Author's note: This story started as one shot based on Emma's promotional picture for Season 2, the one with all the dresses around her (See story cover on the site's full version). It spiralled out of control from a one shot to 45.000 words, give or take. The good news is that it is ready and needs only a little TLC and editing.

I do hope you enjoy. It was great fun writing this story.

Much love

Jane

Prologue

The Queen walked down the dark corridors of the dungeons, her step firm and purposeful, unhurried because queens don't run. She turned corner after corner designed to keep the prisoners in and the curious out. She wished briefly that her dungeon was not such a cliché with mice and rats scurrying around and screams and plaintive cries coming from the darkened cells. It bothered her, cast a dark shadow on the days she bothered coming down this way.

Most of them would be out in short order. There was only one permanent prisoner in her dungeon. She stood in the shadows a little while, observing. It was a little ritual of hers, to study the hunched form, the slump of the shoulders, the breathing that was beginning to rattle a little, probably due to almost a year of the damp conditions of the cells.

She always managed to surprise the prisoner. And it gave her a little jolt of pleasure to see the way those shoulders would contract at the sound of her voice and then snap into a semblance of arrogance she could see right through. "Regina!"

Yes, the way Regina startled at her voice gave her a little jolt of pleasure Snow was not proud of but which was pleasure none the less. It went a good way towards avenging those 28 lost years.

"Snow, dear. Welcome!"

"Thank you, Stepmother."

"What brings you by? A spot of torture? Some choice of harsh words? I know! Another little accusation?"

For a while, Snow had carefully fed the hope that she would break the Evil Queen, that she would get a heartfelt apology or a show of remorse. She would settle for a platitude or two, but nearly a year gone by and she got nothing more than a recoil at the sound of her voice. For all the rest, she could well be visiting the Evil Queen or the Mayor of Storybrooke and the deportment would have been the same: arrogant and self satisfied, no matter how squalid the conditions of the dungeon were in comparison with the mayoral mansion, no matter the drabness of the dress or the hair falling lank into a face that was now sallow and gaunt. She timed her visits so that no pattern could be discerned- just in case Regina had been looking for one. She liked the surprise effect.

"I came to offer you a deal."
"Hum. Interesting. Thank you, dear, but no, thank you."

"Aren't you even remotely curious?"

"No"

"Disappointing, Stepmother."
"Stop calling me that, Snow, dear, unless you want to remain a cliché. There are no Imax cinemas in the Enchanted Forest, no one to see your tears in HD."

"Okay, Regina, here it is. Would you like to see Henry?"

The Queen could see she had hit a raw nerve. Regina had not seen Henry in very nearly a year, since having been dumped from Storybrooke into the heart of the Enchanted Forest. On their abrupt and unexpected return, James had simply grabbed a still unconscious Regina and slammed her into the first cell of the dungeon he had come across.

Regina walked to a chair at the back of the cell and sat as if all fight had abandoned her." That is cruel and unusual punishment, Snow, dear. Using my son… Be careful not to lose your moral high ground."

Definitely on the using Henry, probably on the punishment, Snow thought. But only because, sadly, they had not lost all memories of their time in Storybrooke and still had all these ideas in their heads of living in a- if token- democracy. The Enchanted Forest was definitely not Maine. "We are not in Kansas anymore, Toto!" No, they weren't and justice was different and swift here. This arrangement went a little way to alleviate the twinge of guilt at seeing her that way. Almost as if she was wasting away, the black, drab, long dress hanging from her as if, all gumption gone, Regina was dead and buried under the weight of the time spent in that dark cell. But still and always unbroken.

"Perhaps. But as you know, the ends justify the means. I have a problem I need to sort and I am willing to offer a twofold reward."

"I am not interested, Snow."
"Shame, because Henry does miss you."

"Don't use my son, Snow." Regina warned with a snarl. "Besides, I'm sure you'll be able to distract him."

"Naturally. But I said twofold reward. Do what I ask and I will free you. A cottage, material comfort, and Henry will visit you whenever he wants to."

"Perhaps there is something wrong with your hearing. Has age finally caught up with you, Snow? I am not interested. Being a prisoner of the White Queen has its perks: this is hardly the Bastille: I have books, food and entertainment every time you bring a sniveling prisoner down here. You wanted me to pay for my many sins. A few days short of one year, I'm sure, does not do you justice. So leave me to pay for what I have done. It is worse punishment to have to hear your whinny, goody two-shoes voice. It grates on my nerves."

