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Ruby Lucas.
The day of the Incident, 7:24 am.
Waking up was a long and arduous process that morning. And not for the obvious reasons. Yes, she did indulge a bit the evening prior, but it was just two glasses of wine. Or was it more? She definitely did not drink any of Madam Mayor’s famous cider. Now that would have been dangerous as that magical drink was nothing less than a cunning trap for anyone but Regina herself, who had seemingly developed an immunity from the worst effects of the cider over the years. No, Red learned her lesson quite some time ago. And so the rule was established: reserve the apple cider only for special occasions. Which yesterday was decidedly not, it was a day like any other. Usual, average, calm. A rarity in a town such as Storybrooke, one that attracted more trouble and magical shenanigans than tourists. All the more reason to enjoy the routine while it lasted, was the motto the citizens took to heart. As had Ruby. Thus, like on any Friday for the last three months, yesterday went something as planned. Early morning run with Mulan, extra shift at the diner covering for an unavailable waitress, stopping by the station for lunch with Emma, running one errand or another and finally… showing up for date night at the manor. Ruby turned and stretched under the sheet, her eyes pressed together as tight as possible. She let out a slow sigh. Then tried to burrow deeper into the waning warmth and recapture whatever dream she was so rudely interrupted from having. There wouldn't be an alarm going off on a Saturday. Saturday was her cheat day. No need to wake up early, no work outs, no actual work until late afternoon and all the company needed to make the morning amazing. However, today the warmth and comfort was somehow off . The sheet she was under was scratchy and too heavy, very unlike the satin sheets Red had fallen asleep amongst. The pillow under her head was higher and fluffier than what it was supposed to be. The feeling of unease bubbled slowly, making a small crease appear between her furrowed brows. Ruby pulled air through her nose and shifted around on the bed. Something else was missing. She reached further across the bed. It was all just a bad dream and she knew exactly what would let her go to sleep again. What she needed was that smooth expanse of skin. That warmth and softness, and that faint smell of apples in the silky raven locks. Just a bit further, a bit more, there…
THUD!
“Ouch! What the bloody hell?” Ruby yelled and grumbled, trying to get her bearings. The last of her sleepiness had been expunged in the most ungraceful of ways: by tumbling out of bed – hair covering her face, the bedsheets and the comforter all knotted around her body, arms and legs twisted at odd angles – and connecting quite painfully with the floor. She struggled with the coverings already expecting to hear laughter at her expense. And still she felt groggy, her body responded slowly and not in the way she expected. It was not drunkenness, it was not tiredness – she felt discombobulated as if desperately clutching to the mast on a ship at sea in the storm. But the room around her was still and dry. Finally, with a great effort she ripped the knot of the sheet and comforter off herself and tried to stand up. Tried being the apt word. Instead of getting to her feet in one smooth motion Red felt her knees buckle and she collapsed to her hands and knees, heaving. Sure the room looked dry, but unmoving? Nope, everything was spinning. She tried to calm her breathing and the slight tremble she could see in her arms. Ruby lifted her hands and roughly rubbed her face, she then pulled the wave of hair that still covered it out of her vision. As she tried to concentrate on what was in front of her eyes, she focused on her hands. Her fingers were shaking and… They were the wrong fingers! It sounded ridiculous, even in her own head, but those were not her hands! Ruby had just a day before applied a brand new layer of bright red nail polish, yet the nails before her were clean. The hand itself was rounder, with fewer veins showing on the back, the fingers – shorter and less bony. Her frantic eyes jumped to the strands of hair now hanging free around her bowed head. That hair wasn’t hers either! Much lighter brown of a different shade of auburn, almost carmine… and with shorter, thicker curls... She knew that hair! No, it could not possibly be! “Regina, something is wrong! I–” Red swallowed her own words as soon as she spoke. The voice that came out of her mouth was groggy from sleep, but, going with the theme of this bizarre morning, it was not hers! It was lower, with a bit of a rasp, and the familiar accent wrapped around Ruby’s words without her meaning to. Panicking already, Red looked up for the first time since he landed on the floor. The queen-sized bed and beige walls she was expecting to see weren’t there. Instead, she saw the familiar 80s wallpaper and the paneling of the B&B. She was in one of the rooms at the Bed & Breakfast she knew like the back of her hand. A turn of phrase, which under the circumstances sounded rather ironic. Ruby finally stood up on weak legs and either the room has gotten bigger – or she has gotten shorter! Quickly turning around (and then having to hold on to the wall lest she end up on her ass again from the whiplash thanks to the quick movement) Red made her way to the closet, where she knew there'd be a mirror affixed to the inside of the door. And there it was. In full view reflected on the surface of the full-height mirror. The impossible, bizarre happenstance, that was nonetheless real. In the mirror looking back at Ruby was the reflection of a very scared, disheveled, eyes red and puffy, clad in cute peach pajama Belle . Only one thought kept rattling about in there as Ruby tried to wrap her head around what had happened.
“If I’m here right now, then where is Belle?”
. . .
Belle French,
The day of the Incident, 7:32 am.
Waking up was a long and arduous process that morning. And not for the obvious reasons. Or maybe it was rather obvious. Waking up after lying awake the better part of the night probably wouldn’t be a picnic. Especially if the last thing one did before falling asleep was to get mad enough to punch the pillow until their knuckles hurt or to cry themselves to sleep. In that order. And yet it was not only the tiredness that had kept Belle from even trying to open her eyes to the morning sun. Today felt like one of the best mornings. For some reason her usual bedding has transformed into the most comfortable and luxurious bed she had ever slept on. The sheet thrown over her would probably be too thin to keep her warm on any other day, but right now it seemed quite nice. There was warmth and softness and smoothness all around her. And the smell! Even half-asleep still, she could smell an assortment of aromas. The dull smell of the sheet freshener, faint traces of wine and much stronger smell of apples. Her unexpectedly sharp hearing picked up the rustling of the curtains against the morning breeze, the ticking of clocks and slow breathing. As the senses came back to her, pulling Belle out of her foggy state, she became more and more aware of her surroundings. What she felt was nice… and confusing. Her ears heard the breathing that was another’s, her nose caught the scent of apples and sweat, and her skin – oh! – felt the smooth skin pressed to hers and the heartbeat pulsing right next to her own heart. There was someone else in her bed!Belle’s eyes shot open and she had to blink rapidly to get rid of the blindspots dancing in front of her. She wiggled her fingers and tried to move, realizing at once two alarming things: one, she was completely naked; and two, there was another equally naked woman wrapped around her torso! She opened her mouth, but no scream came out. She tried to pull back, but the grip around her waist only tightened. Belle frantically looked around, seeking – help? A weapon? A reason? A dancing clown explaining it was all a nightmare? Something! She herself did not know. What she saw was a room she had never seen before. Beige walls and white carpet, long curtains covering the entrance to the balcony. And an ornate mirror affixed above the vanity right across the queen-sized bed. But the woman looking back at Belle with wide blue eyes wasn’t Belle herself! It was Ruby! Ruby with standing at odd angles hair and no make up! Ruby, naked and with small purple dots covering her neck and collarbones! Belle raised her hand and let travel along the neck and jaw up to the heated cheek. She could feel the touch as if it was her own, but she also felt exactly what the mirror was showing. Harder muscles, sharper jawline, more prominent cheekbones! She shuddered. This was some kind of a nightmare, it had to be! “Hhhmm, why are you so tense this early in the morning? I thought I had tired you out yesterday, wolf. Or is it an invitation for an encore?” The raven-haired head at Belle’s chest moved, causing her to jump. The silky-smooth voice provided nothing to calm her down and, frankly, Belle did not hear a word of what the woman said. She just stared as her bed companion stretched next to her, letting out a small yawn. In the process the short wave of dark tresses pulled away and Belle could finally see exactly who it was that she was freaking out about. Not that she couldn't have guessed exactly who it would be, but then again her brain was having trouble catching up. Regina tilted her head as the satisfied smile slowly left her face. She narrowed her eyes and rose up on an elbow, “Ruby? Are you alright, darling?” “M-madam Mayor?” spluttered Belle in the voice too high and rich to feel even remotely her own. Everything was too much! Up suddenly became down and down – up! So Belle had done what she had very rarely done in her life. Instead of facing a problem straight on, with the power of her will and intellect, she gave in to her instinct and what it was screaming at her to do immediately.
