Chapter 3

Day Three

Emma stood in the shower the next morning, the warm water washing over her as she stared down at the dark vines that now reached the top of her legs, covering her thighs. She cringed in pain when her hand gently grazed the thick plant that was growing out of her skin, slowly taking over her body.

She was exhausted, and all she wanted to do was go back to bed and sleep for the rest of the day. But she knew she couldn't. She only had five more days to save Regina before her timer ran out, and she wasn't going to waste even a moment of the time she had left. She quickly dried off and got dressed, careful not to put too much pressure on her aching legs and rushed out of the bathroom. After leaving a brief note on the kitchen counter letting her family know she was getting an early start to the day, she climbed into the Sheriff cruiser and made her way back to the convent. She had already burned through the first set of books without finding a single answer, and now she was ready for round two.

She quietly let herself into the convent and up to the massive library where she quickly got to work, replacing the used books and skimming through dozens of other books in search of more that could help. She left two hours later with another stack of ten books, hoping to find the answers within them. She yawned heavily at a stop sign, shaking her head in an attempt to wake herself up before continuing. She was halfway to the Sheriff's Department when an idea struck her out of nowhere. The tires on the cruiser squealed as she turned the car around and began speeding back in the direction she had just been, coming to a screeching halt in front of the Storybrooke Public Library. Entering the small library, she peered around the shelves in search of the only other woman who had experience in dealing with the Dark One.

"Hey, I'll be right with you. Just give me a second," a voice called out from deep in the stacks.

"No worries, take your time," she called back, in an attempt to sound less frantic. She paced in front of the desk for what felt like an eternity while she waited, cringing slightly wherever she accidentally hit the rapidly growing vines around her legs.

"Emma! What a surprise!" Belle said as she turned the corner to see her visitor.

"Belle. Hi!" Emma said, embracing the shorter woman.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I need your help with something, but I also need you to keep this just between the two of us."

"Of course. What can I do?"

"Can you tell me about your experience with…" Emma hesitated. She knew she needed to get answers, and Belle was the only one who had first hand experience with a Dark One. "...the Dark One?"

"Rumple? What about Rumple?" Belle asked. Panic flashed in her dark blue eyes.

"Well…to be more specific…I was wondering if you knew of a way…to break the Dark One's curse…"

"Break the curse? But the Darkness already left Rumple. He's not the Dark One anymore…" Belle faltered, worrying about the safety of her new husband.

"I'm not talking about Gold…" Emma said, apprehension in her voice.

"Oh…who?" Belle asked.

"I…I'd rather not say. I don't want to cause a panic."

"But there is someone specific you're talking about isn't there?" Emma simply nodded, answering Belle's inquiries. "Are we in danger?" Belle asked, her voice low and quiet.

"Not yet. So far this person has only been targeting me."

"Areyouin danger?"

"Not yet…but I'm running out of time."

"Well then, we better get to work. What can I do?"

"I just need to know…if you are aware of a way to break the Dark One's curse," Emma repeated.

"There's only one way I know of to break the curse…"

"Yeah?"

"True Love's Kiss. It can break any curse."

"Did you ever test that theory?" Emma asked, hope in her eyes.

"I did once. I kissed Rumple back in the Enchanted Forest."

"But he was still the Dark One. Why didn't it work?"

"It did…until it didn't," Belle started to explain, taking a deep breath to ground herself. "It started working. I could feel the Darkness leaving his body, I could see his face changing. Until he realized what was going on and everything stopped…"

"Why? Why did it stop working?" Emma asked. She was at the edge of her seat.

"Because he loved power more than me." A stray tear fell from her eye.

"Oh Belle…I'm so sorry…"

"It's okay. I've grown to accept that part of him. He'll always choose power over me. At least I know I come in a close second…"

"Belle…" Emma started to say, feeling the woman's pain.

"It's okay…"

"So…if Re…if the new Dark One chooses love over power, the kiss will break the curse?"

"In theory, yes."

"Thanks Belle. That's actually really good news! Thank you!" Emma said with a newfound excitement in her voice. "I have to go. Thanks again."

