The Crimson Tattoo

Chapter 1

Disclaimer::: I do not own OUAT or its characters, just my imagination. This is an idea I had, swanqueen pairing. Also has dragons, magic, cocktails and dreams… A mixer of wicked fun. Lol

Emma Swan kicked the flat tire of her car with frustration and took out her cell phone, called the tow truck, and then called her coworker to come pick her up. She was going to be late for work. "Hey Shells, got a flat, need a ride. No I already called a tow truck. Yeah, you know that joint by Sal's Cleaners, yes that's the one. Great see you soon." She hung up just as someone called out to her.

"Buy you a drink sweetcheeks?" Emma turned to look at the guy. He wasn't bad looking, too bad she didn't have time to accept drinks from her competition. She smirked. "No thanks. This isn't my scene. My ride's coming." She left a card at the bar and took off. She was a little hungry and had grabbed a cupcake. It was her birthday today. She could have accepted a drink but she didn't want to. She smirked, seeing the candle that had come with it. She lit it and made a wish. Then she blew it out and licked the frosting.

"Hey Charlie, that was Emma Swan. She owns that bar and tattoo shop over in Hanover Street."

"That Crimson Alley location? She owns that entire area. Damn." Charlie shook his head. He couldn't believe he had tried to hit up on her.

Shelley picked Emma up and smiled at her boss. "You'll never guess what happened, someone…"

The moment Emma got into the car, she noticed Shelley wasn't alone. There was a kid sitting in the back seat. He couldn't have been more than 9 or 10 years old. She turned in her seat and looked at the kid who was grinning at her.

Emma blinked before she eyed Shelley. "What is…"

Shelley had an apologetic smile on her face. "This kid insisted that he needed to come with me to pick you up. Says he knows you."

Emma's jaw dropped as she looked at the boy again. "Who are you? I don't think we met."

The boy grinned. "Are you Emma Swan?"

Emma nodded. "Yeah, who are you?"

He smiled again. "My name's Henry. I'm your son."

Emma's eyes grew wider. "Um… I don't…"

Henry smiled. "Did you give birth to a baby 10 years ago? That was me."

"Listen kid, it's not a good time today. What's your phone number? I'm going to call your parents and we can get this straightened out…" Emma started.

Henry shook his head. "No you can't. My mom will kill me. I don't have a dad. But you can take me home."

Emma looked over at Shelley who was grinning. "So looks like you got a kid yeah?"

Emma rolled her eyes. "Look Kid… My car is in the shop until later. You can't just show up and expect me to drop everything just because you decided coming here was a good idea…"

"I have a name. Its Henry. You need to take me back to Storybrooke, Maine. Your family is there. You don't remember who you are, but once you come with me…"

They arrived at the bar/tattoo parlor that she owned. Shelley looked at Emma. "I'm going to check the inventory. Just let me know when you need a ride to your car. Good luck with your kid." She winked as she took off.

Emma looked at Henry. "You know you really shouldn't be here, you're not old enough." She pulled him upstairs to where she lived above the bar. "How did you find out about me?"

Henry walked over to the fridge to see what he could drink. He noticed some orange juice and there was nothing else in there. He noticed Emma had no food whatsoever. He shrugged and drank some orange juice from the carton. "I just sort of always knew I was adopted. It wasn't too hard to find you." The book he had in his bag was very special and it told him where to find Emma. He wasn't about to tell her that because he knew she wouldn't have believed him if he told her.

Emma sighed. "Fine. As soon as my car is ready, I'm taking you home." She smiled when Shelley came upstairs and brought her a drink from downstairs. "Thanks." She opened the bottle and drank its contents before Shelley took the empty bottle back downstairs.

Henry watched this with interest. Whatever his birth mother drank didn't look like it was alcoholic but it seemed to bring color to Emma's cheeks. He remained quiet about it, not wanting to press the issue with her just yet.

Emma's phone rang. She answered and thanked the guy for calling her. "Well, my car is ready. Shall we?"

Henry nodded as they found Shelley and they went to the shop and picked her car up. Soon, they were on their way to Storybrooke, Maine.

Henry used this time to try to get to know her. "So, you own that bar back there?"

Emma nodded. "Yeah Kid, I own it and the tattoo shop next door. When I am not working there, I am a bounty hunter for hire."

It was then, that Henry noticed Emma had tattoos peeking out from under her clothes. He'd noticed a dragon tattoo on her neck as well. He nodded. "That's cool." He decided with a smile.

"So… You said something to me back there. You said I have family in Storybrooke? How would you know that?" The kid did not know her life story. So how would he know where her family was? Sure, he had found her. But there were some loopholes in his story. Emma had every intention of finding out everything she could.

Henry looked at her, trying to decide how much he should reveal to her. He had been reading a book.

"What are you reading?" She asked.

"Just a book." He replied.

Emma looked at the title of the book. "About fairy tales?" She seemed surprised.

"It's not just about any old fairy tale, it's more than that. This book is magic. It led me to you." Henry explained.

Emma smiled. "Yeah right."