Run. Flee. Escape.
She had thrown the sheet away and as she were – that is to say without a thread of clothes on her – made a run for it! She had a vague idea about the balcony, but before any kind of plan had a chance to form in her head, it all went awry. Jumping to her feet had made Belle feel nauseous and trying to run made her lose her balance. Everything was wrong – her legs and arms were too long, her center of mass somewhere else and the strength of her limbs propelled her way too far way too fast! Belle had lost balance, getting tripped up by the body she didn’t know how to use and she made a rather beautiful pirouette around her axis on her way towards the floor. Of course, that wouldn’t have been all that awful with the fluffy white carpet covering the whole room, but with a loud ringing in her ears and the feeling of the whole room flipping around, by the time she landed on the floor, Belle had already fainted. Not the very best of mornings after all.
. . .
Ruby Lucas,
The day of the Incident, 7:47 am.
The ringing in her ears and the feeling of falling down a narrow, bright tunnel was suddenly interrupted, and with a jolt Red had shaken off whatever stupor she had been in. Ruby didn't know exactly for how long she had been standing there staring at the mirror with an empty head and the blood pounding against her skull and chest. At some point, unbeknownst to her she had come up close to the mirror and put her hands on the frame. That's what caused her to regain her senses. Red lifted the cut hand to her face and examined the damage. It wasn't bad at all. Just a small cut to one of her fingers, made by one of the metal clamps holding the frame-less mirror affixed to the wooden door. She licked off a few drops of blood that formed, then sucked on the cut – all out of habit. Getting cuts while collecting broken glasses or plates was what Ruby did all her teenage years, or at least that's what she thought she did as Ruby. As they say, habits (even the partially fictional ones brought on by the cursed persona she had been settled with) die hard. "Now see what you've done to poor Belle's hand," Red muttered under her breath. She went to lick the cut again, but then her face paled and she recoiled as if burned. It was Belle's hand. And the fingers on that hand. She cut Belle's finger! She licked Belle's finger! Only to heal it faster, but still…"What in the bloody hell is going on?!"The sudden angry outburst had managed to both calm Red down and confuse her even more. The voice that came out of her mouth was familiar. And yet not quite the same as Belle's. It was still lower in tone than her own with that little rasp, but now it sounded larger, boomer, like a well-mannered dog finally unleashed at the park. On top of that conundrum, Red had only a faint idea of what exactly it was she said. The slang words seemingly came to life of their own volition somewhere between the brain and the mouth. Apparently, the body she was in retained its original accent. Red mulled the information over. The memory of sitting together with Belle in the library as she did research floated to the forefront of her mind. It had been years ago now, but Belle was quite intrigued by the reason behind the denizens of the Enchanted Forest' language being far more than just understandable to outsiders. One of the more interesting things they had discovered. The magic multiverse had a sense of peculiar humor. Because of course there would be a country in the Land without Magic with an accent that would just happen to correspond to an accent of a certain Kingdom in the Enchanted Forest. Of course. Ruby shook her head, "What are you thinking about at a time like this, you idiot!" She almost smacked her hand against her own forehead, but stopped at the last second. It wasn't her forehead! And Red was in enough trouble as it was without accidentally leaving a bruise on Belle. This all had to be happening because of magic! Some new villain plans! A brand new curse! Spontaneous expulsion of fairy dust for all she knew! Yes, knowing the problem was magical was not helping at the moment. Red while being a magical creature never could do much whenever true sorcery was concerned. Being stronger than five grown men put together or having teeth and claws would not help much with any of this. Ruby could not help dealing with magic. But she sure knew someone who could . Locating a telephone in one of the rooms of the B&B Ruby had grown up in was not a problem. There was an old fashioned, wired telephone sitting next to the bed. Grabbing the thing and frantically dialing up the number Red knew pretty well by now had taken less than a minute. But waiting for the person on the other end to pick up stretched and stretched to what had seemed an eternity. Then, finally, the long tone was replaced with background static and a very irritated voice. “Who are you and what do you want? If this call is not a matter of life and death, I swear to–” "Regina? Oh, thank heavens! I thought I wasn't going to reach you.” Red felt her knees give out again and she slid down the wall next to the bed and the little drawer the telephone was sitting on. “Miss French?” a clearing of the throat followed by the much more pleasant, “To what do I owe the pleasure? This will have to be brief, I am terribly busy at the moment. You understand, of course.” Regina’s voice on the other end of the line changed. There was the automatic politician mask sliding firmly into place, but Ruby could feel the anger and annoyance hiding behind it. She could almost see the plastic smile plastered across Madam Mayor’s face and the concealed fire in her eyes. “Babe, listen to me. Something weird has happened! Magic went wrong, I reckon. Or some curse, I don’t know! I just woke up here and you have to do something about it!”“I have no idea what you’re talking about. It is early in the morning. How about you schedule an appointment with my assistant and we can talk about whatever is bothering you at another time. I am truly rather occupied.” “Regina, come on! You had to have noticed I wasn’t there when you woke up! I’m freaking out heaps and I don’t even sound like it! There had to have been some magical thing that went all wrong in the night!”“Miss French!” interrupted Regina, her voice rising in irritation and all pretense at politeness gone, “I don’t know what kind of prank are you trying to pull, but I feel no inclination to indulge in your flight of fancy! I happen to have better things to do with my time at present. Good day to you, dear.” “Regina, don’t you dare hang up on me!” yelled Red. She knew full well that kind of talk would make Regina too mad to just leave it without some kind of sharply whitty reprisal. But before the full fury of the Madam Mayor could be unleashed, Ruby started speaking again. If all else fails – use the nuclear option. The truth.“Yesterday we had dinner at seven. There was no dessert because I pretended to have forgotten the ice cream at the diner and so you pretended to be mad at me. We had wine in the study and then we played,“ Red pulled in some air and went on as matter-of-factly as she could. “I had to thoroughly make it up to you by splaying you out on that massive desk of yours and fucking you until you could not take it anymore. Then, because I made a mess of it by swiping all those documents off the desk and ripping your skirt – I am actually really sorry about that, by the way! – you declared my punishment would be to be at your mercy for the rest of the night. We ran through the house and up to the master bedroom naked. You tied me up to the bedposts with those scarves, for crying out loud! Now, I have woken up here, in the B&B. And I think I somehow got trapped in Belle’s body! I don’t know what happened to her and all of this is just crazy! So will you please just listen to me and help me!” There was a long silence at the other end of the line. Ruby could only faintly hear a labored breath and the ticking of the clock. “Ruby? Is that truly you?” Regina’s voice now sounded much softer, laced with hesitation.“Yes! I’ve been trying to tell you that from the beginning!” Red was almost ready to burst into tears with relief. Regina would be able to sort it out, whatever it was. And yet the next words she heard made this whole ordeal all the more complicated.“But if you’re Ruby… Then… Who is it that I am looking at right now?”
