#regina with the dagger in the middle of the night where no one else can witness

[itwasmagic]

now i've made the 3a finale gifset im thinking about the say don't go chorus to 4b finale ://////

#WHYD YOU WHISPER IN THE DARK JUST TO LEAVE ME IN THE NIGHT #NOW YOUR SILENCE HAS ME SCREAMING #god i know song fics died in like 2015 but PLEAAAAASE someone write one for them #regina with the dagger in the middle of the night where no one else can witness #begging emma to come back #BUT YOU WONT

[lovecanbesostrange]

It started with an ask on konako’s blog, that led to a small scene with Red kneeling before the Evil Queen. (x) That was almost Red Queen fun. But it spun into something very dark, because the Evil Queen did capture Red and torture as punishment followed (this goes into dead-dove territory, you are warned, it’s messed up). Here are 4k words of what happened in the palace dungeon afterwards (spoiler alert, excessive use of silver):

summary: Red made the Evil Queen look foolish and gets utterly destroyed for it (graphic depictions of violence included)

Finally a little triumph. The Evil Queen went down the stairs into the dungeon. Every step of her well-shined heeled boots echoed loudly from the stone steps. Sometimes she wished she had more patience to make good use of the cells down here. But she was bored too easily not getting answers and the prisoners died quickly. Her torturer barely had anything to do. Why did she even pay him anymore? (Did she pay anyone in the palace? They were allowed to live and had nice enough accommodations and food, for sure that was enough.)

But now Regina wanted to take all the time in the world. Her knights had captured that wolf woman! After the bloodbath she had caused weeks ago that made Regina look foolish, she would enjoy their time together now. And it would send Snow White a message in the end.

Two guards were posted outside the cell and two inside. Of course knowing they dealt with a werewolf made handling the prisoner easier. For one the full moon was a couple of nights away. And silver was easy to come by to keep her in line. Regina had also instructed her blacksmith to forge some chains in preparation for when she would be captured. It had been a priority task.

When Regina entered the cell she smiled and took in the sight. Red was chained up in the middle of the room. She was stripped down to her undergarments, her clothes on the floor, except for her cloak that was draped over one of the tables. Her arms were raised above her head, wrists bound by the heavy cuffs each connected to a chain going through a loop in the ceiling and then stretching all the way to a bolt in the wall. Her ankles were cuffed as well, a short heavy chain in between so she couldn’t take any significant steps. Not that she could run away, since her toes barely reached the ground. Red had to carry her weight in her arms, shoulders.

“Well, well, well, so we meet again.” Regina took her time to enter and circled Red, who tried to follow her with her eyes. “You made quite a spectacle the last time.”

“Do you want an apology?” Red’s voice was firm. Too firm for Regina’s taste.

“I don’t think you could muster up an honest one. You’re a deceiver.” Regina stopped in front of her. “Begging for those peasants’ lives and then killing my men.” She grabbed Red’s chin with her thumb and index finger. “You said there was no need for bloodshed and you happily slaid them anyway.”

“I wouldn’t have done that if you hadn’t tried to take me.”

“As if you thought I would let you walk away from there.” Regina looked closely into those green eyes. Was the bravado real or just posturing? “Don’t get me wrong, the way you killed those men without a second thought was impressive. I can admire that. But the humiliation it would have been to return to the village and enact punishment, admitting to being defeated that day - I can’t let that slide.” She slapped Red across the cheek.

Red closed her eyes and didn’t turn her face back up. She was glad the villagers had been spared. Regina didn’t know how long she had stuck around to make sure there was no retaliation. And whatever was about to follow, would have been worth it. Snow had her plans to strike and they were close to luring the Queen into a trap. But every day more innocent people could die and Red could not sit by. She owed it to the victims of the wolf to use her strength for good now.

She heard Regina take a few steps back and looked again. The cloak was in her hands now. “Do you have any other name or should I just call you Red. Not very original, is it? Naming yourself after a bit of fabric.” Her fingers traced the patterns. “I sense magic in this. But I guess asking about it will not bring me answers, right? Just like any of Snow White’s plans won’t leave your lips.”

Statements. The Evil Queen had made up her mind already, questions weren’t part of whatever this encounter was. Red turned her hands around and tried to get a grip on the chain, change her position the slightest bit to take some strain off of her already burning shoulders.

“Do you know there isn’t much to find in books about your kind?” Regina exchanged the cloak for something else from the table. It reflected a bit of the amber light emitted from the fireplace and Red could see it was a simple dagger. “The one thing that is said over and over though is your weakness towards silver. I’m curious. Is it just the metal or wounds inflicted by it?”

Red already clenched her jaw before Regina put the blade against the skin on her upper arm, preparing to get cut. But instead Regina pressed the flat side on her skin first. Definitely silver. Pure. Red felt the effect in a matter of seconds and bit down, grinding her teeth.

Regina stood close again, caught her eyes with her gaze and kept pressing the blade against the tender side of her arm. “Don’t worry, I will write down everything I’m about to do here, so the books can add a chapter about how to break a wolf when in their human form.” And with that she turned the dagger and cut the skin. Red flinched, more from the shock than the actual pain. It was a relief actually to have the silver leave her.

“Are there noteworthy differences between a cut with this,” Regina lifted the dagger, “and a normal blade?” She gestured towards one of the guards and he immediately unsheathed a dagger from his boot. Without hesitation Regina reproduced the cut on the other arm. The blood almost tickled as it ran down. “Oh no, I’m making a mess. Getting blood out of clothes is such a hassle.”

Regina let one of the daggers fall down and with the other cut along the seams of Red’s top half of what she was left wearing. Red closed her eyes again as she felt air hit her exposed body. She knew which weapon Regina held and she could feel the silver being drawn over her skin, over her collarbone, between her breasts, down to her navel. The point barely left a scratch, but the offending metal felt like being brushed with a nettle. Red took in deep, sharp breaths through her nose.

That reaction was exactly what made Regina go slower with her movements. It wasn’t the sharpness that left the light red mark, no, it appeared the longer she held the blade in place. What an interesting sight to watch. Regina brought her free hand up to Red’s chin again, this time squeezing her jaw with her palm, digging her fingers into her cheek. Red looked at her again.

“You know, the longer you resist, the more adamant I will be to make you scream. That is how these things work.” She brought the dagger up to Red’s forehead, this time with the edge to cut into her skin again. It took a few seconds, but then the blood running over her eyebrows made Red blink.

“Can you hold this for me?” With that she wedged the silver dagger between the torn clothes and Red’s hips. Red squirmed trying to get away, but the blade touched her thigh ever so slightly. “I learned a valuable lesson the other day. A blacksmith works with iron. Like those chains holding you. Not used to working with silver. You would have to ask a silversmith about it. I even found one and he is working on special silver cuffs for me. Or rather, for you.”

Regina stood at the table again, her back to Red. When she turned around she held up a necklace. “So for now, I have to settle for delicate jewelry instead of the collar you deserve.” Under any other circumstance Red would have admired the piece. Obviously the star-shaped ornament was meant to hold a gemstone in place, a diamond or a sapphire, but this was stripped down to the silver components for one purpose only. “So you will get used to a leash later,” was all Regina added as she put it around Red’s neck.

Red held on. Her skin was crawling all over, the itch on her thigh burning already, but she tried to stay as still as possible. She couldn’t do anything against the tears forming in her eyes, betraying her brave face though.

Regina stood before her, brows furrowed. “Your healing isn’t as fast. I will need to wait hours to compare those cuts on your arms. There is something I am forgetting.” She rubbed her temples, feigning to think. “Oh, of course, I need a point of reference!” A clap of her hands alerted the guard. “You, get the girl from next door.” Red’s eyes went wide.

“No. Wait. You don’t need to drag anybody else into this.”

Regina stepped closer and slapped her across the cheek again, harder this time. “I don’t remember asking for your opinion and you will stop being so informal around me!”

“Yes, Your Majesty”, Red quickly gathered herself. “But please, there is no need-” But she already saw a frightened young girl being pushed into the cell. About her height and weight, seemingly healthy. For now. The girl fell to the floor and cowered there.

“I caught her stealing, so normally she would already be dead. But she can be of use for me.” Regina put a hand into her hair and yanked her head up, to make her look at Red. “Or do you want her dead right now?”

The terror Red felt was mirrored on the girl’s face. Was there a chance of survival for her? She was ready to beg for her life; to lie on that table where Regina obviously had more silver tools; to take any punishment herself. “No,” Red whispered. Another yank at the girl’s hair. “No, Your Majesty.”

“A fast learner.” She pushed the girl into a chair with cuffs on the armrests. Seating her in front of Red. The girl trembled and looked to the floor. Red tried to pull at her chains, but it only sent a jolt of pain through her shoulders.

Regina paced the room. After a while she came up behind Red. “Your shoulders must really hurt by now. Let me help you with that.” Her fingers played with the necklace and Red hissed. Shifting it around made the pain more noticeable. “The plate.” She said towards the guards. Behind Red a wooden plate leaned against the wall. A thin metal sheet on one side, coated in silver. She knew that before the guards shoved it under her feet. The wood added a few inches so in theory this took some of the weight off her shoulders, but the soles of her feet would soon itch, turn red, swell, hurt and most likely blister. She tried to balance on the outside of her feet only, to not hurt everywhere all at once.

“Do you know what the second thing is that some texts suggest to use against a werewolf?” Silence. “Oh, that was a genuine question directed at you. Do you know?”

“Fire.” Red answered between breaths. Her mouth was open now, it was dry. She didn’t dare to fully fill her lungs, because that made the necklace move. The attack on multiple parts of her body with the silver was starting to overwhelm her.

“That is correct. You know your weaknesses it seems.” Regina conjured a fireball in her hand. “Fire is pure. It doesn’t discriminate. It can be very elegant.” She stepped closer to Red, hand outstretched so she could feel the heat of the flame. “How fast can you heal a burn wound?”

“I don’t k-” Red couldn’t finish that sentence, because Regina held her hand to her side now. A scream was all that escaped her lips. The fireball wasn’t cast, but the flame burned her flesh. Red clenched her fists and tried to step away, the chains around her ankles making a screeching sound dragging over the silver plate. There was no escape, because Regina just followed with her hand. She closed her hand and the fireball vanished. Red went slack, her breathing sped up. The only good thing was that in this commotion, the dagger had gotten loose and fallen to the floor.

Red sorted out her senses, trying to gather her bearings, when she heard the girl scream. Louder, more fearful, indicating the horrible pain she never felt before. Regina had torn her clothes and burned her at the exact same place on her body. For reference. Red couldn’t put the horror of it into words. Would it indeed be better for the girl if she was dead already? She didn’t even know her name.

And Red didn’t learn her name over the next few days, because whatever happened, she would not talk to her. Regina had strictly forbidden it and the rotating guards would hit her at a single word. It was almost comical. Red’s body went numb. Cuts, rashes, bruises, welts, burns, scratches. It came and went. The pain was a constant throbbing, she got repositioned a few times, but it felt like she would never use her arms on her own accord again. But whatever happened to her, the girl looked worse. Red did heal faster from any wound not dealt with silver. But it did take a lot from her regardless. She lost track of time. What was sleep? Any kind of shame about being naked had vanished. Instead of clothes her body was covered in forming scars, marks and blemishes.

Red tried to count the rotations of the guards, to get any kind of feeling for the passing days. It was only days, right? It felt like forever. Silver on her skin somewhere at all times, lashes from a whip, getting burned with a torch, red hot iron, and so many cuts to make her bleed. The worst still a long deep wound on her right cheek, starting at her ear right to the corner of her mouth. When they allowed her some water, it even hurt to swallow.

Later Red found out it had been five days in total. It seemed like a small window of time. But the Evil Queen lived up to her name. Especially on day four, when she left permanent damage. While Red was mostly kept standing up, the girl was strapped to the chair. Not that she had any energy left to walk out of here, even if they’d opened the door for her. Regina stood behind her and pulled her head back.

“Just look at me, I’m sure this won’t hurt you.”

Red looked on as Regina dripped liquid into one of her eyes. The girl flinched, but that was a reflex. None of her sounds of discomfort or pain left her throat. That made Red more nervous than she would admit. And she was right to be.

“Just as I thought. Look at that, barely irritated.” She pushed the girl’s head forward, her eye teared up, maybe a bit reddened.

Regina walked around her and caught Red’s gaze. “Such beautiful green eyes. Quiet unusual. Of course not as remarkable as the wolfish gold, is it?” The way she kept staring was unnerving and Red’s breathing already picked up. Fear. In a short amount of time she had learned what fear truly was.

“Hold her steady.” A guard came and grabbed Red’s head from behind. Panic sunk in and she started to squirm, tried to turn her face away, to wiggle out of his grip. She wasn’t sure what was about to happen, but she knew she wanted out. Right now. No more pain, she couldn’t take anymore. But she had to.

Regina got a few drops out of the vile, into Red’s right eye. “Don’t worry, it’s mostly water. Just a tiny bit of silver dust mixed into it.”

Red pushed her body back as hard as she could, but her mangled feet had no grip, it was more like leaning into the guy. No force to get him off. And then the pain started. It felt like a needle prick. And all of a sudden the colors exploded in Red’s sight. Everything was sharper, the light from the fireplace brighter. She knew her eyes turned golden like before she would transform. It had happened a few times, when highly agitated. Now it was a physical response.

Regina laughed. “I did not expect that.” She met Red’s terror with fascination. More needle pricks in her eye, the urge to rub it away. Red pulled at her chains, she wanted to press the palm of her hand against her eye and get the irritating feeling out. But there was no chance. All Regina saw was the golden color and Red gasping for air, holding back a scream. The hitched breathing was a good enough tell that this hurt.

Worse than the pain that kept sinking in was the way Red started to see white dots, blind specks in her vision. Three, four, five, more and more. She blinked, her tearducts fighting off the intrusion, but the silver too strong an opponent. Red clenched her jaw and groaned. She let out a growl from deep within, filled with frustration and pain. It was more of a bellow than a scream. Regina smiled at that.

While Red’s left eye got back to its human green, the right eye stayed golden, a misty layer clouding the bright hue. It drew Regina’s full attention, while it would be weeks for Red to discover the permanent change. Blinded, only noting a change between light and darkness. Her eyeball feeling like it was rubbed with sandpaper made the rest of the day seem like nothing. Time moved on

And then unthinkable happened. The chains were loosened completely, the cuffs came off. Red tried to curl up on the floor, but she could barely move her joints. Everything hurt too much. But Regina laughed. “Remember that I said I will make you beg for more than mercy? How about you ask me to end her suffering?”

Red looked up. Trying to adjust to the impaired vision. As bad as she felt, the girl looked worse. “Please…”, the girl said and the guard standing behind her, hit her against the head immediately.

It took everything Red had to turn herself upright, to bend her knees and sit on them. To kneel before Regina again. No side eye, no hint of a smirk, no failsafe. The burn marks hurt worst next to the chafed skin around her neck from the necklace that was also gone now. “Your…” Red was shaking, she had to cough trying to speak. “Please, Your Majesty. End her suffering. I beg you. Please. It’s enough… enough…” And with that she fell down again.

“Pathetic.” Regina’s verdict was cold as ice. “And to think I had a gift for you just now. Guards.” They stood next to Red and pulled her to her knees again, held her up. Regina leaned towards her. “My silversmith has arrived.” She produced a silver object and only when the lock clicked around her neck did Red realize this was the collar she had talked about. She felt the burn on her throat and winced. It was a sound she was used to producing by now.

“So?”

“Please… Your Majesty…” Red was panting, she could not finish the plea.

Regina rolled her eyes. “If this is the best you can do, so be it. Ending the suffering now.” And with that her hand shot straight into Red’s chest and pulled out her heart. “Kill her. Rip her throat out like you always do.”

Red wanted to scream. She wanted to jump the Evil Queen. To tear up the men holding her. But what she wanted was irrelevant all of a sudden. The will to do it was overwritten. She looked at the girl, defeated, not even surprised. While Red’s mind fully woke up for the first time in days, all her muscles reacted to something else. The pain all over her body was terrible, but every second she didn’t comply was even more agony.

Red crawled more than she walked to get to the chair. She hovered over her nameless victim, tried to hold back, but those terror-stricken eyes met hers. “Make it quick, please.” Oh, if only she could turn into a wolf, those sharp teeth would take less than a second. Regina had specified how this girl was supposed to die and Red could not opt to cut her throat with a knife, she sunk her still very human teeth into it. The larynx, so easy to wrap fangs around, was hard, the skin and flesh thick. The scream the girl let out was only short, because the pressure suffocated her. It was impossible to make this quick-

Finally Red tasted blood. Tears ran down her face, but she could not stop herself from this horrible act. This slow, agonizing, inhumane death of a nameless chamber maid, who probably hadn’t even stolen a thing. Someone at the wrong place, at the wrong time, who had suffered for days for cruel experiments with no merit. One more victim added to Red’s tally. Not for good. Not in battle. Not in defense. Needless cruelty.

When the girl’s heart stopped, Red finally could let go. She sank on all fours, spat out what she could of the blood and wailed. Her own heart wasn’t even in her chest, but it had never felt heavier.

“Get the smith down here now, he knows what to do.” Regina sent one guard away. Red looked up, warm blood dripping from her chin, she could feel it. Disgusting. If she had any strength left, this would be the time to strike. But all Regina needed to do was a little squeeze. Her heart hurt. No, Red was helpless. Any thought of fighting back an illusion.

“I think it’s best that you lie down on the table for this next part.”

Red wanted to put her head under a guillotine right now. To kill like that was worse than any of the torture methods the Evil Queen had come up with. Regina had won. But Red couldn’t do anything but comply and lied down, waiting for her fate.

It came in the form of a small white haired man, holding a sort of chalice with a long tongue. His hands were shaking and Red couldn’t tell if it was because of what he was doing or just being in Regina’s presence. She couldn’t make sense of what was happening. A guard came and put her wrists into the handcuffs again, strapping her to the table. A chain going over her thighs and under the table fixated her.

Regina squatted down next to her, stroking her hair. “Feel free to scream for me now.”

“The mold.” Wood was pressed against her back. “Careful with your fingers there, wouldn’t want to burn you.”

And then everything was fire. The scream from Red’s throat surprised Regina enough that she stood up. Loud, agonizing, on the brink of collapse. What looked like a chalice was a melting pot, containing a few grams of molten silver. It was poured on Red’s skin and burned her instantly, severely. Water followed mere seconds later to turn the liquid back to solid, but the damage was done. A silver ring fused into her flesh. The pain and the sensory overload from heat to cold send her into shock. She was still screaming with the taste of warm blood in her mouth when the faint claimed her.

#OUaT #Ruby Lucas #konako #DRK AU #(this stands for Dark Red Kansas because feel free to ask me about the aftermath #we have this 'verse figured out and there are already so many tidbits from the aftermath #funnily enough this isn't even that AU because it is extremely canon compliant except for those five days Regina had fun with torture #and oh is there regret later that Red doesn't want to hear about - she leaves Storybrooke earlier but most of what happens is untouched #ah but meeting Mulan and Merida and Dorothy... and just the way that being cursed-waitress-Ruby saved Red mentally in so many ways #THERE ARE LAYERS!!! AND EMOTIONS!!!!) #guess what there's art to go with this!!!!!! #$!

[morosoro]

Ones Among Us

A General Once Upon a Time fanfic

The Swan/Mills/Gold family has a game night.

Ao3 link here: Ones Among Us

Ones Among Us

All was quiet in the kitchen as she stacked onions and lettuce on top of a burger. With a bated breath she double checked the request. It matched! She sighed happily. One task down, many more to go.

Satisfied with her work here, she turned away from the counter, taking a moment to check her map. She needed to go to the vault. She would head north through the armoury. But when she put her map away she found herself trapped. He was just standing there in the middle of the corridor, ominously.

She tried to run east, hoping that maybe she’d find Emma still watching the cameras and find sanctuary in her presence, but she wasn’t fast enough. He caught her, and with his dagger in hand he killed her brutally.

————

A body had been discovered and a meeting called.

“Oh no! Poor Belle!” Snow chirped in first. “What happened?”

Emma was second, much more practical. “Where was the body?”

Regina, who had found the deceased woman responded “Ah ah ah, I want to know what everyone was doing first.”

Henry was first. “I was in the vault dressing up one of the statues. Grandma was with me, downloading something, I think.”

Snow hummed her affirmation. “Mhm! I was!”

Zelena stepped up next . “I was in the Cockpit.”

Then David after. “I was in Electric, flipping the switches.”

Emma. “I watched Cams for a bit, but then I moved over to Cargo. I can confirm that David was in Electric when I passed through.”

Neal followed her up. “Yeah, and I saw Emma enter Cargo. I was getting gas. What about you, Pops?”

“Hmm?” Rumplestiltskin replied. “I was in the Main Hall.”

“No you weren’t!” Interjected Robin. “I was in the main hall and I didn’t see you there!”

“Well, the main hall has many rooms. Perhaps we had tasks on separate ends of it?” Rumplestiltskin responded casually, a hint of annoyance in his tone.

“Perhaps…” Robin conceded for now, though he didn’t sound convinced.

“So nobody was near the kitchen?” Regina asked. Nobody responded. “That means somebody here is lying, because that’s where I found Belle’s body.”

“It’s Gold.” Emma said immediately, voting quickly to show she was confident.

“Oh, is it now? Do you have any evidence to back up your claim, Miss Swan?” Rumple queried.

“No, but my superpower, it tells me you’re not telling the truth.” She replied.

The accused chuckled. “Ah yes, your ‘superpower’, that’s right. Now, tell me Miss Swan, did it really tell you anything or are you just throwing blame on the first suspicious person you see in hopes that people don’t recall that security is right next to the kitchen?”

“You're forgetting that I didn’t go to the kitchen. I sat on cams half the round and then went east. I have two alibis.” Emma responded.

The Dark one hummed. “Why would you spend so long watching the cameras when you should be completing your tasks? Were you perhaps scoping things out? Seeing who was traveling alone and who was paired up? I say you saw that Belle was in the kitchen alone, popped over, killed her, and then headed towards Cargo just to get yourself away from the crime scene. Maybe Neal was your next victim?” He entered his own vote.

There was a long moment of silence.

“Nah, it’s definitely Pops.” Neal said as he cast his vote. “Emma wouldn’t double back to security. She’s more of a ‘keep moving forward’ type of gal. She’d have went to like, the armoury or something that way”

“Yeah, I think it’s Grandpa too.” Henry agreed, voting as well. “He sounds … suspicious.”

“I agree. There’s simply no way he was with me in the main hall!” Robin threw in his vote.

“Do you really think I would kill Belle, my wife, first? She’s my true love! I could never harm her! Not this early in the game.” Rumple tried, sounding indignant.

“That’s exactly why you would do it, though.” David said, sending in his own vote. “Nobody would expect me to kill Snow, which would make it really easy for me to get away with it if I ever did.”

“You’d kill me first?!” Snow asked, sounding distressed. “David!”

“I love you!” David replied.

“Yuck!” Zelena voted too. “I’m willing to vote for anybody just to get those two to shut up!”

Regina sighed. “I can’t believe I’m actually agreeing with you on something…” she voted as well. “Beside we’re nine, we can afford to vote Rumplestiltskin out, whether he’s impostor or not.”

Snow hummed thoughtfully. “Well, if everybody else is voting for Rumplestiltskin...” She voted last.

“I can’t believe this. You’re really all voting me off because Emma had a gut feeling? This is foolish!” Rumplestiltskin protested but there was nothing to be done. The votes were in.

Eight votes for Rumplestiltskin and one for Emma.

Rumple was An Impostor.

One Impostor remains.

————

Belle’s ghost floated up next to his. “Did you really think you could outsmart them?” She asked in the Ghost Chat.

“No,” he replied. “But it was worth a shot. I’m sorry I killed you first.”

“Don’t be! Turns out it’s much easier to navigate the map when you can phase through walls!” She told him. “So, who’s the other impostor?”

“Oh, it really is Miss Swan. She threw me under the bus to make herself seem trustworthy. I’ll admit it’s a smart tactic if you know your partner wont call you out on it and end the game.”

”Do you think she’ll win it for you guys? All on her own?” Belle asked him.

“Maybe. Especially if she keeps up this ‘superpower’ play.” He replied quickly. “But she won’t be doing this alone. I can still pull some strings behind the scenes as I am.” And as if to prove a point he sabotaged the lights.

A moment later Neal’s ghost joined them. He sighed, long, weary and irritated. “I hate to say it but, you were right, Papa. I was next...’

#ouat #once upon a time #among us #fanfiction #fanfic #playing games #game night #video games #family bonding #idk what to tag this as #idk why i wrote this #but here you go

[treatian]

The Chronicles of the Dark One: Magical Loopholes

Chapter 20: A Plan of His Own

He couldn't shake the nightmare he'd had. How Belle managed to do it night after night, day after day, baffled him. She had eventually fallen back to sleep, her arms had stilled around him, and she'd drifted off while she held him. Ordinarily, he'd have been mesmerized, he might have felt honored or blessed to have her there with him, but all he could focus on was the fact that it meant he couldn't leave without waking her. He'd wanted to get up and pace. He'd wanted to get up and go down to the basement, pretend like there was something he could do other than just wait for the Savior to return or for August to show up and give him his answers. But there was nothing. Nothing he could do except stay in Belle's grasp until the sun rose and he had an excuse to get up and leave her.

She was frustrated when he left for work. She asked him about town again, about going with him. He had been a bit short with her, telling her just as he always did that things still weren't safe, and he'd take her when they were. When he arrived, he was almost relieved to see that things seemed to have descended into more chaos overnight. That meant he hadn't lied to Belle, not entirely. And it also meant that he'd bought himself time, more time to bring her to the town as he'd promised, but the more he thought about it, the more he let his mind wander through plan after plan after plan, the more he was convinced it might not ever happen, not as he'd wanted it to.

He tried to focus, tried to concentrate on other things, tried to tell himself to wait for Emma like the Seer said, or break whatever spell August had protected himself with as the Dark Ones suggested. But, each time, the image of Baelfire calling out for him as he slid into the portal flashed in front of his eyes. Every time it happened, it drove him closer and closer to the edge.

He pulled out an old trunk, one that he hadn't used since before the Curse broke. It was the trunk that he stored Baelfire's things in. He took it out into the main room and opened it up, peering inside at the items he'd managed to find in his store that belonged to his son; some clothes, a pair of shoes, the ball August had brought to his attention, and Bae's old shawl. It wasn't much. But it might just be enough.

In the back of the shop, he found a black bag, one that he'd crafted in the Enchanted Forest for moments like this, for plans he needed to make and create. It was the black bag that contained all his spells, mostly simple ones that were common and he wanted to have on hand, but at the behest of the Seer, he'd made a few others that were complex. He didn't need the complex ones. Just something simple. He opened the bag, and his eyes drifted toward a tracking potion.

Perhaps he didn't need to find August or take Emma with him. Perhaps he could do this, strike out on his own, go find his boy. Gold would have been able to navigate the world without a problem. It was only now that he had his memories of who he was and the understanding that in all his time, he'd never left Storybrooke that he was suddenly uneasy about going. But if this was for Baelfire, if this was to finally get his son back, he'd do it. And…

Suddenly a gold vase on this table winked at him in the sunlight; a gold vase he remembered from another time, from his castle, something that Belle had once shinned up and set aside for storage. Belle. What was he going to do with Belle? He'd take her with him. That was how he'd keep his promise. It might not be Storybrooke that she would see, but it was the world, a new world. It was something far bigger and brighter than Storybrooke. Of course, he'd have to tell her where he was taking her and why he was taking her, but at least they'd be together. At least he'd know that she'd be safe, at least she'd be-

Cold. It was cold. The air was chilly and thin as it should be in the middle of Winter, but the space around them was smokey. The smoke rose from the ground, from a cart down the street. The ground was covered not with pavement or dirt but rather concrete. There was a trash can close by and tall buildings that reached impressively into the sky, but his focus was on the person, a man who had just fallen to the ground from above and started running. There was knowledge in him, things that he knew but could not see. One of those facts was that there were two people with him. One of them was a woman, though he couldn't actually see her face, only perceive that her presence was familiar. Another of those facts, the one far more important, was that the man running away from him was Baelfire. It was his son.