Henry looked at her. "I know you don't believe me right now. But you will. Because you're in this book. Your story is here."

Emma looked at him, not sure what to say to that. She decided she would let him have his imagination. It couldn't hurt him right? He was a kid and he was allowed to dream. She smiled at him and soon, they arrived. They stopped to get something to eat first before she would drop him off. Henry then introduced her to Granny Eugene who owned the diner they were eating at, and then Henry introduced her to Ruby. Emma could see that there was something different about this place. She could smell the grandmother and granddaughter pair. Oh there was definitely something different about Emma herself. Ruby kept looking at Emma and kept looking at her granny.

Henry noticed the way Emma was looking at them. "What's going on? Is everything okay?"

Emma smiled and nodded. "Yeah kid, everything's peachy."

Ruby brought them their food and drinks. She looked at Henry. She couldn't help but to notice that Henry smelled like he could be related to this woman. But this woman definitely did not smell human.

Emma smiled at Ruby. She could tell what she was considering she had come across others like her before in her line of work. But she could tell that Ruby and her grandmother never went far from this place. Not in a long time. Ruby was unnerved by the way Emma was watching them. She moved over to where Granny was.

"There's something strange about that woman with Henry." She whispered.

Eugene nodded at Ruby. "We'll have to keep an eye on her until we know what to expect."

Emma paid for their food and left a good sized tip. Soon they left and Emma took Henry to his home. She noticed how beautiful his house was and smiled as they walked up to the door which had opened and a beautiful dark haired woman ran out and hugged Henry. "Where were you?! Have you any idea how worried I was?" She then noticed the blonde woman standing there.

Emma smiled at Henry's other mother. "Hello, I'm Emma Swan. Henry found me, I'm sorry about that. I knew I had to bring him back home, where he belongs."

Henry looked at Regina. "I found my real mom." He ran inside and headed to his room.

The sheriff stepped out of the house as soon as he saw that Henry was home safe with his mother.

Regina looked at Graham. "Thank you sheriff, as you can see, Henry is back now so…"

Graham nodded. "I'm glad he is okay. See you later." He then left.

Regina looked back at Emma. "Thank you for bringing my son home. How long do you plan on staying in town?"

Emma smiled. "I'm not sure. I'd probably better be getting home soon." She noticed that Regina could tell she was not from around there.

Regina nodded. She couldn't help but to think the blonde looked familiar somehow. "Would you like to come inside? Perhaps have something to drink?" She wasn't sure if she wanted this woman to leave just yet before she had a chance to get to know her.

Emma smiled at Regina. "I would like to." She winked at the Mayor as she stepped inside her home. She took her red leather jacket off and put it on the back seat of a chair as she moved to follow Regina.

Regina took in Emma's appearance and noticed the tattoos she had covering her neck and arms. She wondered if they were covering other parts of her body. "I see you're partial to dragons?" She smirked. "Wine? Cider?" She asked.

Emma had a dark smile on her face. "Red wine if you have any?" She watched Regina, never taking her eyes off her as she sat down.

Regina gasped softly at the way Emma was watching her. There was something in the way she looked at her that reminded her of someone she knew a long time ago. "Very well." Regina smiled as she went to get the wine and poured some for herself as well as she brought their drinks. She handed a glass to Emma as she sat down next to her. In this light, she could see the tattoos better. "Why dragons?" She couldn't help but be very intrigued by Emma, by the way she held herself.

Emma smiled as she sipped her wine slowly, savoring it. "I've always been drawn to dragons as long as I've remembered. I see them in my dreams when I close my eyes. When I sleep, when I'm awake, it's always been a part of my life. You probably think I'm strange." She chuckled. She didn't know if she should tell her more yet.

Regina was finding Emma so very interesting. "No, not at all. You'd be surprised." She definitely was wondering how Emma ended up in that world. If she didn't know any better, she would swear Emma belonged in her world somehow. "What do you do for a living dear?" She asked as she poured more wine.

Emma smiled. "I own a bar, and a tattoo parlor. I'm also a tattoo artist as well as a bounty hunter for hire. Sometimes when I am not working, I also teach women self defense."

Regina was very intrigued. Emma definitely had a very colorful life. "Well you most definitely keep yourself busy." She admired that eyes kept traveling over Emma's tattoos. She was admiring the art on her body. "Did you do any of these yourself?"

Emma smiled, "All the art is mine. I did some myself, but I had some others do the areas I couldn't reach. Are you thinking of getting some tattoos? Because if you are, I would be more than happy to give you some. You've got such beautiful skin."

Retina inhaled, seeing the way Emma was looking at her. She wondered what it would feel like to have Emma touching her, to have her drawing on her. Would she be staring intently like that? She felt heat spread at her core as she crossed her legs tightly.

Emma smirked, watching how Regina was reacting to her. "If you want, I could leave my portfolio with you to look over my art and then once you've made a decision, you could let me know." She suggested. "I always bring my equipment with me."

Regina smiled. "I would love to see your work."

Emma then stood up and went to her car and retrieved her portfolio and returned. She handed it to Regina, "You can keep this. I have another copy." She smiled.