. . .
Regina Mills,
The day of the Incident, 7:58 am.
After hanging up the phone Regina remained still, staring at the wall and not seeing it. Since waking up barely an hour prior she had one of the weirdest mornings in her life. And by that she meant the life she had in the Enchanted Forest and the life she built in Storybrooke, both of them. Thus to be counted this high on the list of memorable mornings, this one had to have been something truly special. She let a long breath out through her nose, her lips forming a tight line. Regina squinted, glaring at the wall and going over the information she just received in her head. She was trying to put together all she knew and arrange it all in some sort of order that would make sense. Something critical happened between late last night and early this morning. Between her falling asleep and waking up. Pushing all emotions aside, a feat that was harder to accomplish than it sounded in her head, Regina silently listed all the facts she knew so far. Her trained mind went back to the cynical and orderly legal language of by-laws and town ordinance. Her observations had been as follows: 1) Red had been acting very strange this morning, 2) after Red fainted Regina was unable to wake her, not even with magic; 3) the feeling she got back after using said magic was an odd sensation Regina never felt before, 4) someone sounding exactly like Belle French called, 5) that someone spoke as if they were intimately familiar with Regina herself, and finally 6) they said they were Ruby and, judging by the very private information they had, it was plausible they were not lying. There was no clear answer there. Obviously, some kind of magical mishap happened. That, or a deliberate spell cast upon them for unclear reasons. Regina needed more data, further research to do. It was all too muddled and sudden and confusing, not in the least thanks to her own emotional state. She leaned against the wall and pinched the bridge of her nose. And to think this morning began so nicely! Waking up in Red's arms, fully expecting a repeat performance of the previous night… only for it all to spiral out of control so fast! Regina shook her head. This was not the time to reminisce! She had to focus on the problem at hand. Regina walked back into her bedroom, where on the queen-sized bed (still unconscious and paler than usual, but breathing steadily) lay seemingly the woman she spent the night with. With a deep sigh she waved her hand and silk pajamas appeared on the woman under the sheet. Regina turned back towards the small table next to the vanity and summoned the Indexing Tome from her vault. The heavy, metal encrusted book fell out of a small purple cloud and onto the desk with a distinct 'thump'. Regina had some time before the Ruby she spoke with (whose claims she decided to believe for now) would show up at the door. In the meanwhile there was some work to do. The Indexing Tome would make her search easier, but not too much. The enchantment placed on the book was not a replacement for a true mind. Back in her Evil Queen days Regina would simply ask the Mirror to search for her, but that was a long time ago. Sidney was no longer her slave, he wasn't even residing in Storybrooke anymore. Went on to explore the world and partake of all its wonders now that he wasn't chained to a lamp or a mirror anymore. Losing his magic and a hefty dose of therapy had helped her old friend to find his way, Regina thought as her eyes glowed viridian purple and the pages of the book started to turn on their own as if ruffled by a strong breeze. Dictating the search parameters to the Index wasn't requiring a lot of concentration, thus stray thoughts popped into her head. It was not unlike running on the treadmill – the body knew its routine and went on with it, leaving her mind to wander. Regina thought about many things as she guided the index and waited on the knock at the door.
. . .
Ruby Lucas,
The day of the Incident, 8:21 am.
Ruby skidded to a stop at the white door that read 108, Mifflin Str. She then bent over clutching at her knees and panting. There was a stitching pain in her side and her calves were shaking. Not to mention the thin layer of sweat that broke out across her skin. It was unsettling to say the least. Yesterday Ruby could have run 10 miles without breaking a sweat, or sprinted across town in 7 minutes flat. Now, her heart was beating out of her chest and blood thundering in her ears. Granted, in her hurry Ruby had pushed hard. She covered the distance between the B&B’s back exit and the porch of the Mayoral Manor in record time for anyone else but Ruby herself. The problem was as obvious as it was easy to forget in her haste. The body Ruby was driving around was not her own. It was not her legs covering the distance, nor her lungs sucking in oxygen. This body had none of her supernatural strength and speed, neither did it have her fostered by decades-long training endurance. The body she was in had been well taken care of, but with no more than your average healthy regiment of morning exercise, and it sure was not prepared for the feat of speed Ruby performed just now. Putting a hand on her side Red limped the two more steps to the door and knocked. She winced at the stab of pain as she was trying to get her breathing under control. Well, then. She had caused pain to the body that wasn’t hers. Again. Hopefully, whenever this whole mess gets cleared up Belle could forgive her. It took some time for the door to open, or maybe it felt longer than it really was to Ruby. Maybe it was her nerves. Maybe it was her still rapidly beating heart. Or maybe it was her sudden inability to hear footsteps from fifty paces away. But eventually the door opened and Red thought she was going to faint at the sight. There was Regina standing at the threshold. The dark wine robe tied tightly around her, no makeup and hair only lightly brushed instead of the splendid glossy locks. This was still the Regina Ruby was looking forward to getting used to seeing every other morning. The private, secret look reserved to the early morning hours of the master bedroom before the transformation would occur. From the slightly rumpled sleepy-cat to the clad in the steel of designer clothing head-bitch-in-charge. Even though that was precisely what she expected, Ruby still felt a huge wave of relief washing over her as she saw Regina's face and the look of concern upon it. It took her a moment to even register anything beyond the warm light in the brown eyes. Any other day, she would have given it a few moments to relish in the glow, but this day was not like any other day. Not in the least."Regina!" flew off of Red's lips, and the wrongness of the voice that came out made her choke on the next word. Regina had sprung into action, as if the same thing that startled Ruby shook her out of the quizzical stare as well. Regina ushered Red in, glanced around outside and then promptly closed and locked the door. They turned and stood there in the foyer, watchung each other, not saying anything. Once inside and leaning against the closed door, Ruby blinked at the curious expression on Regina’s face – one sable brow raised and lips parted slightly. Then it dawned at her. Not only was Regina seeing Belle in her place, but a rather extremely disheveled version of the usually put together librarian. Ruby looked down and let out a reflective snort. On top of peach pajamas she was wearing a plush purple petticoat fit for winter and her feet had been hurriedly shoved into pink bath slippers. In her rush to get over to the mansion as soon as possible Ruby just grabbed the first few things she could get her hands on. And since the usual array of Belle's heels and boots would not be conducive to running, nor the waist-long cardigans obscure her state… All resulting in the carnival clown she appeared to be looking like now. Red pressed both hands to her face and laughed into them. Even muffled, it sounded borderline hysterical to her. She felt hesitant hands land on her shoulders. As Ruby looked up, she was met with Regina, looking both genuinely worried and affectionate. Yes, that latter emotion was less pronounced, but it was there nonetheless. Which only could mean that Regina truly believed her! Even after the truth bomb Red dropped during their earlier phone call, even after Regina said so and offered her help, even then Ruby wasn't quite sure Regina fully believed her. But this expression could not be of someone suspicious, it just couldn't. The noise she made at that revelation was something between a laugh, hiccup and a sob, all at once and neither. Momentarily letting go of her self-consciousness about what she should and shouldn't do while in Belle’s body, Ruby surged forward and encircled Regina in the tightest hug she was capable of. There was an audible 'oof' and a bit of hesitation once again, yet just a moment later Red felt Regina returning the embrace. Her hands splayed along her shoulders from behind, then moved up and down her back, soothing the tension, expelling the weight and stress there. Red pulled in a shuddering breath, but she found no need or want to cry. The embrace grounded her, more than she thought possible. "It will be alright, Red. We'll figure it out."
