Mifflin Street

They finally pulled apart, Regina falling onto her back against now-damp sheets, panting and gulping to draw breath. Happily sated, after having just spent the best part of an hour having sex.

"That was just…incredible!"

"Couldn't agree more." Her new lover lay alongside, reaching for her hand, sniggering. "It just got better each time, didn't it? Certainly that's the best I've ever had."

The Mayor of Storybrooke, the first Elected Queen of the United Realms four years ago, now lay glowing, pulling herself up to rest on the pillows against the headboard, as naked as the day she was born. As was her equally adulterous lover.

"So how do we want to play this? What do you think we should do first?"

"I can't tell Killian until he gets in on the high tide. Best just nip things in the bud then, don't you think? He'll probably get angry, and scream and shout, but I'll just tell him my decision's final, and that's the end of it."

"You don't think there's a chance he could turn violent? Do you need me there with you?"

"Hardly! And it's not as though I can't handle him, is it? It's not like he has magic. No, it'll be fine."

"You should move in here? There's plenty of space, once I tell Robin he's moving out. I'll tidy up the room Roland's been using, and you can settle Hope in when you're ready."

"Sounds great. But let's not think about all that just yet? Let's just have a bit more time, just the two of us. We've waited a long time for this. After all, it's not like Hook and Hood are going anywhere, is it? No, we can deal with all that shit tomorrow."

"I like your thinking, Swan." Regina leant over, kissing already kiss-bruised lips. "Robin's working at the inn tonight, and Roland's staying with him. So, until Henry gets back tomorrow, we have the place to ourselves."

"Sounds perfect. Now, where were we?"

~oOo~

To Regina, her relationship with Emma Swan, now Emma Swan-Jones, had always been different and constantly evolving, ever since that fateful day she'd breezed into Storybrooke, with Henry.

Their relationship started in hatred, since she posed a direct threat to her own with her son. She'd even tried killing her, and poisoning her with a sleeping curse, which backfired badly, almost killing him instead. But after Emma broke the original curse she'd used to create Storybrooke, things changed to grudging acceptance of one another as Henry's co-parents. But it was after their time in the mine, when Emma was willing to share the real risk of death alongside her by absorbing the crystal's powers. And later, during their mission to rescue their son in Neverland, that a different relationship began to develop. Realising Emma acted as a counterbalance to the infuriating heroes, her real enemies, their relationship eventually morphed to one based on friendship. A friendship and trust that only grew when both women realized they worked better together, rather than on opposing sides. Plus, it was better for Henry. They gradually became closer, and even began to rely on one another. After Robin's murder even more so, as Emma was her natural go-to and shoulder to cry on. A genuine friendship started to emerge, probably the first Regina had ever experienced.

They started confiding in one another. So much so, that Regina grew to know far more about the woman's difficult childhood, as Emma grew to know hers. Even more than Snow did.

She'd always thought the Saviour was beautiful. Let's face it, it was hard not to? And very occasionally, in those quiet moments as she lay alone in bed, she sometimes imagined what it would be like to be in a relationship, and a physical one, with Henry's birth mother. But she'd never for one moment dreamt of acting on it, as Emma was already in an apparently happy relationship with the one-handed wonder. Plus, they had another child, a daughter. Her own goddaughter, who was now three.

And then, thanks to Merlin, her own true love, Robin, had been returned to her. The man she loved above all others, even Daniel. Now, like Emma, she was destined for her own happy ever after.

But that all changed as the result of a failed potion.

Storybrooke Forest – Yesterday

A report had arrived at the Sheriff's Office, via one of the dwarves, that Fiona, the Black Fairy, had been spotted lurking on the outskirts of the town.