Regina put her glass down and opened Emma's portfolio and already, she was in love with her art. "You're very talented. These are so amazing! The precision in your art is exquisite. She saw so many variations of beasts and birds and flowers as well as portraits of people as well as pets. Even tribal artwork as well as letterings.

Emma smiled, "Some of these, I drew from memory. Memories of my dreams." She admitted.

Regina gasped when she got to the artwork of the dragons. There were many that looked like a dragon she knew so very well.

Emma saw what Regina was looking at and smiled. "I have that one on my back." It was a drawing of a huge dragon protecting her two young dragons.

Regina's jaw dropped. How was that possible? How could Emma have known how to draw Maleficent in perfect detail? Had Emma known Maleficent? What was her connection to her? She needed to know more. She grabbed Emma by her hand. "Come with me." She took her upstairs to her room and closed the door, locking it as she looked at Emma. "Please show me." She whispered.

Emma's eyebrow rose as she regarded the woman, trying to decide if she should comply with her request. "Are you asking me to take my clothes off? We just met." She smirked.

Regina blushed. She realized what it sounded like. "Well you don't have to if you don't want to. I just wanted to see your back…"

Emma chuckled. "And I don't mind showing you, except well… There is more to me than meets the eye."

Regina looked at Emma. "I won't judge you. There are things about myself that you do not know either. So if you promise not to judge me, I promise not to judge you?"

Emma watched Regina carefully and nodded. "That's fair." She smiled as she began to remove her clothes. She stripped down completely and smirked when she saw that Regina's eyes had widened when she saw that she had an extra appendage between her legs. She could hear the wheels turning in her head.

Emma was covered in tattoos, her hands and feet and face remained untouched. She did however have piercings in some places on her body like one on her belly button and her nipples. Regina bit her lip as her eyes swept over her, inspecting the art on her body. She reached out and traced her tattoos. "You're so beautiful!" She then moved to look at Emma's back. She gasped as she looked at the dragon on her back. She got a better look at it and saw while the dragon was protecting her young, there was a mirror that the dragon was looking in and the reflection bore the face of a blonde woman, it was Maleficent's face staring back. Regina gasped loudly as she stepped back and stared at Emma in surprise.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Emma asked with concern. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Regina looked at Emma. "That dragon… Where have you come up with her drawing? Um the woman in the mirror she's…"

Emma pulled her clothes back on. "I see her in my dreams. In my memories. I cannot explain it but…" She sighed as she tried her best to explain how she knew her. "I never met my birth mother. I've grown in the foster system all my life. I've been in and out of many foster homes, nobody wanted me. One came close, but the rest would give up on me when they saw I was a freak. They would send me back. I would always see this dragon in my dreams. Sometimes I would dream that I was a dragon too. Sometimes I thought I saw a dragon in the mirror when I woke up. Sometimes my hands would change into claws and scales would appear on my arms. I would stay in the bathroom until I went back to being normal. That woman in the mirror is someone I imagined my mother would look like. My real mother. I always felt like I had a sister out there too…" Emma looked down, hoping that Regina wouldn't decide she was crazy and would kick her out. She misunderstood the look on her face.. "You probably think I'm crazy. Maybe it's better if I go now…" she made a move to go.

"Oh shit!" Regina grabbed Emma's arm, stopping her. "No! Please don't go. I'm sorry, it's not what you think. Oh Emma…" She sighed. "This is a lot for me to take in. I don't think you're crazy at all. I'm just surprised by what this means… Maleficent, she's um… That dragon on your back, the woman in the mirror… I know her."

Emma gasped, her eyes growing as big as saucers. Her name was Maleficent? She was her mother? She was real? And Regina knew her? "You know my mother? How is that possible? Maleficent? How is this possible?"

Regina sighed. "Remember when I asked we don't judge each other?" Emma nodded. Regina looked at Emma. "Every fairy tale you've ever heard? It's all real. Dragons are real too. Your mother and I, we used to be close friends, she was my mentor. But because of my obsession with making a certain person pay for taking away my happy ending, I did not heed Maleficent's warning. I stole the curse from her and cursed this town. I made it so all the fairy tale characters would be stuck here with no memory or recollection of who they were. I took away their happiness. I didn't realize the consequences for my actions…"

Emma sighed. Fairy tale characters? She remembered what her son had told her in the car. "Henry's fairy tale characters? He mentioned something of that to me."

Regina nodded. "Yes fairy tale characters. Why did those Heroes have to have their happy endings? Why not villains too? It's just not fair. Those heroes always act like they are better than we are. Looking down on us all the time!" Regina scoffed.

Emma tilted her head. "Yeah that sucks eh? So which villain would you be? I know if Maleficent is my mother, she is one too."

Regina looked back at Emma. "The Evil Queen."

Emma's eyebrow shot up as she smirked then in realization. "Ah as in Snow White's archenemy." Her eyes twinkled knowingly.

Regina seemed surprised at how Emma reacted to this. "You don't seem to be bothered by this."