. . .
Belle French,
The day of the Incident, 8:55 am.
There was a formless blackness. It wasn't clear or crisp, and didn't feel like floating on the winds in an endless sky. This darkness felt more like a frozen in time ocean, filled with still water and devoid of life. Nothing moved around her, not a thing. There was just the smothering pressure all around. In fact, this felt less like water and more like some sort of hardened jello. At first, all was quiet. But then a myriad of sounds started flowing in, getting louder by the minute. There was a buzzing not unlike a bee hive that's been poked with a stick. Sounds of wind blowing that went from a whisper to a howl and then back again. Smells and tactile sensations flooded her in waves, so fast and in such a jumbled up avalanche, it was impossible to discern anything specific in the cacophony of senses. But then she felt it… Beyond the chaos and unfamiliar pressure of all senses working on overdrive, beyond all that there was something more.A beat. A steady beat of the heart. A rhythmic beat of hooves of a galloping horse. Wait, no… that was no horse. The beats were heavier, but also softer than that of a horse. It was something else and it was getting closer. The darkness moved. It was no longer just a formless void, it had been filled. The carmine-against-blackness blur moved amd shifted until a furry, four-legged shape could be barely discerned. An enormous, towering animal figure. Two blazing yellow eyes.An open maw of gleaming white fangs. And a voice, voice that spoke not in words and sounds, but in pure emotion. Instinct, temptation and raw force.
"Same flesh. New spark. Weak flesh. Strong spark. Young pup spark. Green, untested. Give in, spark. Let me set ablaze the flesh."
All she could do was tremble under the power of the golden eyes and recoil faced with the force of the voice. "Let me out! Rip, tear, feast! Run! Run free! Taste the freedom and the wound! The rush of the chase! The relish of the kill! No chains! No doubt, no guilt! LET ME LOOSE! BE FREE!" The growling roar of the beast overtook everything. It thundered and then the blackness cracked open with a flash of golden lighting and gave out under the onslaught of carmine claw slashes. Belle's eyes flew open. She bolted up, now sitting somewhere. The darkness was gone, here it was bright and hurting her eyes. She was awake – and she wasn't. It was like that moment right after waking when you can't quite be sure if this is still a dream or not. Everything was sharper, closer, but also dimmer, out of focus. The contradiction of a ragged mind bordering on insanity. The fugue state kept up, even as Belle tried to shake it off. Her whole body was filled with energy and the urge to move, to sprint, to chase – after what or whom she did not know. Worse still, she felt none of the muscles move in answer to her wishes. She remained in that seated position, ramrod straight and frozen in space. Her vision swam from object to object in unnatural ways – each one becoming incredibly clear as if she was using binoculars, but the rest of the room would become blurry and far-off. Belle felt the nausea coming on… and then going away, suppressed by something else. There was something else in here with her… The vision darkened and the next thing that came into focus was her own face. Blue eyes, long brown hair, brows knitted in concern and small lines at the sides of her mouth – in the same spots where little dimples would appear when she would smile. Though, now it was not smiling. Her face was tired and worried. Strangely, there was nothing else reflecting besides Belle's face. In fact, she wasn't looking into a mirror at all. Her face was talking too, despite Belle herself not saying anything. She tried to focus, to follow the movement of the lips, to clear the buzzing in her ears. A voice very much her own filtered through. "Belle, I'm so sorry, but right now you have to listen to me. Focus on my voice. I don't know how or why it happened, but we have changed bodies. You are not looking into a mirror, it's me – Ruby. I am in your body and you are in mine. I know it is disorienting, even crazy, but right now I need you to focus. You have to take control. It's too close to the full moon and we don't have the cloak here and it would be too late for that anyway."
Changed bodies? Ruby? What a strange dream…
"Please, Belle, you have to get a grip or something very bad could happen. The Wolf is there, isn't it? It is strong in me, stronger than it was when I found out about it. The Wolf is scratching at the cage it is in, it wants to get out, but it can't right now. Not unless you let it." The Wolf… Belle remembered the Wolf, but the memory was off. Even though it happened seconds ago, the image of the terrifying beast in the darkness became fuzzy, far away. Still, at the mention of the Wolf her body jerked, she felt the muscles overflowing with the drive to move – and yet she remained as still as a statue below the neck. "I know it is hard to believe or to understand, but we just don't have the time. Here, see for yourself." Her reflection-without-a-mirror moved away for a moment, then she reappeared – this time actually holding a mirror. A medium-sized ornate mirror one could hang up on the wall. It was round with a metal frame made to imitate the rays of the sun. Although, what it looked like was far less important than what Belle saw in it. She saw… Ruby. But not just Ruby. She saw Ruby mid-transformation. Her wide eyes were blazing golden, her snarling teeth had become elongated, the veins were popping in her neck and all the muscles in her body were tensed as if she was fighting some invisible weight. And it was as if a switch had been flipped. Like a flash, Belle remembered in perfect clarity the entirety of the morning. Waking up in an unfamiliar bed with a woman by her side she had not gone to sleep with, discovering herself in another's body, trying to run and falling, fainting, dreaming… and the Wolf! Now she suddenly could see the whole room. The bedroom she woke up in. She also saw who was in the bedroom now. Kneeling before her and holding a mirror was… her. Belle. No, she was Belle! Ruby… They really did switch bodies. And just a few steps back was someone else. Regina. Wearing a robe, hair with a bird's nest on the side, clean-faced and domestic. So very far removed from the way Belle used to see Regina, as Madam Mayor or before that – the Evil Queen. No matter how casual she appeared however, one thing had not changed. Regina's eyes were glowing viridian and purple must was swirling around her outstretched hands. And that was when Belle's analytical mind caught up with her shock and made all the deductions out of habit. She was not able to move for a reason. Magic. Regina was holding her in place. Or rather not her exactly. She was holding Ruby's body so that it would not do what Belle could feel the urge brewing inside was all about. The Wolf. And in that moment something else also happened. That disorientation, those uncharacteristic choices Belle made after waking – the fear and overwhelming desire to flee, to deny, to hide – that interference had cleared up. Belle closed her eyes and breathed out. She called back to her intellect, to her force of will, to her stubbornness. To the very same qualities that pushed her into offering deals to Dark One's to save her family and facing magical beasts armed with nothing but a dagger and knowledge. She always worked better under pressure. Whatever it was she needed to do now – to conquer this Wolf or to figure out the mystery behind this body-swapping magic – she was going to attack the problems with all of her might. Her strengths had never been in the physical, but the willful aspects. Fate had thrown so much at Belle, time after time – and she was still here . She opened her eyes and said, "What do I have to do?""Seems like you've done it already," said Ruby smiling, "Look." Belle shifted her eyes from the face that was her own to the reflection of Ruby's in the mirror. The golden glow had diminished. The teeth returned to the gleaming white wide grin that was entirely Ruby. And all the muscles relaxed. Belle watched as the yellow sparks danced within the irises, once, twice – and dissolved completely into the clear green. "It seems like it's not close enough to Wolfstime. The sun is high in the sky. And you have much stronger will to resist it than the Wolf has to tempt and force, as it would seem. It's okay. You can release her, Regina, it's over. For now." Regina let out a deep sigh of relief and flicked her wrists, dismissing the spell. There was a gust of cold breeze and Belle had felt as if she had been pulled out of quicksand. The pressure that bound her was coming from all directions and now she was able to move again. Belle took another look around the room. It was bright and warm and homely, not what she had expected. But the décor of the Madam Mayor's bedroom was the least important thing on her mind. It was the two other people present. What a bloody mess! Belle's ex-girlfriend and the ex's new girlfriend. The situation was beyond ridiculous, even without magic-gone-haywire, but with it in the equation… Belle pulled her arms around her middle (feeling an involuntary surge of gratitude at the feeling of silk pajamas and not the breeze of air against naked skin) and fell back down onto the pillows. "We are in big trouble, aren't we?" she murmured towards the ceiling. "I suppose so," answered Regina in a voice that was tired and already far away, grasping at the myriad of explanations and possible solutions. Ruby remained silent.