The Black Fairy, thought long dead, killed by the Dark One some years ago, was one of the most evil, destructive and malevolent forces the heroes had ever faced. She'd previously kidnapped children over many decades and realms, including Gideon, her own grandson, imprisoning them and making the older ones work in her mines in the Dark Realm. Although the Dark One himself had insisted the evil fairy was now dead, such was the threat of panic among the rest of the inhabitants, that a major search of the entire area was instigated by the heroes, the first in five years of peace.

All the heroes paired off to search. As Killian Jones was already away on a two-day sailing trip, having taken their daughter with them, Emma decided to pair up with Regina. As both possessed magic, being the most powerful pair, they decided they'd search the deepest part of the wood together, where they thought someone else with magic could conceal themselves easily.

And it was in there, completely concealed by trees and dense foliage, that they found a small, tumbledown, dilapidated cottage.

But Regina had sensed very weak, fading magic over the front door. So weak, that it didn't even prevent Emma from just stepping inside, despite her protests. So clearly, the spell had either been cast a long time ago, or weakened, or whoever originally cast the spell, had left or died.

Walking inside, Regina grew wary the moment she spotted how well-kept it was, in stark contrast to the exterior. It was also remarkably well lit, clearly the result of low-level magic, which could last decades, and there were pictures on the walls, and mirrors. There was even a blazing log fire.

A log fire? In July?

"Emma, don't touch anything! That fire's lit by magic. Can't you sense it?"

But Emma's eyes were focused on something else. "Erm, yeah, kinda. Look at the bed?" The quilt was pulled back, askew, the bottom sheet crumpled.

"Someone's slept in it, probably in the last day or two, by the look of it." She cast her magic. "I can't sense a trace, but judging by the indentations, probably two people, not one?" She looked up to find Emma already standing by the little sink, opening the cupboards above. "I said don't touch anything! What are you doing?"

"Looking for clues. See this od broken jug in the sink? There's spilt green stuff all over the drainer, and it looks fresh. Like it's just fallen out of the cupboard." She explored the unit above. "And all these jars and bottles? What do you think?"

Regina walked over to join her. "Mm. I can't sense magic, but judging by some of this stuff, it looks like whoever was here was trying to mix something. Like a potion?" Then she spotted a particular ingredient in one of the glass jars. "Is that mandrake truffle? Where the hell would anyone get hold of mandrake truffle around here? I didn't think it was even grown in this-"

She stopped talking when she noticed Emma picking up a cracked jar by its side, holding it under her nose to sniff.

"Don't! There could be anything in there!"

"But it's smells familiar? Like one of those spliffs the older guys at school used to get caught with?"

The brunette arched a brow. "English?"

"It smells like cannabis. Like something you get offered in university, even though I never went? You know about cannabis? Weed? Pot?"

"I'm perfectly well aware of this realm's hallucinogenic drugs, thank you Swan! I recently gave Henry another lecture on their avoidance at Harvard."

"Yeah? Well just so you know, it didn't work! I'm sure he's had joints already. I took one of his jackets to the cleaners the other week, and one of the pockets smelt too familiar? I reckon most of the other kids around him have also tried it, at one time or another. It's what they do."

"Our son isn't just another 'kid', and he knows better than that! It sounds like I need to have another word."

"I wouldn't. You'll only get into another argument, like you did last week? Let's just leave it, and check his things when he doesn't notice, to see whether it's a one-off, or more of a habit? Anyway, back to this stuff. You think whoever was here was making drugs?"

"Not sure. If they were, they wouldn't be using mandrake truffles. Or henbane for that matter, though it is a relaxant." She picked up a dried old root lying in the cupboard. "Though this is bainberry and incredibly hard to get hold of. I've seen it in one corner of the Enchanted Forest, but never in this realm! This one's all dried out, so it must have been lying here a while. I can't sense any trace of magic on this side, only over there by the fire, and near the lights. As for this, you said it smells like cannabis? Here, let me try?"

Emma lifted the cracked jar, and the remains of the dark-green liquid, closer to the other woman's nose, so she could inhale properly.