"Anytime. Happy to help! Let me know if there's anything else I can do."

"Will do. Thanks!" Emma rushed to the car, peeling away from the curb in search of the Storybrooke woods, where she knew Robin Hood was camped out with his Merry Men.

Following the smoke from their campfires, she quickly found their camp, her eyes scanning the people walking around in search of the man who was supposedly Regina's true love. She finally spotted him in the back, laughing with a few other men as he helped to carry the deer back to camp. Anger shot through her body as she watched the man laughing and joking as if Regina wasn't in danger. After a few deep breaths to steel herself, she made her way towards Robin, pulling him aside.

"Emma, what's up?" he asked. She had to take another deep breath to quell the anger building up inside her before she proceeded.

"I think I found a way to save Regina. But I need your help."

"Of course, anything. What do you need?"

"I need you to kiss Regina," she blurted out, the words burning as they left her lips.

"What? How can a kiss save her?"

"Not just any kiss; True Love's Kiss. It is the only thing that can break any curse, including the curse of the Dark One."

"And you're sure this will work?"

"In theory…yes…"

"Theory?"

"As far as we know, it's never been successful."

"And what makes you think it'll work this time?"

"Because it has to. It's our only lead. Listen, are you going to help me or not?" She pinched the bridge of her nose as she screwed her eyes shut. The infuriating man was giving her a headache.

"Yes, of course. Anything for Regina." Her superpower pinged with Robin's statement, but she didn't have time to question his motives.

"Great, let's go find her." Emma wasted no time in getting to the car and driving away, her brain running a mile a minute as she tried to think of where Regina might be.

They made it to the center of town when a dark figure standing in the middle of the road caused her to slam on her breaks. "Speak of the devil," Robin muttered under his breath as reached to open the door of the cruiser.

"A little birdie said you two were looking for me. What can I do for you?" Regina asked as soon as Emma climbed out of the car.

"Regina, please. We're here to help," Robin said, approaching her with his hands raised out in front of him. "We're not here to hurt you. We just want to help."

"And what makes you think I want your help?"

"Regina, please. Enough of this nonsense. Let us help you and we can go back to the way things were."

"Again, what makes you think I want to go back to the way things were? What makes you think I liked the person I was before? I was getting soft…weak…I'm finally the powerful being I was always meant to be, and I love every minute of it."

Emma's lie detector pinged again, giving her just the slightest bit of hope.

"Regina…" Emma pleaded with nothing but sincerity in her voice.

"This is ridiculous," Robin snapped, lunging towards the Queen, smashing his lips into hers. Regina gagged as she pushed him away, a flick of her wrist sent him flying into the air and landing on the hood of the cruiser, denting the warm metal.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" she screamed.

"True Love's Kiss," Robin groaned as he slid off the hood of the car.

Regina rolled her eyes so hard they almost popped out of her head. "Typical man, thinking everyone is in love with them," Regina scoffed.

"But you are in love with me. I'm your true love."

"Hardly, dear. I'm a Queen and you are a filthy thief who doesn't know what soap is. I could never love you."

"But the Fairy…the magic…the lion tattoo…" Robin said, pulling up the sleeve of his shirt to reveal the large tattoo on his forearm.

"Fairy magic is unreliable at best. And that was a very long time ago. Times have changed…things are different now."

"I don't believe a word of that, Regina. That's the Darkness talking. Deep down inside, I know you truly love me."

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news…no wait, yes I do! I don't love you, thief."

"Yes you do!" Robin screamed, lunging towards her once more in a second attempt to kiss Regina, only to be met with a forcefield of resistance.

"If I loved you, would I do this?" she asked. A snap of her fingers sent a familiar cloud of smoke around Robin's ankles, quickly traveling up to his head. When the smoke cleared, Robin was gone and standing in his place was a man sized tree with two large branches reaching up to the sky.

