For those of you just starting to read this, please feel free to review and comment and criticize. I go back after a few weeks and reread the story with the reviews and make notes on what works and what doesn't, so all insight is helpful. Thanks!

Songs: Pretty Wicked Things by Dawn Richard

Emma stared up at the spears and swords pointed at her face and chest. Beyond them, men with funny uniforms sneered, daring her to move. The black leather of their shirts and pants creaked and strained as they pulled her and Hook to their feet. They'd only shot out of the portal a moment ago, but Emma knew they'd messed up. They messed up real bad.

"Hook, something's wrong," she whispered, not out of necessity but because crisp Maine air refused to fill her lungs. Was she hyperventilating?

"Sensing that, Love," he whispered back, leaning slightly into shoulder with his chest. She bristled but remained still for fear of spooking the guards.

"By order of Her Majesty Queen Regina, you are under arrest for trespassing," one of the men with black billowing feathers upon his shoulders informed them in a gruff voice. "Better start praying she's in a good mood today."

"We're not trespassing. This is public land," Emma blurted without thinking. What the hell was going on?

"The Queen owns all of Storybrooke, and no one is permitted beyond the town proper after sundown," the guard scraped impatiently. One beefy hand grabbed Emma's arm, pulling her forward. The Sheriff dug in her heels.

"Wait. What? Queen Regina?" The words finally sunk into her frazzled brain. After being awake and dealing with Hook for more than 24 hours

"Don't tell me you're one of those White Kingdom rebels. I'll just put you out of your misery now," the same man offered, seemingly sincere, which chilled Emma to her core. Queen Regina? His other hand touched the dagger at his hip, and Emma jerked from his grasp, only to back directly into Hook's chest.

"Nope," Hook answered, cocky as ever, and stabilized Emma before she fell over. "Just a pirate and his wench." Emma glared up at him, irritated and relieved at the same time, but remained within his hands holding her shoulders.

"Take us to Regina. I'll explain everything," Emma practically begged the guard. She was still Regina, right? Maybe she'd recognize her and pardon them for 'trespassing.'

"Swan," Hook warned.

"Silence, Pirate!" The guard shoved his sword against Hook's throat, and Emma's hands twitched, aching instinctively to protect the man who stomped on her every last nerve.

"I think I shall take you to The Queen. No one likes chatty peasants."

A rough hand shoved Emma forward, and she held her tongue. Perhaps seeing Regina wasn't the best option. Hook's arm brushed hers as they walked in the center of four guards, two in front and two in back. Not for the first time, Emma found his presence comforting. He remained her constant ally, no matter how irritatingly doting and moony he became. In this obviously altered world, he was her only friend in that moment, the only person she trusted.

Storybrooke looked the same, but everything felt different. Everyone kept their heads down instead of smiling and waving. Leroy scampered across the street when he spotted the guards, not even bothering to raise his head to see who they'd captured this time. The color had drained from the vibrant hamlet that Regina created with the curse, and the wind whipping her tangled blonde hair into her face felt sharper, colder, just like the people.

They passed Granny's diner, and Emma stared. One thing remained the same. Granny and Ruby stood on the stoop and watched the processional of newly imprisoned citizens. The elder Lucas clutched her granddaughter's thin hand in both of her leathery mitts, comforting the visibly upset young woman. A man Emma vaguely recognize stood behind them, a large hand on either woman's shoulder in a quasi-three way hug. Ruby bowed her head, and her red streak fell into her face, almost comforting Emma with the normalcy of the gesture.

Emma craned her neck to keep the women in sight, but a guard pushed her forward. She stumbled, righted herself, and crossed her arms over her chest. All was not well in the land of fairytale creatures. Hook touched the small of her back lightly, the same dread gripping his heart. She nearly grabbed his arm when Town Hall came into view.

The building itself appeared the same, but guards stood at the doors and archers watched with notched arrows at the corners of the roof, The Queen's stronghold. The two men at the doors opened them and allowed the group to pass without hindrance, and the two in front directed them towards the large meeting hall. Emma stumbled again when the cold marble room held not the meeting room she expected but a fully decked out throne room. Guards stood throughout the room, but the woman they'd expected was yet to be seen.

The guard who had made the decision to present them to Regina disappeared into a door to the left of two giant gilded chairs at the center where the stage used to be. He returned a moment later and resumed his position in front of and slightly to the right of Emma. The guards tapped their spears and bowed their head as Regina emerged gracefully from the back room, presumably where she actually performed most of her work. Emma's mouth hung open.

The midnight blue velvet of her gown with a small train caught and reflected tiny glimpses of light in the obnoxiously lit room. Black hair pulled into an elegant pile at the back of her head accentuated the olive toned skin of Regina's delicate neck on display. A thin silver chain attached to the collar of the dress and wrapped around Regina's neck. The former royal had always been beautiful, but this particular moment struck Emma with the unmatched elegance of Regina's skin and grace. She was positively stunning, and the smirk upon those plump, cherry red lips told Emma that Regina knew it.

Those dark chocolate eyes raked down Emma's body appreciatively, and the sheriff shivered, fighting the urge to cover herself. She felt like a piece of meat on display. This was not her Regina, and those were not the soulful, tortured eyes of the woman who had become her friend, possibly her best friend, the co-mother of their son. As Regina finished assessing her and raised her eyes, Emma brazenly held her gaze. Regina quirked an eyebrow in amusement.