"Yes, it smells herbal all right! I think our culprit, or culprits, were wanting to make something that might get them...high? But there are much easier ingredients to use, quite frankly."

Emma put the cracked jar back down on the drainer, moving over to the fireplace, using her gift to sense any other magic signatures, as Regina had taught her. "As for magic, I know it's been a few years now, but I think I can remember Fiona's trace, and this doesn't feel anything like it. But it does seem familiar. Like someone I once met? Still whoever was in here, I reckon they only left an hour or two ago, judging by those bedsheets and the dip in the middle? Also, judging by the smell, I think one of them was definitely a woman, and-" As she lowered her hands, Emma turned to find Regina now standing only two feet away, staring right back at her, with a strange glint in her eye.

"What is it?"

Unbeknown to Emma, while she'd been talking, Regina had been silently watching her from behind. Admiring thatslim, athletic frame as she moved around the room, her arms raised, casting magic all around, searching for traces. In that moment she couldn't help thinking how truly beautiful Emma was. The slim waist and tiny bottom, all encased in tight black jeans. The bare shoulders exposed under the sleeveless top. The lightly-muscled arms, a result of regular gym. Her elegant, defined neck and jawline. That shiny, long blonde hair, in perfect condition, cascading over her shoulder and back. The Saviour wasn't just beautiful, she was stunning. And Regina, for reasons she couldn't possibly explain, now felt an overwhelming urge to get close. Very close.

"Regina? What is it? I-"

As she spoke, Regina calmly stepped right up to her. So close, their faces were now barely inches from one another. It reminded her of a time Henry had been trapped down the mine; when they'd argued who should go down the lift shaft to rescue him. Inches away, Emma looked into the depths of those captivating chocolate-brown eyes. Eyes that seemed to mirror her very soul. Something inside made her pull herself even closer to the brunette.

The silence only lasted seconds, but felt like hours.

Emma couldn't help herself. She was drawn like a magnet to stare at those full lips, unconsciously licking her own as she did so. Her eyes flicked up to find Regina mirroring her, her own tongue moistening her own lips. Unable to resist, she slowly, ever so slowly, inched forward to tentatively press her lips against the other pair, in a cautious, exploratory kiss. Each woman pulled back momentarily, slightly surprised, before Regina countered, taking the initiative to seize the Saviour's lips more confidently, pressing in harder. The second kiss lasted longer, as fear of rejection by the other woman diminished. Lips quickly parted and jaws widened, as both relaxed into it. And as they moulded into each other, arms came around one another's backs, heat building rapidly between them.

Everything else in the world became irrelevant. Not least, the fact they were both married.

Within minutes they were on the bed, still fully clothed, Emma on top and now mounting her, pressing down, as kisses became more frenzied. Everything became unstoppable; and before long, clothes were discarded, and the pair wound up spending the next hour releasing all of the the pent-up sexual tension that had been building between them over the last decade.

~oOo~

When they finally stopped, catching their breath, they lay side-by-side in the little cottage. Their world having just changed beyond recognition.

"We really should've changed these sheets before we started."

Regina's snarky comment earnt a loud chuckle from the blonde. "Yeah. Someone's definitely used this bed over the last day or so."

"But I guess passion got the better of us?" Regina took her hand.

"I really had no idea you felt anything like that for me? I just wish I'd known sooner. We could've made life so much easier for ourselves, don't you think?"

"You're a fine one to talk! I thought you hated me most of the time. When did you start having feelings?"

"Not sure. Probably after we teamed up in Neverland. When our magic combined to clear the clouds from the moon? There was something beautiful about that. The mixing of our streams? It created a different colour and it seemed symbolic, and somehow…intimate? I started to think of you differently after that, but never dared say anything. How about you?"

"Camelot. Once I saw what you went through with Daniel's death. And you then making me fight the darkness that took me over? To be honest, I'd never have got through that without you." Emma leant over, pecking her lips again. "Any regrets about what just happened?"