"Regina…"

"Quiet you! Or you'll be standing right next to him," Regina lashed out. She shook her head, as if shaking away the memory of Robin's kiss before turning her attention back to Emma, an evil smirk on her face. "How are you feeling today, Miss Swan? Have you been sleeping well and getting enough rest? You look rather tired."

"I'm fine, Regina."

"Good, I wouldn't want you to run out of energy. Do make sure you get plenty of rest."

"I'm sleeping just fine."

"Oh good. Getting a good night's sleep is very important."

"Regina quit the small talk. You just turned Robin into a tree. Your point has been made. Now turn him back."

"Or what? You'll punish me?" Regina asked, her eyes growing wide with excitement.

"Something tells me you would enjoy that." Emma smirked.

"Not as much as I would enjoy punishing you."

"Turn him back, Regina, and stop this nonsense," Emma said, ignoring Regina's statement.

"Or, hear me out, we go with option B: I leave him as he is, and go about my merry way."

"You're going to leave the man you love as a tree, for what? To prove a point? Point taken, Regina."

"It's been made abundantly clear, Miss Swan, that Robin of Locksley is not the man I love."

"Regardless, you need to change him back," Emma said, her patience being tested with every passing second.

"Hmmm…I think not. Thanks for the offer though. I do hope he isn't going to be a burden in the middle of the street." Regina plucked a single leaf from the tree, smirking as she ripped it in half and let the pieces fall onto the ground. "Five more days, Miss Swan. Unless you wish to surrender now."

"I'm never giving up."

"Suit yourself. It's your funeral…literally. I'll be seeing you, Miss Swan." With a flick of her wrist, Regina was gone, leaving Emma alone, standing in the middle of the street next to a tree that had once been Robin Hood.

"Shit…" she muttered out loud as she reached for her cell phone, dialing her father's number. "Hey Dad…we have a problem," she said, gazing up at the tree in the middle of the road.

Day Four

"So, Your Majesty. What do you propose we do now?" Rumplestilkskin asked. Regina was sprawled out on the couch in the living room, idly flicking fireballs into the fireplace, causing the fire already burning to flare up with each new addition.

"I don't know," the Queen said, flicking another fireball into the fireplace, clearly bored.

"Shall we kill someone?" Rumplestiltskin asked, flicking an invisible piece of lint off his shoulder.

"No…that won't make me feel better," Regina said despondently.

"We haven't tortured Miss Swan since yesterday afternoon, shall we bother her some?" Rumplestiltskin suggested.

"Now that's a great idea!" Regina said, jumping off the couch with excitement. "But first, let's take a peek at our Savior to see what she's up to," Regina said with a devilish grin.

With a grand flourish of her hand, she disappeared from the white living room and reappeared in her vault, her mirror already clouding in preparation to reveal Emma's whereabouts. She smiled as the image came into focus.

Emma softly tip-toed into her bedroom in the complete darkness, the only light source being the moonlight coming in through the window. She couldn't take her eyes off the woman as she began to undress, the profile of her naked chest made Regina's insides tingle. Emma quickly pulled on her usual white tank top and a pair of flannel pants, no doubt using them to cover up the quickly growing vines, and climbed into bed. She could practically feel Emma's exhaustion as she laid in bed, staring at the ceiling, silent tears falling from her eyes and landing on the pillow below her head.

"Ma?"a soft voice asked just outside of her view.

"Henry…" Regina whispered. Although she was thinking about her son, her eyes never left the blonde's face.

"Hey, sorry Kid. I didn't mean to wake you,"Emma whispered.

"You didn't. I couldn't sleep."

"Are you worried about your mom?"She didn't need to hear his response, she already knew his answer.

"Yeah…"Henry said with a deep sadness in his voice.

"Me too…"Emma admitted, shifting slightly to get more comfortable.

"That tree in the middle of the street…Mom did that…didn't she?"Henry asked after a few moments of silence.

"Yeah…"Emma admitted. Regina was grateful that she didn't go into more details. She didn't want her son to know she had turned her ex-boyfriend into a tree, even if he did force himself on her.

"And your bug…it's not in the shop because it broke down…she did something to it, didn't she?"