. . .
Regina Mills,
Several months later.
"...And that is what happened on the morning we switched bodies."Regina turned her attention from Ruby, hearing that final statement and towards the man seated in the plush leather chair opposite the couch. She knew their story would be quite the shocker – and they haven't even gotten past the first day! – but seeing the puzzlement on that bespectacled face was wonderfully refreshing. She had spent many hours here, in this room, on this couch. Many demons had been slain here, and none had required a sword. It had become a comfort instead of the irritation it started as – to trust Hopper and believe in therapy. Since then here in this office, in a professional setting, she has gotten used to his knowledgeable, steadying presence – a rather unthinkable display of weakness for the Queen. But Regina was not the same as she was and her healing was, at least in part, thanks to allowing the former Cricket help. Seeing that dynamic shift between them for once made her smile. Now Regina was the one with the knowledge and Hopper was the one following. Regina leaned forward, her legs crossing under the pencil skirt as she threaded her fingers together over the knee on top. She watched as Hopper took off his glasses and made a scene of cleaning them. The silence stretched and filled up with more awkwardness, at least as far as the other occupants of the couch were concerned. Regina rotated the ankle of her raised leg, the sharp point of her black heels catching the light in its sheen. No one else would be able to tell, but there was a flaw in the black surface – a speck of dirt or schmutz imperceptible to mere mortals. Regina filed the task of dropping the shoes off to be polished at the back of her head and glanced up at Hopper. The unease was radiating off him in waves. It wasn't something malicious or harmful, more like Hopper was embarrassed about being unprepared for such a situation in any way. "Out with it, Doctor," she said. Regina was expecting the question. One specific question first and foremost. And she was right. Hopper looked up, put his spectacles back on and gave her a sheepish shrug. "I'm sorry, let me get this right. You want me to offer you a full regiment of sessions. All three of you. Some sort of unorthodox couples therapy. And all because, as you say, Belle and Ruby had switched bodies and now there's an entire host of issues I can't even begin to list. What is it that you are expecting? What would be the goal? I am not an expert on magic, but I have never heard of therapy being helpful in lifting curses or enchantments."Regina chuckled, "Don't worry about the magical aspects of this situation. Leave that to me. I have been doing extensive research and at this point there does not seem to be any solutions, easy or hard, available. I– well, we had to face the very real possibility that this situation will not be fixed any time soon. And that is one of the reasons we are here." Regina turned to her right. The couch in Hopper's office wasn't quite meant for three people to sit as far apart as some would have desired. Given the complexity of the predicament they were in – barely a few inches of space between all of them seemed like an inadequate compromise. Neither Belle nor Ruby were looking at Archie. They weren't looking at each other or Regina either. Ruby was staring above Hopper's shoulder and out the window with unseeing eyes. And Belle was too preoccupied with examining the hands on her lap, which weren't hers. Archie Hopper was not a real psychiatrist. He was given knowledge and education through magic, along with an augmented personality. But even as Jiminy Cricket he always wanted to help people, no matter who they were. And that core trait remained as strong in this realm as it had been in the Enchanted Forest. Regina had first hand experience and so, as Archie sighed, slumped in his chair for a minute and then straightened, reaching for his notebook – even before he had spoken and confirmed his agreement – Regina was already smiling. "Alright, then," Hopper leaned back, flipped open the notebook and reached for a pen, "How about you give me a summary of what happened since the incident and a general sense of issues you are facing right now and we can go from there." Regina glanced sideways. A summary of everything that happened since that fateful day? That would not be as brief as the good doctor imagined. But, what the hell, they had to start somewhere, right?
TBC...