"Lock up the pirate," she ordered the guards with a flick of her wrist and climbed the two steps to her throne.

"No, wait!" Emma yelled as a struggled commenced at her side.

Regina held up a hand, and the grunting and flailing ceased. "Who are you to demand such a thing?"

"A rebel," a foreign voice that Emma never dreamed of hearing again accused her coldly.

Cora.

Emma shivered involuntarily and maintained consistent eye contact with Regina. If she focused on Regina, perhaps Cora spared her life for the insolence of meeting her eyes rather than lower her gaze to the floor. The elder Mills joined her daughter, taking a seat in the second chair. The double throne made perfect sense now. Cora finally realized her dream and brainwashed Regina in the process.

"I'm not a rebel," Emma stated, and Regina's eyes softened. Not a lot, but enough. She was in there, somewhere. "My name is Emma Swan."

"How quaint," Regina murmured, feigning boredom. Cora, however, maintained a healthy death glare at the obstinate blonde woman.

"What was your business beyond town past curfew?" Regina's mother demanded.

Emma held Regina's eyes, praying for just a glimpse of the woman she'd cared for only hours ago. "We were sucked into the portal Zelena opened. Storybrooke wasn't like this when we left. I think we came back in the wrong time, or maybe the wrong reality." Emma rubbed her forehead anxiously. "I don't know a lot about magic or how time travel works."

Regina's lips parted in a surprised breath, the only hint of a reaction to the words. "Time travel is impossible, you silly girl," Cora bit. Regina glanced towards her mother. She may have held the title of queen, but Cora clearly called the shots. Crap on toast. "And who is this Zelena?"

"She's…" Emma faltered. Cora hid Zelena for a reason. Regina didn't know. Emma had no other options. "She's the child you put in the basket and abandoned in the woods. Your first born," Emma announced to the room brazenly. How else was she supposed to say those words?

Cora sprang to her feet. "Guards, to the prison. Now!"

"Wait!" Regina ordered and joined her mother on her feet. She turned to her elder, ire flaring in her beautiful eyes. A look Emma knew all too well. Regina was pissed, and for once, not at her. "Is this true, Mother?"

"Of course it isn't true, Darling," Cora purred, and bile churned in Emma's stomach. "This rebel lies in attempt to divert us from the fact that she is a traitor to your crown."

"It's not a lie," Emma protested and took a step towards the two rulers. A sharp kick to the back of her knee took her to the floor where she remained by the force of two heavy hands on her shoulders. The sound of a sword being drawn behind her spurred her forward.

"Regina, I swear, this isn't a lie. Please, you have to believe me," Emma begged.

Regina stiffened. No one had called her simply by her given name in so many years. "It is improper to address a queen by her given name," she corrected Emma, more intrigued with each moment.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty," Emma half-assed an apology. "Look, we don't have time for this. Where is Henry?"

"My father died many years ago, you squashed cabbage leaf," Regina ground bitterly. Emma nearly cried in relief. She still insulted quoted literature.

"I like that play, too," Emma murmured, holding Regina's gaze. Once again, The Queen startled, only enough to be recognizable by Emma. "Henry is your son," she continued.

Anger reignited in those dark eyes, and Emma felt the heat upon her skin as Regina strode towards her. A sharp hand around her neck jerked her to her feet, and claws dug into her throat. "Everyone knows it is impossible for me to bear children. Make your peace with your gods because tomorrow shall see your execution, rebel."

Large meaty hands pawed at her, and Emma struggled against them. "Stop! Wait! Regina!"

Her feet lifted from the floor and still she squirmed and wriggled. Regina's dark eyes glazed with tears of the pain Emma apparently caused without meaning to. She hadn't known that Regina was infertile. "I'm sorry, Regina. Please! Just listen to me. This isn't how Storybrooke was when I left it!"

Regina turned her back. Cora waited with a comforting hand and a serpent's tongue. Emma redoubled her efforts of escape, praying the guards didn't knock her out as they had poor Hook. He should have known better than to fight her battles by now. "Regina, you're good now! You redeemed yourself! You have a son!"

More hands grabbed her. "Regina, we have a son! He's alone out there somewhere. I have to find him!" Emma jabbed her elbow into the nose of the man holding her off the floor. She fell to the cold marble in a heap of legs and arms, and immediately sprang to her feet, sprinting towards the two women watching the scene unfold.

Cora threw out her hand, and Emma froze. Every muscles strained against the magical bonds to no avail. Hands grabbed her once more. Terrified green met those flaming brown eyes once more. "Please Regina," she begged. Regina flicked her wrist, dismissing her guards.

"I know about Daniel," Emma blurted in a last ditch effort. The restraints around her waist and arms tightened as Cora attempted to silence her. Had she faced anyone but Emma Swan, it might have worked.

"She killed him in front of you," Emma gasped and wondered if her ribs would have broken under the strain if Regina hadn't broken her mother's concentration.

She approached The Savior slowly, undiluted rage in her eyes, but Emma also saw a tinge of doubt. Regina had only spoken of Daniel once in Neverland during a moment of sheer weakness. Emma highly doubted that she'd have spoken of her lost love to anyone else, not in this reality. Clawed fingers grabbed her cheeks, imprinting tiny crescents upon her skin. Brown eyes flicked back and forth, searching the truth and sincerity of the stormy sea green of her captives.

A decision made, she pushed Emma's head to the side as she let go and stepped back. "Lock her up."