some of the records out of the most recent box. "Well, no denying she's made enemies of the years. Even tried to kill her once myself, as she reminded me last night."

Emma started at that, nearly spitting out her coffee. "You did?" Sure, she'd known Granny had once been a Hunter, but she didn't think... well, Emma honestly wasn't sure what she thought. She'd often wondered herself how things would have turned out if she'd come to Storybrooke with the intention of killing Regina. Having gone up against the witch/vampire before, albeit in the foyer of the mayor's house, she didn't know how she favored her chances.

"Once, a long time ago, when I was still a Hunter," Granny nodded, taking a deep breath and almost idly reaching for the wolf bite on her arm. As if protecting it. "...I'm sure you can guess how it ended."

"What, did she Claim you, too?" Emma laughed, trying to quell the sudden feeling of unease that was rising in her belly.

Ruby shook her head, laughing a bit herself. "Nah, you're the only one who got that honor," she grinned, winking slyly at the blonde.

As if it were something Emma had earned, or wanted at all. She took a deep breath, eying the way Granny was still holding her arm. "So... what did she do?"

Granny shrugged. "Same thing she does to any Hunter who tries to kill her."

…

Eugenia was forced to her knees, the rough stone of the floor digging into skin already raw and bleeding from fighting. Wheezing with every breath from what she was fairly certain was a broken rib or three, she nevertheless managed to raise her head, determined to go to her death as feisty as she'd lived.

"I'll give you this much, dear," she heard above her, a figure emerging from the shadows and striding up to her nonchalantly. "You got much closer than most do."

This was the Queen she'd been Hunting, then. Regina. Not like she had to be a genius to figure it out from the way she held herself. This one looked regal to the last inch of her. Still, Eugenia jerked her head forward, fighting against the two great brutes who held her and struggling to get to her feet. She failed, but not for lack of trying."If you're going to kill me," she spat, and actually tried to hurl her spittle at the Queen. "Then kill me."

Regina didn't so much as flinch., the spit coming nowhere near close enough to hit her. Seeming not to hear her, the Queen just continued to smile, cocking her head to one side as she regarded the fallen Hunter before her as if she were a meal. Which, maybe, she was. "It seems a pity to waste such talent. You're obviously good, despite your years, or you wouldn't have gotten this far. Though really, dear: Poison?" She chuckled, taking a moment to run a languid, appraising look down the form of the Hunter. "Not very sporting of you."

"I don't tend to take chances with someone as old as you."

Raising an eyebrow, Regina actually looked impressed for a moment, but shook her head all the same. "Seems to me you took one too many. Now, then," she paused, taking a seat in the large throne directly before the kneeling form of Eugenia. "Choose," she finally demanded.

Blinking, she just shook her head, not understanding. "Choose what?"

The Queen gestured to the two guards at either side, leering at her with hungry eyes."Vampire, or werewolf?"

"Why would I care which kills me? Just get it over with."

Laughing, the Queen clapped her hands like a delighted child, rising from her throne and approaching. "No, dear. Not to kill you." She leaned down, letting her breath tickle over the cheek in front of her as she grinned down "To become."

Reeling, Eugenia yanked herself away from the Queen, eyes wide and furious. "You would curse me?! I'd rather die!"

Red lips split in a wide, knowing smile, claw-like fingers reaching down to lightly cup over the Hunter's face. A thin line of blood followed the path of her thumbnail, dripping in slow drops to land on the Queen's thumb. She brought the drops to her lips, licking them up like a cat with cream. "Precisely."

…

Coffee forgotten, Emma just stared at the old wolf before her. "...She Turned you?!"

"Well, she had her pet Wolf turn me, yeas." Granny shrugged. "...It was what she did to Hunters, back then. And it's my own fault for trying it. It's... well, it was horrible, then, but it's brilliant, when you think about it. We certainly pose no threat to her now." She sighed, taking off her glasses and rubbing the bridge of her eyes.

Placing a hand on Emma's shoulder to try and deflate the look of horror on the blonde Hunter's face, Ruby smiled at her. "You know, a lot of us were worried about you, when you came to town. We thought you might be trying it yourself. To kill Regina, I mean."

Emma gaped at her.

Replacing her glasses, Granny shot her a knowing little smile. "Never thought I'd see the day that she'd Claim a Hunter instead. Hell, never thought I'd see her Claim anyone. But it seems to have worked out, though, since you seem so hell bent on keeping her alive."

"I don't..." Emma found her brain having trouble stringing words together. And while a part of her wanted to point out that it had really been Henry who'd claimed her and Regina only got her by technicality, she couldn't seem to get the words out.

"I think it's wonderful, by the way," Ruby grinned. "You two, I mean. You're good for her."

It took Emma a minute to realize just what the younger wolf was saying, and she sputtered like a forgotten tea kettle. "What? No, I-I just... I want to keep her safe, is all."

Chuckling, Granny shared a glance with her granddaughter, and the two of them turned a matching Look onto the blonde. "You don't have to lie Emma. We know you like her."

The impersonation of a teapot continued, leaving Emma gasping: "What, god no! I do not!"

Ruby shook her head, just forced to laugh at the denial. "I'm sure. Which is why you're getting horny as hell right now, thinking about her."

"I am not!"

"Please, Emma. Your face is flushing, your pupils are dilated, your pulse is elevated, and your breathing has deepened. It's okay."

Emma thought her face might indeed be reddening, but it it was it was only from rage. She felt herself about to boil over.

Which is why it was probably a good thing when Granny put a hand around Ruby and led her toward the door. "We'll leave you get on with your work. Got to find out who's trying to off your Queen so you can keep her around, right?" she winked.