"None whatsoever. But now I know you share my feelings, it changes everything, doesn't it?"

"Yeah. So I guess we need to-" Emma's phone interrupted her. "Sod it! Hang on a second." She leant across Regina, who shivered as a still-turgid nipple scraped over one of her own, as she collected the offending device from the little bedside table.

"Looks like my Dad's tracked down the culprit? It's not Fiona, just some stupid kid playing a trick on her mates. She's admitted it, and him and Mulan went around her place to see the outfit she had on. He says her resemblance to Fiona's striking. So, the search has been called off."

"Thank goodness for that!" Regina yawned, stretching. "Now I can go home. Frankly, I think I need a shower after that. Fancy joining me?"

The blonde put the phone down, after turning it off, curling herself into the equally-naked woman. "Do you really need to ask?"

Mifflin Street - the following day

The previous night, with both their husbands and children away, once they'd received the text from David, the two women enjoyed another bout of heated sex in the little cottage, regardles of the soiled sheets, before teleporting back to Regina's mansion. After figuring out what to do about the new situation and the steps they needed to take, they'd showered together, and ate dinner, before retiring to bed for yet more pleasurable activities.

The issue of how Robin, Killian and their children would react to their change now seemed, to them, irrelevant.

~oOo~

The following morning, Storybrooke got to hear about the new relationship between Queen Regina and Sheriff Swan-Jones surprisingly quickly. The result of one of the more indiscreet merry men Alan-a-Dale, overhearing the conversation and letting it slip to his husband without Robin even being aware.

Regina had been the first to grasp the nettle, meeting her husband in the pub he'd built in the forest since returning, the Sherwood Arms. She suggested they talk in private.

"Robin, there's no easy way to tell you this, so I'm just going to come out and say it. I'm afraid whatever you thought we had between us, is now over. I've fallen in love with someone else."

Robin stood watching her, in disbelief. "I'm sorry? Is this some sort of joke?"

"It's no joke." She looked at him with unfamiliar, cold eyes. "We're separating and I'm divorcing you. You'll receive my lawyer's letters in the next couple of days confirming everything. Now I need you to remove all of your things from the house. I'll give you two days. You can either come and collect them, or I'll use magic to ship them over here if you prefer? I wanted you to have the choice, as Roland may want to take out some of his things out first? Some may be in Henry's room."

"Regina, this isn't April, so it can't be April Fool's Day? The joke's in very poor taste."

But Regina wasn't smiling. "As I already said, it's no joke! I'm serious."

Robin and Regina went on to have a blazing row, although Regina, renowned for her short temper, had been the calmer of the two. Robin, initially calm, had gone ballistic, finally yelling at her when she revealed that Emma was the one who had stolen her heart. But the woman facing him, telling him all this, didn't seem like the same Regina he knew and loved. This was a colder, harder woman. A woman who wouldn't even discuss the effect it'd have on the twelve-year-old who had come to regard her as a mother.

"What the hell do you think this is going to do to Roland? To our son?"

"Roland's has always been your son, not mine, as well you know. And he's not the first child whose parents go through a divorce. He'll live."

And with those words, Robin realised this definitely wasn't the woman he'd fallen in love with, sacrificed his life for, returned to and married. The woman who'd stolen his heart even more than even Marian. The woman who'd doted on Roland as much as she had Henry, sometimes even more so. This was a stranger.

"What's happened to you, Gina? It can't just be Emma, surely? You two were close, but never that close! You swore you loved me? What's changed?"

"The discovery that what I have with Emma, is so much greater than anything I could ever have with you! The discovery that she feels just the same about me as I do her. She understands and completes me in a way you couldn't possibly understand. I'm sorry Robin, but I have no wish to discuss this anymore. You'll receive papers from my lawyer in due course. Just sign them, and I'll make a financial settlement, and life will become much easier for all of us. Sign them, and let's just get this over with? You'll move on. So will Roland."