A different feeling suddenly reached up through his body and pulled him free of the vision, a feeling of importance and urgency. He recognized it. He'd had the feeling a dozen times over when he'd been in his castle and knew that it had nothing to do with the Seer.

Someone was on his property. And he knew who.

The bell to the shop rang as Former Mayor Mills entered. Rage from the last few nights of Belle waking up screaming and in tears tore through him, and he moved to go out and meet her, but as he listened to her rummaging through his front room, he stopped himself.

What the fuck she was doing here was unknown. He was curious, but his urge to kill in Belle's name was stronger. However, when he thought of what had happened that first night she'd come back and he'd tried to kill the woman, he tried to reel himself in. His urge to kill was stronger than his curiosity. His desire to go home and be with Belle was stronger than his urge to kill. So really, he could either give in to his curiosity to keep from killing her and go home to Belle an honest man. Or kill the woman.

Belle.

He chose Belle. Belle over Regina. It didn't hurt nearly as much as when he chose Belle over Baelfire.

He took a deep breath, and when he finally passed through the curtain, he found Regina tearing through some books he had behind the counter, casting them aside when she didn't like what she saw. She was looking for a book. He smirked as he watched her, and she seemed oblivious in her search. It had been nearly a week, and so far, Regina hadn't shown an ounce of power, not a bit of magic, to try and regain her control of this place even though with everyone in a panic and Snow White gone it would have been so simple.

What were the chances she hadn't tried because she hadn't mastered getting her magic back?

After the Wraith, she'd have to be truly desperate enough to step foot inside his shop. Or else certain that he had what she needed to make it worth it. What she needed was magic. Why did he have a feeling he knew exactly which book she was after.

"The library's beneath the clock tower," he pointed out, forcing her to look up at him. Her nostrils flared in irritation, but he had a feeling that wasn't because of him, even after what happened between them. Still, he did like to twist daggers. "You closed it, remember? When you still had power."

"I need the book. I need to get my son back," she insisted as he realized he still held the vase in his hand and moved across the room to set it down for a good polish before taking it home to Belle.

"Which book?" he questioned, knowing good and well what she was talking about. He just wanted the satisfaction of knowing she was going to squirm for this. "Ah. So, it's come down to that, eh? You need your mommy's help?"

When he turned, she was right behind him. She slammed her hands down upon the counter between them and stood with hunched shoulders.

"Give me the book."

He smirked. He was tempted to give it to her. That was surprising. Minutes ago, when she'd first come in, he was certain that he would have been all too happy to force her to leave here empty-handed, and yet now that he was watching her, the vein in her forehead pulsing, eyes dark and desperate for magic that he possessed…yes, he saw all too clearly how doing this could backfire. He saw how it could make her miserable. But Regina wasn't a priority. Watching her suffer wasn't a priority. He had other things to do. Belle was enough of a distraction on her own he couldn't let himself also be led astray by watching Regina gag on her own desperation. And him? Well…

"Do you really need the smell of the written word to get the magic flowing again, love? Maybe if you relaxed, it would just happen."

"I don't have time. It worked once; I know I can do it. I just… I just need a shortcut back."

"Yeah, well, I don't have time, either. Leave. Please," he snarled.

He felt it before she did. Or perhaps he should say he felt a lack of something where a feeling should be. Nothing. No stir of magic, nothing in the air to force her to comply, to ancient magic that forced her out the door at his behest. Fuck. He'd made that deal so that he'd have power over her when he had none. With magic back, it appeared there was a loophole he hadn't quite planned for. And if the little smirk blooming over her face was any indication, she knew it too.

"Well, how about that. Your 'pleases' have lost their punch."

"Well, the fact remains, jumpstarting your magic is not in my best interest."

"You know what else isn't in your best interest? Having everyone know the Enchanted Forest still exists. Knowing that you and I are keeping that little secret. You're up to something. And it doesn't involve going back home."

Suddenly Regina's hand crept out to the trunk he'd pulled free, the one with so many of his truly personal items inside. She moved to open it, and he slammed his hand down over the top of it. He would have done that even if it wasn't his and Baelfire's things. He hated the way she was here, hated the way she was snooping, the way she thought she had some form of control over them. He hated that when Belle woke up screaming at night it meant she did have some control on her left. But he was going somewhere. He was going to leave Storybrooke and take Belle with him tonight if he had to. So, what the hell did he care if Regina wanted to turn herself into a glutton for magic?

With a wave, he summoned the book the book he'd once given to Cora and then to Regina back into his hand. Regina inhaled as though even the smell of it could help her. Oh, this really wasn't going to be pretty. He almost wanted to stay another day or so just to watch the fun he was sure it would cause. He couldn't kill the bitch, but he could have his fun in other ways. But for Belle's sake, it was best if they left.

"Careful, dearie. These are straight-up spells; rough in the system."

She grabbed the book out of his hands almost viciously. "I don't care if they turn me green. I'm getting my son back."

"Oh my…" he laughed, unable to contain himself at the irony of that statement. With a sister who actually had turned green with envy over the fact that she'd never be her, Regina had no idea just how plausible that statement was.

"What?" Regina demanded, turning to look at him with a sneer. He hadn't meant to have her hear him, but she had. Now that he had her attention, he wasn't going to tell her about Zelena, that little bit of knowledge he preferred to keep to himself especially knowing that the Queen wasn't above blackmail herself, but what was it he'd just realized. He couldn't kill her, but he could have fun in his own ways. Mostly by striking her where it would hurt the most.

"It's just, holding that…I told you once you didn't look like her, but now…now I can see it," he grinned.

Regina didn't see the humor that he did. She sneered, clutched the book to her tighter, and left.

#Rumbelle #Rumple #Rumpelstiltskin #Dark One #Mr. Gold #Belle #Regina Mills #Evil Queen #ouat #ouat fanfiction #fanfic

[believingispowerfulmagic]

Inspired by OQ Day 2: “Problem”

Written for Day #2 of Inspired by OQ 2020 based on Ksenia's gifset of Regina holding the Dark One's dagger and The Dark King as Dark Robin.

Set in The Prince of Darkness verse. This is another take on the aftermath of Robin fully becoming the Dark One where Regina didn't stay with him immediately. I'll admit, I kinda wish I had thought of this back then.

Enjoy!

The Dark One's dagger.

Regina's hand shook as she examined it. She saw its silver blade with its jagged edges and dark handle. But what froze her blood the most was still reading the name engraved on the blade.

Robin Hood.

She lowered the blade again, pacing the clearing in the middle of the woods. Regina had left a message on Robin's phone the night before, asking him to meet her there. It was nearing the time for their meeting and she still saw no sign of him. She hoped he would show up on his own and that she wouldn't be forced to use the dagger to make him appear.

"Come on, Robin," she muttered. "Don't make me have to use this."

"I had hoped you would never feel like you had to use that," his familiar voice said from behind her. Regina swallowed before turning around to face Robin, who had a disappointed look on his face. "They're getting to you."

She frowned. "Who?"

He stepped closer to her, his now black eyes flashing a warning. "Don't play dumb, Regina. We both know you're far smarter than that. You know who I mean – the meddlesome so-called heroes you've locked yourself up with."

"They're just trying to help you," she insisted.

"Help me?" he scoffed. "I don't need help."

She shook her head. "That's just the darkness talking."

"Is it?" he asked, stepping closer. "Or maybe it's the truth. I don't need help. And in fact, I am stronger like this."

"That's what the darkness does. It makes you think you're stronger while isolating you. And Robin, you know best how much stronger you are when there are people by your side," she pleaded with him.

He paused and for a moment, she thought she got through to him. She reached out to him, her hand shaking. "Come with me. Let me help you."

Robin studied her hand before taking it. Hope filled her before he pulled her against him, wrapping his arms around her. Looking down, he smiled at her. "Come with me. We are so much stronger together, yeah?"

"Well, yes," she replied. "But this isn't the path you want to walk, Robin."

"And why is that?" he asked, now gently caressing her face.

Despite her internal vow to stay strong against him, Regina found herself leaning into his touch. "I know how this road ends, Robin, and it's not good for anyone. For you, for me, for Henry, or for Roland."

"Things will be different," he replied.

She shook her head. "That's the darkness fooling you yet again."

"No," he told her. "I know things will be different because I'm different. Because my motives are different."

Though Regina doubted that and knew that it was just the darkness fooling Robin, she realized that pushing back on that was not working. Her Robin was buried too deep at the moment and she needed to appeal to the Dark One, not to him.

"Why don't you tell me more about them?" she asked, reaching up and taking his hand.

He smiled, clearly pleased. "I would love to. Just some place more…private."

That concerned her and her heart dropped into her stomach. "Where…where's that?"

"Let me show you," he said, pulling her against him again. He raised his hand and a cloud of magic surrounded them. She felt the familiar tug at her navel and she tightened her hold on him as they were whisked away. Hopefully he didn't take her too far away and Emma and David would be able to find her.

The cloud dissipated and Regina steadied herself as she landed on her feet. Robin reached out, helping her. "Are you okay?"

"Just not used to traveling by someone else's magic," she replied. "I usually control that."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I should've given you more of a warning," he said, gently tucking some hair behind her ear.

She gave him a shaky smile as she stepped away. "So, where are we?"

"Don't you recognize it?" he asked, motioning to the room.

Regina slowly turned around, frowning. The walls were painted a dark red color and all the furniture was black, almost like it was made from obsidian. A chandelier hung from the ceiling over the table that was surrounded by four chairs. Two places were set for a meal and she saw a silver platter with a lid sitting between them along with a bottle of wine. While it was clear that they were in a dining room, she still didn't know exactly where it was.

"No," she replied, looking back at him. "Should I?"

He chuckled. "It's your own dining room though I guess I went a little overboard redecorating it."

"Just a little," she said, feeling a bit nervous and annoyed. "Why did you redecorate anyway?"

"I thought this was more fitting for us," he replied, pulling out a chair. "Milady?"

She hesitated, knowing she was getting in deeper the longer she stayed with him. The plan had been for her to convince him to come back with her but for her to otherwise stay in the forest. If she hadn't succeeded in an hour, she was going to be pulled out. Now, though, she had broken all the rules – and staying for dinner certainly wasn't in any of their backup plans.

He frowned, tilting his head. "Is something wrong?"

"Well, it's just…You see…" She stumbled over her words, trying to find the right lie as she doubted he would like the fact she needed to report back to the others soon. But she found a good excuse. "I'm worried about Henry and Roland. I told them I would only be an hour."

He relaxed a bit. "Of course. You do need to go back to our sons. I should've realized that you wouldn't have had all night."

She saw an opening and decided to take it, stepping closer. "Maybe we could have dinner together another night? That way they'll be prepared for me to be away longer."

"Of course," he replied. "Just as long as you promise that I can see you again."

"I do," she said, not caring what the others would think. She could not stay away from Robin – not if she wanted to help him.

His gaze softened and he almost smiled. "Maybe you could also bring the boys?"

She knew that the others would not let her take the boys with her to visit Robin, though she could probably get by with taking Roland. Emma would put her foot down with Henry and Regina knew it was best not to get into a fight with her. Things were already so delicate. She did not want to give Emma and the Charmings a new reason to push her out of Henry's life again.

But she couldn't tell Robin that so she just gave him a coy look instead as she lowered her voice, running her finger down his chest. "I was hoping we could have some…fun…together."

"Oh," he replied in almost a growl. "I would love to have fun with you."

Regina nodded. "So it's probably best if I come alone next time."

"Agreed," he said, nuzzling her. "Maybe another time."

"Maybe," she replied, hoping that she could convince him to come back with her so they could rid him of the darkness after their fun.

He leaned down, closing the gap between their lips. She started to close her eyes, eager to kiss him. Just as his lips started to graze her…

BZZT! BZZT! BZZT!

She groaned, pulling back. "That's them."

"Who?" he asked, frowning. "The boys?"

"No. Probably Emma, checking in with me. They're probably panicking that I'm no longer in the woods," she said, digging through her bag to retrieve her phone. She pulled it out with another sigh. "Yep. Emma."

He covered her hand with his. "Don't answer it."

"Emma's my ride home," she said.

"Use your magic," he replied.

She shook her head. "We have several wards up. No one can use magic around it."

He frowned as anger flashed in his eyes. "And you want to go back there?"

"It's where our boys are," she reminded him. "Everyone just wanted to make sure they are as safe as possible."

"You think I would hurt them?" he asked, pain in his voice. He turned away from her, resting against one of the chairs.

"Not intentionally," she replied, weighing her words carefully. "But I know that even if you try to do everything you can to avoid hurting them, you still can."

BZZT! BZZT! BZZT!

She glanced down, seeing Emma's name appear on the screen. "I really need to get this. They are no doubt worried about me."

"Of course they are," he said. He then glanced at her. "They're just as scared of you as they are of me, you know."

Continue reading on FFN, AO3 or Wattpad

#once upon a time #outlaw queen #oq au #oq ff #dark robin saga #the prince of darkness #inspired by oq

[wistfulcynic]

Their Way By Moonlight: Witch Fight (Chapter 11)

In which there is an EPIC WITCH FIGHT, a clever Henry, and a touch of non-dream smut. 

a/n: My notes for this chapter were literally EPIC WITCH FIGHT. I only hope I’ve pulled it off. 

Summary: A new curse has fallen on Storybrooke and this time the Saviour is trapped inside it, deliberately separated from her son and anyone else who might help her break it. But what no one knows –including her own cursed self– is that she and Hook are soulmates, working together within their shared dreams to find a way to break the curse and free everyone from the clutches of evil yet again. (Alternate 3B, set in the What Dreams May Come universe)

Rating: A hard M

Tagging: @teamhook @kmomof4 @resident-of-storybrooke @thejollyroger-writer @jennjenn615 @tiganasummertree @bonbonpirate @lfh1962 @laschatzi @katie-dub @ultraluckycatnd @stahlop @winterbaby89 @thisonesatellite

Anyone wishing to be added to or dropped from this tag list, please do say so.

Read it on AO3

Witch Fight: 

“Let’s go get our son.”

Regina raised her hand to poof them away but before she could touch her magic Emma gripped her arm. “Wait!” 

“What now?” snarled Regina.

Emma’s brow was furrowed in thought. “Where are you getting your magic from?” she asked. 

Regina hesitated, frowning. “There’s magic in Storybrooke,” she said. “Can’t you feel it?”

“I can,” replied Emma, “But it feels… weird. Not like the magic that was here before.” 

Regina closed her eyes and let herself fully sense the magic that surrounded her. “You’re right,” she said grudgingly. “There’s something not quite right with it. I can’t explain it, but it’s just… off.

“Like the town itself,” said Killian. “And the forest.” 

“Yes, exactly. Superficially the same but if you look closer it’s just wrong.” 

“Where does it come from?” asked Emma. “The magic, I mean. I thought that under the first curse there wasn’t any magic in Storybrooke.”

“There wasn’t, that was the whole point. Rumple brought it here after you broke the curse.”

“Yeah, I remember the cloud. And the dragon.” 

“Exactly. That was why he wove your parents’ true love into the curse in the first place. It made you the saviour, and when you broke the curse it allowed him to bring magic to this land.” 

“So if there’s been magic here all along with this curse, then that means magic is... part of the curse somehow, in a way that it wasn’t part of the first one,” said Emma, thinking hard. “I don’t think you should use that magic, Regina. We don’t know where it’s from or what it might do—” 

“Zelena controls it,” Regina broke in. “She told me, she can sense when it’s being used.” 

Emma nodded, as if this confirmed her theory. “And that means she can probably track it.” 

“What do you mean, track it? That’s not how magic works—”

“It’s how this magic works,” insisted Emma. “You know that big green necklace Zelena wears?” Regina and Killian both nodded. “It always struck me as odd, and now that I have my memories back I know why. That thing is not just gaudy jewellery, it’s a magical amulet. It’s used to store magic.” She looked at Killian. “Like the one Frank wanted me to create.” 

“Hmm, yes,” said Killian, recalling that conversation. “I can see why you wouldn’t wish to wear something like that.” 

“And just who is Frank?” snapped Regina.

“He—” Emma hesitated. There was no time for the full story of who and what Frank was, especially with Regina in what was clearly a mood. “He was my magic teacher in New York. He’s the one who taught me how to find magic there, how to use it and how to store it in my ring.” 

“Who the hell could have taught you—” 

“Look, it’s not important, Regina! What’s important is that if Zelena controls Storybrooke’s magic, if she stores it in that amulet, then that means she can sense when and how it’s being used, and with a little effort trace that use.”

Killian’s face was grim as the meaning of her words sank in. “Which means she can find where we left Henry,” he said.  

“Yeah. And track Regina wherever she goes. I don’t think you should use that magic, Regina.” 

Regina looked furious, clearly struggling against the logic of Emma’s argument. “So what, I’m supposed to be powerless—” she protested.

“No. You can use my magic.” 

Regina stared at her. “Light magic.” 

“Well, yes, but—” 

“I can’t use light magic.” Regina crossed her arms over her chest, her expression no longer angry. She looked stubborn and wary, and almost scared. 

Emma could tell there was no point in trying to change her mind and there was certainly no time. “Okay, fine, we’ll argue about that later. Tell me where Henry is and I’ll poof us there.” 

“He’s at your parents’ loft,” said Killian, who was clearly as impatient as she.  “Or what was their loft, during the first curse. Now it’s— well, you’ll see.” 

“Okay,” said Emma. “Let’s go see.” 

She raised her hand and they were enveloped in a cloud of pure white. 

---

The previous night:

Henry grabbed another book from one of the shelves in his dad’s shop and took it over to the sofa, heaving a sigh as he sat down and opened it in his lap. His dad and mom —no, Killian and Regina; he was really going to have to come up with some way of differentiating his various parents in his head, especially if they were going to start working together in weird pairings like this— Killian and Regina were sitting at the desk, their heads together as they worked out the details of their plan. Killian had given Henry the outline of it, ignoring Regina’s sharp protests, but both his currently present parents had agreed that he didn’t need to know the nitty-gritty of what they had in mind.

Henry scowled. It wasn’t fair. He was thirteen years old and he’d already helped break one curse. He’d survived Neverland and memory loss and he’d been right at Killian’s side through all the planning and preparation of the last year. Of course he knew that there were things Killian still kept from him —at least some of which he was pretty sure he did not want to know too much about— but surely he was old enough and had done enough now for them to trust him with some real responsibility. 

He glared at the pages of the book, skimming the words, looking for any information about the Wicked Witch or Oz or her magic, but there was very little. Everything interesting was in the books currently stacked in a neat pile on the desk in front of Killian. Sighing again, louder this time —they still didn’t hear him— he turned another page and his eyes widened. Magical Weapons: Their History, Mythology, and Use proclaimed the chapter heading. 

“Cool,” breathed Henry, curling his legs under him and beginning to read, his teenage pique momentarily forgotten as he got lost in research. 

---

The white smoke whirled away and Emma, Killian, and Regina were standing in the middle of the loft, which was… now just an old, disused warehouse, thought Emma, looking around. Apparently under this curse it hadn’t been converted into apartments. There were stacks of crates lined against the wall where her mother’s kitchen had been, draped in sheets of plastic that had once been clear but were now grey with dust, and the floor beneath their feet crunched with bits of old plaster that had crumbled away from the ceiling and walls. Zelena stood before the smudged and dirty windows of the former living room clearly awaiting their arrival, her posture triumphant and Henry clasped tightly in her grip, an odd, double-edged knife pressed against his throat. 

“Nice of you to join us, Regina, Captain,” she said gleefully. “And the Sheriff as well, how lovely. I expect this must all be rather confusing for you, dear—”

“Not at all,” said Emma coolly. “I know exactly what’s going on.” 

Zelena’s eyes narrowed. “Memories returned, then. The Captain continues to surprise me. It’s such a shame that even after all his determined efforts I still got to your son first. You see, I can—” 

“You can sense the traces of magic use in Storybrooke so you knew some had been used here. Yeah, we know that already,” interrupted Emma. “I also know you can’t hurt Henry with magic. I left—”

“Protection spells around him, yes, I know that already,” hissed Zelena. “Similar to the ones you put around the Captain, by the way they’re behaving. Too bad they won’t protect him from my knife!” She pressed the weapon harder against Henry’s throat and the boy winced as a thin line of blood began to seep from his skin. 

Emma heard Killian’s snarl and felt the magic in the room ripple as Regina’s fingers twitched and knew that both were on the edge of doing something rash. “Wait,” she said, squeezing Killian’s hand in hers and putting her other one on Regina’s arm. “Let me handle this.” 

She called on her magic, drawing it from the deep reserves in her ring and ignoring the pull on her senses exerted by the dark magic emanating from the green amulet. Zelena would be counting on Emma using that magic, magic she controlled. She would think there was no other choice. She wouldn’t be expecting this. 

Emma wrapped tiny tendrils of her magic around the dagger in Zelena’s hand, weaving them together to strengthen them and subtly blunting the sharp edge pressed to Henry’s throat. The dagger was exceptionally sharp and made of hard-wrought metal but with effort Emma was able to wrap enough magic around it that she wouldn’t accidentally cut Henry. Then with a wave of her arms and a heave of her magic she ripped the blade from Zelena’s grasp, sending it flying across the room. 

“What?” shrieked Zelena, and Henry took advantage of her surprise and lack of weapon to dig his elbow into her ribs and pull free from her. He stumbled away, clutching his throat, as Killian and Regina ran to catch him. Emma kept her focus on Zelena, trusting them to make sure Henry was okay, holding her magic at the ready and sparking from her fingertips. 

Zelena’s lip curled. “Very impressive, Saviour,” she spat. “Where are you getting your magic from?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Emma taunted. 

Fury flashed in Zelena’s eyes, sharp and dangerously unhinged. “It hardly matters,” she sneered. “You’re still no match for me.” Green light flashed and crackled through the room as she flung a beam of it at Emma, who threw up her hands just in time to deflect it and force it back towards the other woman. They struggled wordlessly for several minutes, each trying to push her magic onto the other until Zelena stumbled on a piece of broken brick and lost her footing, sending her green jet flying into the pile of crates and splintering them into fragments. Emma stumbled herself when the resistance she’d been pushing against abruptly vanished, regaining her balance just in time to dodge the next bolt of green Zelena shot at her, spinning nimbly to avoid it before flinging back a white one of her own. 

Killian watched them battle, fist and jaw clenched, thinking he had never in all his centuries of life felt so thoroughly useless. It was clear to him that Emma and Zelena were near perfectly matched in strength and skill, trading the advantage back and forth but neither able to hold it long enough to secure a victory. Emma needed help, and there was nothing he could do to help her. He wanted to punch something. 

Frank’s words from just a few days before echoed in his mind yet again, words that seemed to take on a new shade of meaning each time he recalled them.

(…The Caster is as powerful in darkness as the Saviour is in light, and without intervention they will ever remain locked in stalemate. To break this curse the Saviour must have aid from her true loves. Both of them…)

But what could he or Henry do? Neither of them had magic, and despite hours of research the night before, despite all his remarkably comprehensive selection of magical literature, they simply didn’t have enough information about Zelena to know if there was any other, non-magical way they could fight her. 

He looked at his son, noting the way Henry’s own small fists were clenched, the distress and frustration in his eyes as he watched his mother dodge and shoot, at the way he held tight to Regina— 

Wait. 

Regina. 

Killian and Henry may not have magic, but they had influence over someone who did. 

He spun around, grabbing the Queen by the arm and shooting Henry a look that clearly said Back me up, lad. 

“Regina,” he said urgently, “You’ve got to help her.” 

She pulled her arm from his grip and shot him her most regal glare. “Don’t be stupid, pirate, you know I can’t. Zelena controls the magic—” 

Killian was having no more of that. “She controls her magic, not Emma’s.”

“And I can’t use light magic.” 

Henry jumped in, his expression eager. “But you can, Mom!” he cried.

Sorrow broke across Regina’s face as she turned to her son and her voice broke when she responded. “Henry, no, I can’t. You know what I am—” 

“What you were,” insisted Killian, willing her to remember their conversation from the previous night. “Not what you are.” 

“You’ve changed, Mom!” 

“Look at what you’ve sacrificed in this past year,” Killian pressed. “Nearly everything you had. And for what reason? For love. For your son.” 

“You would never have done that if you were really bad!” Henry’s eyes implored her, and Regina hesitated. 

“You couldn’t love like that, selflessly, unless there was some light in you,” said Killian, striking the final blow. 

Regina was shaking her head but her expression was conflicted. “I can’t,” she insisted in a whisper, almost to herself. “Emma’s magic is so pure.”  

“But you can feel it, right?” asked Henry. “Emma’s magic?”

“Yes—” 

“Mom, don’t you know what that means? If you can feel it you can use it. Zelena’s got no idea where it’s coming from, she’s too dark to even sense it, but you can.”

Regina didn’t move but she seemed to reach out, feeling for something before drawing back with a gasp. “It— it hurts to touch it,” she said. “But I can touch it.” Her eyes lit as she was struck with an idea. “Maybe I can—” She reached out again and this time she didn’t pull back. “I can temper it with Zelena’s magic, not so much that she’ll notice but just enough to allow me to use the light magic.” 

“Go Mom!” 

“Brilliant,” said Killian with a grin. “Not hero or villain, but a much more practical combination of both.” 

She caught his eye and understanding flashed between them. 

Like you.

Aye. Like me. 

“You can do this,” he said, and she nodded. 

“Yes, I can.” 

She flung out her arm and Zelena flew backwards into the wall, the bolt she’d been aiming at Emma ricocheting off the ceiling and showering them all in plaster dust. Emma turned, mouth dropping open. “Regina,” she gasped. “You—” 

“It would seem so,” said Regina as she moved to Emma’s side and then they both flung their hands up as Zelena with a shriek of fury shot green light at the pair of them. Regina’s assistance tipped the delicate balance and Emma was able to form her magic into a barrier, like a wall, which she pushed towards Zelena slowly encircling her in a bubble of white magic. 

And still, Zelena fought, pushing back with all her considerable might.

“She’s not giving up,” Regina yelled. “We can’t hold her off forever!”

“I just need to close this spell around her and she’ll be contained!” shouted Emma. “If you have any better ideas I’d love to hear them!”  

“I think I know what to do,” said Henry quietly, for Killian’s ears alone. “It’s something I heard Frank tell Mom, when he was teaching her that magic you can sense is magic you can use. We’ve got to get Zelena’s amulet. That’s where her magic is, if we can get it away from her she’ll be powerless.” 

“But how do we do that, she’s behind that shield your mums have made—”

“I can do it,” said Henry, with a confidence he almost felt.  

“No, Henry—” 

“Dad, please, I can do it. I know how, but there’s no time to tell you— You’ve just gotta trust me.” 

Killian hesitated, looking intently at his son, torn between faith in the lad’s abilities and the parental desire to protect him. Finally, he nodded. Henry was far more Emma than he was Baelfire, smart and capable and brave. A bit of trust was the least he deserved. 

“Very well,” he said.  

---

The night before: 

Magical weapons, it turned out, were far more plentiful than Henry had ever imagined. The book in his lap listed hundreds, outlined in detail with a history and description of each one, including the powers it possessed, a diagram, and a full-colour illustration. 