The door shut with a sudden click behind them, leaving Emma mercifully alone. With roiled, unsettled thoughts, she gave a ragged sigh and turned towards the next group of records. In her haste to get the previous conversation out of her head, she grabbed a little too quickly, and the pile fell to the floor in a whoosh of paper. "Shit," she groaned, and bent to reach for them.

She stopped mid-grab, a small wooden box now revealed, previously hidden beneath the pile she'd just dropped. Curious, she picked it up. There was a note card sticking prominently out of the corner, and Emma tugged it out, glancing over what was written in Kathryn's easy, concise hand:

'For Regina, when she needs it.'

Hesitating for only a moment, her fingers lifted the lid of the box, pulling out the sole contents with a furrowed brow. It was an old daguerreotype picturing of a couple dressed in Victorian clothes, staring at one another and looking very obviously in love. The gilt frame was worn away in places but the image itself looked brand new. The woman pictured looked vaguely familiar, but the man was a stranger. Leaning in closer to get a better look at the features of the woman, Emma's eyes widened in shock. Beneath the high-piled hair and multiple layers of lace and velvet was a much happier-looking Regina. She was so lost in staring at the bright smile on Regina's face that she didn't even notice when the woman herself stepped into the room. But she noticed when the image practically flew out of her hands.

"Does that belong to you?" Regina snapped, slamming her free hand down on the box while the other cradled the image as if it were a child.

Startled, Emma gasped, rising from the chair so fast that it tipped over. "What are you- is the meeting over already-?" She shook her head, deciding it didn't matter. "I'm just ...trying to figure out who would want to kill you."

Regina growled, eyes burning into the blonde's before she finally looked away at the image in her hand. "I'm sure the list is long. But he isn't on it." She caressed the frame without thought, her fingers tracing over the edges of the curling gilt, not daring to risk injury to the image by touching the daguerreotype itself.

Emma watched as pain crossed over the Queen's face, staring intently down at the picture. Swallowing, the Hunter took a breath, knowing that this was a chance to uncover more information. And information was what she desperately needed. "...Regina? If there's even a chance that something about this man could be related to whoever's trying to kill you... whoever poisoned our son..."

As lost in the image as Emma had been only a moment ago, Regina continued to drag her fingers slowly over the frame, as if she was touching a piece of the man displayed. But at Emma's mention of what had happened to Henry, Regina's breath hitched in her throat. Henry was the magic word, the only thing that Emma had found that could get Regina to do anything. "...His name was Daniel," she finally whispered.

Nodding, Emma waited for the Queen to continue. When she didn't, the Hunter took a breath, trying not to become irritated. She looked again at Regina's face, watching as expressions she'd only ever seen reserved for Henry danced across her featured. But under it all was a profound sense of loss. A memory flashed through her head. Regina, just after Kathryn had died: "This is why I don't Claim humans. You die far too easily." And Emma understood, finally. She understood everything. Daniel had been human. And Regina had cared for him. "...What happened?" she asked as gently as she could.

Regina was silent for a long, long moment, as if weighing whether or not she should say. On one side of her mind seemed to be Daniel, and on the other, Henry. She made her choice. "I was betrayed," she began and anger crept into her voice. A calm, cold, dangerous kind of anger. The kind that could destroy worlds, if it chose. "A Hunter uncovered my location and fed it to ...another, older Queen. One who was determined to destroy everything I loved and rip it away from me. She manged to get through my wards without my detection. Daniel tried to intervene, and she laughed and ripped his heart out of his chest while I could do nothing but watch."

Green eyes closed, unable to take the sheer amount of hurt that was flashing across the Queen's face. "God, Regina..." she murmured, taking in a ragged breath. But she said no more, knowing that the brunette would not want her pity. Instead, she cleared her throat, and re-focused on the issue at hand. "So... this older Queen. What happened to her?"

Shaking her head, Regina finally re-opened the box and placed the daguerreotype of herself and her love back inside. Only when that was done did she speak again. "I have no idea. I spent... decades Hunting her myself, sent dozens of vampires after her. But I never found her, and I haven't heard anything of her for centuries. I'd assumed she finally died."

Warning bells began to go off in Emma's head. "And... if she didn't?"

Another shake of the Queen's head. "I know what you're getting at, Miss Swan. She wouldn't be the one behind this."

"Why not?"

"Because if she were, she wouldn't be trying to kill me directly, dear. She'd go after..." Regina's eyes widened. "Unless... I really was never the target at all."

Emma seemed to understand at the same moment. "Henry!"

Before they could so much as reach the door, Regina's cell phone began to ring. She snatched at it, swallowing when she saw the caller ID- 'Storybrooke Elementary.' She answered it with a breathless, "Where is he?!"

She listened to a very short sentence. Then the phone fell from her hand.

Snatching it up, Emma practically screamed into the phone. "Henry! Where's Henry?!"

She heard David Nolan's apologetic voice on the phone. "Emma? He's just.. gone. Henry's gone."

Emma felt her heart stop. "We... we'll be right there," she gasped like a beached fish, trying to force air back into her lungs.

David faltered, his voice breaking. "Emma... Mary Margaret, she tried to stop them and- ...she's hurt, Emma. It doesn't look good," he fumbled, hauntingly, his voice on the edge of cracking. "And... there's... a note."

"What does it say?!"

"It's for Regina... It just says 'Blood for blood, a heart for a heart.'"

From beside her, Emma heard Regina draw in a shaking, spasming breath. Her arms were around her own shoulders, clutching herself so tightly it looked like it had to hurt, and the only word Emma was able to make out, when she finally spoke, was a sobbing, curse-filled:

"...Cora."