"Yeah…she ummmm…she did something to it…"Again Regina was relieved that she didn't go into more details. While she did enjoy setting Emma's metal coffin on fire, she didn't want her son to know what she had done.

"Is she going to be okay?"Henry asked. She could hear the pain in his voice.

"I hope so…"Emma paused, and the silence was deafening."I'm doing everything I can to help her. I'm not going to give up on her, Henry. As long as my heart is beating, I'm going to try to save her. This I promise you."

"I know…I just miss her…and I'm worried about her…"Henry sounded so small it made Regina's heart ache.

"Henry, I'm fine. I'm better than fine. You don't have to worry about me," Regina whispered, even though she knew her son couldn't hear her.

"You miss your son, don't you?" Rumplestilktskin asked.

"You already know the answer to that question," Regina snapped, discreetly wiping a stray tear from her eye.

"All the more reason to destroy the Savior. The sooner we release her from this mortal coil, the sooner you can get your son back."

"All in due time, my friend. Just because I miss my son, doesn't mean I want to end this game I'm playing with Miss Swan. I still have a little more than three days left to break her before the timer runs out. And I plan on utilizing all three days. Unless she surrenders first."

"It's been four days, I don't think she's surrendering anytime soon," Rumplestiltskin pointed out.

"I almost hope she doesn't. I'm having fun breaking her down," Regina said with a wicked smile.

"Then let's go have a little fun," Rumplestiltskin suggested. They turned their attention back to the mirror and watched as Emma stared at the ceiling again, more silent tears streaming down her face.

"Let's wait until she falls asleep. It's more fun when we wake her up." Regina watched in silence as Emma cried herself to sleep, grinning wildly when she realized she had finally fallen asleep. "Showtime," she whispered, disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

A second later she silently re-appeared in the living room of the Charming's loft. The apartment was completely dark, and only the soft sound of someone snoring could be heard. "This is going to be fun," she whispered. A fireball appeared in her hand as she cleared her throat. "Is this anyway to treat your Queen?" she asked, loud enough to wake the sleeping couple in front of her. She laughed as she saw Snow and Charming jump and scramble to get out of bed, tripping over the bed covers.

"Regina! What are you doing?" Mary Margaret screamed, the flames of Regina's fireball reflecting in her eyes.

"Don't worry, Snow. I have no intentions to burn down your home. My son is staying here temporarily. What kind of mother would I be if I left him homeless?" Regina asked as she extinguished her fireball. The room was dark for one more second, until a snap of her fingers caused the lights to turn on downstairs. "Much better." She heard the sound of metal scraping metal and saw David holding a sword out of the corner of her eye. "Oh put that away,Charming, before you poke your eye out." With a haphazard flip of her wrist the sword flew out of David's hand, colliding with the wall with a loud clang.

"What do you want from us?" Mary Margaret asked, taking a few tentative steps towards Regina. Her body language showed confidence, but her eyes spoke the truth. She was terrified of Regina, which was exactly what she wanted.

"The same thing I've always wanted,Snow White. Your heart on a silver platter."

"You don't mean that, Regina. Not anymore."

"Fine," Regina said, rolling her eyes. "The truth is, I'm not here for you, Snow," she said, snapping her fingers. In an instant Snow was transported from her safe distance to right in front of Regina, with Regina's arm holding her in place.

"MARY MARGARET!" David screamed, rushing towards the women to protect his wife.

"Oh calm down,Charming!" she said, waving her free hand towards David, sending him flying into the wall, landing with a hard thud next to his sword, knocking him unconscious instantly. "My quarrel isn't with your wife." Regina could sense Snow's panic as the Dark One dagger pressed against her throat. "What? Do you not believe me when I say I don't want to hurt you?"

"EMMA!" Mary Margaret shouted suddenly. Regina smirked at the sound of the blonde's name.

"Yes, let's call the Savior down to join the fun!"

"EMMA!" Mary Margaret called out again, this time louder. A sudden bang was heard from upstairs, and Regina just knew that Emma had fallen out of bed in an effort to get up quickly.