Some he knew already. There was the Dark One’s dagger, of course (…Less a weapon in the traditional sense and more a vessel for the greatest evil in all the realms, though of course it could still be used to cut meat or stab enemies, should one wish it… explained the book, which Henry was coming to realise had quite the *ahem* cutting sense of humour) and there was Exalibur (So cool, thought Henry, I’d like to see that some day), plus Mulan’s sword and Robin Hood’s bow, but most of the weapons he’d never even heard of. Fragarach, for example, the sword from Celtic legend —Henry really thought that Frank ought to have told him about that one— and Odin’s sword Gram, sharp enough to split an anvil in half. The coolest one by far though was Æsahættr, also known as the subtle knife. Henry examined its diagram with intense fascination. The subtle knife was short and unassuming in appearance, with an embossed wooden handle and a double-edged blade, each edge forged of a different metal, a blade which it was said could cut through anything: any substance, any magic, even the fabric of reality itself. 

Damn, thought Henry, That’s not something you want to see in the wrong hands…

---

Henry ran to the corner where Emma’s magic had flung Zelena’s knife, picking it up with hands trembling both from fear and excitement. He was all but certain that this was the knife he’d read about last night, Æsahættr, the sharpest and most dangerous blade in any of the known realms. After all, he’d had quite a good look at it when Zelena had threatened him, felt its keen edge cut his own skin. 

Grasping the handle firmly in his hand he ran, quick as a flash, to the barrier of white light that surrounded Zelena and with a sweeping downward swing ripped a hole in the magic with the subtle knife. He darted through it before Zelena had time to react and grabbed her amulet, using the other edge of the knife to slice through the chain that held it. The moment it was severed Zelena’s green light went haywire, fizzling and crackling everywhere, barely contained by the bubble of light magic which had sealed itself behind Henry, trapping him and Zelena within.

Zelena shrieked in wordless fury, turning on Henry. He lifted the knife, slashing a new hole through the magic barrier but before he could get through it Zelena lunged at him, grabbing for the amulet. He yanked it away from her, unbalancing himself, and as he tried to regain his footing he lost his grip on the knife. Zelena snatched it up, triumph curling her lip into a mockery of a grin as she swung it at Henry, aiming for his heart.

Killian saw the glittering blade arc downward straight at Henry’s chest, and he reacted without thought. The second hole in the white magic had already begun to close but Killian angled his body and dove through it, tackling Henry to the ground and blocking him from Zelena’s attack, crying out in agony as he felt the blade of the subtle knife plunge into his shoulder, severing muscle and tendon and bone.  

The amulet swung on the chain still clutched in Henry’s hand and as they landed it hit the hard floor of the warehouse, cracking the green stone open beyond repair. Abruptly the sparking green light winked out and the magical bubble closed around Zelena, binding her tightly with a power she couldn’t sense and which burned her when she touched it. She screamed as Emma sealed the edges of the spell around her then she and Regina released their magic, their shoulders slumping in exhaustion. 

Emma looked around for Henry and Killian, her heart lurching painfully when she couldn’t find them at first and when she saw them lying in a motionless heap on the floor, a knife sticking out of Killian’s back, her heart stopped completely. 

“No!” she cried, racing forward. “Killian, no—” 

She ran to him, skidding clumsily to a halt and falling to her knees next to where he lay, rolling him over with shaking hands and nearly fainting in relief when he groaned. He was alive. 

“Easy does it there, Swan, you may not have spotted this but I’ve been stabbed,” he said. 

She grabbed his face and kissed him fiercely, pulling back before he could respond, then punched him in his un-stabbed shoulder. “I went to a lot of trouble to protect you from magic so of course you would find a way to get stabbed instead,” she said. “Typical.” 

His answering chuckle was laced with pain. Hastily, Emma called to her magic again, using the last of her reserves to gently probe the wound in his shoulder and soothe the severed tissues as she eased the blade from his flesh and knit it back together. When the knife was free she examined it carefully, a small frown creasing her forehead, as Killian rolled his shoulder experimentally.

“Good as new,” he said in wonder. 

 Emma carefully set the knife aside on the floor then stood and held out her hand, helping him to his feet. He used his momentum to pull her into his arms, squeezing her tightly and kissing her breathless. 

Henry got to his feet as well, watching them with a uniquely teenage blend of delight and chagrin, and when the kiss went on and on with no sign of stopping the chagrin took over and he gave a loud, exaggerated sigh. He was mid-eye-roll when Killian’s hand reached back and grabbed him by the shirtfront, pulling him into the embrace and hugging him close as Emma covered his face in kisses.

Henry did not protest. “I missed you too, Mom,” he said. 

They stood like that for some time, a tangle of limbs and relief, until the sound of Regina clearing her throat finally penetrated their haze. Emma turned and offered her a smile. 

“Regina,” she said. “I— thank you. I couldn’t have beat her without you.” 

Regina looked embarrassed. “I just used your magic,” she said. 

“It was a lot more than that,” said Emma, her smile widening as for a brief moment Regina’s face softened with emotion. “But we don’t have to talk about it now if you don’t want to.” 

“We do have to talk about some other things,” said Regina sharply, burying her vulnerability behind snappishness. “Like the curse, for example. I can’t help noticing that it’s not broken.” 

“How do you know?” asked Killian. 

“I can still feel it. Nothing has changed. We’ve defeated the witch, you two have kissed, a lot, and yet the curse is untouched.” 

The sound of a cackle from the corner of the room startled them, and they all turned to look at Zelena. She was standing stiffly, bound securely by Emma’s magic though the only visible sign of it was the faint halo of light that surrounded her. Her face was pained but malice and triumph still glinted in her eyes. “Did you really think True Love’s Kiss could break this curse?” she asked. “Oh no, my dears. That was only possible the first time because the Dark One wanted it to be. This curse cannot be defeated by love. There is no love here to defeat it.” 

“What the hell does that mean—” Emma snapped, breaking off when Killian put his hand on her shoulder. “I think I know,” he said in a low voice. “Or at least I have an idea.” He looked at Henry and the boy nodded in agreement. 

“What” asked Emma, scowling a little at their silent communication. “What’s the idea?”

“It’s—” Henry began, but Killian cut him off. 

“It’s something that can wait until tomorrow,” he said firmly. “Before we can do anything we’ll need more research and we’ll need a plan, and frankly right now what we need most of all is to stash this witch someplace secure and take some time to rest and regroup. It’s been a hell of a day, love.”

“Yeah,” Emma agreed. “It really has.”

She poofed them all to the Sheriff’s station where she put Zelena in a cell and warded the locks before releasing her from her magical bindings. They all waited tensely as Zelena shook herself, stretching her stiff muscles. When no green light flashed or even sparked, they shared a sigh of relief. 

Zelena gave them a sardonic glare and made herself ostentatiously comfortable on the hard cot, saying nothing. 

“I’ll stay here with her tonight,” said Regina. “I know she seems powerless but I don’t trust her.” 

“I’ll stay too,” said Henry eagerly, then turned to Emma with a grin before she had a chance to feel hurt. “So you and Dad can have some time alone,” he said. 

Her heart swelled with warmth at the natural way he called Killian “Dad,” and at his thoughtfulness. “Are you sure, kid? I feel bad leaving you so soon after I just… re-found you.”  

Henry hugged her tightly. “We have time, Mom,” he said. “Also Dad really missed you, and you know, no offence but there aren’t any walls in our apartment and my headphones are not noise-cancelling—” 

“Oi!” protested Killian, and Emma laughed. 

“Okay, okay, I get it. You stay here with Regina tonight and we can all meet up for lunch tomorrow, how does that sound?”

“Perfect.”  

---

Emma summoned Henry his pajamas and a change of clothes then hugged him again. Killian hugged him too, and they had a whispered conversation that ended with them grinning at each other as Killian gave Henry’s shoulder a very paternal squeeze. Emma’s chest felt tight. The obvious closeness that had developed between her son and her husband over the past year both delighted her and made her terribly sad. She’d missed so much. 

 Killian took her hand and smiled at her, reading her as he always did. “We’ll see him tomorrow, Swan,” he said, and she nodded. 

“I know,” she replied, squeezing his hand. With one final wave at Henry and Regina, she poofed them back to Killian’s apartment where they stood silently, hands still clasped, staring at each other. 

After a long moment Killian gently drew her closer, releasing her hand to run his own up her arm and into her hair, pulling her in for a kiss. She sighed and wrapped her arms tightly around him, opening her mouth under his, glorying in the taste and feel of him, the reality of him back in her arms. It was wonderful, and it was overwhelming, all the stress and the emotion of the day and now the achingly familiar tug of Killian’s hand in her hair and his hook pressing into the small of her back, and Emma broke the kiss with a sob as tears began to pour down her cheeks. 

Killian brushed them away with his thumb, his touch so gentle and loving that she sobbed even harder. “What’s this, love?” he asked. “What’s wrong?”

“Argh, I don’t know!” she cried, wiping futilely at her cheeks. “I just— I have a lot of emotions going on right now.” 

He pulled her back into his arms, cradling her head against his chest. “I know, darling,” he said. “Let them out.” 

Emma clutched at him, burying her face against his chest as all the stress and trauma of the past year poured out of her and she just wept, wild and unrestrained, and he held her, saying nothing, stroking her hair as her tears drenched the front of his sweater. 

She had no idea how long she cried. Time and place faded away and her world distilled into pure sensation: the twisting ache in her heart, the sturdy strength of Killian and his arms around her, the softness of his sweater against her cheek. 

She rubbed her face against it, drying the last of her tears.

“I like this sweater,” she said. “Is it new?”

“Aye.”

Emma felt drained and weak, and infinitely better than before, but the thought of him buying clothes without her still had the power to give her a small twinge of hurt. 

 “Part of my attempt to blend in,” he explained. “Henry was of the opinion that black leather wasn’t the most effective way to remain inconspicuous.” 

She chuckled, the sound still watery with the echo of her tears. “You couldn’t blend in no matter what you wore.” 

“He said the same. But I did my best.” 

There was so much she wanted to say to him, about how alone she had felt, how she had missed him even when she couldn’t remember who he was. How much it meant to her that he had never given up. She tried to find the words but there was just too much; too many conversations they needed to have when she was still so raw, her emotions so close to the surface. So she said the only thing that truly mattered. 

“I love you.” 

He made a choked noise and his arms tightened around her. “I love you,” he said hoarsely, and she could feel the dampness of his own tears against her hair. Her fearsome pirate was such a softy underneath, she thought. Who would have imagined it? 

Her love for him wanted to burst from her chest. It surged and clawed at her, demanding to be expressed, demanding his lips on hers and his skin under her hands and his cock deep inside her. She wanted to feel his body against hers as close as they could get, wanted them so tightly joined that the seam was invisible, so tightly that nothing could ever separate them again. 

Nothing ever really had, she knew. They were connected in a way that memory curses and physical distance could strain but never break, but as much as she loved their dreams and as grateful as she had been for them this past year, nothing could compare to the warm, solid reality of Killian pressed against her and she had missed it. 

She began to trail kisses along his jaw as her hands slid under his soft sweater to find the softer skin beneath and she walked him backwards towards the sofa. 

“Emma—” he began, but she cut him off. 

“Killian, I know I’ve just bawled my eyes out and you probably want to talk about that and I want to talk about it too, babe, really, but not now. Right now I just— I need to touch you, okay?”

He chuckled, light and happy but edged with the same bittersweet desperation that was driving her. “You’ll hear no argument from me, darling,” he growled. “I merely wished to suggest that we adjourn to the bedroom before things get out of hand. This sofa is not like our one in New York, it has a rogue spring that always seems to poke me no matter where I sit, and—” 

Emma waved her hand and they were standing next to his bed, clothes gone. 

“—and this is much better,” concluded Killian, scooping her up and tossing her onto the mattress. She laughed as he pounced on her, kissing along the curve of her neck as his hand and bare wrist sought out all the spots that made her moan. 

It was like their dreams but also not, sharper and more potent in reality but considerably less smooth, with straining muscles and rude noises and awkward positions. Emma banged her elbow against the headboard of the unfamiliar bed and Killian slipped on the slick sateen coverlet, but when he was finally inside her, her legs wrapped tightly around him and her fingernails gouging the skin of his shoulders, it was perfect in a way that the perfection of their dreams could never achieve. 

Killian was whispering to her, soft words pressed into the skin of her neck and breathed through the strands of her hair, how good she felt, how much he’d missed her. How much he loved her. 

“Killian,” she moaned. “I love you… love you…” It was all she could think, and all she could feel. Her orgasm built slowly then broke over her all at once, flooding her senses as she gripped him tightly and he groaned into her hair as he came. They curled into each other as they drifted down, neither wishing to let the other go, and for the first time in more than a year they fell asleep in each other’s arms. 

Further Notes: Fans of His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman will of course recognise the subtle knife. 

#cs ff #cs fic #canon divergence #3b canon divergence #alternative 3b #captain swan #cursed captain swan #cursed storybrooke #smut for real this time #Henry is clever #and Killian is courageous #and Emma is badass #and Regina makes herself useful #their way by moonlight #profdanglaisstuff

[swanqueeneverafter]

After The Sunset, Pt.26

Enchanted Forest. (A lone rider makes his way through the forest. Coming to a stop in front of a cave, the rider dismounts and we see that it's Henry Swan-Mills. Securing his horse and then drawing his sword, Henry takes a deep breath before entering the cave.) Cave. (Walking further into the cave, Henry arrives at a dais, upon which lays a sleeping princess. Sheathing his sword, Henry approaches the dais.) Henry: "I knew I'd find you." (Just as he's about to kiss the princess, a large fire-breathing dragon reveals itself to him. The dragon roars and spews a stream of fire at Henry, which luckily he's able to avoid. Drawing his sword ready to attack, Henry braces himself. At that same moment, a young prince arrives, hurling his sword and killing the creature. Turning, Henry stares mutely at the prince.) Prince: “Don't worry. I got this.” (Walking towards the dais, the prince leans down and kisses the maiden, awakening her with True Love’s Kiss.) Princess: “You saved me. My hero. (Stepping off the dais, she notices the would-be savior:) Henry? What are you doing here?” Henry: “I, uh was in the neighborhood. Thought you could use another familiar face when you woke up.” Princess: “Well, thank you. I don't know what I would have done without your support. (The prince and princess walk off together:) Isn't he sweet? Like the brother I never had.” (Henry watches them leave while he stands alone.)

Enchanted Forest. (Exiting the cave, Henry touches the gash on his head and winces when he sees the blood.) Rumplestiltskin: (Standing beside the cave entrance:) “Some scars go more than skin deep. And I have a feeling that one goes right to the bone.” Henry: “Surprise, that story wasn’t mine, either.” Rumplestiltskin: "Apparently not. And that was what, the third princess so far?" Henry: "Fourth." Rumplestiltskin: "Ouch." Henry: (Sighs:) "Grandpa, I know you're only trying to help, but I think I'm done. I'm not in the mood for your games anymore." Rumplestiltskin: "Games? These aren't games, Dearie. These are possibilities. I brought you to this realm to help you find your story, you can't just quit after four abject failures. (Henry shakes his head:) Perhaps what you need is a different perspective." Henry: "What do you mean?" Rumplestiltskin: "Well, take your mother for instance. Regina didn't find her happy ending with your other mother until after she gave up her evil ways." Henry: "That's true..." Rumplestiltskin: "So maybe for this next story, you could try playing the villain?" Henry: "No, that's not who I want to be." Rumplestilskin: "Oh Henry, relax. This world isn't real. The people in it don't really exist, so you wouldn't actually be hurting anyone. Trust your grandpa, Henry. I can get you a happy beginning, middle, and an end. Beautiful princess. Sparkling castle. Anything you dream can be yours. All you have to do, is try it." Henry: (Considers:) "All right, but just once. Then we try something else." Rumplestiltskin: "Of course. Now, (Putting his hand around Henry's shoulder:) I think I know exactly where we should begin." Royal Castle. (Snow White awakens cradling Neal in her arms. Sitting up, she nudges David awake.) Snow White: "David." David: "Yeah, I'm okay." Hook: (Sits up:) "No. What happened? Where the blazes are we?" David: (Looking around:) "This is our palace." Snow White: "We're in the Enchanted Forest."

Jabberwocky: (Via a magic mirror:) "Well, you've got to admit, I've got panache." Hook: "There! That's the creature who was masquerading as Belle." Jabberwocky: (As the trio approach the mirror:) "Creature? How rude." David: "Who are you? Why have you done this?" Jabberwocky: "They call me the Jabberwocky, and I've done nothing to you. I've merely brought you home." Snow White: "Why are we here?" Jabberwocky: "Because the people need their leaders. Those ordinary, common folk that you relied upon to help you take back your kingdom from the Evil Queen. The same peasants you forgot about the moment you sat on your thrones." Hook: "What are you babbling about?" Jabberwocky: "Heroes. You and everyone else who identify themselves with that epithet are guilty of crimes against the masses. You allow yourselves to be built up in the eyes of those you claim to be fighting for, and yet once you find your happy endings, your heroics end as well. Leaving the rest of us to wallow in the muck, trapped in our own misery, never to escape." Snow White: "So we're to believe you're some sort of champion for the every man?" Jabberwocky: (Chuckles:) "By the time I'm done, every man, woman and child will be made equal. They will be able to determine their own destinies and not bow down to their so-called heroes." Wonderland. Mountain Top. (A robed Alice watches a similarly robed Drizella as she gathers the ingredients she needs.) Alice: "I'm not sure about this. Why do we need to cast a spell?" Drizella: "Oh, don't think of this as a spell. Spells can be used to harm people. Think of it as a cure. A cure to everyone's suffering. (Seeing that Alice is still unsure:) When you see the beauty of what we're doing, you won't mind the cost at all. We have everything we need. Let's begin. Hold out your hands. (Alice does and Drizella holds up a vial:) Old love. The blood of your brother. (Places the vial in Alice's hand. Holds up another vial:) New love. Blood from the woman with whom you wish to spend your life." Alice: "What? Robin? What do you know about Rob-" Drizella: "Hush. (Holds up the last vial:) Love betrayed. A lock of my sister's hair. She was killed by my mother in the name of hatred." Alice: (As Drizella places the last vial in her hands:) "So, what's supposed to happen? (The vials ignite into a swirling flame:) Am I meant to-" Drizella: "Simply do as you did before with the Dark One dagger. Raise your arms to the sky and send forth your Guardian powers into the night. Let it spread across all the realms far and wide and by morning, you will be free of your magic. Able to live a long, happy life with the one you love. Safe in the knowledge that your sacrifice has saved everyone." (Alice nods and, after a moment, begins to shape the flames in her hands before shooting a jet of fire into the sky. As a dark cloud forms and blankets the sky, turning day into night, Drizella looks up at it, laughing with glee.)

Tiana's Palace. (Tiana sits staring at her vanity mirror, an unreadable expression on her face.) Will: (Reclined on the plush cushions:) "Come to bed, Your Majesty." Tiana: (Turning in her chair to face him:) "Aren't you even a little concerned about your sister?" Will: "This again. (Sits up:) I've been concerned for Alice for more years than I can remember. After what she's been through, I think Alice is entitled to a little adventure every now and then." Tiana: "So why not take Robin with her? They clearly care deeply for one another." Will: (Moves towards her:) "Why does this bother you so much?" Tiana: "Because... should the day come that we were to marry, Alice would become my sister. The people already know their queen shares her bed with the Knave of hearts, what if something were to happen to Alice while she off on some adventure alone?" Will: (Scoffs:) "Kidnap and ransom, that's what you're worrying about? Alice can handle herself and there are far richer kingdoms to try and squeeze money from. Everyone knows you give most of the treasury money back to the people anyway." Tiana: "I suppose, but I still don't like the idea of her being alone." Will: "Well, having Robin with her wouldn't make much difference." Tiana: (Laughs:) "I wouldn't let her hear you say that. Robin's skills with the bow are second to none, or are you choosing to forget about that bet you lost?" Will: (Dismissively:) "It was a lucky shot." Tiana: "She shot an apple off your head from one hundred yards away. I don't think- (Suddenly, something catches Tiana's eye from the open window:) What is that?" Anastasia: (Entering:) "I think I might have the answer." Will: (Shocked:) "Anastasia..." Tiana: (Steps forward:) "How did you get in here?" Anastasia: "I was queen myself once, I know how to avoid guards." Will: "Anastasia, how did you-" Anastasia: "A combination of magic and science." Will: "So, Doctor Frankenstein, he... did this?" Anastasia: (Nods:) "Thanks to my mother's sacrifice." Tiana: (Cutting in:) "Not that I'm not pleased to see you alive and well, but you mentioned something about that angry looking cloud that's currently headed right for us?" Anastasia: "Yes. Whatever that thing is out there, I'm certain my sister is responsible for it." Will: "Drizella?" Anastasia: (Nods:) "My mother gave her life so that Drizella and I would be reunited. So that I could convince my sister to end whatever that cloud out there is going to bring down upon all of us." Tiana: "Okay, there's no time to waste, whatever that cloud is, it's bad news." Enchanted Forest. Royal Palace. (The Charmings and Hook are still trying to digest what's happened.) David: "So this thing, this Jabberwocky, she wants to turn the people against heroes?" Snow White: “How does she intend to do that?” Hook: "And, what the bloody hell is a Jabberwocky and why should we care what her plans are?" Zelena: (Entering, accompanied by Robin and several other citizens of Oz:) "I think I might know.” Snow White: “Zelena. Where have you been?” Zelena: “Oz. Robin and I, and a few hangers-on, only just made it out in one piece.” (Holds up Jefferson’s hat.) Snow White: (Gasps:) “The Mad Hatter's hat.” David: “W-Wasn't it destroyed?” Zelena: “Well, he was a hatter. He had multiples. Inside are portals to every realm. I used it to escape Oz.” David: “Escape? Why did you need to escape your own realm?” Zelena: “Look, there isn't much time. It's easier if I show you.” (Zelena places the hat on the ground and transports them inside.) Inside The Mad Hatter’s Hat. (They arrive to find a room surrounded by many doors, all leading to different realms.) Zelena: (Walking to the door leading to Oz:) “If you want to know what we were running from, take a gander.” (Pulls the curtain to reveal people and munchkins fighting in the streets.) Snow White: “They’re killing each other.” Zelena: “I can see that.” Robin: “When we left Oz, there was a huge thunder cloud darkening the sky. As soon as it came overhead-” Zelena: “It was apocalyptic, people started attacking each other.” Hook: “What’s causing this?” Zelena: “Your friend in the mirror, the Jabberwocky. She’s an ancient, immortal creature. She feeds off everyone’s fears, their hatred. Obviously she’s using that power to turn everyone against each other.” David: "But why now?" Zelena: (Shrugs:) "I heard tales of the Jabberwocky as a child. My father used to threaten that she'd come and get me if I didn't do my chores." Robin: "That's awful." Zelena: "Last anyone heard, she was trapped in a tower in Wonderland." Robin: "Like Alice?" Zelena: (Nods:) "Only in this case, the Jabberwocky was never meant to be freed." Hook: "Well someone clearly ignored that decree and released her anyway. The question is how do we stop her?" Zelena: "That's the tricky part. To defeat an immortal we need an immortal, and now that Rumple's no longer the Dark One..." David: "There's no one left to stop her." Snow White: "Zelena, isn’t there some counter spell you can use to slow that cloud down? Like the potion Regina made to counteract the Black Fairy’s curse?" Zelena: "It's possible, but it won’t buy us much time. The fact is, and I can’t believe I’m admitting this; my magic alone won’t be enough. We need something much stronger.” Hook: “Like Emma and Regina’s combined magic?” Zelena: “Precisely. Only trouble is, with the people baying for our blood, we're stuck here and the lovebirds have just flown three thousand miles away.”

The Land Without Magic. Present. Paris. (Emma stands sipping her drink at the poolside bar when she turns to see her wife stepping out of the pool. As if suddenly in slow motion, Emma watches Regina rise from the water, climbing the steps while never taking her eyes from her intended target. The brunette simply stands there for a moment to allow Emma to watch the water cascade down her body, causing the blonde woman to miss her mouth with her straw several times. Smiling, Regina returns to her sun lounger, knowing full well her wife is watching every move she makes in her white, two-piece bathing suit. Shaken from her stupor by the sounds coming from the straw in her now empty glass, Emma gets to her feet and walks over to join Regina.) Emma: (Approaching:) "I appreciate a woman who knows how to make an entrance. Are you staying at the hotel?" Regina: (Playing along:) "Yes I am. How about you, what brings you to Paris, business or pleasure?" Emma: "Hopefully a bit of both. May I sit?" Regina: "Please." (Emma takes a seat on the sun lounger opposite.) Emma: "I'm Trixie." Regina: (Smirks, thinks:) "I'm Lola. (They share a smile, and Regina continues their game:) It takes forever to get a drink. There's only one waitress." Emma: "I can go to the bar." Regina: "Oh, don't go. I mean, you just got here." Emma: "Hm. So tell me, Lola, what do you do for a living?" Regina: "I'm in sales." Emma: "Sales, how intentionally vague of you." Regina: (Smiles:) "I like to keep things close to my chest." Emma: "I can certainly see why. I like your outfit." Regina: "Thank you. Actually this is my second favourite outfit." Emma: "Oh yeah?" Regina: "I had a first favourite, but it got ruined and I had to get rid of it." Emma: "What happened to it?" Regina: "It got torn from my body." Emma: "Really? How did that happen?" Regina: "My wife got overzealous." Emma: "Your wife? She sounds intense." Regina: "She has her moments." Emma: "Well it's a shame she's not here, I'd like to meet her." Regina: "We could wait for her in my room if you want?" Emma: (Chuckles:) "Wow, already?" Regina: (Winces:) "Too soon? This is your game, I've never played before." Emma: "Shh, no it's fine. Keep going. (Gets back into character:) I'd love to wait in your room with you." Regina: "On second thought, maybe we shouldn't. I mean, I don't even know you." Emma: "Well then get to know me. Ask me what I do for a living." Regina: "All right, what do you do for a living, Trixie?" Emma: "I'm a bounty hunter." Regina: "A b-bounty hunter?" Emma: "Mhmm. I track down bad people and bring them to justice." Regina: "That sounds dangerous." Emma: "It can be, but it has its perks too." Regina: "Such as?" Emma: "Well, there's this one person I've been tracking for a long time. She's the worst of the worst. They call her the Evil Queen." Regina: "Hm. She sounds awful." Emma: "Yeah, that's what most people believe. But I have a different theory." Regina: "You do?" Emma: "Mm. I think she's not as bad as they say. I think she just needs someone to help turn her life around. And I think, she's siting next to me right now." Regina: "Oh, Trixie, please you have to understand, I-" Emma: "Shh, I know. It turns out, I'm not a very good bounty hunter." Regina: "Y-you're not?" Emma: (Shakes her head:) "No, I keep falling for their sob stories and let them go." Regina: "You sound as if you have a heart of gold." Emma: "Well, I'm not that easy. I'd have to be convinced. (Taking Regina's hand:) Why don't you come with me up to your room, and we'll see if you can give me a compelling reason to let you go." (Regina smiles and allows herself to be helped to her feet. Once she reaches her full height, they kiss.) Regina: (Their lips part but remain tantalizingly close:) "How was that?" Emma: "Mm, that... was a very good opening argument." Regina: "Trust me, Trixie, by the time I finish convincing you, you'll never want to let me go." (With that, Regina takes Emma's hand and leads them away from the poolside.) Wonderland. (Tiana, Anastasia and Will walk through the forest towards the source of the dark cloud spreading across the sky.) Will: "The wind is carrying the cloud away from here, but it won't be long before the entire sky is blacked out." Anastasia: (Lagging behind:) "Must we walk directly in the mud?” Tiana: “What's the matter, Queen? Or is it only your hands you don't mind getting dirty?” Anastasia: “Will, you should really teach your girlfriend some manners before someone else does.” (The group continue walking.) Will: “Tiana, are you all right?” Tiana: “Yes, I'm fine.” Will: “Are you sure?” Tiana: “Of course I am.” Will: (Glancing back at Anastasia:) “Look, Ana and I, we’re just friends. There’s never been anything more to it than that.” Tiana: (Scoffs:) “I’m not jealous, Will. I just don’t trust why she’s here. Before she died, the Red Queen wasn’t exactly known for her love of the people.” Will: “That was the Queen of Hearts’ influence. Trust me, before Cora got her claws into her, Anastasia was one of the sweetest, kindest people you could ever hope to meet.” Tiana: “Well, I’ll take your word for it. For now.” (They walk by a small village which looks to have been attacked.) Will: "Looks like this place has been abandoned." Tiana: "And no wonder. (Points to debris on the ground:) It looks as though something took a bite out of this wall." Naveen: (Approaching, spear in hand:) “Not exactly a mouth you'd want to kiss, now, is it?” Will: (Stepping between Tiana and Naveen:) “Who are you?” Naveen: “My shiny coat and my sharp spear don't give it away? I'm the hero who's going to kill this beast of a gator.” Tiana: “Then you're even stupider than you look, because whatever attacked this dock is too big to be any gator.” Naveen: “You don't have to believe me. In fact, it's probably best if you and your friends run along.” Tiana: “If anyone is running along, it is you.” Naveen: “Fiery. Whew, I like that. You remind me of someone. Oh, myself.” Will: “You'd do best to cut the quips. This is the queen of the kingdom you're talking to.” Naveen: “Allow me to introduce myself. (Bows:) Prince Naveen of Maladonia, at your service.” Tiana: “Wait, you're really a prince?” Naveen: “I've been tracking this fearsome beast across the entire realm. My enchanted spear is the only weapon strong enough to kill it.” Tiana: (To Will:) “Now he is bragging about his enchanted spear.” Will: “You know what? Where's the harm in bringing him? We can always use him as bait.” Tiana: “And I'll enjoy saving his life and showing him what a real hero is like. For now, you can accompany her highness back there.”