The Queen was sorely tempted to take that as her leave. Walk away and on her way out give orders to remove all light, food and entertainment from the cell. That would push things nicely along in the direction she wanted. But Regina was stubborn and she would probably starve herself before she would give in.

"We will talk again. Soon."

"Let me know and I will have tea ready for you, dear."

SQ~SQ~SQ~SQ~SQ~SQ~SQ~SQ

When Snow's soft footsteps faded, Regina finally allowed tears. She gave herself a minute, no more, for those tears.

Snow knew well how to press her, her soft spot. Love was her weakness, truly it was. When that minute was over, she scrubbed her face clean and took a deep breath.

She would not think of Henry. She would not. That was the long and short of it. She took her current book (Snow was, for the most part, a gracious host, tethered as she was all those notions of good and evil- at least when in public) and gave her use of the library books. She seemed to try her hardest to bring her only the drabbest, most lackluster books, but she was not in a position to look a gift horse in the mouth.

She tried for the best part of an hour, but could not concentrate. Henry floated as a ghost before her, she heard his voice clearer than she usually did in her dreams. She tried. She really did.

SQ~SQ~SQ~SQ~SQ~SQ~SQ~SQ

The Queen walked the winding damp corridors yet again. She had tried, she really had. She had tried all options available- but here she did not seem to have that many available. And that was why she was coming to Regina again. This was a last resort. And she was willing to push it to the limit.

"Stepmother!"

This time there was no flinching. Maybe she had made some noise. Or maybe Regina was expecting her. Be that as it may, it robbed her a little of the satisfaction of seeing that involuntary movement that, more than the jail sentence, more than controlling the woman's every minute, was her vengeance. But she bit her tongue and concentrated on the endgame.

"If you have come to enquire about my satisfaction with the facilities, then be assured I have no complaints, dear Snow. I find it exactly to my liking."

"Good to know." Would the defiance ever stop? "But I am here about our deal."

"We have no deal to talk about. I thought I had made that abundantly clear on your last visit."

"Indeed. But I am as stubborn as you. I need your help. I would not be here if I didn't. "

"There is nothing you can promise me, Snow."
"That cannot be true. I am sure there are things you want, things you need. Things you hope for."

"I really think you should have your hearing checked. There is nothing I need, the accommodation is quite considerate and really, Snow, I expect nothing more from life. So no, there is nothing I want, nothing I desire, nothing I hope for. In a word, nothing you can trade."

Snow refused to hear the quiet desperation in those words. She refused and that was all. But she was desperate enough to talk about her own.

"I will do anything for my daughter. Please help me." Regina raised her head softly. Snow had peaked her interest. "You are the only one that can help her."

"Is she sick?"

"Do not get your hopes up, Stepmother. She is not sick. But she does need help. And I think you are the only one that can."

"Do you not get tired of the sound of your own voice? Honestly."

"She is hopeless, Regina. She does not know how to live here. She does not understand court politics, she has her foot permanently and well stuck in her mouth. She creates conflicts, she is the butt of every joke."

"Well, an apple never falls far from the tree. Maybe you should have chosen a better half for the gene pool." Snow wanted to growl. She bit her lip instead. "Can't blame the girl though. She did not get to live as a princess before. And her father is, after all, a peasant. A good looking one, but a peasant."

Snow pulled back for a second, enough to make Regina believe that she had won the round and get that possessive instinct under control. Scathing Emma and Charming in one sentence was almost more than she could bear.

"Do you remember my father's family?" The Queen was sure Regina did remember. They had been particularly nasty to her, remarking on her origin as something to be pitied first and mocked second. "There are rumors that they will make a move on the throne. None are so happy I have ascended as queen. I believe they are more than rumors. There is movement among the nobility and the neighboring kingdoms. And you know what that means in this land. They will stop at nothing to get to the throne. They will walk over me, over Emma. over Henry. They will push Emma out of their way because she is the weakest link. By any means necessary. They believe they can cower me into abdicating by hurting her. Which is true. I will not risk Henry if they hurt Emma. No throne is worth my child's life. But they will hurt her first." She could see understanding in Regina's eyes. But the woman's expression did not change. "She needs allies in the court, allies in the friendly kingdoms. She needs to anticipate, to see them coming at her. If she does not get her act together, her life is forfeit."

SQ~SQ~SQ~SQ~SQ~SQ~SQ~SQ

Regina remembered the family well. A bunch of inbred power hungry vultures that had made humiliating her a sport. Not that Leopold cared. He seemed to have selective hearing. So did Snow, come to think of it. There was a nice parallel in there, vaguely satisfying. But she did not share Snow's optimism that they would go after Emma only. The Enchanted Forest was only enchanting in fairy tales. In the flesh, it was a vicious and deadly.

