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girlie-girl-23 - Better See That You Keep What You Have

ONCE UPON A TIME - EMMA SWAN/REGINA MILLS

Better See That You Keep What You Have

girlie-girl-23

Title: Better See That You Keep What You Have

Fandom: Once Upon A Time

Rating: PG

Pairings/Characters: Regina/Emma (Swan Queen and/or Gay Parent Trap)

Prompt: Emma eats the apple

Summary: As the blackness takes her over, her last thought is a poisoned apple shall be her end.

Spoilers: Up through 1x02 “The Thing You Love Most”

Word Count: 1,048

Disclaimer: Don’t own ’em.

Author’s Note: Written for the Rewriting History Ficathon - fictorium.livejournal.com/50677.html, although I’ve tweaked it a bit since then. Still not how it was in my head, but the best it’s going to get, I think. Title taken from a lyric from the song First Midnight from the musical Into The Woods. Unbetaed, so all mistakes are mine.

On Livejournal: http://writetherest.livejournal.com/20897.html

Better See That You Keep What You Have

girlie-girl-23

All she’s ever wanted is to be happy. Happiness. That’s all.

But happiness is elusive, now moreso than ever and all because of the damnable Snow White. The things that would’ve once made her happy would do so no more. There is only one thing that she wants, one thing that she needs to be happy.

And that is revenge.

So she trades her dark curse for Maleficent’s sleeping curse. She dips the apple into the potion, watching as it turns black for a moment before becoming the most beautiful shade of red. She smiles as she places it in the basket among the others and whips her cloak around her, changing into an old hag in a puff of black smoke.

Picking up the basket of apples, she smiles once again. She will finally be rid of Snow White once and for all and happiness will finally be hers.

* * * * *

Regina stares at the honey crisp tree, her eyes taking in the apples hanging from it. She focuses in on one particular apple and reaches up, running her blood red fingernails over it for a moment before finally plucking it from the tree. She places it on the top of the basket and smiles as she picks up the basket of apples.

Happiness will finally be hers.

* * * * *

She watches from the doorway as Snow White take a bite of the apple. For a moment, the young woman chews and swallows, and The Queen worries that the curse Maleficent has given her is a failure.

But then the girl begins to choke and the apple hits the floor a moment before Snow White’s body does. Her pale skin is even paler than normal and she is still. The Queen whips the cloak up, the cloud puffs, and she stands in her true form at the door.

She enters the house and steps over the girl to pick up the apple.

“Finally. I will have my happiness. And it’s all thanks to you.” She runs her fingernail over the apple before dropping it back to the ground and leaving the girl lying, unmoving on the ground.

* * * * *

Emma picks up the apple that Regina had offered her from the top of the basket and tosses it in the air a few times.

“She brought me apples.”

She knows what Henry believes, that Regina is the Evil Queen and Mary Margaret is Snow White, her mother. She knows what apples meant in that story and what the gift of apples could mean from Regina.

But she doesn’t believe in the curse, she doesn’t believe in fairy tales, and she knows that apples are just apples.

So she takes a bite of the apple.

It is the sweetest thing she’s ever tasted and as the juices flow over her tongue, she is amazed by the taste.

Then she feels her throat begin to constrict and fights to take in air, the apple falling from her hand and hitting the floor.

As the blackness takes her over, her last thought is a poisoned apple shall be her end.

* * * * *

Regina pushes the door open and takes in the sight of Emma, sprawled, unmoving on the floor. She steps over the girl and picks up the apple lying on the floor.

Graham enters behind her and takes in the scene as well.

“Take her to the car.” Regina commands, tossing the apple in the air and catching it. “And don’t let anyone see you.”

Graham scoops Emma’s limp body up easily and heads for the back stairs.

Regina looks at the apple in her hand.

“Finally. I will have my happiness. And it’s all thanks to you.” She runs her fingernail over the apple before dropping it back to the ground and following Graham.

* * * * *

James kneels beside the glass coffin, looking at the beauty trapped beneath the glass. He pushes the glass aside and leans down, pressing his lips against hers. He has searched for her far and wide and now that he has finally found her, he will not let her go.

Snow White gasps for air as her eyes fly open.

“You! You found me.”

James smiles. “Did you ever doubt I would?”

“Truthfully? The glass coffin did give me pause.”

He smiles as he kisses her again.

* * * * *

“The curse was broken by a kiss!” The Queen rages. “Maleficent will pay for this! Snow White will pay for this!”

“Calm yourself, my Queen,” Henry urges.

She ignores him as she continues her rant. “She has taken everything that I love. Everything that makes me happy. Well, I will make her pay. I will take away everything that she loves. And then she will know what it feels like. I don’t care how long it takes, I will take everything she loves. Mark my words.”

* * * * *

Graham lays Emma on the sofa in Regina’s office and is summarily dismissed. Regina kneels beside her, her eyes traveling the girl’s body.

“I have you now. You are mine. And Mary Margaret will never get you back from me. Finally, she will be the one who is left with nothing.”

She leans over and presses her lips to Emma’s, smirking as the girl gasps in a breath and sits up, her eyes wide.

“You! What did you do to me?”

Regina smiles. “Nothing at all, Miss Swan. You came to visit me and then fainted. I moved you to the couch. Do you not remember?”

Emma stares at her, feeling disoriented, her head cloudy. “No. I don’t remember. The last thing I remember is taking a bite of –”

“Don’t worry,” Regina’s voice is soothing as it cuts her off and Emma finds herself mesmerized, “I’m sure you’ll feel better soon.”

She reaches up and moves a strand of hair off Emma’s forehead and Emma finds herself leaning in towards her. She doesn’t know what’s happening, but she feels drawn to Regina in a way that she certainly hasn’t before.

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

Regina feels herself smiling. Emma is hers now, even if the other woman doesn’t know it yet. She no longer belongs to Mary Margaret. And as Regina has already learned, not having someone is the greatest curse there is.

Finally, she will have her revenge and happiness will be hers.

~ ~ ~