(Tiana turns back to look for Anastasia but sees she’s nowhere to be found.) Tiana: “Will.” Will: “What?” Tiana: “Where’s Anastasia?” Will: “I don't know.” Tiana: “She was right behind us.” Elsewhere In The Forest. (A group of villagers huddle in a circle as one man holds something skyward.) Village Leader: "One diamond pin! (Holds up another item:) One ring, looks like rubies! This'll feed us for months. (The villagers cheer:) The question is what do we do with her?” (Anastasia is revealed to be sat in the middle of the circle, dazed.) Anastasia: “Where am I? Who are you people?” Village Leader: “You people? Did you hear that? ‘You people.’” Anastasia: (Being pulled to her feet:) “Don't you know who I am?!” Village Woman: “Why do you think we hijacked you?” Village Leader: “Of course we know who you are, or, rather, who you used to be. You abandoned us! You took our harvests, let terrifying creatures take over our fields. You're the reason we're hungry. You're the reason we're suffering. And now you, darling, will be the one to suffer.” (The villagers converge upon her.)

Inside The Mad Hatter's Hat. (The room has filled considerably, leaders from all realms gathered together.) Snow White: "I saw someone from Arendelle just now. They still had snow on their shoulders." David: "What? How far is this nightmare spreading?" Jasmine: (Arriving with Zelena and Aladdin:) “Far.” Snow White: “Jasmine, Aladdin?” Aladdin: “It hit Agrabah, whatever it is.” Jasmine: “We barely got our people out. What's going on?” Snow White: “The Jabberwocky is spreading fear across all the realms.” David: “The black cloud that’s filling the sky is somehow feeding on people’s hatred. The more it feeds, the stronger it gets." Robin: “We need to get back there and stop all this.” Aladdin: “What about the portal we just came through, the hat?” Zelena: “I travelled to each realm and gathered us all in one place so that there’d be strength in numbers. We need to stick together until we come up with a plan.” Snow White: “Well we can’t stay in here much longer, there’s not enough room.” (Zelena rolls her eyes and transports everyone out of the hat.) Dark Palace. (There are murmurs of surprise from those gathered as they take in their new surroundings.) Hook: “Grouping us together like this is all very well and good, but I don’t see Mal here, I don’t see my daughter.” Zelena: “I couldn’t find Lily and Maleficent wasn’t interested in leaving her nightclub. I didn’t have time to convince those who didn’t want my help. Besides, they’re both dragons, they can handle themselves.” Hook: “Aye, but this storm or whatever feeds on emotions, right? Feelings of inadequacy and vengeance? I’m not gonna just stand here and let my daughter do something she’ll regret.” Snow White: (As Hook turns to leave:) “Wait, Hook, it’s not safe for you out there.” Hook: “Ah well that’s where you’re wrong, luv. You heroes might be prime targets for attack, but you’re forgetting one thing. I’m Captain Hook, I’ve always been a villain.” (With that, Hook turns and walks away.)

#sq #swanqueen #swan queen

[sieben9]

“a tale of two sisters” impressions

{Quick request to anyone reading: I’m watching OUaT for the first time, and I want to avoid spoilers. So, if you want to discuss something spoilery, I’d be grateful if you could start a new post for that. Thank you!}

New season! [insert very tempting Galavant joke]

Some good, some meh, some excellent; overall a very fun episode, I'd say. For me, I mean; not many other people seemed to have fun.

Starting with her. That "villain reveal" kind of fizzled, didn't it? Not that I mind all that much, but now I'm worried about who is going to do the actual villain-ing. Hans doesn't seem to be around, at least.

Some thoughts and speculations under the cut.

So, while the Frozen-flashbacks and the giant monster-snowman were obviously in focus for most of the episode, all of that seems more like buildup than anything else. OK, Else came out of the urn from the past, and she doesn't know where Anna is, but Rumple has Anna's necklace, which Else knew to look for in his shop. Oh, and she clearly knows him on sight, presumably as the Dark One.

they already sneak off into the woods in the middle of the night and somehow the press still notices

Though again, Rumple, I do have to ask: why do you keep women in urns in your basement? Is this something we should talk about? Anyway, now she's here and creating murder-snowmen left right and centre. Let's hope they do find Anna; she seems to be good at handling that.

Meanwhile, Emma may have decided not to run away from her family, but she's very much still running from Hook. Seems like that passionate kiss last time was in fact too much, too soon. Good. I'd have liked it better if the framing wasn't pushing the "ha ha, silly woman cannot admit that she likes him" angle, but still good.

Honestly, the real drama in her life seems to be happening somewhere else, anyway.

...OK. So, I have rules in place for this arc. One of them is that I do not get more then one Frozen-joke per three episodes. Believe me, I know myself and it's better this way. So, with that said:

"do you wanna build a snowman?"

"ok, bye."

(And yes, that scene in the first picture is a very good one, and I have some more thoughts on that, but short version: I’m very interested to see where the Emma/Regina relationship goes this season.)

So. Regina is not taking Marian's return well. I'm... still kind of "?" about her reaction towards Emma. She saved someone's life. This had nothing to do with you, friend. Can you please stop acting like this was some malicious ploy to ruin your life

...no, not like that. Wrong way, please turn around when possible.

::sigh:: Goddamnit, Regina.

I'll have to say: I was really glad when she decided not to go the Zelena route of travelling back in time to kill the person who stands in her way. And that scene with the mirror (hi, Sidney, by the way, sorry to see where you've been all this time) was heartbreaking and very to the point. She didn't even have to say anything. Just her face while watching her old self ("I'm not that person anymore") gleefully condemning Marian to death was enough. Yes, she really did work hard not to be the Evil Queen any longer. She no longer plays the part of the villain--and that's why she goes and saves Marian, later on.

Good. Because I have vivid memories of a certain speech in a certain barn, and let's say I'm glad I didn't have to drag that up. Well done. Mostly.

And then, slightly to the left of all the other fairly interconnected stories, you have the Rumbelle plot. Now, some of you may be worried that after the wedding-freakout last time, you'll have to endure a honeymoon-freakout on my part this time around. And you're right. But that's for later. First is a scene that I at once really wanted, but also really feared.

wow, weird, it's raining over my desk again.

Yeah. Man stands at the grave of his only child. There's... really no way to make this less bleak, especially since I'm still quietly angry that Neal died in the first place. But I'm glad that we have this scene. I'm glad he's allowed to grieve in peace, and that it gives us a glimpse into Rumple's thoughts at this time. He really does want to do this right, and he presumably took the dagger to "tie up" that one loose end (read: Zelena) before turning over a new leaf. And even if he will always feel the loss of his son (really, how could he not), I got at least the impression that he was going to try and live a life beyond that. (I really wish there had been more of a time jump between seasons, because all of this is still incredibly soon and fresh and uncomfortably close together, but I'll just have to accept that TV time is not like real time)

OK, heavy stuff over. Have a giggly Belle in a car.

look at these ridiculous dorky would-be housebreaker...

And now, the freakout:

!!!

Look at them! Look at these poor idiots who have been through so much hell, and now they get to be just happy for once! They are so giddy and in love and it was wonderful. ::happy shipper sigh::

I'm just deeply worried that Rumple will, well, Rumple it all up again because of that stupid hat in the living room. ::sigh:: Look, buddy, just tell her. Whatever is going on with the Galaxy Hat there, I'm sure you can talk about it.

...yeah, I don't think that's what's going to happen.

#ouat #once upon a time #a tale of two sisters #sieben watches ouat #sieben talks #i promise not every post is going to be 40% rumbelle #but right now... #look my otp got married #that's like winning the fandom lottery #let me squee for a bit

[rocketpowerreg]

april(’s) showers break may flowers → speggie

TAGGING: @superspence​ @rocketpowerreg​, mentions of Harper Clarington + Showers players DATE: August 19th, 2018  PLACE:  April Showers vs Mighty Morphin Flower Arrangers Game  NOTES: With both the Flower Rangers and April’s Showers wanting to win their rematch game, Spencer and Reggie let their years long rivalry take over, resulting in a turn of of events neither would have expected or wanted TW: Intense physical trauma, depression mentions, MY TEARS

REGGIE CLIFFTON

"Alright ladies, we've got a good game on our hands today-- I can feel it! Let's keep our wins up and show those Showers some Flower Power!" Exclaimed the captain of the Mighty Morphin Flower Arrangers, her enthuiasm and the quality of her pep talks having improved immensely in the year and a half Reggie had been on the team. As did the volume of cheering that her teammates responded with.

Today was the long awaited (by Reggie) Mighty Morphin Flower Arrangers vs April's Showers rematch. As a whole there wasn't a legitmate rivalry between teams, but there was desire to win against them more than the rest in their league. Sure, it was in part due to enjoying the friendly competition Reggie had with most of the other team's girls. But there was a little more to it, too. During Reggies first season with the Flower Arrangers, it resulted in a 3-7 record for the winter and a second round tornament loss. The spring showed improvements, but it was their current summer season record that Reggie was taking as a point of pride with it being at 4-2. The same record the April Showers currently held. Considering the Flower Arrangers had won against the Showers in their last match with a complete shut out, Reg was more than aware both sides were feeling that fire in the air.

It would be an absolute lie if Reggie said she wasn't completely loving the stakes that this game held.

Since joining, Reggie had been a forward on the field for the Flower Arrangers, showing off exactly why her nickname of "the Rocket" continued to stick with her despite the years and location changes. Scoring was something the Arrangers seemed to be able to do. Yet, having been a defensive player before growing into being a forward made Reggie painfully aware of what they needed to work on. She had been helping the defenders a lot in the last week, trying to show which gaps they needed to fill, how to properly steal the ball without getting carded, how to read when someone was trying to set up a shot, anything she possibly could teach. There was hope they'd do fine, and Reggie was fully ready to let the girls do their thing. But then one of their defenders said the night before they were going out of town for a family emergency. That left the Flower Arrangers with a hole needing to be filled, and who better to do it than Reggie herself? After all, she could score them as many goals as she'd like but it wouldn't matter if their own goal was wide open too. Their match against Net Six and Chill had proven that.

Of course, there was the added bonus that Reggie couldn't wait to see the look on Spencer Porter's face when realizing they were on the same side of the field once again. Much like when they first met in little league soccer. Of course, there was the added bonus that Reggie couldn't wait to see the look on Spencer Porter's face when realizing they were on the same side of the field once again. Much like when they first met in little league soccer. It was pure luck that Reggie had taken on being a forward for the Flower Arrangers in the first place, as it forced the pair to not be in close contact on the field. That had been for the best while they were at ends with each other. But just like soccer games, life was incredibly unpredictible and somehow the pair had found a common ground in the last few months. Enough of one where Reggie had been going to Showers games to watch them play, and neither of girls felt the need to stare daggers in response. It was small, sure, but it had actually meant quite a bit to Reggie even if she'd never say it. It was now like there was proof she really had grown from who she used to be, finally, if her and Spencer could manage civil conversation sometimes. But she was still competition, and today both Spencer and her team were the ones to beat.

After the coinflip was set and goals were picked, Reggie waited a moment to make sure the offense set themselves up right-- their second fill in forward taking her place. Satisfied with the format, Reggie jogged herself over to the defensive end, finding a spot in the middle for a defensive Sweep position. Which meant she was right near where the Shower's own forward was. Talking trash was the default language for Reggie and Spencer, and so for old times sake she decided give some of that, "Hey Porter!" Reggie called out, stopping in her tracks a few feet from Spencer and their eyes meeting, "Hope you weren't planning to make any goals today, or else you're about to be severely disappointed." She challenged, a smirk on her lips and a smug quirk of her brow, "Better set those expectations accordingly."

SPENCER PORTER

Spencer's eyes stared Fiona down as she began making the final remarks of the game that was ahead of them, but she was hardly listening. This was the game that Spencer had been waiting for for the entirety of their summer season. The Mighty Morphin Flower Arrangers were a team that were definitely to be feared. Their statistics had only been getting better and better with each and every passing season, and going into Game Seven, the Showers had a tied record for the season. It was important for the team to win this game so that their record could be bettered -- but it was also important to Spencer for the Showers to take home a win for completely selfish reasons.

Regina fucking Cliffton was a member of the Flower Arrangers, and quite frankly, Spencer had been having the sweetest of dreams for the past week about the look on her face whenever the Showers secure a win. In all of her dreams, the game was a complete and total shut out, but conscious Spencer was smarter than to believe something as such could occur. The Flower Arrangers were too good for a shut out to happen, no matter how good of a goalie Sam was. Reggie was too good of a player to not score a goal for her team. Regardless, Spencer was confident that a win was in the teams near future, and she would do whatever it took to make sure this was something that was in the stars for them. Once Spencer had dramatically tore off her practice pants, she was running on the field to take her rightful positioning on the offensive side. Her eyes scanned the field, taking in all of the sights - Fiona was looking like an overexcited groundhog as she entered the field, Nicola was giving her the kind of eyes that made her positive that she was going to be getting laid no matter the outcome of the game, and then there was Reggie. Entering the field like she owned the goddamn place. This was her field, not Reggie's. Spencer exhaled shakily, trying her hardest not to let the girl get under her skin, but that was a hard feat to conquer. Reggie had been a hemorrhoid in her life ever since Spencer could remember. Her memories of little league soccer games were littered with the childish trash talking and glares that the pair had passed between each other, and like clockwork, Reggie's voice and trash talking were breaking through her focus.

"Fuck off, Regina," Spencer called out, taking a quick note of her placement on the field. One of the things that Spencer hated most about herself was the fact that her thoughts and feelings were constantly displayed on her face. So it was no wonder whenever a look of confusion, and then worry crossed her face. It had been years since Spencer had battled against Reggie in a defensive manner. Typically, their rivalry on the field was who the better forward player was, but now? Now, it was who could outwit the other with footwork. “No fuckin’ wonder you were bragging about your footwork,” Spencer mumbled to herself, knowing for a fact that Reggie was able to hear her. A little healthy worry in a competition was fine, right?

Spencer did not have time to dwell on such a fact before the ball was being sent into motion. In no time, Spencer’s eyes were chasing the black and white checkered ball, making sure that her focus was on nothing but that. However, it was clear her focus was elsewhere the second she was passed the ball and she began rushing it towards the opposite end of the field. In no time, Reggie was sweeping, immediately stealing the ball right from in front of her. Swallowing hard, Spencer groaned before she was rushing down the field, chasing after her in the most sportsman like way as possible. If she had it her way? She would be lunging at Reggie and tackling her for doing such a thing. But she was better than that, or so she was allowing Nicola’s words to take over in her mind. With a quick look towards her girlfriend, she was getting her head back into the game. “That was your one free one, trash panda!” Spencer called after Reggie as she began pressing the girl as she went back and forth with the ball.

REGGIE CLIFFTON

The immediate response of a fuck off from Spencer brought that coy smile out on Reggie's face that was reserved for competition specifically. Granted, it was a little wider since it was Spencer she was currently setting her sights on. Meaning that she was sure to have Spencer see her silent smile before turning herself around. Sure, it wasn't the most sportmanship-like attitude, but trash talking was one of the best parts of sports. Getting into it just out of pure passion to win? What wasn't there to love about that? It pushed Reggie to do a little better, work a little harder. Considering she spent three years making peace thinking she'd never get to play again, coming back into it made her attitude rather inflated. Not so much in an outright cocky way, though it was easy to see it as such. She was simply that happy to get to be playing the sport that had shaped so much of her. And getting to have a sport's related rivalry again, one where she was going head-to-head with genuine competition, made Reggie feel right at home. Along with the fact there was someone actually in the stands wearing her jersey and rooting for her. As much as Reg loved dance, cooking, surfing, and her other hobbies-- nothing compared to this thrill.

With the game underway, Reggie's eyes were scanning all over the field. It was clear by her stance she was ready to go where ever she was needed, and as soon as the ball was making it's way to Spencer, Reggie was right there. She wasn't called the Rocket just for her kicks-- she had speed and she had been training hard to get it back. In truth, her hours of trying to get her speed up still didn't have her at what she used to be. But she was still good, and that's what Reggie tried to keep in mind as she used her quick feet to keep the ball defended from the likes of Spencer.

Without even meaning for it, another smile graced Reggie's lips at Spencer's call out. They both knew it wasn't a free one, but it was entertaining for her current competition to be making it sound like that, "Good luck using that excuse for the next time it happens, dollar store Thor." Reggie pointed out, daring a glance at the girl defending her just to see how frustrated she was. Needing to get Spencer off her tail, and get the ball to its next destination, Reggie pulled a switch of her path-- volleying the checkered ball back behind her and quickly turned, putting a distance between her and Spencer. Immediately using it to her advantage, Reggie kicked the ball to her open teammate closer to the other side of the field. More than satisfied with her work, Reggie looked at Spencer with a shrug of her shoulders and an 'I told you so' look in her eyes. Maybe she was getting overly smug, but it was hard not to.

The game went on like that, currently landing them at a tie. Whoever managed to score one a goal would get to go into the second half ahead of the other team. Those were odds any player would say were good to have on your side. That made Reggie protect their net with a higher intensity, her brow cosntantly furrowed in concentration. That made the fact Spencer managed to get the ball again actually get on Reggie's nerves.

There was pride on the line now.

Reggie swiftly came to Spencer's side, trying to act unbothered despite actually being exactly that, "No fucking way, Porter." Reggie said in a lower, less playful tone than earlier as she defended Spencer. Blocking her path to the goal and cutting her off. She could anticipate her moves, and she knew getting under Spencer's skin like that would result in a chance to steal. And as soon as she saw that chance, Reggie's foot swiped itself in and kicked the ball from out of Spencer's control. Immediately, it was back to being Reggie's and she, without much rational thought, and an overtly smug tone said, "Thanks for making that easy," as she started to make her way towards the opposite end of the field.

SPENCER PORTER

In Spencer's career, all of her top frustrating games had Reggie written all over them. Whether it be the games they played together at ten, or in high school, or to now, Reggie was the source of her frustration. It came as no shock whenever the obvious stayed throughout the current game. Spencer was finding herself down in the dumps with every passing second, knowing that any time she had the ball, the stupid fucking Rocket would be closely following behind. For the first time, she was glad that her parents lived states away so that they could not witness the horrible game that she was playing. However, as her eyes scanned the field, they landed on the cheerleaders. Usually, Fiona was yelling at Spencer to keep her head in the game, but with the current events happening in their friendship? Fiona had been quiet about her antics throughout the game. A sense of calmness fell over her as her eyes landed on Nicola's, nodding her head as if she could hear Nicola's endless thoughts of breathing and not letting Reggie get under her skin.

Suddenly, it was like all of Spencer's energy was back.

"Yes fucking way, Regina," Spencer muttered as she was dribbling the ball back and forth between her feet, pressing her way down the field. Like clockwork, Reggie was stealing the ball again. "Fuck!" Spencer groaned, feeling her frustration level skyrocket as her hands started to visibly shake. She was pissed. Aggravated. Desperate to prove she was a better soccer player than Regina Cliffton. "Shut the fuck up," she mumbled to herself, having had enough of Reggie's trash talking for a lifetime. She raced down the field after her, knowing her speed was up to par. She didn't need a cheesy nickname like the Rocket for her to be classified as a fast runner. As Reggie was quickly approaching the goal, Spencer knew she needed to do something.

Her eyes zeroed in on the ball, watching it go back and forth between Reggie's feet and memorizing the different patterns that she was practicing. There was an art to dribbling a soccer ball down the field and Reggie might as well be an artist - but Spencer was better. Her mouth moved in focus as she stared at Reggie's cleats, watching with a laser stare before she was taking her chance. She sped up her feet, moving quickly before she was immediately sliding her feet forward, executing a slide tackle to try and get the ball out from under Reggie's feet. Slide tackles were something that Spencer was practically infamous for in her leagues in North Carolina. Most of the time while she was growing up, her father called her a broom more than anything because she was constantly on the ground of the field, trying to execute the perfect slide tackle.

She was good at them.

However, she could tell right away that her landing was off. Instead of hearing the noise of a cleat hitting a soccer ball, she just felt a pain shoot up her own leg and her ankle starting to burn. “Shit,” Spencer said as she immediately popped up, starting to walk around in small circles around her. Sometimes, slide tackles did not land well. Sometimes the angles were off and the timing ended up not being just right. It happened a lot of the time, but not to Spencer. Another stupid reason to be upset with her gameplay. “Sorry, Reg,” Spencer said as she walked her way back to Reggie, putting her hand out for the girl to grab.

Only, Reggie wasn’t getting up.

“Reg? You good?”

REGGIE CLIFFTON

Stealing the ball from Spencer had been the main priority, and once that was done, it was time for Reggie to check her options. She could pass it as she noticed she had open teammates, and it was often just a smart choice. Still, she saw a clear path ahead of her to the goal, one that Reggie was confident she could run the distance of and keep the ball protected. The change to defense hadn't been planned for the game itself originally, causing Reggie to promise Harper a goal when she assumed she would be her regular forward position. It was a risk, but Reggie didn't work her ass off to walk again if that didn't mean she couldn’t one day get to run the length of a soccer field and score a possible tide changing goal. Even more so if it was in part for someone Reggie was holding close to her heart-- a place that had been left intentionally vacant until recently. And so she began her trek with broad shoulders and quick feet.

She could feel Spencer's presence nearby, but rather than focus on her completely, Reggie kept the goal in mind. She felt sure that she would be able to get the ball back if Porter tried stealing it. However, Reggie didn’t want to be blindsided by someone else on the field. The Showers were full of incredible players, but her biggest obstacle in mind was Sam given she was the one that was absolutely going to be in her way. Having seen her block before, Reggie was formulating a plan on a fake out, assuming the fact she was playing Reggie would put her more on edge. While they had buried the hatchet, mostly, they were on even less stable ground than her and Spencer. Which was saying something. Along with the fact she remembered Stevie’s trash talk from the day before. Someone else to watch out for, Reggie noted to herself before focusing back on the goal.

It was a little too late when out of the corner of her eye, she saw Spencer angling her body for one of her slide tackles. Had Reggie focused even a moment sooner, she would have been able to make some plan to properly counter. Instead, she went for a quick spin with the ball. She might stumble for a second, but it'd keep the ball from being too out of her control. Reggie was confident she could recover from that.

Until the world suddenly blurred right in front of Reggie's eyes, before going black.

Trying to take a breath in the sudden darkness was much more difficult than anyone would find comfortable. It felt like the wind had been knocked out of her, and it felt like her lungs couldn’t remember how to get it back. This caused Reggie to panic slightly, resulting in a rapid heartbeat that wasn't helping the situation. She wasn't in pain, her body seemed limp besides her clenched hands, but overall Reggie was numb as she laid face down. Numb, in darkness, and unable to breathe. The familiarity of that sensation struck something deep into her core: fear. Pure, unadulterated fear.

Somehow, someway, her lungs filled with oxygen in a small gasp. It was like she was realizing she could actually breathe, and that made all the difference in her mindset. Since she was then of conscious enough mind to notice that she wasn't in darkness-- her eyes were just closed. All she needed to do was open them, but she still had that fear in her. It was petrifying despite not knowing why it was there. But then it started to morph into anger, as there was a part of Reggie's subconscious that was hyper aware of what had happened. At least in the sense of knowing her leg was injured once again. She could piece together Spencer’s tackle and her attempt to counter resulted in her knee getting the brunt of Spencer’s hit. The one already weak as it had been told very clearly to Reggie years back that her ligaments and bones would never be as strong as they once were. Still, going out like this felt downright pathetic in the moment.

To those looking in on the scene, Reggie knew how bad it looked for her to be laying in the middle of the field unmoving. And it was fucking embarrassing, because ever fiber of her being was telling Regina to be moving. She needed to unclench her fist from the grass, push herself up, and get on her two legs. The legs she had worked every day to keep strong. The ones she had just been running on. There was no way all of that was suddenly for naught. It couldn't be. But Reggie could feel that it was true. She knew it, and it was killing her. When her accident happened years back, Reggie had lost consciousness before learning the extent of her injuries. This time... she was awake. Neither were ideal situations. ith ringing in her ears, Reggie hadn't heard Spencer's question from moments before. She didn't hear Fiona and the Arranger's captain telling others to give Reggie space. Her focus wasn't on the medic from the sidelines who had come up beside, asking her if she could move. She was still so incredibly scared and she needed to keep herself calm internally as to not cry from the overwhelming and conflicting emotions inside her. The medic carefully rolled Reggie over to have her back against the field, and that's when her eyes opened and saw the sky. The last time her life had changed forever like this, a clear blue sky had also been the last thing she saw. It seemed cruel, yet fitting, for it to be such a sunny day today, too.

The medic gave up on asking Reggie questions, simply resorting to checking her out. A light in her eyes for her vision, and checking her ears to ensure there wasn't bleeding coming from there given her lack of a reaction. When they did that, though, it forced Reggie to face the crowd she was trying to ignore. At this point, the stands looked like they were filled with distant blobs as Reggie wasn’t focusing. Nor was she feeling angry about the onlookers anymore. She was just numb. This was happening, regardless of if she wanted it to be. That was her life. Then, much like before, she caught Spencer from the corner of her eye. Reggie’s gaze landed directly on her with an expression void of any discernible emotion. All the sounds of those around her were nothing but muffled static. Her senses were off kilter, perhaps deciding that ignoring the world was easier. Reggie went to look back at the sky in her still silence, only to suddenly loudly cry out in pain as the medic tried lifting her knee. Thus the other shoe finally dropped. That was enough of a confirmation of what Reggie been dreading. It felt like a life time has passed already, yet in reality it had only been a few short life altering minutes.