With that, she raised a hand, purple mist engulfing her as she disapparated. Leaving him completely devastated.

Storybrooke Harbour

That afternoon, Emma was there by the quayside to meet Killian and their daughter when the Jolly Roger returned.

She had been even more blunt with her husband than Regina had been with Robin. Blunt, to the point of being brutal. And Killian, after his initial disbelief had turned from shock, to outrage, to fury as he bellowed back at her. All in stark contrast to Emma, who seemed cold and icy towards him. So much so, he was reminded of how she was when the Dark One had taken over her mind and body. The cold distance. The lack of any interest in anything but her own. When she told him about her and the queen, he flared up once again. So much so, that she raised a hand, magic ready to silence him, if necessary.

But Killian, like Robin earlier, realised that whoever this was talking to him, wasn't Emma. Wasn't the woman who risked everything by travelling to the underworld to rescue him. The same woman he'd fallen in love with, married, and sired a beautiful daughter with, her little clone, now over three years ago.

Instead, this was darkness itself, staring straight back at him.

"And what about Hope? Are you asking me to give her up, to go live with you? Because that's not going to happen."

Emma actually laughed at that. Laughed? "As though you could possibly stop me? I could just take her, whatever you think. But no. She loves you, so we'll figure out something later. I'm going to sell the house, as it's in my name anyway, and move into Regina's. We'll set up some sort of share, like she and I did with Henry. She can stay with you until then."

"And Henry? Have you even told him about all this? How do you think he's going to take it?"

"He'll be fine. He'll have both his mothers under one roof, so what's not to like? Besides, he's a grown man. He'll do his own thing and he's no longer any concern of yours."

"What happened to you, Swan? What's that bitch done to you?"

Her reaction was instant! From the moment the word left his mouth, Killian felt himself being instantly lifted, an invisible grip tightening around his throat, leaving him suspended! Choking in mid air!

"NEVER USE THAT WORD FOR HER!" The cool icy demeanour was replaced by fury, as she snarled the words out. "EVER AGAIN!"

And there it was! The Dark One, in Emma's body! All she needed now was the black leather and platinum hair to complete it. Whatever it was, had taken her over, completely.

He'd lost her. Perhaps for good?

But Killian was determined not to break his hard glare back as she scowled, arm raised, squeezing her hand, tightening the choke from nearly ten feet away.

"Mama?" Said a small voice from somewhere to the side, making Emma turn. "What-a-doin to papa?"

It was their daughter Hope, currently standing next to Billy Thomson, one of Killian's crew, who was taking a turn playing with her up on deck. The distraction broke her concentration, and Killian fell back to the floor hard, choking, desperately trying to regain his breath as she instantly changed from a look of pure hatred to give her daughter a quirky smile.

"Absolutely nothing sweetheart! I'm just...talking to papa." She turned to see her husband now standing up, rubbing his hand against his sore throat, as he tried to regain his composure. "You stay with Billy, okay? I'll come see you later."

Almost embarrassed by what Hope had just witnessed, she coiled her fingers, and a familiar white mist swirled around her as she disapparated.

"Beggin' yer pardon, Captain? I had no wish to disturb ye, but the young lady's lookin' to be fed, I reckon? Would it be okay if we do so, sir?"

"Thank you Thomson, that would be appreciated. And no mention of what you've seen to the crew, please? At least, not until we've found out what's happened to my wife?"

"My lips are sealed, as always, sir."

As the former old boatswain walked back towards the galley to fuss over the girl, something most of the crew enjoyed as a welcome break from working, Killian pondered over what just happened. Part of him wanted to get angry. But he knew in his heart of hearts that, whatever she was, that wasn't Emma! Someone, or something, had to be controlling her. Regina? The Dark One? Either way, he couldn't lose her. He needed help. From someone with just as much to lose as him and his daughter.

He needed to speak to Robin. Urgently.

~oOo~