She would probably live to regret this. No good deed goes unpunished. "So what do you have me teach her?"

SQ~SQ~SQ~SQ~SQ~SQ~SQ~SQ

Snow was not prepared for the wave of relief that hit her. She grabbed hold of the bars to sustain herself up. After a shaky breath that she hoped Regina had not perceived all the way back in her darkened corner, she prepared for the difficult part.

"Everything."

"Excuse me?"

"Everything. All that you learnt when you came into the palace."

"You do not want her to learn all that I had to learn."

No. Probably she didn't. Snow was well aware that Regina had had to learn in a sink or swim fashion, no one to cushion the blows and only the loneliness of an arranged marriage for company. Her father's nights in her reluctant bed. No, probably not all that Regina had had to learn. Snow took a key from her bodice and opened the cell. She walked and approached Regina, touched her shoulder where she sat.

"If you want this, Stepdaughter, do not touch me. DO not dare pitying me. I'd sooner bite your hand off."

Maybe she would, Snow thought. But even worse, maybe she'd refuse. She drew her hand back. "Please. Make her strong. Teach her to charm and scheme. Teach her to smile when she wants to kill. Teach her not to take the bait. Teach her to defend herself. She only knows how to attack in the open. They will destroy her." The Queen breathed because she could feel herself hyperventilating. "Please."

Regina remained impassive, but the Queen knew her. She knew her from when they were both little more than children. She waited for a spark of that girl that had saved her from a runaway horse and taught her about true love.

"I had magic."

And the Queen had paid handsomely to take it away from Regina now, to leave her without magic in this cell. The remark did not sound like a rebuke or a request. And that was odd. But the Queen had come prepared to listen to every nuance, every inflection, every manipulation. And she heard none. Only a reminder that Regina survived because she'd used magic to save her life.

"So teach her magic."

"Aren't you afraid of what I might teach her?"

"Yes. But I am more concerned with what might happen otherwise. You can have your magic back."

"You are that desperate."

"I am."

"Why don't you have them all exterminated like the rodents they are?"

"No great loss there, I agree. But it is not our way…"

"Right, because you are the good ones. You'd rather risk your daughter's life than take decisive action…" Regina sighed as if she was tired. She probably was. "It is your greatest weakness, you know, that notion that you are good people."

"You should be thankful for that notion."

"I have my days, dear." Regina adjusted her dress. No bodice or lace, no silk or design. Just plain black wool that helped her melt into the anonymity of the stone walls where the Queen kept her prisoner, hidden from even her daughter. "Fine, bring her down."

Snow had to stop herself from falling at Regina's feet. Emma would learn, she was sure, and it would save her life. She should be on her knees kissing Regina's hands. "Thank you." That was all. "Thank you."

Regina retreated into a darker corner and Snow left the way she had come in, not bothering to lock the cell behind her. It was not like Regina could go anywhere anyway.

.

.

Snow made arrangements. She was good with that sort of practical thing: she recalled the fairies to the palace to lift the enchantments that hindered Regina's magic and had chambers prepared for her. She walked the corridors and took measurements before deciding on a set for Regina. She didn't want her too close to her family. She didn't want her too far either, in case Emma needed her magic. She arranged for a cottage in the woods, far from the village, far from the castle. She wondered if it would perhaps be better to send both Emma and Regina into the cottage, get Emma away from the Palace until she was ready.

In the end, she opted for the chambers across the hall from Emma's and against the cottage. Emma would be safer there (especially with a platoon of guards outside the door) but she was not willing to give up her daughter for anything, nor to show Emma as weak, in need of hiding.

And with all the arrangement in place, she had only to tell Emma that she would have Regina as a tutor and Henry that his mother was alive and well and right under his sad nose. And that was something she postponed as much as she could and then, in a moment of cowardice, decided it was probably best to confront everybody with a fact and hope for the best.

She got her personal guard to go and get Regina and bring her to her presence, trying hard to dismiss the feeling that once again she was plucking Regina out of her comfort zone to do her bidding when the good, kind thing to do would be to set her free.

It felt a lot like when she was a child, seeing Regina getting ready for her wedding: a real life doll that she could play with at whim. Of course, that was a moment of clarity that she did her best to ignore. The ends, the ones for the greater good, especially, sometimes justify the means.

Right?