SPENCER PORTER

One of the worst parts about soccer, and any sport for that matter, was the level of danger that lingered throughout every ticking second of gameplay. For some sports, there was more contact than others. Football was dangerous for the obvious reasoning of tackling. Golf and tennis? Not so much. Most of the time, soccer was not even a dangerous sport to play - however, there was room for obvious error. With players racing down the field, defending and offending the soccer ball, there was room for damage and danger to take effect. It didn't happen every game, but the games in which resulted in such things? They were tragic in the most dramatic of ways. Spencer had seen plenty of soccer injuries result from gameplay and practices, even being a part of the injury numbers. But whenever she recognized the fact that she knocked Reggie down, and she wasn't getting back up? Her stomach dropped and she was scared she was going to get sick.

Reggie and her had a complicated relationship, and one even laced with hatred, but it was all surface level feeling. In no way, shape, or form did Spencer have any ill intent or feelings for the girl that she grew up practically alongside. Sure, she knew exactly what to do to get under her skin and make her curse and scream and show her dramatic flair for life, but she did not hate her. Their rivalry began and thrived on the soccer field, but that was it. They drove one another to be the best possible player they could ever be, but right now, their competitive nature had taken the worst of turns and it had Spencer's mind reeling.

"Is she okay?" Spencer asked, her tone panicked as she tried getting closer to the scene with no avail. People were holding her back from crowding, and they were right to do so. Spencer obeyed and stood back, her eyes never leaving the look on Reggie's face. She was only catching glances of the girl on the ground, laying far too still for her stomach to not start turning over and over again. And then, their eyes connected with one another. Spencer mentally pleaded for Reggie to understand she was sorry and most importantly, it had been an accident. Their rivalry was strong and heated, but Spencer would never in a million years want to cause an injury to someone.

The cry of pain cut through Spencer's ears, immediately bringing her back into the moment. This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all. Spencer started running through the events leading up until the incident had occurred, her body pressing more into Riley as her teammate tried holding her back from charging the scene.

And then �� it hit her.

“Wait,” Spencer started, immediately thrashing herself out of Riley’s grasp as she started jogging towards Reggie and the medics on shaky legs. She felt like Bambi trying to run on ice with how out of tune her body felt. It didn’t even feel like she was in control of herself anymore. “What leg is it?” Spencer said, her tone of voice coming out soft and broken. “What fucking leg is it?” She spoke louder now, remembering it was just months ago that Spencer had stumbled upon the information about Reggie’s accident years ago that had left her nearly motionless for some time. The accident had been inspiring to Spencer, especially with where Reggie was now in her life. But Spencer might have just ruined that.

“No, get the fuck off of m- WHAT FUCKING LEG IS IT?” Spencer started yelling her words as Riley began pulling her body backwards, separating the blonde completely from what was happening. She allowed herself to go limp in her friend’s arms, completely feeling the breakdown of herself happening. It wasn’t until she was seated on the bench that she was realizing how fucking much her ankle was hurting her. She knew it wasn’t broken, but there was the possibility of a fracture or terrible sprain. But that didn’t matter. All that mattered was that she hurt Reggie - she might have broken Reggie once again, and she wasn’t sure luck was a fickle enough bitch to allow Reggie to heal from such a thing.

REGGIE CLIFFTON

Reggie wasn't okay. That fact was finally leaving the back of her mind and coming to the helm of reality, which meant it was something she was going to have to face. Again. On one hand it was good her conscious was playing catch up with the here and now. Yet at the same time, that meant she was already worrying about what was to come--

Hospital bills. Physical therapy. Giving up her externship. Pushing school back. No skating. No surfing. No soccer. No dance. The constant threat of her depression. Getting around on her own. Time off work... There were so many pieces to this puzzle that Reggie was sure she knew the bigger picture of. She was already feeling the crushing weight of them all. The months of healing. The months of hoping she wouldn't become a hateful person again. She had left all this behind in Illinois, and now it was haunting her in New York where she had come to feel the most herself. She didn't want to think she deserved this, but who was really to say?

"She's not even trying to get up, and she's clearly in pain. We need to get her to a hospital." Was the first genuine sentence Reggie was hearing, and she loathed it. She loathed how it sounded as if she was too weak to get up, rather than physically unable. As if it was a lack of will that was holding her back-- in reality, it was the only thing keeping her present. More voices were starting to fade in, as were actual people. She could hear a commotion nearby, someone yelling to which she knew was Spencer. She knew her voice, even without listening to the words. Reggie didn't look at her, however, because she couldn't. Reggie did not have it in her to acknowledge Spencer right now. She didn't have the strength she could tell Spencer needed, because Reggie was going to need it for herself. She knew that.

"Someone call 911 to get an ambulance--"

"No. No ambulances." Reggie said in a pointed tone, yet almost frantic. The hospital bills during her first accident had been outrageous, with the ambulance ride being almost $10000 on its own. She couldn't do that to her mother again. Really, Reggie felt like she couldn't handle any of this, but she was going to have to, "I'll go to a hospital but I'll call an Uber or something. Don't call 911." It was hard to believe the girl demanding her mode of transportation was the same one that had been laying there limp only seconds ago. The Flower Arranger's captain said she had the Floral Shop's delivery van, and it was empty on the back. Though her voice sounded unsure, clearly her own internal panic at the situation rising. Then Fiona, the captain on the other team who had no reason to insert herself into this, offered to drive Reggie in it. Despite everything feeling like it was crushing her, a gesture like that wasn't lost on Reggie. It helped her feel a small bit of ease, as it meant her overall hospital stay would be just a little less costly. It was the least she could do for her mother given the situation. And everything else.

The Medic did the best splint they could for Reggie's leg given the rush and not having everything needed. It was a temporary solution anyway, but that didn't make Fiona carrying Reggie hurt her any less. It was definitely her knee that was the most in pain, but it felt like other parts of her leg were on fire. That made her fear and worry grow, but she had to keep it together. She was trying to, but it was getting more and more difficult.

Fiona was careful in lowering Reggie into the flower van, the metal flooring feeling both chilling and needed. Her eyes had gone back to being closed as she tried to find her center. Going to hospitals was never a task she enjoyed, but she knew she was going to be in for a whirlwind once she got there. Reggie had to prepare herself for that. She had to be ready to answer their medical questions, ready to be in pain as they figured out what was wrong, try to lower costs... she was focusing on everything but her actual injury. It was the best she could do at the moment as she was rather painfully aware that the news waiting for her at the hospital would be nothing she wanted to hear.

#:) :) :) I WANNA DIE THANKS #*c: spencer #*para: spencer #*para: 005 #*para: all

[enixamyram]

A Curious Valentine’s Present

Summary: Killian helps his daughter set up a valentine surprise for Robin and the girls share an evening together before Robin makes a lifelong promise to Alice. KnightRook bonding and Curious Archer love.

  Alice threw the chequered blanket into the air, spreading it out as much as she could before she ducked down and let it flutter back towards the ground. Once it was down on top of the grass, Alice dropped to her hands and knees, crawling on top and spreading her palms across the surface to smooth out any bumps or crinkles it might have left over. While she did her best to make sure it was straight with no hard pieces of stones still sticking out of the ground from underneath, Killian came back from collecting the broken branches and twigs, setting them down on the side in a neat pile before carefully arranging them to make a small campfire for the girls later in the evening.

  “Here, love.” Killian said, gathering and placing a small bundle of stones close to the blankets edge. “Put those on each corner, it’ll keep the wind from blowing it up, just in case.” There wasn’t much of a breeze at the moment but that could always change later on.

  After Killian had moved back to the firewood and was a safe distance away again, Alice collected the stones and did as he said, placing each of them on their own corner and pinning the blanket in place. Once that was done, she grabbed the bags that Killian had brought her from town and began to unload them onto the blanket. She was careful with how she placed everything, following the instructions that her father had offered her when they had met up earlier that morning. It was simple advice, mostly placing things in an order that she planned to eat them, so they were within easy reach, yet Alice found herself following everything he told her closely, like her very life depended on doing it exactly how he had described or else the night would be ruined.

  “You think Robin will like this?” Alice asked as she began setting up the food with some of the more sugary snacks in the middle under a protective cover – another one of her papa’s ideas.

  “Of course, she will,” Killian said, cheerfully finishing off his own task before turning to face his daughter.

  “What if it rains?” Alice said, biting the inside of her lip and looking nervously towards the sky, like she expected to find a series of dark clouds already hanging overhead.

  “It won’t.” Killian grinned. “Everything will be fine. Trust me.”

  Killian was trying his hardest not to show his amusement so obviously on his face in case he upset her, but it was getting harder and harder to keep a – somewhat – straight face the longer Alice continued to fret over all the things that could possibly go wrong. He had missed out on so much of her life since they were cursed, and this was his first time seeing Alice so flustered and self-doubting over what would happen between her and her girlfriend. Which, even Killian could clearly see, was really pointless because no matter what she did for her, Killian knew that Robin would love it, just because it was Alice who did it for her.

  “Papa,” Alice paused from where she was laying down the flowers her father had brought for her down beside the food in the centre. “Thanks again.”

  “I’m happy to help.” Killian said, smiling at her.

  “I know, but I still really appreciate it.” Alice glanced down at the flowers. They had been her father’s idea. She had gone to him for help on what she would need to plan a romantic picnic and he had not only gone above and beyond with ideas and suggestions but insisted on physically coming to give her a hand setting it all up as well. “I don’t want to mess this up.”

  Killian paused, reaching behind him slightly and digging his hook into the tree bark. In a way it was a different form of clenching his fist, but mostly it was the only way for Killian to physically restrain himself from rushing to her side and doing what he always wished he could; hold her. He would have given anything – he’d even have given his other hand – if he could just comfort his daughter properly when she needed him in times like this. Instead he would have to settle for talking it all through at a distance and hope that was enough.

  “You won’t.” Killian insisted. “All you have to do is have fun and everything will be perfect for you both, I’m sure of it.”

  Alice paused, reaching to stroke some of the silk like petals from the flowers. She wished she had her father’s confidence, and normally she did, but whenever she was around Robin everything changed. She second guessed almost everything she did or said with a knotted stomach and jelly legs that never seemed quite able to support her comfortably. It was embarrassing, so she worked twice as hard to feign an air of confidence, almost to the point where she nearly believed it herself.

  “Alice…” Killian said softly, digging his hook deeper into the tree in frustration. “You have nothing to worry about. Don’t think so much into it. Just enjoy yourself.”

  “I will.” Alice nodded, smiling at him and casually changing the subject. “So, what about you, papa? Any plans for today?”

  Killian laughed lightly, letting go of the tree and returning to the firewood. There wasn’t much left for him to do to it now, but he wanted an excuse to keep himself busy and distracted. “Oh no,” He said lightly. “Those days are long behind me now, sweetheart.”

  “They don’t have to be.” Alice said, shrugging.

  “Since when do children encourage their parents to date?” Killian snorted. “Shouldn’t you be deterring any other woman from getting into our life?”

  He was just joking around and having a laugh, but Alice found it hard to join in. ���I don’t like the idea of you being all on your own.” She confessed, looking down at the blanket and tracing her finger over one of the blue squares.

  “Alice, I’m not alone.” Killian said softly, looking up at her. “I have Henry, and Regina, and Tiana and all of the resistance. And even if we can’t be together like we used to, I will always have you… You are the only true love I’ll ever need in my life.”

  “I just want you to be happy.” Alice admitted. “Like I am with Robin.”

  “Funny,” Killian chuckled. “Because nothing could make me happier, than knowing you are.”

  Alice beamed at him shyly and for a second, they were silent, because no other words were needed. Then Killian stood, dusting his trousers off with his hand and looking over towards her.

  “Why don’t you separate the flowers, put a couple of each on the stones and pick out the best looking one to sit in the middle.” Killian said casually.

  “Like this?” Alice asked, dividing the flowers and laying them on top of each of the stones before picking out a single pink tulip and leaning it up against the plastic cover.

  “That looks perfect.” Killian said, nodding his approval.

  “Alright,” Alice said slowly, glancing around before she picked up one of the apples. “I was thinking …” Alice began, reaching into one of the bags by her feet, her voice trailing off when she reached in, only to realise it was empty. Alice paused, turning to the blanket and looking over the surface in front of her but everything was already spread out and ready. There was nothing out of place but there was something missing. “Oh no.”

  “What is it?” Killian blinked.

  Alice groaned loudly, leaning back on her heels. “I forgot to pack my dagger. I needed that to cut everything up properly.”

  “Oh,” Killian hesitated. “Well, we could run back…”

  “There’s no time,” Alice said, looking up towards the sky. “It will take too long to get there and back again.”

  “Well, that’s not too bad.” Killian said gently, glancing over the food. “I mean, you could still eat everything as it is without cutting it all up.”

  “I guess....” Alice mumbled, sounding and looking close to tears. “I just… Planned it to go differently.”

  “Hey, easy now, it’s not the end of the world.” Killian said quickly, taking a step forward and wincing slightly at the knowledge that he could risk getting no closer.

  “I know but… Robin did such an amazing job last year for our first Valentines together. I just wanted to do something that was at least halfway as nice, and I can’t even do that.” Alice groaned, slapping the empty bag away. “I mean, who forgets the most basic stuff like a single knife?”

  “Maybe we can use something else to do the job?” Killian suggested, glancing around but all that he could see were a series of smooth stones and dirty brittle sticks for the fire.

  “Forget it.” Alice mumbled, standing. “We’ll just… Make do.” She waved her hands helplessly.

  Killian hated seeing her like this. He may have helped her with a series of suggestions and such, but this had been her idea to begin with and she had worked so hard to set it all up. Even when Killian had tried to help, she had insisted on doing the most of it by herself so that it could truly be her gift. And now, in her mind at least, one little mistake had ruined it all. That wasn’t fair, and Killian loathed to see her like this. There had to be something he could do for her.

  Suddenly, inspiration struck. “Don’t you worry, love!” Killian grinned. “I’ve just the thing.”

 O*U*A*T

  “Wait!” Alice cried.

  She jumped up from the spot and ran over to the opening in the tall hedge, beating Robin just before she could step into the clearing and see the decorated picnic that had been carefully laid out. She stepped in the way and grinned at her as soon as she came into view. Neither of them had particularly dressed up for the occasion, but they had changed into their nicer casual clothes and, as per usual, Robin looked stunning even with her bow and arrows settled in hand.

  “You look beautiful,” Robin grinned, leaning forward and pecking Alice softly on the lips.

  “Hey, that’s my line.” Alice laughed when she pulled back, reaching over and grabbing her hands before she pulled her back for a second, harder, kiss in return.

  When they finally pulled apart, Alice bouncing slightly as she moved around behind her, reaching up and covering Robin’s eyes with her hands. When she was satisfied that Robin could not see anything past her fingers, she began to lead her through the hedge and out into the stretch of field where the picnic waited for them. Somehow, despite how much effort she had put into making it perfect, it still didn’t look quite like Alice imagined it would in her head, but she was happy with it none the less and was eager to show it off.

  “Ta da!” Alice cried, releasing Robin’s face and jumping to stand by her side, waving her arm at the set up in front of them.

  Everything was as it was when Killian had left her. The only difference now was that Alice had lit the fire for warmth and removed the container from the food, back into the bag, tucked out of sight just before Robin’s arrival, making sure it looked perfectly displayed upon first look.

  “Oh, wow, Alice, this is amazing.” Robin whispered, looking slightly dazed with a light in her eye as her face dropped in shock before pulling back into a slow smile.

  “I had a little help.” Alice admitted. “Papa, gave me some ideas and helped set a lot of it up.”

  “Well it looks amazing. You and your father are a pretty good team.” Robin said, taking Alice hand and dragging her over to the picnic, sitting them down on the side closest to the fire. “This looks so mouth-watering. I’m starving!”

  “Well, help yourself!” Alice beamed, sitting close to Robin’s side and reaching for a slice of apple. They weren’t so evenly cut as she would have liked, but she did what she could with what Killian had given her.

  “Happy Valentine’s Day, Alice.” Robin said, pouring the freshly squeeze juice into a pair of matching cups before handing one over to the other girl.

  “Happy Valentine’s Day, love.” Alice said, clunking their cups together and taking a small sip before she set it aside. As soon as Robin had lowered her own cup, Alice leaned forward and caught her in a deep kiss, wrapping her arms around her tightly.

  Robin blindly set her own cup down before she wrapped her arms around Alice in return, pulling her so hard they nearly lost their balance and fell on the food. Instead, without breaking their embrace, they swayed to the other side and fell onto the grass, still clinging to one another the whole time. The soft burning fire wasn’t the only thing keeping them hot by the time they eventually pulled away from one another, grinning and staying close so Alice could smell the soft peppermint leaves Robin had been chewing on the way here. Something she only did when she was anxious. It was good to know Alice wasn’t the only one a little nervous and she found Robin’s habit to be cute enough for another quick kiss.

  “We should probably eat first.” Robin giggled finally, brushing her nose gently against Alice’s before pushing herself back up.

  “Yeah, plenty of time for that later.” Alice said, grinning from the ground for a second longer before she also forced herself back into sitting position.

  “So, what do we have here?” Robin asked, looking over the food, still wetting her lips greedily. Her own nerves for the evening had kept her from having a proper meal all day and she was glad it had. There was so much laid out for them here!

  “Well, a bit of everything.” Alice said. “Mostly fruit, since I didn’t really have that much for shopping and I’m not the greatest hunter, but papa chipped in a bit at the last minute and got some pies and sandwiches and some sweet deserts.” Alice explained. “We can also cook anything over the fire, if it’s your fancy.”

  “Simple, and exactly what I fancy.” Robin said, nodding her approval before she reached down and picked up a few pieces of sliced banana. She turned, grinning to Alice as she threw them in her mouth. “You know me so well.”

  Alice still had no idea if Robin sometimes lied to make her feet better, or if she generally liked the simple things she did, but she loved her for saying things like that either way. Twisting around she leaned against her and they began to eat as well. Alice had brought far too much food for just the two of them, but she would rather have brought too much than too less.

  “Wonder what a cooked apple taste like.” Alice suddenly mused.

  “Ew.” Robin laughed.

  “Oh, come on, you’re not at least a little curious?” Alice asked.

  “Curiosity is your department my love,” Robin smirked.

  Alice returned the smirk before holding out her hand. “Let me borrow an arrow.”

  “Ew!” Robin laughed but gave her an arrow and watched her skewer the apple through the end, as well as several other bits of random fruit before turning and cooking them over the fire.

  It took her longer to cook it all than she thought it would, before she was finally turning back around and holding the skewer out in front of her, examine the slightly toasted fruit. Alice hesitated then took a small bite from each piece. Robin watched her closely the whole time, noting the fruit she shrugged off and the fruit she looked ready to spit out almost as soon as she put them in her mouth. It was hard not to laugh but she also found herself a little curious after all. After years of travelling and keeping on the move to avoid trouble, Robin was used to having most of her food fresh as possible. In fact, the idea of anything else was pretty bizarre.

  “Okay, your turn.” Alice said, holding the skewer of half-eaten food out to her.

  “No way! I never said I’d try it.” Robin said, pushing her hand away.

  “Please, for me.” Alice pouted playfully, leaning close to kiss her cheek and nuzzling into her neck softly.

  Robin tried to ignore her, but Alice began kissing along the side of her neck and whispering pleads into her ear, gently sucking on the skin until she left a small purple bruise in its place.

  “Okay, fine,” Robin said quickly as she moved to kiss her neck again, blushing slightly at how breathless she sounded. “I’ll try one piece.” She said, trying to retain some of her dignity.

  Alice beamed, holding the skewer out to her once more and allowing Robin to pick off the apple, one of the pieces she had seen Alice shrug off. When she placed it in her mouth, she was surprised that it didn’t taste as rotten as she expected to. However, she understood Alice’s shrug off, because while it wasn’t vile, it certainly wasn’t anything to go crazy for either. Robin certainly preferred the juice of freshly picked apples, that was for sure.

  “Happy?” Robin asked.

  “Ecstatic!” Alice beamed, leaning over and kissing the love bite she’d left under her ear before turning to some of the bite sized pies and carefully placing them by the fire to warm through.

  As time wore on, they continued to make their way through the picnic food. They didn’t have a particular order, going back and forth between eating some of the sandwiches that Alice had prepared to the pies Killian had brought for them and repeatedly finding themselves digging into the few of the treats they were meant to be saving for last as well.

  Because they spent most of their days together, there little to catch up on and instead they found themselves talking about the future instead. Despite two full years of officially being together now, Robin had yet to visit Wonderland and it was a place that Alice was eager to show her (there were other places she wanted to share as well, but unlike Wonderland, they were not so easily accessed – and they also had to be careful about time differences that might cause Robin some trouble with her mother). But despite the obstacles in their way, Alice still hoped to share each of the worlds she had seen with Robin. But while Alice was fully eager to simply go blindly into a situation and just see what happens when she gets there, she knew Robin preferred being prepared, which included everything from weapons to food supplies to a quick exit strategy should things take a wrong turn at any point. When Alice first realised this, she thought it would be irritating, but found she enjoyed those times with Robin. It wasn’t something she had done before, so it was a new kind of exciting to plan things out, like a secret mission.

  Things had been quiet for a while now, but since they lived in the Enchanted Forest, it was almost guaranteed that at least one major thing, if not a series of minor things, would go wrong eventually. Maybe then they would have the perfect excuse to drop everything and go on an adventure together…

  At one-point, Alice lay down with her head resting in Robin’s lap. She shut her eyes and let Robin surprise her with food she either cooked and collected cold, rubbing them softly against her lips, asking for permission to feed her the next piece, whatever it was. Every now and then Alice would try and guess what it was she had been given, but it turned out, Alice was a terrible guesser when it came to the taste of foods.

  “In what land does a melon piece taste like a grape?” Robin challenged.

  “Well they’re both sweet!” Alice argued.

  “It was a green grape.” Robin countered. “They are nowhere near as sweet as a piece of melon.”

  Alice stuck her tongue out at her. “Hey, try cooking a piece of melon.”

  “Is there anything you eat that you won’t also cook first?” Robin challenged.

  Alice grinned, opening her eyes and raising her brows suggestively, causing Robin to laugh aloud and lean down, kissing her quickly before she reached for chunky piece of melon. She skewered it into her bow – she was going to need to give this a proper clean after tonight – and grabbed a few pieces of bread and cheese from the sandwiches to join it before she set it standing upright in the ground by the fire. While she waited for it to cook, she turned back to Alice, stroking her hair gently and watching the peaceful girls face after she had closed her eyes once more. She almost looked like she was sleeping.

  “You’ve gone quiet.” Alice said, cracking one eye to look up at her.

  “I’m always quiet.” Robin noted. “You’re the one who hates silence.”

  “It feels awkward.” Alice said defensively.

  Giggling and continuing to stroke the hair on her forehead, Robin reached for an apple. Most of them had been cut up and prepared before her arrival but most of those were gone now, leaving only a few whole ones in its place.

  “Where’s the knife?” Robin asked, glancing over the blanket. Only now realising that there was a reason as to why she was using her arrows as skewers, instead of anything proper.

  “Uh… Funny story.” Alice said, sitting up and twisting to face her. “I kind of forgot it.”

  “So, you, what? Cut everything up and then brought it all here?” Robin laughed.

  “Actually, I brought it all here, then realised I forgot everything.” Before Robin could ask how she managed to cut everything, Alice reached behind them, into the bag that was now sitting by one of the stones on top of the blankets corner. She pulled out her father’s hook and held it up shyly. “Papa helped me out.”

  Robin was momentarily shocked before she burst out laughing. “You stole your father’s hook?”

  “Of course not. He loaned it to me.” Alice said defensively.

  “To cut food?” Robin grinned, raising an eyebrow.

  Alice shrugged. “He wanted to make sure this night went perfectly.”

  Robin felt the laughter die and she smiled softly, reaching over to take Alice’s hand in her own, entwining their fingers. “I’ll have to thank him the next time I see him.”

  Alice nodded slowly, moving to lean against Robin, placing the hook carefully down on the side. “I miss him.” She whispered after a second of silence.

  Robin didn’t need to ask what she meant. She saw him just that morning sure, but that wasn’t the same as being with him. Not when they couldn’t even risk getting to close to one another for fear that it would cause her father harm. It was as bad as if they hadn’t seen each other in years. And there was nothing any of them could do. The only thing that could probably save them would be True Love’s Kiss, but there was no way for Alice or Killian to do that when a single touch would be the death of him.

  With nothing else to say that could comfort her, Robin wrapped Alice in her arms, kissing her temple gentle before silently holding her. They sat there for a long time, the sun had begun a slow set before they began to smell something sickly and burnt in the air and realised they had forgotten about the food they had set aside to cook by the fire.

  “Woops…” Robin said, picking out the arrow from the ground and holding the pieces in front of Alice. Only a half of it had been burned, while the rest was still fresh. “Uh, still want to try the cooked melon?”

  Before Alice could give her a reply, the melon suddenly broke off the arrow and dropped to the ground, quickly followed by the melted cheese. They girls stared at the sticky-looking mess between them and burst into giggles. It wasn’t funny, but after the sudden seriousness, it felt like the most hilarious thing to happen and by the time they were done laughing, there were happy tears in Alice’s eyes again.

  “Okay, that has officially put me off the rest of this meal.” Robin said, pulling the toast from her arrow and throwing them back down onto the blanket, turning and leaning over to give Alice a quick kiss. “But it was all lovely. Thank you so much for my Valentine dinner.”

  “I’m glad you liked it.” Alice said, standing. “But the days not over just yet.”

  “There’s more?” Robin blinked.

  “Yes.” Alice grinned, moving the stones and beginning to pack up everything but the food, which she either tossed to the trees to be eaten or into the fire to dim the flames. “We need to finish what we started when you got here.”

  O*U*A*T

  They made it back to Alice’s temporary home – an abandoned one room cabin – just after the sun set, but they stayed up long afterwards, rolling around in the bed together and making an excessive amount of noise between them. That was the one benefit of Alice’s home compared to Robin’s. Normally they always ended up back at the Mills family farm, mostly because Robin’s bedroom was a lot warmer and more comfortable than the places that Alice stayed, but the one thing Alice’s cabin could give that Robin’s home couldn’t was the promise of privacy. There was no fear or any family members overhearing them or, worse, walking in during the middle of things.

  So, despite the fact that the bed was a touch too firm to what Robin was used to, and the blankets were the scratchy kind of wool that wasn’t so bad when you were tucked under but was very noticeable once you’d climb out of, neither girl regretted the position they ended up in. If only because that position included clinging to one another, skin to skin, and happily out of breath.

  They were both hot, a warm layer of sweat being the only thing between them anymore, but already Robin could feel the chill that lingered in the cabin. She reached over, not so willing to get dressed just yet, and instead pulled Alice’s body against hers, sharing their body heat and layering a series of kisses down along her neck and shoulders. After a few moments, Robin began to slide down, moving her kisses further along Alice’s chest and stomach instead. She was still feeling that content urge to just lay down and fall asleep by Alice’s side, but as of late Robin found herself growing stubborn. Stubborn enough that she didn’t want her nights with Alice to end. So, no matter what it was, Robin found herself doing everything to keep the night going for as long as possible.

   “When do you have to be back?” Alice whispered. There was no need – especially when you took into considering that she had been shouting very loudly just a few moments ago – but suddenly the moment felt like it should be a quiet one. Sad even. That sad, quiet moment just before Robin had to return home, leaving Alice alone for a long and lonely night.

  Robin lifted her head, pushing the wool blanket up to watch Alice’s face as she said cheerfully. “I don’t.”

  “Really?” Alice blinked.

  “Yeah, aunt Regina said she’d cover for me and give mum a hand with the farm chores.” Robin said, crawling up to kiss Alice gently. “So, you have me all night.”