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Ruby Lucas, The day the Curse broke, two years before the Incident. Ruby Lucas was laying on her bed and staring at the ceiling. Her left eye twitched. No, that was wrong. Nothing in that sentence felt right at all. Perhaps, a better way of putting it would have been: Red was laying on Ruby's bed and staring at the ceiling of her fake house in the fake town full of fake lives. Lives invented, packaged and predetermined. A punishment of an evil witch for the main culprits and innocent bystanders alike. Red was not a bystander in that story though, nor was she innocent. So… maybe she deserved it all. Or maybe not. Maybe it wasn't all that simple. Ugh, it was hard to think.Red could not quite separate the two lives that had found a home in her head. They were layered on top of each other, making some memories crystal clear and others – foggy, blending into each other. Still, there was something staring Red right in the face: a fact so shocking, she had been trying to reconcile it with her worldview for the last hour. Ruby Lucas had been happy . She might not have thought so. She might have felt like she was wasting her life away. She might have felt trapped in a nowhere town with no prospects and fated a life of mediocrity. To never live to the fullest, never have those exciting experiences she dreamed about. She might have wanted more. And yet…Ruby Lucas had a good life. She had Granny. Yes, they fought and quibbled, but they loved each other very much and, in the end, that never changed. She had a job she was good at, roof over her head, enough freedom to express herself in whatever way she wanted. She had a sleek car to show off and a nightlife to be envied. And even if she never commanded the highest respect from the townsfolk, she was never met with hostility either. Ruby Lucas had it easy. She had no memories of a much harsher life. She had all the comforts of modernity. Flushing toilets and washing machines, dental care and antibiotics and safe streets of a quaint little coastal town. She had no memories of the hardships of a mediaeval age, filled not only with bone-crushing work and life as fleeting and fragile as a moth, but also filled with magic and monsters. Ruby Lucas never really knew fear. The terror of the night in the Enchanted Forest. The dreaded silence of midnight and the smell of danger in the air. Everything that was in no way 'Enchanted' , all that was the daily domain of the poor and the weak and the forgotten. Ruby Lucas had it easy. She had no memories of a life once lived. She was ignorant of the hardships of a village girl, growing up without parents. A little too friendly, a little too odd, a little too on the outside. She had no memory of lack of friends, save for one. The one kid that took a liking to that girl, the one that walked with her hand-in-hand when no one else would. The one that became her first love. Ruby Lucas had no memory of Peter. There was nothing left in her head, no image of his sweet face or shy smile. She had no memory of the hidden, stolen kisses. And… she had no memory of the taste. The taste of blood and meat and bone. The taste that would never quite go away, no matter how much Red washed out her mouth or drank or ate. It was still there, lurking at the edges of the memory – a sensory killer, ready to spring up on a slightest trigger. Red sat up, tired of the whiteness of the ceiling and that one annoying dirty spot in the corner. Her hair fell down, covering her face with a veil of black tresses and red streaks. She glanced through it across from the bed, to the opened wardrobe and the mirror that was hung there, on the inside of the door. What she saw was not Ruby Lucas. Red looked like Ruby. She had her hair. She could smile like Ruby. She could dress like her, could go back to her role of a promiscuous waitress in whatever was going to become of Storybrooke after the Curse had been broken. But she also couldn't. Not all the way. Red could see it, she could see the difference in her eyes. Those eyes were no longer light and sparkling. Not to the same level, not with the same earnest innocence. There was something diminishing the brightness. Something wary, a weight hidden deep, deep behind the green. Invisible for all but the most observant. Ruby Lucas had been happy. Red had no idea what she was. She let out a deep sigh. The shuddering breath went all through her body, rattling the bones and making limbs hang limply at her sides. Red breathed in. And out. And in. Steady. Then she raised her head and gave no one in particular a nod. She stood up and tried to shake off the molasses-like melancholy. Not unlike a large animal wading out of a river and getting rid of the water in their fur, she shook her limbs out, torso, head – all of it. Her hair wiped in the air. A lion's black mane with streaks of red. She straightened, feeling much better. The questions remained, but that feeling of being dragged down to the riverbed by a rock tied to her ankles was gone. Red eyes narrowed. She needed answers. It was risky and not guaranteed to work, but she had to at least try. Henry could be left with Granny for just a little while. No one would be crazy enough to hurt that kid. He would more likely get into trouble himself. Red would give him a talk and then… She looked back at the room that had been her home for all the years of the Curse. One look and – whoosh! – she was gone like the wind. The Sheriff station met her with silence, save for the low hum of the air conditioning unit. Red was not aware at the time, but she had only just missed someone else that walked out of the station. Someone with a cane and an uncanny ability to slip in and out without being noticed, even by Red’s sensitive ear. The only trace of Gold that remained was the slightest taste of his bittersweet cologne in the air, but Red was too rattled to notice. She knew why she was here and in such a hurry, nothing else really mattered in the moment.Her breathing had not slowed even as her run died down to a jog and then to a brisk walk as she entered into the station proper. Her eyes were trained on the two barred jail cells at the far wall. There, in the furthest one on the right – behind bars, sitting on the cot, slumped low and with her hands in her hair – was the one Red sought after. The one who had the answers. She moved with purpose towards the cell, yet… her steps were losing their assured pace with each one made. When she stopped in front of the locked door, her boots were as tentative on the floor as they would be were she still Ruby. Red froze a step away from the bars, suddenly at a loss at what to say. As if she had not been running circles in her head with the questions on her way over here. Now, she opened her mouth and nothing came out. The figure on the cot lifted her head. Dark raven tresses and trembling fingers moved out of the way. Faced with the force of Regina's burning gaze, Red gasped without even noticing she had done so. The power in those glistening with unshed tears eyes was raw and palpable. The torrent of emotions swirling in the brown felt like a physical hit. Anger, despair, helplessness, longing, rage and more – everything at once. It was not the Evil Queen Red remembered. It wasn't Madam Mayor that Ruby remembered. It was both and neither. So very much like what Red had felt about herself.And with that realization all she wanted to say spilled out of her, unbidden, unreserved. With almost a sob of relief. Or maybe it was a scream? She wouldn't have known either way."Why, Regina? I just want to know why. Why did you keep me and Granny together? You could have stuffed her into a nursing home, given her dementia, made both of us forget each other! But you didn't, you kept us together as a family. Why have you not done worse by me? You could have made me a worse monster than I was! You could have made me a criminal, a crazy woman in the asylum. But instead you gave me freedom and confidence. Even though Ruby thought she was trapped here, she had it good. You erased the memory of what I did. And you didn't even give me nightmares to remind me of the truth. All you did was give me a few skimpy outfits and release from expectations. That was not a bad exchange. We were enemies. So why would you… Why?"Red stopped to take in a shuddering breath. As an afterthought she added with a sad, little laugh:"Despite our history you were friendly and appreciative of the waitress with not the best reputation in town. You haven't even taken advantage of me, even though I had been flirting with you relentlessly!"Another laugh bubbled up to the surface and floated past Red’s lips to echo in the now silent room. It was more bewildered than amused. Nothing more than a stressed out reaction to the inconceivable.Regina stared at her for a long moment, the pregnant pause lingering between them in the heavy silence – as much of a metaphorical barrier as the real metal bars of the cell. Then she let out a mirthless laugh, her head shaking back. In contrast to Red’s sad and confused laughter, Regina's laugh was bitter – the laughter of someone unbroken, but resigned. The laugh of the gallows. Regina spoke in a low voice, more to herself than to Red, "Well, what the hell. It’s not like I have anything else to do besides waiting for the end. Not with this thing on my hand."Regina moved right next to the bars capturing Red’s attention with the swiftness of her action. She was still rubbing at the palm of her right hand, but her eyes were fixed upon Red. "You ask me why? Ha! As if I had any reason to bother with such questions. The Curse was a dark ritual