Synopsis
It had been months, but Emma was still the Dark Swan. Regina had thus far been unable to liberate her lover from the transformative effects of that darkest of curses.
In their desperation to free the Savior of Storybrooke from her terrible burden, they'd traveled deep into New York City's Chinatown, in search of the Dragon Herbalist. Their hope was that he would know of some cure, or at least a treatment, for the entrenched darkness. At this point, they would settle for anything that would quiet the voices, give Emma some semblance of peace.
Unfortunately, their journey had been ripe with adversity.
Their latest challenge, someone had made the mistake of attempting to mug the former Evil Queen, and the Dark Swan wasn't one to let such an injustice go unavenged.
Story
"Emma, don't!" Regina pleaded. She grabbed the worn black leather of Emma's biker jacket. Attempted to yank the apex predator away from her prey. She was rebuffed by both the iron will of the Dark Swan, and the well toned physique of an experienced street brawler.
"What the fuck you crazy bitch! Let go of me!" the would be thief cried out.
A deep rumble emanated from the depth's of Emma's chest. It was a warning that heralded the failed robber's impending annihilation. The tattoo covered flesh on her hands paled as the unnerving strength of her grip increased on his parka's lapel. She pushed into his chest, slammed his back against the stain covered hallway of the run-down Chinatown apartment complex. The powerful muscles of her thighs visibly quivered from within her black skinny jeans, effectively wielding her into her current position and the assailant against the wall.
The thief let out an uncontrolled grunt as the air evacuated his lungs. "Aaugh! What the hell kinda shit are you on, PCP? God, someone help me! This bitch is trynna kill me!"
His cry for help reached only unsympathetic ears.
"Not even the Gods can protect you from me," Emma growled. The gravel of her voice ground from between her gritted teeth. The outrage at the audacity of this miscreant's failed attempt to steal from Regina was obvious, even under the Dark Swan's still stoic expression.
Regina sensed that her aggression would only serve to put gasoline on the roaring flames of Emma's tumultuous temperament. The brunette relaxed her grip on the blondes shoulders. She took into her lunges a slow deliberate breath, leaned forward, then whispered to her lover.
"Emma, let the man go," she asked. The sultry sound of her voice gently caressed the receiving ear.
The Dark Swan froze. Her muscles twitched as the young man struggled unsuccessfully against the hands still pinning him to the dry wall.
"He hurt you…" Emma explained. The storm of her gaze remained locked onto the undeniable fear and panic stared back at her.
"No he didn't. I'm ok."
Regina slowly pressed her hand around the sizable bulge of Emma's leather covered bicep. The contact needed to last only for an instant, before it communicated infinite volumes in just that moment.
"I'm fine Emma. I'm not fragile. I didn't break," she quietly assured. "Do you think some common malefactor will be enough to hurt me? - the former evil queen."
"Hmph." The Dark One reconsidered how it would take much more than this weakling to harm her beloved.
In an instant, Emma threw the man by his lapel a full six feet down the hall, away from the couple's position. The tread of her combat boots squeaked against the filth on the floor as her core twisted. The curls of her blonde mane settled haphazardly on her shoulders and down her back.
His discombobulated form hit the floor, hard. He scrambled to his feet. The cloth of his ill-fitting, oversized, and unseasonably warm parka, remained twisted awkwardly around his body.
As the would-be thief attempted to right himself, he taunted, "fuckin' dyke! You'd best …."
His ill-advised monologue was interrupted when a growl thundered from the Dark Swan. Her face had twisted to an almost unnatural grimace, her enlarged canines bared.
She took a step towards his position. His death the only possible result, should she reach him.
"Run you idiot!" Regina warned. Her recently cultivated compassion required her to save this dumbass from the wrath he wrought.
And so he did. The fading sound of his whimpering indicated that he'd finally gained some semblance of sense.
Emma moved forward as if she fully intended to track the man down. She was stopped by the feel of an olive colored hand, as it entwined with her own.
"Let him be," Regina softly pleaded.
The blonde swirled around to face the brunette. Rage and righteous indignation still emanated from her.
Regina placed her remaining hand gently against Emma's cheek. She carefully rubbed the backs of her knuckles against the pale flesh covering prominent cheekbones.
"I'd hoped that more of the effects of the darkness would be lessened while we were in the land without magic," she confessed into what would have been the disturbing solid blackness of the Dark Swan's eyes, but had returned to Emma's characteristic sea green when they'd crossed over Storybrooke's town line, and into the unmagical world beyond.
Regina let her eyes wander over Emma's coiled form. Her gaze stuck to the visible parts of her lover's skin that undoubtably featured the most striking change that the Dark Swan had undertaken, when they'd left their home and the refugee of its magic.
Emma's body was now covered in an intricately interconnected tapestry of tattoos, save for the skin on her face. Regina had recently discovered that almost every square inch of the savior's nude form depicted a discordant mixture of imagines, drawn in a kaleidoscope of different inks.
Illustrated were scenes of powerful dark wizards felling mighty dragons with prismatic bursts of magic, huge armies engulfed in pillars of crimson fire. There were poems written in ancient elvish. Other spots held hash marks, strange runic letters, and many other manner of indecipherable symbols; all peppered in seemingly random locations.
Prominently displayed on the left side of her back, was a single black wing. It shined a brilliant iridescent when the light hit it just so. Dark Swan metamorphosed into one-winged angel.
Regina suspected that the entire history of the dark one's curse had been etched onto Emma's skin. The disturbing nature of the art indicated how terrible the events within that chronicle must have been. Now the memories of those events where locked within her partner's mind.
However, none of what or how it was depicted seemed to bother Emma, at least as far as Regina could tell.
The former evil queen's eyes eventually ended their reminiscence and found their way back to her partner's.
"Come my love, let us continue our search for this dragon and his medicines," Regina directed into the gaze of the dark goddess still stood before her. She saw that the fire and the fury had finally been squelched by her gentle ministrations against the soft skin of her lover's face.
Where there had been discordance only moments before, was now calmness.
The ancient corruption that formed the wicked beast within, effectively pacified by the truest of love, at least for now.