  “Why didn’t you say so?!” Alice demanded, wrapping her arms around her neck.

  Before Robin could explain that she thought Alice had already realised this, she was pulled down for another deep kiss. Robin dropped to lie by her side, pressed her body close and sliding a leg between Alice’s thighs, pushing open Alice’s mouth and fighting for dominance for a short second before she relented and let Alice take control.

  Even later into the night, when the girls were officially too tired to do much more than lie side by side, arms loosely wrapped around each other, they still were both doing their best to avoid the sleep clinging to their eyelids, trying to force an end to their perfect day. When it became almost too dark for them to even see each other, Alice sat up to light a candle, placing it carefully on the side where her father’s hook was resting.

  “When are you going to give that back to him?” Robin asked as Alice tucked herself back down under the blanket with her. It was freezing cold outside of the bed now and neither girl was willing to embrace it long enough to get dressed. Not when they could so easily just embrace each other instead.

  “I’ll try and give it back to him tomorrow,” Alice mumbled, reaching over and pulling Robin close, pressing her face against Robin’s and letting out quiet sight of satisfaction.

  “Want company when you do?” Robin said, resisting the urge to yawn.

  “If you’re offering.” Alice grinned.

  “Yeah, I need to thank him partly for the best valentine’s present ever.” Robin beamed, reaching a hand up Alice’s face to twist her fingers lightly into her hair.

  Alice’s smile dimmed slightly, and she nodded, burying her face against Robin for a moment. She hated how perfect moments like these were ruined by the reality of her situation with her father. It just seemed so unfair that she could be so happy one moment, lying in Robin’s arms like nothing else in the world mattered, and then so miserable the next when she thought of how the chances of her ever being reunited with her father were growing slimmer and slimmer with every passing day. What if she never broke the curse? She’d always assured herself with the idea that they would eventually find a way to be together again but… What if they didn’t?

  “Alice… Talk to me…” Robin whispered, pressing kisses into the side of her face that was not hidden against her.

  “It’s nothing.” Alice said, sniffing and forcing a smile. “Just coming to the realisation that I’m probably never going to have it all. I can have you. But I can’t have everything.”

  “Is this about your dad?” Robin asked.

  Alice let out an unfunny laugh. “Isn’t it always?”

  “I wish I could do something…” Robin said quietly, rubbing her hand gently over Alice’s lower back.

  “You’re already doing all you can by just being here.” Alice whispered, kissing the side of Robin’s mouth and shutting her eyes. “Just promise you’ll be here when I wake.” She mumbled sleepily.

  “Of course.” Robin promised. “I’ll always be here. And even when I’m not right by your side, I’ll be close by and I’ll always return. I love you, Alice.”

  “I love you, Robin.” Alice mumbled.

  That night, long after Alice had fallen asleep, Robin stayed awake. She pondered her own parental situation. Like Alice, she only had one parent. Neither of them had known their other parent, either because of death or abandonment, but that was where their similarities mostly ended. While Alice only had her father to raise her, Robin had her mother, her aunt Regina and the whole of Storybrooke to tag in and help out when need be. She grew up in a community of people willing to help and none of them would ever let her not know everything about her deceased father that she could possibly know. Meanwhile, Alice had grown up in a tower, isolated from the world with only her father to raise and comfort her.

  And now, the witch who cursed them had taken even that from her. The only person she had ever known to love her, was physically stopped from being there for her. She had Robin, but that didn’t take away the pain from being unable to embrace the one and only parent she had ever had. Robin couldn’t even begin to imagine what that would be like. Even if she could imagine being cursed to never be able to embrace her mother again, that didn’t leave her alone like it did Alice.

  Robin kissed Alice’s sleeping forehead. Her love was probably one of the strongest people that Robin had ever met. Despite the misery of her life, despite having everything taken from her, she was still pushing through to the next day. She wasn’t sure if she would have been able to keep up with her if she was in the same position.

  Robin wished she could help her. She hated feeling so useless. All she could do was hold Alice in the night and make her feel loved, but she could do nothing for the pain of losing her father. Because in a way, even if she could see him at a distance, Alice had lost her father. And as much as Robin wanted to help, there was nothing she could do. Yet, she couldn’t just drop it and go to sleep. She still found herself thinking that there must be something. There had to be a way for Robin to help reunite her love with the only parent she had ever known.

  Suddenly Robin found herself wide awake, even more so than before. She had no idea what the time was, so she quietly climbed from the bed and walked over to the far window, looking out towards the sky. The moon was still out and bright, partially covered by the clouds but not overhead. It was late, but still Valentine’s day for a few more hours at least.

  “Robin?” Alice mumbled.

  She had been woken with a start by Robin’s rush to climb from the bed, accidentally jostling Alice when she had to climb over her to look out the window across the room from them. She pushed herself up, covering herself against the cold and climbing to her feet, making sure to stay wrapped in the wool blanket tightly as she stumbled over to where Robin was shivering in the moonlight. She was still half asleep, but the cold air was quickly waking her, and she only stumbled twice before she reached the other girl, instinctively wrapping them both in the blanket, protecting her from the cold night air that left goose bumps over her skin.

  “Are you alright?” Alice said, resting her chin on Robin’s shoulder. “What happened?”

  “Nothing.” Robin assured, turning and cupping Alice’s face between her hands. “I just realised I hadn’t given you your Valentine’s present yet.”

  “That’s all?” Alice said, yawning with a slight sleepy smile. God, she looked so cute. “You could have just given it to me in the morning.”

  “No. It has to be now. On this day.” Robin said firmly.

  “I don’t understand…” Alice mumbled, frowning slightly.

  “Alice. My original present was going to be a trip down to town tomorrow to buy you a new cloak or something, and I still will do that. But it will be an every day gift. Because of my Valentine gift, I give you my word.” Robin began seriously.

  “What? Just the one?” Alice grinned.

  “I give you my word,” Robin continued firmly. “That for as long as you are the love of my life and long after – though I assure you, there will never be an after – I will help you find a way to reunite with your father.”

  The smile died off of Alice’s face and she stood, stunned. “Robin…” She said finally.

  “I don’t care if it takes all our lifetimes. I don’t care how hard it is or what I must give up to make it happen.” Robin vowed. “We will find a way to break your curse. Together. Together we will make everything right and you will be with him again. I swear on the life of my own mother, and the death of my own father. It will happen.”

  Tears filled Alice’s eyes and began to trail down her cheeks. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. Instead she pressed her lips together and reached up, covering Robin’s hands with her own. She didn’t even care when the blanket fell off them both and landed in a heap at their feet. She sniffed as she felt Robin gently brush one of the tears off of her cheek with her thumb and lean in to kiss away the other before she then slowly move and kissed Alice’s lips. Her touch was so gentle, like she was worried Alice might break if she were too rough.

  Finally, Alice shut her eyes and mentally calmed herself. When she opened them again, Robin was still leaning closer, watching her carefully and cradling her face. They were both shivering from the cold now but neither bothered to make any attempt to pick up the wool blanket. Instead they watched each other for a full minute of silence.

  Then: “Robin.” Alice took a breath then smiled. “Do you always have to one up me when we exchange gifts?”

  Robin’s intense expression broke away and burst into a giggle, ducking down to grab the blanket and rewrap it around them both, pulling Alice close. “What can I say, I’m a natural gift giver.”

  “Show off.” Alice grinned, blinking away the last of the tears and smiling softly. “But we have no idea how we’d even begin-”

  “Don’t even try and give me any form of talk about how we can’t do this.” Robin said quickly.

  “We could waste our whole lives searching for a way-” Alice began.

  “If my entire life is spent on an endless adventure with you, then it will never be a waste.” Robin insisted.

  Alice’s mouth hung open, but she couldn’t bring herself to argue. If there were any gift great enough to leave her speechless, it was this one. So instead she leaned forward, kissing Robin and pulling her back to the bed.

  Her exhaustion from moments ago was gone. She was going to show her gratitude in ways she couldn’t quite put into words.

  And in between that gratitude, midnight passed, and valentines came to a passionate end.

#once upon a time #Curious Archer #Alice Jones #Robin Mills #Robin X Alice #Alice X Robin #Once Upon A Time Fanfiction #OUAT Fanfiction #Happy Valentines Day

[thorne93]

Who Will Win? (Part 27 - FINAL)

Prompt: Jefferson (Once Upon A Time) sees you on the sidewalk one day, his “dead” wife.

Word Count: 2569

Warning: Threats, language, angst, sadness, darkness

Notes: This will span from season 1 through 5, if you don’t want spoilers, maybe don’t read this, haha. Also, the reader’s Storybrooke name is Alice. Beta’d by the amazeballs @like-a-bag-of-potatoes and badgered @amarvelouswritings Thank you both! Could never get this done without you!

Tags:  @amarvelouswritings @cocosierra94 @essie1876 @magpiegirl80 @letsgetfuckingsuperwholocked @harleyquinnandscarletwitch @iamwarrenspeace @marvel-imagines-yes-please @superwholocked527 @myparadise19982sand @missinstantgratification @thejulesworld @nedthegay @marvelloushamilton @munlis  @bubblyanarocks3​​ @thefridgeismybestie​ @kaliforniacoastalteens @random-fluffy-pink-unicorn @hardcollectionworldtrash @igiveupicantthinkofausername

Sebastian Stan Tags: @nedthegay @lostinspace33 @alwayshave-faith @elleatrixlestrange @buenostardissherlock @the-red-world-of-jess-chibi  @lenawiinchester​​  @memory-of-a-goldfish​

Who Will Win Tags: @mrs-lancelot @elivanah @ultrarebelheart @learisa @isis278

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once you had the spark and the dagger, all you needed was Excalibur. Using the wand, you were able to make a portal to go home.

“Does Arthur still have it?” Merlin asked as the lot of you walked down the sidewalk of Storybrooke.

“Yes, that conniving little prick,” you spat. Regardless of whether or not you knew it was wrong to murder him, you still wanted to.

“Y/N,” Merlin chastised.

“I know, I know...Where is he?” you asked.

“We could work on a locator spell,” Regina suggested.

The three of you, Regina, Merlin, and you, all began to work. Finally, all of you found Arthur hidden in the woods with some of his knights.

“Back away, you demon,” Arthur warned.

“I haven’t killed anyone, I’m not a demon, you murdering son of a bitch,” you growled as you walked forward. “Give me Excalibur,” you demanded.

“Why? So you can kill all the light?” he asked.

“No, so I can kill the darkness, you incompetent, failure of a king,” you snarled.

“I don’t think so,” he said, laughing in a mocking tone.

“Merlin, the most powerful, good sorcerer that ever lived, has granted me permission to Excalibur,” you said. “Now give it to me.”

“Oh, would this be him?” he asked, gesturing to Merlin by your side.

“Arthur,” he greeted.

“Merlin, the man who made me look like a fool. A man who gave me half prophecies. I rule a broken kingdom now because of you!” he shouted. You were prepared to take him down if need be. You felt oddly extra protective over Merlin.

“You were such a disappointment,” Merlin mused. “I am so sorry I was not there to guide you.”

“I didn’t need guidance. I needed the truth. Not some talking tree that made me look half insane.”

“We can still make this right,” Merlin tried. “Give us the blade and we can unite the Excalibur and you can have everything I ever promised for you.”

“Why? So you can get the glory?” Arthur asked.

“Glory? Is that what you’ve become? Is that all you care about?” Merlin wondered.

“He put a spell on his wife to ensure she never leaves his side,” you informed. You had felt it when you first met, you...somewhat smelled the false sense of love between them.

“Arthur…” Merlin said simply.

“Give us the blade,” you repeated.

“Never,” Arthur spat as he looked at you.

“Fine, I’ll just take it,” you said, freezing him and walking forward to take it from his hilt then unfreezing him.

“See? No dark magic here,” you informed Merlin with a smile.

You were walking to the castle, ready to work on forging the two there, with Merlin’s help, when you were stopped.

“And just where do you think you’re going?” Gold suddenly said from behind you. You all spun to see him.

“Gold. It’s none of your business,” you said evenly.

“Ah, but it is. You stole my heart. It’s not wise to try and control me, deary. If you want to kill me, you should’ve done so, because now, it’s my mission to make you pay for what you did.”

“Everyone, get behind me,” you urged.

“Y/N,” Regina started.

“Regina, get behind me,” you commanded in a rough voice.

“It’s very simple,” Gold started. “You have something I want. The Darkness. You’re a Dark One, I know you can’t resist making a deal. So here’s mine. Hand over the dagger and I won’t kill anyone. Refuse, and I’ll start picking them off one by one.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” you challenged, stepping forward. “What will Belle think?”

“Belle will think it was all you. She’s asleep at the moment, and will remain that way until I wake her. You are the dark one after all. You’ve been kidnapping people right and left lately, people are scared, Ms. Y/L/N. They’re scared of you.”

“But I’m not the one hurting people right now, you are. What makes you think you’ll win, anyway? You have no magic.”

“I may not wield magic any more, but I do have means to get to magic.”

Suddenly, the ground began to shake and rumble.

“What is that?” you demanded.

“Oh, you’ll find out soon enough, deary. Although, remember that curiosity killed the cat.” With that, Gold moved out of the way and you could feel it.

“Merlin,” you gasped, turning to him. “Is that…?”

“A basilisk. Yes.”

“Shield your eyes!” you screamed as you turned and casted magic over your loved ones so that they were forced to look down. “Get them in Granny’s and keep them there,” you instructed Merlin.

“Y/N, you can not face this thing alone,” he said.

“Yes, I can. Get them out of here.” You kept your eyes up. “He can’t kill me. Only the dagger can,” you said more to yourself than anyone else. “Now go!”

The giant snake appeared from around one of the buildings. Its scales were black as night, it’s eyes burning like hellfire, his fangs long and protruding. He was a fearsome sight indeed.

“Gold! Call this thing off!” You shouted.

“Can’t do that, deary. It’s quite simple. You give me the dagger, and this will all end,” he informed from inside an alleyway.

“Never,” you vowed. “I will never give you this power.”

The snake struck at you but you vanished to the opposite side of the street. Everywhere it went, it’s breath poisoned the air, just looking at a basilisk could kill a normal person. You casted magic at it but it either dodged it or it didn’t seem to phase it when it hit.

“Nothing is working,” you grumbled as you tried to dodge the creature. He continued to strike at you and try to breathe on you, but you were thankfully quick enough. For a moment, you contemplated just killing Gold. If you kill those who control the beast, you can get the beast to back off but there had to be another way.

“Y/N?” the most familiar voice in the world said from up the street.

“Jefferson,” you breathed, as you looked up. There was your husband, the light of your life, standing just a few feet from the demon snake you were facing. “Jefferson! Get out of here! Don’t look at it!” You flew your hands out and cast a spell to force his gaze away.

“What in the hell is it?” he asked, his gaze still planted on the ground.

“A basilisk.”

You thought if you kept the thing away from Jefferson, kept it focused on you, you could keep him safe, but just as you thought that, Jefferson gazed into a puddle, and the basilisk spun, facing Jefferson. His eyes saw the reflection, freezing him in place.

“Jefferson! Go! Move!” you screamed, for you had no idea he couldn’t move. When he didn’t budge, the creature pulled its enormous head back, ready to strike. “No!” you screamed, appearing in front of Jefferson, the snake striking you instead, his fangs digging into your skin. He pierced entirely through your arm.

He reared his head back, ready to strike again, but as much as it hurt, you moved your hand in a flick and Jefferson was teleported inside Granny’s.

“You want them? You’re gonna have to go through me,” you vowed darkly.

“I don’t think I will,” Gold said with a smirk. He moved his hand and the Basilisk struck at you over and over and over again, even more merciless than before.

You dove in an alley and pulled out the dagger and Excalibur and the spark. The snake slithered by the alley. Your hands were shaking as you pulled the spark out, you worked to get it to ignite, concentrating as best you could on it, finally, it lit into a flame that hovered on its own. You grabbed the blade and dagger and held them in the flame. That’s when you realized the snake was nowhere to be found.

“Come on, come on!” you urged. Finally, the sword was whole. “I did it! I got it! Now,” you said, squeezing your arm, the venom-infused blood dripping on the blade.

You stepped out of the alley.

“Come on, Gold!” you shouted as you stood in the middle of the street. “Let’s end this!”

And soon you saw, you saw why you didn’t see him come after you. He was poised in front of Granny’s.

“Last chance, Y/N,” Gold said as he stood across from you. “Give me that blade,” he threatened.

“Never,” you said.

At that, Gold flicked his hand and the snake went to strike at the restaurant that housed all of your friends and loved ones, and you appeared in front of the creature, stabbing it in the chest with the sword. With it’s own venom inside it, Excalibur brandished to cut all immortal ties, the creature hissed before it fell backwards onto the street.

Breathless, you lowered yourself from midair to the ground in front of the restaurant.

Everyone began to emerge from the restaurant, and as soon as they did, a golden light started to shimmer around you.

“Merlin!” you screamed, hoping he would know what was going on.  “What’s happening?!”

“You did it,” he said simply. “You used your powers to protect others. That’s all the Darkness ever needed.”

“Wh--What?” you stammered.

“There were many paths you could go down today, Y/N,” he informed. “You could’ve killed Rumplestiltskin. You could’ve saved yourself. But you chose to forge the blade in order to help others. You put other lives before your own, and for that, I am able to transfer the magic inside you from darkness to light.”

You gasped. “But what about Emma’s magic?”

“Her magic is returning to her while you transform,” he said.

“I feel it,” Emma informed, stunned, holding her hands up.

“So...this was all a test? Was anyone in danger?” you wondered.

“Oh, yes. Grave danger. I would’ve intervened should you failed, but I saw this as one path. You see, all the Darkness needed was for the light to overpower it. I never thought it would be possible, but...you did it, Y/N, congratulations. You are now the Light One.”

“And the Darkness?” you asked. “Is it gone?”

“The Dark One is gone. Darkness may continue to live, but for now, there are no more Dark Ones.”

Jefferson ran toward you and picked you up and twirled you around, kissing you, now in flowing white robes.

“You did it! You got the darkness out! I am so proud of you!” he cheered.

“I...I did...Didn’t I?” you breathed.

-----------------

As soon as you cleared away the giant serpent, you took down the castle. Next, you consulted with everyone in town on what to do with Cruella. Everyone voted on imprisonment and removal of magic. Regina and David worked on that as soon as you used your magic to return her to a normal state, even returning her heart to her.

You ensured everyone understood Regina was reinstated as Mayor. It was your goal to right all of the wrongs you’d done.

So, you made up with your husband and daughter. Your daughter was happy to have you back and proud of you for defeating the evil inside you. Your husband was thrilled beyond words.

“Y/N, I am so, so proud of you. Thank you...for doing all of what you did, I know it wasn’t easy.”

“It was easy as breathing if it meant I would lose you two,” you said, your arm around Jefferson and you glanced to your daughter.

“So what now?” Jefferson asked.

“Now...Now I use my magic for good, should anyone need it.”

A knock came at your door. When you opened it, you were pleasantly surprised. “Merlin,” you greeted kindly. “Come in.”

“Thank you,” he said, breezing past you as you gestured to the sitting area. “I was wondering if we could talk for a moment.” He took a seat and you sat next to him.

“Absolutely, anything for you.”

“As I’m sure you’re aware, my apprentice has passed,” he started.

“Yes, I was saddened to hear that. He was a wonderful man and a loyal apprentice. Speaking of, would you like his wand back?” you said, getting ready to give the wand back to more appropriate hands.

“Well that’s what I’m here to talk about. You see, I will need an apprentice to carry on my legacy, should I decide to...end my immortality. I need someone like him...And I feel that person is you,” he said and your heart seemed to stop beating.

“Me? Why me?”

“Well, I have failed before. Arthur, he possesses too much greed in his soul. Issac, too much greed and power. You, Y/N, you defeated the darkness within you time and time again when you could’ve given into it. You chose love and family over power. I could think of no one better I’d rather have by my side,” he explained.

“I am...flattered but I’m not sure I’m the worthy enough.”

“That’s precisely why I want you as my apprentice. Your light magic can do so much good. You now have the exact same power I do. You have the power Nimue had before she turned her heart over to the darkness. We are the same now.”

“I---Merlin,” you said.

“If you truly don’t want it, I won’t force you to do it. It is a heavy burden, light or dark magic.”

“I understand. I just want to be sure that you’re sure on this decision.”

“Absolutely. I am certain. Y/N...Will you be my apprentice?” he asked.

After a moment of thinking, you agreed. “Yes, of course. I would be honored to.”

“Excellent. I will find shelter and gather my books and we can begin, how does that sound?”

“Perfect.”

He smiled and stood, waving goodbye to Jefferson and Grace on his way out.

Later that night, as you and Jefferson readied for bed, he spoke up suddenly.

“You know, I am sorry I ever doubted you,” he said, a bit of sorrow in his voice.

“Why? I doubted me too,” you admitted.

“No, not deep down you didn’t, otherwise you wouldn't be able to do all the things you did to get the flame, and the blade, and everything else you did to free yourself. I kept asking myself as soon as you became the dark one. ‘Who will win? Y/N or the Darkness?’ As time went on, I began to ask, ‘Who will win? Us or the Darkness?’ It continued to be this battle of wondering what would take hold in your heart. And I now i know, I’ve always known.”

“What’s that?” you asked.

“Love. Love is what will win for you, over and over. You do everything to protect. From becoming the Dark One, to fighting the Darkness and becoming the light one. Everything you did, was to save those you love, and I can’t imagine my life without you.”

“Nor I you, Jefferson, that’s why I was able to defeat it. I often asked myself the same question. But I came to the same conclusion each time.”

“Which was?” he wondered.

“Me. I will always win, despite magic or no magic. The love inside me, will always win, when it comes to you and Grace.”

#who will win #jefferson #jefferson fic #jefferson x reader #jefferson ouat #jefferson once upon a time #once upon a time #ouat #once upon a time fic #ouat fic

[vivalaskristie]

Chapter 6 All the Single Ladies

Book: The Royal Romance (AU)

Series Premise: Parallel, behind the scenes, Madeleine and Bastien

A/N: This is my first series, my first AU, because Madeleine and Bastien needed to smash.  I posted and then pulled it because it wasn’t quite right.  It’s still a work in progress.

Warnings for this series: The first sex scenes I’ve ever written, bad language, sneaking around, alcohol, general mischief and the occasional academic symposium.

Chapter 1 Prelude

Chapter 2 Drinks on a Yacht

Chapter 3 A Dark and Stormy Night

Chapter 4 Meanwhile, Back At The Palace

Chapter 5 She’s Gone

Permatags:  @speedyoperarascalparty @burnsoslow @dcbbw @emceesynonymroll @stopforamoment

“Well this is quite a hiding place you’ve found for yourself, Maddie.”

Madeleine looked up from her book toward the source of that familiar voice. She’d had 2 weeks of nobody saying her name without some sort of title in front of it. 

“Well I guess I’m It now, Livvie.”  She smiled at her longtime friend as Olivia sat down on the chaise next to hers and made herself comfortable. 

“You certainly are. In fact I don’t think there’s ever been an It girl like you before.”

“How did you find me?  Did anybody follow you?” Madeleine had to ask, even though she knew that nobody could move around the world undetected like the Duchess of Lythikos. She was a ninja when she needed to be.

Olivia thought about making some wisecrack about her lofty stealth skills, but she knew that Madeleine was genuinely concerned. “No, Maddie. Not even my pilot knows why I’m here. I’m just glad you picked someplace warm. I was afraid you’d be in England somewhere in some terrible Norman castle ruin.” 

Madeleine smiled gratefully. She’d missed Olivia’s company. Ever since they’d all parted after high school, there had been a distance between the group of girls who had once been so close. None of them had chosen to be in whatever competition they found themselves in. They never saw themselves as rivals.

They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, nodding to accept refills of their drinks. The beach wasn’t crowded, in fact, there were only about a dozen other people sharing it with them, and they were all there because they were of the privileged few who knew how to get access. They all left each other alone, with no curious glances, no questions, no surreptitious selfies that just happened to capture something interesting in the background. This island in the Maldives raised the concept of “privacy” to new levels.

“So are you here to check on me out of the goodness of your kind heart, or is there more?”  

Olivia’s sharp features twisted into an appreciative smirk. The only time that she wasn’t the smartest person in the room was when Madeleine was also in attendance.

“My dear, there’s some intrigue brewing in dear old Cordonia. You need to be aware of it.”

“Nope. I’m done there. I’ve decided to go back to Oxford. I’ve got a place on a research team and they’re delighted to have me. Cordonia can blow.”  Madeleine crossed her arms and felt a rush of adrenaline–she hadn’t told anyone from home about her plans yet, and saying it out loud made it real.

Olivia had always been so proud of Madeleine’s drive. Damn, she always did her own thing whether it fit into anyone else’s plans or not. This wasn’t going to be easy. “The new Crown Prince needs to find a bride.”

Madeleine cracked a laugh before she could stop herself. Oh no no no. She was no longer part of the royal marriage stable, thank you very much. She took a sip of her cocktail and shook her head.

“They’re making it a contest.”

“Of course they are, the fucking vultures. God forbid we make any of our own choices. Who are the other ponies?  Hana?  Penelope? Kiana?”

“Oh so you’ve seen this episode already,” Olivia cackled. “Yes, they’ve gotten the gang back together for young Liam’s approval. If it matters, the word is that he’s not thrilled either. Regina has cooked this up.”

Madeleine frowned. If the Queen was behind this, chances are she’d had some help from scurrilous sources. Her mother was the Queen’s cousin. They weren’t exactly friends, but they operated with similar objectives. They paired up when it suited them. “This smells like Adelaide.”  

Olivia raised her glass in salute. “Five points to the Countess for cracking the code.”

“Shit.”

“You’ve got that right.”

“Have you talked to Hana and Pen and Ki?  Where are they on this?”  Madeleine had begun strategizing without even realizing it.

“About where we are. We all know our lines. But this isn’t like 2 years ago when Leo came sniffing around us all. We’ve done this already. None of us wants to play anymore.”

“Who do they want to win?”

“You.”

“Shit.”

Olivia laughed again, a loud and cynical bark. “Oh my darling Maddie. Look at you already giving two shits about this.”

***

Bastien couldn’t help himself. He liked Liam. The new Crown Prince was smart and serious and aware of his place in the world in a way that Leo had never been. Cordonia would be in good hands with this man on the throne. The transition had gone smoothly because Liam demanded it. It was flawlessly executed. He had a pack of lifelong friends who would grow nicely into their roles as his advisors. The excitement over the abdication and dramatic disappearance of the jilted bride-to-be had faded as the nation turned its attention to the new heir. Cordonia was going to be fine.

His days were long and busy. He’d been hearing about vague future plans for Prince Liam but his focus was on the present and immediate future. Anything beyond the next week was still a variable.

His nights were long and decidedly not busy. He’d finally broken down and texted Madeleine, “checking on you” with no expectation of a reply. He received one the next day and it put him immediately at ease. It was a selfie with the sea and the sky behind her. She was tanned to a lovely golden brown and she looked relaxed and happy. He stared at it a hundred times a day. He wanted more than anything to go to wherever she was, but it was impossible. They were impossible.

Two weeks later, things started happening. He received a request for a meeting with Liam’s chief of staff. Cleaning crews were seen around the palace, airing out long-ignored spaces and polishing the fixtures. The King and Queen abruptly departed for a “vacation” that was not set up like a vacation at all. Nobody asked questions, and that alone was enough to make him suspicious.