of the highest order, and all I was concerned with at the time was to be the one to win in the end. All I was concerned with were Snow White and her idiot of a husband. I was going to erase her happy ending, I was going to triumph over all of my enemies and never again be opposed! I wanted vengeance, I wanted to be free and unchallenged! And the Curse provided."Regina laughed again, looking at Red with what seemed like genuine fascination. "How come you are so naïve, Wolf? You ought to know better. That kind of magic doesn’t work the way you think. I haven't planned a thing about the Curse. And I could not have. Before the Curse I had not the slightest idea of how this world worked. I couldn’t have pictured you, Little Red, as an easy-going, adventurous waitress with a fondness for skimpy clothing even if I tried. All I asked was for power and freedom and victory, for Snow White to feel what it was like to be me – her happy ending ripped from her arms. Everything else the Curse improvised upon. It knew what I wanted and delivered as the ritual demanded. Nothing less, nothing more."The corner of Regina's mouth twitched in a shadow of a genuine smile. Her eyes darted towards some memory far away and then returned to keep burrowing into Red."The first time I witnessed what became of all of you was on the first morning I woke up in Storybrooke. The first time I saw Snow White simpering and meek was the same morning I saw you, or rather Miss Lucas, for the first time. Arguing with your grandmother and shockingly not freezing your bared legs off. Although," Regina’s lips curled further into a mocking grin and her eyes raked up and down Red’s lanky form, "the provocative sight that it was sure made for a pleasurable view. Not the worst outcome as far as surprises go."Red stood there, trying to absorb the shocking revelations. "So you…" Red stumbled, not quite finding the words, "You haven't made the Curse what it was? It was just an accident?"Regina just hummed, once again distracted by whatever it was in the palm of her hand. "I have not planned anything, if that is what you are getting at. There were no long hours hidden away in seclusion at my castle wasted on designing the décor of your bedroom, Little Red, or matching the upholstery colors for the Diner. What the incantation required was to give yourself over to it. Body and soul. Feed your deepest desire into the vortex and let it expand. Well, in terms of this realm, the magic was being channeled through my brain without me even knowing about it. My apologies," Regina continued acerbically, "there was no handy MRI machine nearby to check."That barb missed its mark as Red was too busy digesting what was said. Her eyes were wide and there was a crease forming between her eyebrows. "You’re saying that everything… Not separating me from Granny. Letting me forget about the past. Giving me those outfits. All of that – that was your subconscious at work?"Regina let out a sigh. Her mood had not improved. She was by all accounts simply humoring Red as a distraction. Even her always sharp and pointed wit came over weaker than usual. "You are being awfully selfish, Wolf. Me, me, me. Don't you care about your owners? I just told you my only goal was to ruin Snow. Nothing to say about that? And here I thought the loyal guard dog was sent to finish the job."Red's protests died on her lips as Regina waved her off. It seems she had lost what little interest Red's visit pulled out of her. "Regardless, you are too late. I am not long for this realm. Tell Miss Swan to take care of my son. He might not believe it anymore, but I do love him. Perhaps, after I am gone he may yet change his mind." Regina let out a heavy sigh and leaned onto the bars of the cell. She looked tired and resigned. Seeing this woman in a state Red had never seen her in before, she couldn't help herself. Her long legs ate up the little remaining distance, bringing her up to the door of the locked cell – and face to face with the prisoner within. Red waited to be able to catch Regina’s eye. It felt a bit surreal, that change in roles, the difference of position, compounded by the weight of their history. Red was not sure what she was doing and why. Thus instead of trying to work through all the new information immediately, she just spoke her mind. "What is going on?" There was a moment of heavy silence. The beat of building tension. Then Regina raised her head to meet Red’s eyes. The storm was still raging within those eyes of dark brown and endless depth. The intensity of those eyes, the raw emotion was staggering. The Red from the Enchanted Forest would have recoiled. Ruby would have done so, too. The Red of here and now… stayed firm. "Tell me." A corner of Regina's eyebrow rose a quarter of an inch. Her face had otherwise not changed, however instead of saying anything Regina raised her arm and put it through the bars with the open palm towards Red. There, in the middle of her hand, an ugly black burn was visible. Though, it was strange. The skin forming the complex runic shape looked like it had been burned to blackness, but quite some time ago. Yet the skin surrounding that burn mark was unblemished. No redness, no scars, no distortion of the palm. Which should by all laws of physics and biology have been impossible. It was no ordinary brand. It was magic. Red glanced from the open palm to Regina's face in a silent plea for an explanation. "Gold. It appears he made a promise to his much better half not to kill me. So, as he does, the imp found a way around it. A technicality. Some semantics in the small text he so loves in his contracts." "What is this, then?" asked Red, examining the burns more closely. Were she less shocked by the sudden development, Red would have never let herself cradle Regina's hand in her own. She would never have expected Regina not to huff and batter her hands away. But nothing of the sort happened. Red was holding the injured hand in her own and trying to make out the rune or sigil that was left there. And Regina let her. "It is a mark. Gold has a Talisman of the Wraith. An artefact from where we came from. Ancient and powerful. It allows a magic user to mark someone else for death. Then the Wraith can be summoned. A ghostly assassin, if you will. Already dead, unkillable, unstoppable. Always getting their mark, anywhere in the same realm, no matter what. I bet, Gold is already performing the summoning ritual, the bastard. At least, that part he has to do himself." Red's head had shot up from looking at the Mark. She gaped at Regina, who was in turn oddly calm and only slightly amused by her own barbs at her rival. "So what?" Red whispered, her voice full of incredulity. "You are going to be killed just like that? I…"There was a bark of laughter from the cell. Humorless, mocking. Regina was watching her. Watching with those deep, deep brown eyes. Eyes that usually were closed off during the Curse and only rarely showed genuine warmth. Now, the barriers and pretences were shattered and Red stood before the full force of Regina's gaze. The torrent of emotion and self-assured power was like a punch to the gut. Jailed, given a death sentence, and still Regina was not bowing to her fate. She might have resigned to meet it, but she would meet it head on and she would not go down placidly. Next set of events happened all at once, in a flash. A flurry of movement in the span of a few seconds. Red couldn't quite remember the exact order or what was going through her head. Neither right after, nor weeks later. One second he was standing there, staring at Regina's face… …and the next – she was connected to that face in a fierce kiss. It was like a lightning strike. Sudden, unexpected, and deadly. Red was moving on instinct. Her hand shot out through the bars of the cell to the nape of Regina's head. Her other hand pulled Regina in by her marked palm that had until now remained in Red's grasp. They met in the space between the metal bars, which was just enough for the two of them. Red’s lips moved along Regina's lips, her fingers caressed the short raven locks, then fisted in them at the back. There was a gasp as their lips met, an exhale swallowed by Red’s mouth. And as Red's fingers made their way into that short hair, Regina's entire body tensed. But that second passed and there was no fire and brimstone, no explosive anger and seething outrage. At least, not in terms of delivering rejection and revenge. Because there was anger, oh there sure was! And a whole lot more. There was that beat of initial tension, but then that first second elapsed and tension exploded into action. Regina not only allowed the kiss, she dived in herself. That was where the anger was hiding, to now be let loose in the kiss. But not only. Bitterness, desperation, longing, resentment, and even more rage – burning hot as a forest fire and icy cold as the mountain winds. Regina's hands grabbed Red by the front of her shirt and yanked her even closer. The kiss was not in any way gentle. It was a tornado of bitten lips and teeth and roughness. Red’s fist in Regina's hair was unyielding, Regina's hands were threatening to shred Red’s shirt as she held her in place. There was a tinge of iron added to the taste as they deepened the kiss. Neither knew whose lips had been bitten enough to bleed. Red let her tongue dart in and tease along Regina's and up to the roof of her mouth. In response, Regina wretched their mouths apart, backed up only an inch away from Red’s lips, making Red chase after her mouth… and then she reconnected them, her tongue delving past Red's lips. The rough metal of the bars pressed into the sides of their faces