A second later the door upstairs opened and Emma came running down the stairs, her bare feet slapping against the metal of the stairs. "REGINA! Let her go!" she screamed once she saw the scene that was unfolding downstairs.

"Gladly!" Regina said, shoving Mary Margaret to the ground and stepping over her. "As I told both of your parents,theyare not the ones I'm here for."

"You're not getting Henry. Not like this," Emma growled protectively.

"As much as I wish to see my son, he's not who I'm here for either."

"Then who-" Emma started to say but the feeling of Regina appearing behind her shut her up instantly. Regina's left arm snaked around her body, holding the blonde tightly to her chest. She could feel Regina's heart pounding against her shoulder, and she was sure Regina could feel her heart beating against the arm she was using to hold her in place.

"Why you, dear Savior. I'm here for you," Regina said. Her voice almost sounded seductive.

"What do you want with me, Regina?" Emma asked, her voice shaking. Her vision blurred when she felt the cold metal of the Dark One dagger pressing against her throat.

"I think you already know." Regina forced the dagger into her skin until a tiny drop of blood oozed out. "I could kill you right now, you know. I could end your life and spill your blood onto the floor if I wanted to," Regina said, tightening her grip on Emma.

"Is that what you want, Regina? To kill me in front of my parents?"

"I want you dead, Savior. Doing it in front of your parents is just icing on the cake." Regina pressed her pelvis hard against Emma's ass, forcing the vines that now snaked up and around her hips into the flesh of her backside. "Are those vines growing up your body, Miss Swan, or are you happy to see me?" Emma's body trembled as she felt Regina's hot breath against her ear, temporarily taking her breath away.

"Ma? What's going on?" Henry asked, appearing at the bottom of the stairs.

"Henry, go back upstairs," Emma said. Regina could feel the dagger vibrate in her hand as Emma spoke.

"Ma? What's-" he started to say, stopping dead in his tracks when he saw the scene in the living room. "MOM! What are you doing?" he yelled, tears already welling in his eyes.

"Listen to your mother, Henry. Go back upstairs."

"No! Mom, what are you doing? Stop!"

"Go back upstairs, Kid. I'll be right up," Emma lied.

"Mom please stop…" Henry cried.

"Can't you see, Regina? Can't you see what you're doing to your son…toourson?"

"Mom, you're scaring me…"

"There's nothing to be scared of, my Prince. I'm just having a little discussion with your mother, that's all."

"No, you're trying to hurt her."

"Go back upstairs Kid. I'm fine. I'll be right up, I promise."

"No!" Henry cried. "Mom, stop! Leave her alone."

"Henry! Go upstairs. She's not going to hurt me."

"Listen to your mother, Henry," Regina said, pressing the dagger into Emma's flesh again, causing a second drop of blood to drip down her neck.

"Henry, please…" Emma tried to say, the dagger against her throat made it harder to speak. Henry walked up the stairs slowly, his eyes trained on his mothers until he was safely in the small room he shared with Emma. "Regina…" Emma whispered, her voice so low that only Regina could hear.

"The offer still stands. A swift and painless death."

"I won't give up on you, Regina. Not until my heart stops beating."

"That can be arranged, Miss Swan."

"Let me help you, Regina. If we work together we can erase the Darkness from inside you. Let me save you."

"When will you understand, I don't want to be saved, Miss Swan."

"Then do it for Henry…" Emma whispered. The sound of her son's name made Regina pull the knife away, but still held the blonde to her chest. "Henry would be better off without me. I should have never adopted him in the first place. He would have been better off staying in the foster system or with you than growing up with me." A single stray tear trailed down Regina's face and onto Emma's shoulder.

"That's not true, Regina. You did an amazing job raising him. He's a wonderful young man, and that's all because of you," Emma said, reaching to gently caress Regina's arm.

A shiver went through Regina's body, causing her to push Emma away suddenly, the wall of darkness returning. "You have three days, Miss Swan. Three more days!"

And in an instant, Regina was gone, disappearing into a dark cloud of smoke.