His meeting with Liam’s team confirmed all of his suspicions and planted dozens more. This was not going to be good. The Queen had decided that Liam needed to marry ASAP, and since he didn’t have any serious prospects, wouldn’t it be fun to make a spectacle of it with the world watching?  They already had all the players, because everybody knew the “girls”–that made Bastien crazy, because these “girls” were grown women with lives and plans of their own. When they told him who the leading candidate was, he almost walked out of the room. Oh for fucks sake, he thought. What century are they living in?  Regina had obviously been spending booze-fueled afternoons with her dear cousin Adelaide. This was not an idea that was hatched from goodwill or kind intentions. No, it was a fucking circus. He was disgusted. 

He didn’t know who was in on it yet, so he didn’t dare reach out to Madeleine. Hana was in Asia with her family, and Penelope was in the middle of the annual dog show circuit. Kiana was at a UN summit in Geneva. Olivia was off the grid, but that wasn’t out of the ordinary. He’d learned not to ask questions about the Duchess of Lythikos and her, um, proclivities. He’d seen her whip a dagger from somewhere underneath an evening gown once and plant it in the wall less than an inch from someone who’d irritated her. She legit scared him.

As he left the meeting with Liam’s team, he felt a hand on his arm. “Bastien, got a minute?”  He turned to see Drake Walker, Liam’s best friend. Drake was also the son of Bastien’s former mentor, who’d been killed in the line of duty. Bastien always had a minute for Drake Walker.

“Yeah, of course. What’s up?”

“Is there any way we could take Liam out of the country for some unstructured fun before the Queen’s beauty pageant begins?  He’s stressing about it. He thinks his whole life is already mapped out. I’d like to remind him that it doesn’t have to be.”

Bastien felt a surge of affection for Drake. He was such a good guy. Liam was lucky to have him. “Absolutely. Let me know what you’d like to do, and I’ll prep a team for it.”

“Thanks, Bas. You’re the best. We’re looking at a weekend in Manhattan, just the five of us. No fuss, if we can avoid it.”

“You got it. Book it and send me the details.”  Bastien was relieved that Liam had real friends looking out for him. A trip to New York was just what he needed. What could possibly go wrong?  

He was on his way to the next item on his schedule when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He took it out and read the text.

I’m home. 

She knows, he thought. Someone warned her before she got ambushed. He didn’t know who the guardian angel was, but he was grateful. He replied Welcome back. Laying low?

Yes. Needed to be here to put out some fires.

He smiled. She wasn’t going to jump into formation without a fight. 

***

“No, mother, I am not going to marry Liam.”

Adelaide swirled her glass as she rolled her eyes. “Madeleine, you’ve been given a reprieve. This is your chance for redemption. You can show the world that you are good enough to be a queen.”

That stung as it always had. “Good enough” was never good enough for Madeleine’s parents. They didn’t care about her accomplishments; only the reviews were important. She might as well put herself on Yelp and open up the comments.

“Mother, you cannot force me to do this. I do not require redemption. I have obligations that I must fulfill and I will not change my plans.”

Adelaide looked at her daughter with disdain. “Really, Madeleine, what good is another degree?  You’re a countess. You don’t need more school. You need a partner, someone who can elevate you to your rightful place. You’re going to the palace next week and you’re going to get that boy to marry you.”  She drained her glass and waved it vaguely, signaling the footman to refill it. 

There was no point in arguing with her. Adelaide and her husband Godfrey were of the opinion that the only use for a daughter was for the procurement of a significant husband. It had taken years for Madeleine to unlearn her place in their world. She left Adelaide to her scotch and Godfrey to his scorn and she went up to her rooms. 

She opened up the group chat on her phone. It was so good to be in touch with her friends again, all at once. They had missed each other so much!  There was a lot to catch up on; they just needed to get past this one last show.

It’s done. I’ll be at the palace next week. See you soon xoxo.

The replies hit immediately.

PLACES EVERYBODY!

GAME ON, BITCHES

Un pour tous et tous pour un!

Buckle up, Cordonia, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride.

It was good to have friends.

She debated about texting Bastien. She knew where his loyalties lie. She couldn’t put him in a position where he had to choose between her and the Family–of course he would have to choose them. But god, she wanted him to know that she wasn’t playing this round for real. She’d had a lot of time to think lately, and the realization that her possibilities went so far beyond just marrying well had stunned her. She wasn’t about to let it go.

Do you trust me?

Bastien read the words and everything around him stopped. This was new. They only had the moments as they happened. They’d never talked about things like trust or feelings or the future. Those were beyond the moment. What was she doing?

I trust you.

***

The following week as Madeleine was preparing to go back to the palace, Bastien was putting the final plans in place to secure Liam’s pre-bachelor-party party in New York. It was not an official visit, no galas, no banquets, no ribbon cuttings or bouquets. Five guys on a 3-day pub crawl, tailed by Bastien himself and the ten best members of his team. He hadn’t heard anything more from Madeleine, but he saw that five of the best suites in the palace were being prepared for the suitors. He was dying to ask questions, to find out what was happening.

He trusted her.

Chapter 7

#trr #trr bastien #trr madeleine

[shestillhasherquill]

All’s Fair in Love and War (2/?)

At the time of a brewing battle, there are tough decisions to be made, alliances to be forged. The Princess of Misthaven has no choice but to comply with the demands of the Council and wed the Prince of Camelot. But what happens when she falls for his half-brother, Killian? A war like never before.

A Reign-esque twist to an Enchanted Forest AU that no one asked for.

Thank you everyone who liked and/or reblogged this fic! I was really trying to upload this yesterday, but I couldn’t. I will be updating every saturday afternoon (Indian Standard Time) from now. A big thanks to @welllpthisishappening​ for her beta work on this!

I hope you enjoy this new installment @accio-ambition​ <3

AO3 / FF.net

Killian slid his cutlass over the whetstone over and over, in a consistent motion, the sound of steel against stone a rhythm that he was used to, letting his mind wander as muscle memory took over. As a former Navy Lieutenant, and the current Captain of the King’s Guard, he knew a thing or two about war . And the one between the Southern and Northern lands seemed have been going on for ages, far before his time, or even his father’s. Killian personally did not see the point of the war, only that King George associated himself with the practitioners of Dark Magic, and guessed that he continued to do so still.

All he knew was this: if King George and his supporters got control over even one of the Northern kingdoms, especially Misthaven, all hell would reign over the Enchanted Forest. Misthaven had somehow seized the Dark One’s dagger and had him imprisoned. While Killian might not know how King David and Queen Snow managed that, he did know that the Queen lost her life to that mission. Only the Gods know what would happen if King George were to get his hands on the Dark One’s dagger again.

He suppressed a shiver, startled out of his thoughts when he heard a twig break behind him, his shoulders tensing. He felt, before he saw his attacker, ducking and rolling out of the way just in time before a dagger impaled the wood panelling, exactly where his head had been nary a moment ago. His heart still racing from the adrenaline, he growled at his attacker, his scowl deepening as she only laughed at his fall, reaching to pry the dagger from the wood.

“What the bloody hell was that?” he spat, getting up from the ground, refusing the hand that his attacker lent him.

“I was just testing your reflexes, big brother,” Regina rolled her eyes. “I knew you would get out of the way; you were never in any real danger.”

“You’ve lost your bloody mind, Regina,” he snapped, dusting off his breeches.

She shrugged, fiddling with the edge of her dagger and looking with great fascination at her boots. “Father has asked to see you.”

“Did he now?” he murmured, going back to sharpening his blade. “Well, you can tell him I’m busy,” he shot back.

“Killian...”

“Now is not the time to antagonise me, sister! You know what day it is today, and I would prefer to be alone, if it would please His Majesty.”

Regina bit her lip, not knowing what she could say to comfort her brother. It had been five years now since the woman he loved was murdered, and since that day her brother hadn’t been the same. He’d changed, become closed off and brutish; gone was the ever-grinning boy she remembered growing up with, replaced by a man hardened by the endless misery life seemed to throw at him. While they did grow up in less than ideal circumstances, being the children of the King’s mistress, Regina had never lacked for love – not from their mother or Liam or Killian. Not even from their father, in the times he had been able to spare for them. But when their mother withered away from illness, and their brother lost to the sea a decade ago, all they had was each other. But now it seemed like with each passing year after Milah’s death, Killian seemed to pull away more and more, becoming a shell of a person, one obsessed with avenging Milah.

They’d returned from a long journey, for a mission that their father had entrusted only Regina and Killian with. And she could still remember how giddy he had been, talking endlessly about how he had every intention to ask Milah for her hand, no matter her status of a widow. He even had a ring purchased. But they were greeted not with pomp and glory when they reached Camelot, but awful bloodshed, with many innocents slaughtered and a coup to overthrow their father’s rule. When they rushed to the castle, it was to even more fighting, one which they had no choice but to join. Things had only gone downhill from there, and soon enough they found their King and Queen, along with their half-brother, William – held hostage in the throne room. Killian and Regina reached in the nick of time, succeeding in saving their father and half-brother, but in their rage, the attackers murdered their Queen right in front of Brennan, taking advantage of their anguish to escape, only to be stopped by Killian. He’d managed to apprehend almost all of them, taking them prisoners to be executed the next day at the Town’s Square.

And in retribution, a week later, the rest of the men - the ones who had managed to escape - found Milah’s hovel in the middle of the night and murdered her in cold blood, leaving her corpse to be found by Killian. And when he did... Regina shuddered, just thinking about that day made her heart wrench. She’d never seen her brother more broken than he been that day, and had remained broken ever since, hell bent on finding the men who’d killed her.

Regina’s brow furrowed with worry as she observed her brother at work, the tension obvious in his posture and the aggression with which he sharpened his blade. But when the King wanted something, it was unwise to deny him, especially at a time of war. While King Brennan loved his children, they were still his bastards; a disgrace in the eyes of many. They may have royal blood, but they would never be royal. She’d learnt that lesson the hard way after all, the scars on her back serving as a stinging memory and warning to never stray from her station.

“Killian, he wasn’t asking. We just got a missive from Misthaven. The Southern Isles have joined King George in his cause,” she spat the word. “The North needs to stand together, and father wants us to go to Misthaven, to discuss our options.”

That caught her brother’s attention, making him abandon his task and turn back to fully face her. “If it is so important, why send us?” he questioned, his brows furrowing. “I am sure the members of the war counsel are better equipped for that.”

At that, she shot him a smirk. “Ah, but that is simply our cover, brother. Father wishes to negotiate an alliance with the King of Misthaven. A marriage alliance for William to Misthaven’s princess, Emma.”

“He wants us to go as bodyguards to William?” he barked out a laugh. “That’s quite the step down from what we used to do.”

“Says the Captain of the King’s Guard,” Regina sassed. “Father still is cautious to let me on any journey to other kingdoms, considering what happened the last time,” she added icily.

“Well, after what they did to you, you can’t really blame him. They tried to have you killed for something you didn’t even do,” he argued, his concern evident in his wrecked voice and deeply furrowed brows, the memory of his sister with her back marred with lash wounds something he could never forget.

“It wasn’t like I didn���t choose to do what I did,” she murmured, rubbing the back of her neck and looking down in shame. “I loved her, and I would do it again.”

“You’d be a fool twice, then,” he replied, stepping closer to her, his index finger lifting her chin so that she would meet his gaze. “You’re all I have left. Don’t sacrifice your life for love; all it brings you is wasted years and endless torment.”

Regina’s vision blurred as Killian pulled her into his arms, and she let him think that she was mourning for her lost love. It was safer than the truth – she was mourning for him, for how much his suffering had led him to here, a man who was so blinded by the darkness in his life that he gave up looking for the light.

“I love you, brother.”

He sighed, his heart clenching at the pain in his younger sister’s voice. She was so stubborn sometimes, quick to anger and quicker with her dagger. But she was as soft-hearted as she was hard-headed, her mind and heart constantly at war. He might have been a spitfire as a child, but she was something else altogether; growing up with two brothers made her more competitive than necessary, constantly trying to one up him and Liam. She was far stronger than he could ever imagined; while he lashed out after Liam’s death, getting into drunken brawls and making dangerous deals, she withdrew into herself, going away on long journeys alone, not telling him where she went and driving him up the wall. But she was his family, and he would never, ever stop wanting to protect her. Even if she had been the one to take care of him time, and time again, lending him a shoulder to lean on in the darkest of times, while she kept all her pain hidden away.

In retrospect, he was not proud of the way he’d handled Liam’s death – first refusing to believe that his brother, his Captain could ever be defeated by the thing he loved most, the sea. He had wanted to go in search of Liam, believing with all his soul that his brother would have survived, and he did not let go of this madness until he’d found the remnants of the shipwreck, and along with it, Liam’s water-bloated body. That was what broke him, staring at Liam’s murky, dead eyes – everything in him stopped. He’d fought Regina tooth and nail against seeing their brother like that, even going so far as to bodily block her, and he had been right to do so. Her scream of horror and devastation was etched deep in his memory, making him feel like he’d failed both Liam and their mum by not protecting his little sister from this savage, savage world. And at a moment when he had to be strong for Regina, for his father, who had too lost a son, he was a coward.

Killian watched in silent contemplation as Regina walked out of the little shack that served as a haven from the sometimes stifling castle walls. He knew he needed to go see his father, see about this diplomatic mission he was to set out on. But he had been so close to finding out who had ordered the raid on the castle all those years ago. It took him years of tracking down each of the men involved, relishing in torturing them, picturing Milah’s slaughtered body in his mind’s eye. But none of them would talk, willing to rather die than reveal the name of the man who’d hired them. One of them even had the gall to laugh in his face.

“You think that wench of yours is worth all this, you fool!” the man spat, blood and spittle spraying as he spoke.

“Shut up,” Killian growled, twisting the dagger deeper into the man’s side, making him groan. “and tell me who hired you.”

“You don’t mess with a man like him, and I’d rather die than tell you who he is. If he finds out-” the man laughed bitterly- “Oh, trust me, what you are doing is mere play compared to what evil that man is capable of.”

“Was it King George?” Killian tried instead, hoping with all his heart that he was right. If the raid had been ordered by King George, the raid that led to the murder of the Queen of Camelot, that warranted a reason to call war upon George and his kingdom; Killian could finally avenge Milah’s death - and his father, his wife’s.

The man began laughing hysterically, ignorant to the dagger digging painfully into him. “This man is far more sinister, lad. You’d be better off not knowing. So, for the last time: Fuck you.”

And at that, Killian’s restraint snapped. As did the man’s neck.

-/-

“You’d called to see me, Your Majesty?” Killian entered to find King Brennan bent over his desk, quill rapidly scratching at parchment.

At Killian’s terse greeting, he looked up, the worried frown on his face softening ever so slightly as he nodded at his son.“Killian! Good, you’re here. I had hoped that sending your sister would have persuaded you better than sending some guard after you. Sit down.”

“Regina tells me you wish to send us on a diplomatic mission? If I may be so bold as to ask, what makes you think a former naval lieutenant could handle something like this? Negotiating during war is much different from negotiating for the hand of a King’s daughter.”

King Brennan chuckled. “Must you make everything so morbid, Killian? You’re simply to accompany your brother. I will be sending men from my council to negotiate this marriage, if there even will be one,” he added the last part under his breath, but Killian caught it.

“If? I thought you’d always intended for William to marry the Princess of Misthaven?” Killian brows furrowed as he leaned forward in his seat. “Is that not the case anymore? Has another lass caught the lad’s eye?” he asked, a salacious smirk adorning his features.

“Don’t be silly, Killian,” King Brennan admonished, a frown marring his expression. “David and I have been good friends for years now, and while we may have jested about our children coming together, it was nothing worth considering seriously. David is not the kind of father to force a marriage against his daughter, and yet he has sent a missive through his council inviting William to Misthaven, to court Princess Emma.”

“Do you think something more sinister than a marriage alliance is underfoot, father?” Killian sat up straight, any threat to his family one he couldn’t ignore. Not after having lost as much as he had.

“I’m not certain of it, but this is very unlike David. Especially considering the situation in the South, a wedding is hardly appropriate.”

“Ah, and you wish for me to find out what is going on there? Spy on your friend for you?” Killian tilted his head, regarding his father with a curious gaze.

“Spying is too harsh a word, Killian. I merely wish to find out what is going on. If my friend is in danger, I want to know immediately.”

“And if his intentions were true? If he really does want William for his daughter? What then?”

“Then, I guess, we will be having a royal wedding.” And with those words, King Brennan dismissed Killian.

-/-

Regina panted, leaning against the wall for support as her overexerted muscles screamed in protest with every slight movement of her body. She glared at her opponent, wiping the sweat off her brow, her brown eyes filled with fire as she observed the slow smirk take over the other woman’s face.

“I told you, you couldn’t handle it,” Lily whispered, her dark stringy locks falling over her eyes as she moved closer to Regina, making the brunette back up further against the wall until she was flush against it.

“You’re very good at distracting me,” Regina huffed, her eyes drifting down to Lily’s chapped lips before swiftly returning back to meet her gaze.

“You will always have distraction when you’re fighting, Regina,” Lily smirked, backing away, even as she enjoyed the obvious reaction she was able to elicit from the other woman. “You must learn to use them to your advantage,” she added, wetting her lips, her own gaze drifting down Regina’s form.

And the next thing she knew, her legs were swiped underneath her, and she was on her back, as Regina straddled her, her thighs pressing her arms against her sides, restricting her movements. “You mean, like this?” Regina smirked, her eyes glinting dangerously. Now it was Lily’s turn to glare at Regina as the other woman’s expression darkened. “I don’t know what reaction you are trying to elicit from me, Lily, but you will not find what you are looking for.”

“Are they untrue then? The rumours about you and the dainty princess from-”

But before Lily could finish with her taunting, Regina’s fist met her jaw, her head turning to the side with the force. “You shut your mouth,” Regina growled, her hands grabbing the neck of Lily’s tunic. “You don’t have any rights to even say her name, you hear me?”

Lily bared her teeth, trying to buck her off. “What the hell is your problem? Touch a nerve, did I? Still in love with that naive little girl? Well, she wasn’t so naive after all, was she, Regina?” She taunted, smirking wickedly.

Regina saw red, her fury rearing its ugly head, her blood humming with power. She clenched her teeth, trying to reign in her anger, lest something unwanted happened. “I’m warning you, Lily. Never, ever speak about her again. It will not end well for you,” she hissed, her tone cold as ice, before she pushed herself off of Lily and walked out of the training arena, her hands clenched at her side in tight fists, her heart racing and eyes stinging.

As she retreated, Lily’s loud voice boomed through the room, “You’re damaged goods anyway,” making her want to turn back and unleash her rage on that spiteful woman. But the last time she showed that part of herself, it did not end well. And so, she walked away, her heart breaking all over again for a woman who betrayed her beyond belief.

-/-

William raised his broadsword, parrying the thrust of his trainer, sweat dripping into his eyes and his muscles burning from the exertion in the best way possible. The grounds were filled with the sounds of swords clashing, the men training for the upcoming battle. While William may be the heir apparent, he had never once shied away from battle because of his privilege. Both his half-brothers and half-sister had served the kingdom in some way or the other, and when he came of age, he hadn’t intended to sit on the sidelines. If he was to take over the kingdom one day, he was damn well going to earn it, not have it handed to him.

Just as he was about to land the final blow on his opponent, his gaze catching the unprotected area on the side, all the men stopped training, standing straight as they looked towards their right. Following their sight, William caught his father walking towards them. William stood up straighter, his eyes meeting that of his father. The King responded with a solemn nod, a grim expression on his face.

“William.” His eyes narrowed on the slight graze on his left shoulder. “Still need improving, I see.”

William gritted his teeth, trying not to let his frustration show. No matter what he did, the King had never been satisfied with his work, always the first to find fault and the last to applaud. But not to Killian and Regina, no – they may be the result of his affair with the Lady Amelia, but he always held them with high regard, giving them positions with high ranking in the navy, even making Regina their foreign ambassador. And now, Killian was the Captain of the King’s Guard. But William? William had always been the boy in a man’s body to his King, never living up to the standards his father had set for him.

When his mother, Queen Alanaa, had still been alive, she had always told him that his envy would only lead him down a dark path. She had her own experiences with it after all, and it had almost resulted in her losing Brennan forever. And eventually, as he got to know his half-siblings better, his envy fell – but not his anger, towards his father, at least. And he doubted if it ever would, knowing that King Brennan would never look at him the same way he did Killian or Regina, or as he did Liam.

“Did you need me for something, father?” William resisted the urge to cross his arms. He would not dare disrespect his father like that in front of all the men.

“You will be leaving to Misthaven in a week’s time. I want you meet with our privy council, and learn all you need to about your journey.”

William’s eyebrows rose “And what would be the purpose of me visiting with King David?”

“That is not something I wish to discuss right now. Do as I say, William.” King Brennan turned his back on his son and walked  away.

William stared open-mouthed at his father’s retreating back, his hurt and anger apparent on his face for just a minute, before a mask fell over it, his eyes stony and not letting anyone see a thing. If his father was going to order him around, then he needed to know what was so important about going to Misthaven. And there was one person who would have all the answers. It was time to find his reclusive brother.

-/-

Regina let out a deep breath, sinking deeper into the cast iron tub, brimming with water so hot, it was just a smidge away from scalding. But it soothed her overworked muscles, and helped calm the fire inside her. She ran a wash cloth over her arm, her mind wandering to a better, happier time.

“Regina, you need to stop this,” The princess giggled as Regina backed her against a pillar in an empty corridor.

“Mm, but this is more fun, highness,” she murmured, her lips peppering kisses down her slender neck, her fingers running up and down her ribs, brushing against the underside of her breasts.

“I never- I never said it wasn’t,” the other woman muttered, her eyes rolling to the back of her head, as she stretched her neck to Regina’s questing lips, always the tease.

Regina smirked, pulling away long enough to revel in the flush spreading across the princess’s cheeks. She’d been sent here to negotiate with King Stefan about his allegiance to the North.

The last time King George had decided to take control over the North, he had had a powerful ally in the Dark One, until King David and Queen Snow of Misthaven had managed to steal back the blade and had thwarted his attack. The Dark One had been imprisoned, somewhere far and deep, deep underground, if the rumours were true. Ever since the news of King George’s re-emergence, the whole of North had been on edge, hoping to unite far and distant kingdoms to maintain their positions and hold fort against the imminent attack. It had been almost eighteen years since the last war.

But the moment she’d laid eyes on the princess, seen the sly glint behind the carefully constructed facade of innocence and purity, hinting at the devil inside, she was enamoured. Regina had never met a more contradictory woman, shy around everyone but her, ever since the beginning, her coquettish side revealed in dark rooms and empty corridors as hands wandered and moans were muffled by intoxicating kisses.

Regina’s finger reached up to graze at a flushed cheek, her smile softening along with her heart. She may have had relations with more than one woman, but not one have them had made her feel what she felt now – like she was floating, no care in the world, but for the woman in her arms. And in the moment, she had to say the words almost bursting from her mouth. “I love you....Briar Rose.”

#cs ff #cs au #enchanted forest au #all's fair in love and war #cs mc ff

[treatian]

The Chronicles of the Dark One:  The Dark Curse

Chapter 190:  Carefully Controlled Anger

He spent the night watching Regina as she prepared the Sleeping Potion, dipping the apple over and over into the Sleeping Curse, applying layer after layer for the apple to absorb until it was finally a deep black color. With a wave of her hand, she turned it red again and he knew, with certainty, that it was done. But so was he.

He had a plan; a preliminary plan, but a plan nonetheless. A plan that would, with any luck, get David free, get Regina to see her own failings, get the potion of True Love to a safe place, and allow David to break the curse about to be placed on Snow White. The first step was going to be the trickiest, he acknowledged that, but he was certain he could do it. He just had to watch the right person, the only one in the Queen's castle that wasn't truly loyal to her...and of course, wait for the right time.

When afternoon came, he found the Queen back at her old estate, the one she'd lived at with her Mother and Father before she married the King and was named Queen and Step-mother. She walked the house, the grounds, and finally came to rest in the stables, looking around in near tears when, naturally, Snow came. With David in her clutches, Snow had very little choice in the matter. The minute she arrived, Regina turned and marched out of the stables, bidding the girl to follow her. They walked along the grounds and out onto a hill with a grave. It was a grave he recognized. She'd placed it there after "the experiment" had failed, and she'd placed Danial in the ground. Snow had never seen it, not until now.

Words were exchanged. It was clear that sometimes they spoke as normal individuals, calmly, cordially, even respectfully at times. But then the conversation grew heated and, if the vein in Regina's forehead was any indication, loud. And then the moment came. Regina pulled the apple she'd worked on the previous night from its satchel. After a brief explanation, the Princess finally took the apple, willingly, and with tears in her eyes, bit into it.

The effect was almost immediate. There was something wrong, small movements that looked like gagging, like her body was trying to reject it, but her mouth wouldn't open, or perhaps she was trying to hold onto it. And then Snow collapsed without grace. Her knees fell out beneath her and she dropped hard to the ground. Her breathing slowed, he knew that her heartrate would as well. Her fingers uncurled. Regina beamed, staring at her with pleasure.

He felt anger, even despite the fact that he knew he had to let this happen for his plan. Instead of giving into his anger and going after Regina, he followed the apple. Angry as he was, Regina was going to be dealt with later, but that apple had been infused with something powerful and wasn't even half used. He hated what she'd done, but he wasn't foolish enough to let that apple get away! He wasn't about to let magic like that lay out in the middle of nowhere. After rolling out of her fingers, it continued down the hill. He watched for it to stop, watched it roll end over end until-

His mouth dropped open as a small portal opened up, just big enough for the fruit, and pulled it through. It was gone. He turned away from the scene on the hill, commanding his cauldron to find it. No image came to him. He picked up his crystal ball and commanded the same thing but…nothing! For the first time since he'd had the ball there was nothing but darkness to meet him. The crystal couldn't find it, the cauldron couldn't find it. That did not bode well. Something like that meant that the apple was no longer in either this time or this space. Seeing as how time travel was impossible, he deduced someone from another world had pulled it from this world into theirs.

Fine. He was angry, things seemed far from good or fine. But the apple wasn't the goal, it wasn't the conception of the Swan, for now the goal wasn't even Bealfire. It was True Love's Kiss.

Step one…free David.

He returned his watchful eye back to Regina just in time to see her disappear, he watched Snow's body in his crystal ball all the while he used the mirrors in Regina's palace to root out the Hunter. Regina was bound to feel victory. She was bound to feel powerful and strong and bound to want to celebrate that. With no one else to celebrate with, he had the very distinct feeling that she would summon her in-house sex-slave for her own amusement. But he had no intention of letting something like that happen. Not on this night.

The dwarves were the ones to find Snow White. Granny and Red joined them eventually and it was the wolf girl who finally thought to take a dagger from her grandmother, place it beneath her friend's nose, and find no breath within her. They mourned and cried together, hugging and embracing as they lifted the girl into their arms to hug her. But it was useless. When they finally began to gather her body, he stopped to look in on Regina, alone in her tower.

Using her mirror he observed her sitting at her vanity draped across her chair with not a care in the world., her eyes fixed on him but really just looking past him. She was staring into her own mirror, watching something. Judging by the look of satisfaction on her face he could guess easily enough what that might have been.

"It would appear sacrifice is overrated. Speaking of…"

She waved her hand at him, at the mirror in front of her, and the image he had of her waved a bit, indicating magic had been used. He glanced back into his ball and found the image of David in his cell, clanging at the bars and crying out. "Snow! What have you done to her? What have you done? Where is she?! Where is she?!"

It sickened him. Almost enough to go now himself and free him. But he was waiting for the opportune moment. The moment when Regina rose from her chair, went to her chamber of hearts and pulled on forth with glee.

"Come to my chambers tonight, huntsman. We're going to celebrate."

That was what he'd been waiting for. In his crystal ball, he watched the huntsman's eyes widen, he watched as he turned green and wrinkled his nose as if he was going to be sick and then…he rose from his bed in the servant's quarters and obeyed her commands. Now, enough was enough.

He summoned the anger he'd felt last night, forgot the fact that he had a plan, that he was now committed to the plan. He recalled all the years he'd searched for the Curse, all the pain and anguish it had taken to get it in the first place! And then he was ready.

"Foolish girl…foolish stubborn girl," he whispered in a menacing tone from the shadows of her room.

Regina turned to look at him. "You'll keep your voice down in my palace!"

"Quiet!" he snapped. He made sure there was poison in his voice, demanded her attention, but didn't raise his voice. He wanted his anger to be carefully controlled and tamped down; like a parent. "I do the talking now."

For a moment, she complied. He saw her back straighten and fear overshadowed her eyes before she shook her head and turned her back on him. "Go home, Rumple. This is my palace, I am Queen here, and I won't be talked down to by you as if you were-"

"Cora? Well, maybe your mother had her reasons! Parents do when their children act like spoiled, selfish brats."

She turned and narrowed her gaze at him. A look like that would have caused a lesser man to shudder. He didn't even flinch.

"Watch your tongue."

"I told you it was childish," he growled with a sneer. "It is bound to fail! And now it's cost you your greatest asset! You gave away gold coins for a copper pot!"

"You don't know anything! I've won!" she shouted at him. "My plan worked! The girl slumbers! The dwarves have taken her body and are fashioning a coffin for her pretty little figure to lie in for all an eternity."

"Until he breaks the curse!"

Suddenly her mouth clamped closed with an annoying clap. Oh, and there was the rub in this plan of hers, what he'd seen coming ever since she told him her plan. She'd been so focused on cursing her step-daughter she hadn't considered how the curse might be broken.

"Oh, have we forgotten so soon?" he taunted. "All curses can be broken, Regina!"

"Oh please!" she cried after a minute. "He doesn't know that she's cursed. It's a powerful potion, she looks dead, sounds dead, feels dead, and give it a few days, but she'll eventually smell dead. Even if he weren't locked up in my dungeon, what kind of man kisses a dead woman?"

"You doubt, Regina. You doubt the possible all because of logic and reason and not emotion. You forget how you kissed your own beloved after he perished, trying to bring him back, you don't think he'll try just as hard?! You're a stupid little girl! One day, you'll learn your lesson just as I've learned mine. I was wrong to give you something so strong. I shouldn't have put so much faith in such a weak witch!"

He turned, making it look like he wanted to leave but what he really wanted was to get a clear view of the hallway outside the Queen's door. Was that movement? Someone coming down the hall, to please his master? Right on cue.

"It'll never happen!" Regina shouted, her voice cracking and betraying her emotions. He'd made her nervous. Good. She'd made him nervous when she gave his curse to her friend. "I've won! Snow White lay asleep in a coffin, by the time they finally realize she's not dead it will be too late. I still have the Prince in my custody. I'll see to his execution in the morning."

And that was certainly movement. The hunter was behind the door, hiding away, listening to their conversation or at least the tail end of it. All he'd wanted him to hear was that last bit, the part about Charming's execution. He'd cared enough to spare Snow White, with any luck he'd care enough to also spare her Prince.

"You try that, Regina…" he muttered, looking at her over his shoulder. "You try, but when you are sick of sniffling about and ready to give revenge true consideration, we'll talk."

He took another step toward the hallway and saw the Huntsman speeding away from her room, perhaps going to make a plan, he hoped? His work here was done.

"I gave that curse of yours away!" Regina shouted before he could disappear. Brave girl. At least she owned her mistakes, even if he knew the point of her shouting that was to cut him deep. It did. He was hurt and angered by it and so, incredibly, tired of being here in this realm while Baelfire was in another, breaking curses, arranging meetings, knowing every damn thing just to stay one step ahead of stupidity. But he wouldn't show it. He was so close he was finally starting to taste it! He wasn't about to fold now.

"I know, Regina," he whispered without looking at her. "Someday, you will learn...I know everything."

#Rumbelle #Rumple #Rumpelstiltskin #Dark One #Regina #Evil Queen #Huntsman #Snow White #Prince Charming #David #Snowing #ouat #ouat fanfiction #fanfic

[morganlegaye]

here’s some of my dark swan queen crap if any of you are bored or curious

also its like a chunk of the middle of the story but whateverrrr im sure ya’ll can figure out whats going on quickly enough lmao

Emma loved her. She had known even then that she loved her; she had probably loved her for a long time, but hadn’t been able to see it because they weren’t ‘supposed’ to be one another’s Happy Endings. And it was exhilarating and awful all at once to realize that, because she still loved Killian. Regina still loved Robin. They weren’t going to leave them, because that would be foolish; giving up their predestined happiness was foolish and yet they couldn’t stay away.

And they had tried after that.

Emma knew that she was being selfish though; springing this on Regina now. She had assumed herself a lost cause and after what she had done, she owed it to Killian to, well… not betray him by continuing to fuck Regina, for a start. But he couldn’t bear to look at her anymore, used loved in a past tense in a way that Emma knew would devastate her if she could truly feel it because she knew she didn’t deserve his love anyhow, and now all she wanted was to fix it and maybe become a good person again so she wouldn’t stop destroying everything that she touched. If she could just focus, if she could just get the Darkness out of them both then maybe it’d make up for the fact that she was in love with another person.

Maybe if she could save him, then it would wipe the slate clean and she’d be absolved of her guilt. It was a futile hope, but it was all that Emma had anymore.

But focusing meant being with Regina again, because that was the only way Emma was ever clear-headed. It was the only way her emotions felt real and not something she fabricated to try to convince herself that she was still human. Maybe she didn’t need her in a sexual way, but if Regina rewarded her with affection Emma knew it would go down that road anyhow. She couldn’t be touched by Regina now without wanting something more, without feeling something more. But how was it fair of her, to put Regina in this position again? Regina hated herself for what she was doing to Robin; Emma could see it in her eyes every time that she looked at him. Yet she still came to her, still conditioned her to obey her every command, still rewarded her with kisses and care and then gave Emma back her control so she could make love to her.

Because despite Emma having asked her to, as something about a sexually dominant Regina turned her on like nothing else did, Regina refused to control her in bed. She said they needed to keep that separate, because what they were doing was volatile and likely to come crashing down around them and Emma couldn’t lose that if it did. She still needed to be controlled. As the Dark One, she still needed that discipline, and it was too important to taint with whatever it was that they were now doing.

And God, Emma needed that right now. Needed her right now.

She had Rumple tied up downstairs and Merida tied to her damn car and everything inside of her was screaming that this was the right thing to do, that the ends justified the means, but she worried she might be being too rash and thoughtless about this in her desperation, and she couldn’t— she couldn’t screw this up. She needed to save him, because she already fucked him over one too many times before, and Emma refused to believe that, despite being the Dark One, that she was a bad person.

She did bad things, but she was… she was making up for them; she was evening the scales, because it was so much easier than making a choice that she feared either way would leave her devastated and heartbroken.

Emma knew she couldn’t lie here all day though; Regina seemed to be a lost cause, at least momentarily, and life had to go on. Merida would surely be conscious now; perhaps it was time to pay her a visit and get Gold’s training on the road. But before Emma could move more than an inch suddenly a large puff of purple smoke appeared in the middle of her living room, Regina in the center of it. Emma exhaled a long puff of air and brought her head back down heavily onto the couch cushions. Of course she’d choose now to show up, because why not?

“Are you incapable of ringing the doorbell?” Emma deadpanned, repeating the woman’s words from the previous day back at her. Her gaze was fixated firmly on the ceiling, not trusting herself to look at the other woman at the moment. She had been far too caught up in memories this morning, and Emma didn’t want them affecting the way she looked at Regina when the other woman had been all too clear that she did not wish to revisit what they previously had.

“I… honestly didn’t think that would work,” Regina responded, looking shocked beyond measure that it actually had. “Why is this place not warded?”

“It is,” Emma responded, counting each imperfection in the ceiling above her; cracks, indents, chips in the paint. It kept her grounded in a situation where she already felt so out of control. “Just not against you. Not while I’m home, anyhow.”

Regina’s eyebrow rose at that. “And do you allow Hook the same come and go policy as you apparently do me?” Her tone held an accusation, and when the blonde swallowed it cut like daggers in her throat.

Emma’s lips pursed into a thin line, and suddenly she sat up, swinging her legs off the couch to meet the ground with a heavy thud. No, was the answer to that question, but that had only been a recent development, and Emma did not consider it to be any of the other woman’s business. “What do you want, Regina?”

“I want to know why the hell you took Hook’s sword.”

Emma blinked at the unexpected question. “Excuse me?” That was in no way why she had thought Regina had come over; even actually taking her up on her offer seemed more likely to her than caring about anything to do with Killian. Regina hated him.

Emma used to wonder why. She doesn’t anymore.

“Don’t play coy. You took the pirate’s sword and I want to know why,” Regina reiterated, stepping closer to the other woman. She still kept a fair amount of distance though, either due to mistrust of herself or of Emma. Perhaps both. “Because apparently your head games aren’t just reserved for me anymore, and while you might be able to emotionally cripple your boyfriend enough to make him not realize the significance of your actions, some of us aren’t as utterly moronic as your questionable choice in bed partners.”

“Don’t talk about him like that,” Emma practically snarled, infuriated with the way Regina always tore into Killian. Jealous or not, she at least had the decency not to speak about Robin like that to her. That was beyond petty, and it made dark magic thrum threateningly on the surface because fuck her, but using her magic against Regina wasn’t something she was built for anymore.

Only five weeks, and she couldn’t even find the strength to go against her even when she was angry and free from the other woman’s control; free, at least, until Regina realized how much she truly had. Conditioning should not be that fast, obedience should not come that easily. Sometimes, Emma wondered if she had always craved this type of relationship with someone because she had always been a bit of a lost puppy in need of a home, or if she was just the most pathetic Dark One to ever exist.

Perhaps it was both.

“Oh, I’m sorry, did that offend you?” Regina shot back, sarcasm dripping from every word. “Because correct me if I’m wrong, but it seemed as though you didn’t much care about him anymore when you practically molested me in my home. Or are you going to pretend that the pirate was not only aware, but approved of your actions last night? Because I’m fairly certain he might feel immensely betrayed by you if he knew. Should we call him and find out?”

Regina pulled out her phone then in a rather dramatic showing, actually threatening to do something so moronic that it made Emma actually worry for her sanity for a second there, and suddenly she was hit with a memory that was certainly not her own as a faceless man stood screaming at what Emma assumed was his wife about someone named… named…

Fuck, it didn’t matter.

“Like I care about other people’s marital issues,” Emma ground out furiously, hating this power. The man had been waving a phone around which was what probably brought it on, but seeing as it seemed to be about the most useless memory or premonition she has ever had, Emma’s patience with it was wearing thin. Especially because Regina had only stopped briefly to look at her like she was insane for her little outburst that seemed to come out of nowhere, before she started to—

Damnit. Actually dial.

Was she honestly serious about this? This was bordering on masochistic. Emma just wished she would realize it before she said something to someone that she couldn’t take back.

The blonde’s eyes flashed as she waved her hand, causing the cell phone to immediately disappear from Regina’s grasp. “Don’t fucking test me, Regina,” Emma spat, pointing at her in warning. Anger. it was strong; much stronger than any other emotion she had felt for a while. Then again, Regina did always know how to bring out the best in her. “You might think what I told you was a load of crap, but you forget that it’s me that holds your memories in my hands. If you screw me over, I’ll show Robin exactly what we used to do with one another; and believe me, my version won’t be quite as PG.”

But instead of looking wary of her threat, Regina merely scoffed. “You won’t, because if you wanted any of us to have our memories then you would have given them to us already. You’re hiding something, and until you feel it’s safe enough for us to remember, you wouldn’t dare give us anything that could help us make sense of your plan.”

Emma rolled her eyes at that. “Us fucking has nothing to do with my plan, unless you really believe yourself that important?” She laughed then, because it covered the next lie she was about to tell. “I can pick and choose what you, or even he would be able to remember, and then—”

“No,” Regina interrupted, taking another step towards her. There was a certainty in her eyes that made Emma vastly uncomfortable. “You can’t. Because if you could, you would have done so last night to back up your ludicrous claims. Unless, of course, they were all a lie to begin with? Either way though, you have nothing; and what’s more is that both of us know that.”

Emma immediately fell silent, anger and helplessness brewing behind her eyes, because Regina was right; she couldn’t do that. It was all or nothing, and right then Emma couldn’t give any of them all of their lost memories, even if it meant her not having something to hold over Regina in return.

She really did not enjoy Regina having the upper hand in this scenario.

Regina was starting to look far too smug for her liking, as clearly the blonde’s lack of retort indicated that she had been correct in her assumptions, and so Emma tried to stifle her pride for a moment in order to not make this situation even more messier than it already was. “Regina, please,” she pleaded softly, her gaze connecting with the former Queen’s. Begging her, because she didn’t want her secrets broadcast to those they would devastate. “Please, don’t tell him. I’ve already hurt him enough.”

And it was perhaps that, above anything else, that encouraged Regina to stand down. She stared at her, lips pursed into a thin line as she no doubt wondered if Emma was begging her not to tell him because she didn’t want some frivolous lie to hurt him, or because what she had said was really true.

“And yet you insist on continuing this ridiculous charade,” Regina responded, her voice soft yet firm; as though she hated speaking about this, but needed Emma to know that she didn’t approve. “How do you think it’s going to make him feel if he found out that you tried to manipulate me by—”

“I wasn’t trying to manipulate you,” Emma responded, her eyes growing hard as she stared the other woman down. “Believe me, Regina; if I was, I would have succeeded.” Actually that wasn’t a given, considering the last time she had tried she had failed, but Regina didn’t need to know that. “I was just trying to be honest with you—”

“I did not cheat on Robin!” Regina practically shouted, unable to accept the truth about herself. “And I’m beginning to not even care why you want me to believe I did, because we are through having this conversation; do you understand me? Now sit down, stop playing your ridiculous mind games, and tell me why the hell you took that sword!”

Emma immediately sat, the tone of voice that Regina was using all too familiar to her. The near-instantaneous reaction nearly caused the brunette’s eyebrows to practically shoot off her head, but they rose even higher when Emma couldn’t really stop herself from revealing, “I needed something that had touched Rumpelstiltskin as a man.”

Regina just stared at her, completely disbelieving about what she had just witnessed. Emma ground her teeth together, realizing that she had unintentionally set Regina up to have far too much power; all she had wanted to do was kneel at the woman’s feet and be treated like some sort of prized poodle or whatever because that was what calmed her, focused her, grounded her, but the problem was that that wasn’t all that they had done. Regina had conditioned her to obey demands with minimal resistance, and demanding that she tell her things was so terribly dangerous to her plans.

“Regina, don’t… please don’t take advantage of my trust in you right now,” Emma tried, because she knew Regina must realize by now what she could do. “If I wanted to reveal my plan to you I would. Please don’t force me.”

But Regina just stared at her like she couldn’t trust what was in front of her face. “You’re playing with me…” She looked so entirely suspicious of her motivations that Emma felt herself release an exasperated breath, because did she honestly think that the Dark One would obey her like this? Even for nothing but a manipulation, this stripped away too much pride.

“Just don’t,” Emma reiterated. “I’ll never forgive you if you do.”

#fan fiction preview #control #i think when i started this a year and a half ago i posted the beginning so #figured the middle would give something new to everyone #even though i cant find said post cause i probably didn't tag it #whatever lol

[treatian]

The Chronicles of the Dark One:  The Dark Curse

Chapter 177:  His True Love

He tried to go back to normal. He tried. But more than a month later and he felt like every morning the sun came up was the morning after she'd gone. Every time he had tea it tasted bland or it was too cold, hot, too old-imperfect. Every night he spent in his tower, he held back tears and constantly found himself ambling over to his tower windows, looking into her blackened library tower, glancing down the road, wondering if she'd ever come back.

He wasn't sure if he wanted her to.

He prepared for her to do so; for that possibility alone, he found himself at the forge late one night, the name Nimue scribbled on his dagger which held a trickled of blood he'd drawn himself from the Original even as she stared at him in contempt. She knew why he was taking it, how he'd come up with the idea to make a binding spell with her blood so that if Belle did come back and refuse to leave, they'd be free to do as they pleased without having to worry about her ever taking the curse from him again. After he completed the potion, True Love's Kiss, and a number of other lesser-known "cures" for curses, would never pose a threat to him again. Only the Seer seemed saddened by it, an emotion he quickly shoved aside.

"Clever, Rumpelstiltskin...none of us have ever thought of something like this," the Original muttered in a voice that sounded like she was mocking him just as much as she was praising him. He really couldn't bring himself to give a fuck about what she thought.

"Age comes with wisdom," he explained away.

"You know it won't work for everything. You'll still be vulnerable to the dagger, to the apprentice...to Merlin."

He glared at her as the blood on the dagger slid into the potion bottle he carried with him. He knew what she was doing, what she was trying to get him to do. But he just didn't care anymore. He was the strongest Dark One now, and he hadn't let Belle go to forget about Baelfire. He'd made his sacrifice, he wouldn't make another one for anything that was less than what Belle had been.

"I won't focus on your problem until I have my son back," he informed her. "You'll have to deal with that. Now, away with you."

He banished the woman away and completed the potion that night. But it seemed to do no good as the effort seemed to be in vain. Belle did not return. He told himself it was fine, it was right. He told himself, but he wasn't sure he believed it.

He missed her company during mealtimes, to the point that he'd given up eating again. He didn't need it. Without her, he didn't want it. It was just another task. He missed her company in the evening. He hadn't realized just how much her presence had settled him until he first sat down to spin in the evening, saw her spot by the fire vacant, and wondered why he should bother. He missed her when he left the castle and he missed her when he returned, discovering that with her gone there was no one to care about his comings and goings. There was no one to talk to. No one to worry about.

There was no one.

He'd thought only about half a dozen times of going after her, of leaving the castle to find her, or even just checking on her in his cauldron like he used to, but he always found ways to talk himself out of it. Fucking True Love…it could go just as easily as I could come. He had to let it go. He had to.

So he tried. He put her cup away into the cabinet, where he didn't have to see it. He got himself a new tea set made of metal that wouldn't chip. He found reasons to go into the Great Room at times they would never have been together, he went to work in his tower during times that they would have been together. He left the curtains open, unwilling to think of time as "before Belle" and "after Belle". He made his deals. All kinds of deals. All the time. Whenever someone requested him. Even if it was easy or stupid or in the name of love. It was just something to do. It was just something to take his mind off of her.

But it never worked.

He felt Regina the moment that she was on his property. She'd arrived in his tower, as she usually did, probably expected to find him. But he was down in the Great Room. It was the middle of the day. He didn't care. It was a time of day they wouldn't have been together, so that was when he'd decided to leave his work and spin, to make tea, to listen to the empty space where the sound of pages turning should have been.

He hadn't seen Regina in months, not since Belle had been in trouble and he'd gone looking for her in the wrong place. Even after a month without Belle, he was still furious with the witch. So furious that he'd been sorely tempted to kill Robin Hood, "her heart", in retaliation. He'd gone so far as to track him down and found him with his infant son, his wife gone or dead or just missing, he'd never figured it out. He'd resisted killing him though. For one, though his gut told him he was right, he truly had no idea if Regina was the "she" that Belle had talked to, and he'd decided that he didn't want to know. He had to work with her. He still had to use her to cast his Curse and he didn't want it to get in the way. She might have taken Belle from him, but he wouldn't let her take Baelfire as well. Second, if he was destined to be her heart as Belle had been his own, he wanted to give her the opportunity to fall in love with the wretch before he killed him. Daniel be damned. He wanted her to know what it felt like to wait for something and then have it taken away and he wanted it done by his own hands. He'd waited over a hundred years to get his son back…he could wait just as long to take his revenge on Regina. So he'd resolved to leave well enough alone, to continue to work with her as though nothing again changed. But that didn't mean he was going to be overly kind to the woman.

He used a bit of magic to lock the door on the Great Hall. It was a simple spell she could probably break through in a minute. But at least she'd have to work for it. The door did eventually open, just as he'd expected she would, and Regina sauntered in as if she owned the place. He let her despite the fact that he wanted her gone.

"Flimsy locks!" she announced stupidly. If he'd truly wanted her out, he wouldn't have made them flimsy. From now on, when he saw her he had to think of his Baelfire and all she was going to get for him. "I have a deal to discuss. A certain…mermaid…" she pronounced as he turned back to his wheel. Not looking at her helped. A bit.

"I'm not dealing today," he muttered after taking a moment to will the Seer to say something. She didn't, confirming what he knew. The mermaid, whoever she was, wasn't important to the future. That being the case, he didn't really give a fuck about Regina's mermaid. He'd been making deals every day since Belle left, he just wasn't feeling particularly dedicated to helping Regina with something that didn't involve the Curse.

"Are you angry with me?"

Her words forced him to apply so much pressure to his wheel that he stopped it. And when he turned to glare at her over his shoulder, he found she was there, staring back at him. Angry didn't even begin to describe what he felt toward her at the moment. What he felt was too complicated for one word.

"What is it this time?"

He couldn't be sure she was Belle's "she". He kept telling himself that. But he didn't know who else it could have been. Was it the time he'd gone looking for Belle that had tipped her off? Or had that Genie of hers had seen the pair of them in the mirror? He would have liked to know.

"Your little deception failed," he tempted. "You'll never be more powerful than me. You can keep trying, dearie, but you're never going to beat me."

"Is this about that girl I met on the road? Hm…" Regina taunted suddenly; unexpectedly. He kept spinning, kept turning his wheel on and on but only because he knew that if he didn't, he might turn around and kill her right now. Met her on the road…he'd potentially betrayed Belle to Regina when he'd gone after her, he'd mentioned her when he'd forced her to come to the castle to get her glamor removed, he'd stood boldly with her in front of the mirror in plain view of her, but never not once to his knowledge had she ever met Belle. It was her. She'd found her on the road to town. They'd had a conversation, Regina was the one who'd filled her head, who'd poisoned what was between them. Regina was the reason Belle was gone. Without that talk, things might have been normal right now. "What was her name? Margie?"

Baelfire…think of Baelfire..."

Verna?"

"Belle," he spat out without thinking.

"Right," Regina practically growled, as if she was the one who was angry as if she had any reason to be pissed at him. She was the problem, not he. And he couldn't wait to get to Baelfire and teach her a lesson she'd never forget. "Well, you can rest assured I had nothing to do with that tragedy."

He felt his body go cold as he stopped the spinning of the wheel. Tragedy. What tragedy? What had happened here? No one knew about what happened between them. And he felt certain Belle was smart enough not to tell people and draw attention to herself. Why had she used that word?

He left his wheel and moved closer to Regina, who was helping herself to a cup of tea. "What tragedy?"

"You don't know?!" she blanched. "Well," she huffed as if she was surprised. The spoon she was using clattered against the metal tray when she set it down. "After she got home…her fiancé had gone missing."

His heart was already racing by the time Regina spoke, but now it felt as though his chest was squeezing the air out of his lungs. Home! She'd gone home?! He'd felt certain that she wouldn't, that she would have been hurt when she left him, but she was strong. She'd have picked herself up, gone out to see the world. Why would she go home? Why would Gaston's death affect her?

"And after her stay here, her…association with you…no one would want her, of course. Her father shunned her, cut her off, shut her out."

His mouth was dry, but his throat was thick and sticky. Maurice…a coward if he'd ever met one. She'd walked all the way home with nothing, a single dress and not a penny to her name! And then she'd been cast out. She'd be weak. Why hadn't he thought to check on her, why hadn't he thought to send her away with something?! Why hadn't he made arrangements?! It wasn't too late. He could still arrange something. He could find her, he could find someone to take her, he could pay for her pain, pay to make her life better! He could fix this! He just had to do it so that he stayed away.

"So, she needs…a home."

"He was cruel to her!" Regina shouted with a wicked smile. "He locked her in a tower and sent in clerics to cleanse her soul with scourges and flaying. After a while, she threw herself off the tower," she shrugged. "She died."

He couldn't breathe. He couldn't find it in him to breathe or tremble or even cry. The world seemed to have stopped. A second lasted an hour. Was this the same day? Was this a nightmare? Was this some kind of a trick? A terrible joke? Oh, he prayed she was scheming something!

"You're lying," he managed to choke out, unable to care if he showed too much emotion. His knees were shaking, he was lucky he hadn't fallen to his knees.

"Am I?" the Queen questioned without a smile, without wavering, without so much as a twinkle in her eye.

Oh…Belle.

His Belle.

He hurt. He hurt everywhere and nowhere. His heart ached. He felt as though it had exploded from his chest, that it was shriveling up second by second. He wanted to die too. He did. If the words were true he didn't care about killing Regina, for one second, he didn't even care about getting back to Baelfire…he just wanted to be alone and wither away in her chair by the fire.

"We're done," he managed to choke out through some miracle. He was walking. He was walking to the door, and he was using magic to open it for her…but he didn't feel it. He didn't feel the weight of his body coming down on the floor or the thrill of magic in his body. He felt nothing. The room was bright. He felt only blackness. "Fine," he heard Regina spit out. "I have other calls to make."

On her way to the door, she ran her finger over the table and examined it. Dust. He struggled not to wince. Even the dust reminded him of her.

"The place is looking dusty, Rumple." When she stood face to face with him, she sneered and leaned forward. "You should get a new girl."

Regina left. His air left his lungs, the beat in his heart faded, and he doubled over, putting his hands on his knees, a show of weakness he hadn't experienced since he was human. It was only fitting. She always made him feel human. Even in…

Death. She was dead. It didn't seem possible. She was a bright light a strong woman, determined! She'd thrown herself off the tower?! She'd killed herself?! What had she gone through, what had Maurice put her through that she'd broken and given up hope? And she hadn't tried to summon him?! She hadn't even called out to him to help her because…

Because he'd broken her. Just like he broke everyone and everything around him. He'd broken Bae and Milah, he'd very purposefully destroyed whatever Regina might have been to suit himself, and now Belle…

Belle.

His eyes darted to the cabinet, the place that he'd stored her cup, unable to destroy it he'd had no choice but to hide it from sight but now…he wanted that cup. He wanted to be close to her in some way. He wanted to be reminded of her. He strode over and removed it from where he'd stashed it and nearly dissolved into tears the first time it was in his hands again, the first time he laid eyes on that chip. He saw her then, just as perfect and solid as if she was there! He saw the night she'd chipped it all over again, the way her blush had crept up her chest, how nervous she'd been, how beautiful. Oh, if he'd known that he loved her even then…

He moved carefully, step after step from the cabinet to a pedestal, the one that held the phony Grail.

She was dead. She was gone. His memories of her were strong, so strong that sometimes he felt like he could still feel her close to him. She was dead, and the Seer was never wrong. That meant that the images he'd seen in his head, those that he'd been so worried about and sent her away for, were not visions, but merely fantasies. A dead woman couldn't tell him she loved him, a dead woman couldn't bear him children, a dead woman couldn't wake up in the bed next to him, a dead woman wouldn't wear white and make vows. A dead woman had no life. The shoulder he'd seen in the bed beside him, it wasn't her. But oh, how he wished it was. She would have been perfect, he'd have worshiped her! They would have had a True Love to celebrate. A True Love that never really got off the ground. He hadn't felt a thing when she died. True Love had a tendency to do that, they could sense when one life passed. But that was True Love that was allowed to flourish as theirs never had. Because of him. Because he'd feared those fantasies he'd had of her, because he'd let himself have feelings for her and develop a connection. Because he'd let her go, all for a fear of visions that were never to be. He hadn't been there to protect her.

Her death was on his hands.

#Rumbelle #Rumple #Rumpelstiltskin #Dark One #Nimue #Belle #REgina #Evil Queen #ouat #ouat fanfiction #fanfic