as the angles of the kiss changed. It was a mad scrap, a fierce collision of high strung emotion and loaded histories. A release of pressure they both were drowning under. The solitary buoy to grab onto in a storm amidst the vast open ocean. It felt as insane and impossible as it felt rejuvenating.And it ended just as abruptly as it began. It was Regina who pulled herself back and shoved Red away from the bars. Red stumbled back a few steps, disoriented and gasping for air. They stood opposite each other, breathing heavily and trying to regain composure. Although, perhaps it was only Regina attempting to do so. Regina turned on her heel, away from the bars of the cell, away from Red. She was flexing her fingers and balling them into fists. And then, while Red was still trying to stop her head from spinning, Regina relaxed her hands. She took another deep breath. She let the air sit in her lungs for a second longer than needed, filling up her chest and straightening her posture… and then exhaled. Her hands moved on autopilot, fixing her suit, fluffing her hair back to its perfectly coiffed look. When she turned back towards the locked door of the cell, she was her old self again. Madam Mayor. There was a fake smile of politeness on her lips. But her eyes had glossed over and became expressionless. It was as if the last half an hour, or maybe the whole day, had not happened. The only evidence of the kiss that was still present was the lack of lipstick upon Regina's lips. And the slightly reddened lines on the sides of her face. One along the cheekbone and another on the opposite side of her jaw. The spots where the metal bars had rubbed against the skin. However, lipstick could be reapplied, the scraps were superficial. All of which would be gone soon enough, gone without a trace. And that was the moment that the stinging finally reached Red's brain. The stinging of her bleeding in the corner bottom lip. Regina crossed her arms, adapting a pose of politely dismissive boredom."I suggest, you make yourself scarce, Miss Lucas. You could be accused of having done the deed, were you to be discovered with my body. Though, with my popularity among the citizenry being what it is, you might get a parade rather than calls for a trial. Regardless, I do not wish my demise to be witnessed. Off you go." Red gaped. She shook her head, trying to force the overloaded brain to work. It was not helping. She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out. Red tried again and this time the words spilled out of her along with one shaky breath. "What… Are you not going to… You’re just gonna wait for the end and I should – what? – just go away? Are we not gonna talk about what happened?" "No, we shall not. Because nothing happened. Nothing whatsoever. Now, if you please be a dear and leave me be. I have an important date to keep." Red was quickly progressing from inability to understand, past irritation and straight towards anger. But before she could give that anger an outlet, the detached, bored expression on Regina's face made her progress further still. To a mix of emotions she could not name herself. What really could she do now? Her raised fists and fighting stance gave way to slumped shoulders and pleading gaze. Regina's politician's smile waned. Something hard and wary had peeked from below the mask for a split second. "Run, Little Red. You shouldn't cohort with the damned." Red jerked, wanting to go towards the cell on instinct. Whether to comfort Regina or to shake some sense into her by force, that she was not sure of. Although, before any of the choices became apparent, Regina made her wishes clearer still. "Get out," she growled through gritted teeth, "Now!"And with that Regina looked away from the door, turned, made the one step necessary to reach the cot and sat down. Prim and proper, with perfect posture and staring holes into the wall opposite. It could not be less plain to see what her wishes were. Red lingered for another moment. She could hear her own heartbeat thundering in her ears. But there was nothing else she could do. Faced with that fact, Red did what she was bid – she turned on her heel and ran. A whirlwind of events later, which only took a few hours at best, but felt like another day, Red found herself in the town courthouse. She yet again could do nothing. Just stand as the silent and removed witness to the family drama unfolding. Emma and Snow were gone. Either transported to the desolate wasteland that used to be their realm of origin or… into a gaping void. She saw Regina on the verge of snapping David's neck and being stopped by Henry. She saw and heard their conversation after. She heard the sincerity in Regina's voice that only a mother could convey, and the righteousness in Henry's that only a child was capable of. The black and white illusion of innocence just before the real world would shatter it. Red was quite familiar with it herself, doubly so now with her memories returned, regardless if she wanted them or not. There was something that gave way in Red's chest as she saw Henry reject Regina and then happily go with David. Something inside her waned and snapped as she heard him ordering Regina to bring Emma and Mary Margaret back. She knew that anger. She also knew somehow how it would feel to be on the receiving end of it. Henry and David walked by her on their way out, where she should also be following. Where she was expected to follow… but her legs would not move. She observed as Regina watched Henry go and cradled her hands over her chest as if trying to keep him even though he was already gone, out of grasp and reach in more ways than one. Catching Red’s eye, Regina straightened. Her arms dropped and went rigid at her sides as she tried to regain her composure with a cough. It was a good performance or it would have been if not for Red's full attention. Feeling that something in her chest again, pulling her like a hook caught on one of her ribs, Red made a step forward. And then another. "I'm sorry."It wasn't what she wanted to say first, but it was what she felt. Regina looked up. Her eyes were big and there was a puzzled expression on her face. She was perhaps expecting anything, but not this. "You don't have to say it too. You have cursed an entire realm and I know you feel no regret for that. But now that the Curse is broken people are remembering what they lost and… no one stopped for two seconds to notice what you have lost. I'm talking right now, not then. I am sorry, Regina. I have seen you raise him. From when he was a baby. You had given him all you could and you're still trying, despite everything. I'm sorry he is pulling away from you."Regina was staring at her with wide eyes full of unshed tears and that same endless depth of emotion Red saw back at the Sheriff's station. She breathed in and barreled forward. "And I am sorry for whatever happened or had not happened at the station. Yeah, I know, we won't ever talk about it, not ever. But then again, we don't even know that tomorrow will bring. I just… yeah. I'm sorry." Red turned on the spot and walked out. She was halfway down the corridor when she heard it. And it was only thanks to her once again heightened werewolf hearing that she did. Half-choked out through gritted teeth words. As if Regina was trying her hardest to keep them inside, but was compelled to voice them nonetheless. "Me too, dear. Me too."
. . .
Ruby Lucas, A few months before the Incident. Ruby was stretched across the leather couch, from one end to the other. Were she to lay properly, her head would have been perched uncomfortably on the side cushion and her ankles would have been propped on the other. The couch was too short for her, no matter how you measure it. Thus instead of conforming to the norm, Ruby made the couch her own. She was laying with her head flat on one of the seats – hair spread around, dark brown tresses on the dark brown leather – and her legs were thrown over the side. The cushion was under her knees this way, letting her swing her crossed ankles up and down. This was quite the comfortable spot, though it had not been such from the start. Ruby had not planned or expected to go to or even welcome her therapy sessions. But after what happened with Belle… she was put before a fact that she just might need it. This was not the Enchanted Forest. There were no magical solutions for her issues. There were other, better ones. In the same way as there were better ways of handling most things. Starting with running water and dental and ending with, well, mental health. Nothing remotely similar existed in that other realm of magic and feudalism and abundance of horrors, lurking in the night. Not to mention the other little fact, the one about Ruby asking for help. It was always so easy for her to offer help, any day, any time. But to ask for it? That was not, not in the least. Still, she was here, having worked through some of the hardest to tackle lingering issues. Having grown comfortable with the couch. With the sound of the pen scribbling on the pad of paper. Or the sound of glasses being cleaned. Or the ticking of the clock on the wall. Instead of agitating, these things became a source of comfort. Ruby wiggled her shoulders, repositioning on the couch and enjoying the sound of creaking leather. She was looking up at the ceiling. The white upside-down field was appearing perfect from one set of corners to the other. No mold, no cracks, just whiteness. Though, after staring at it for so long, Ruby found a few little imperfections. A few bumps where the paint was chipping. She knew all five of them by heart. Ruby sighed and spoke out. "Have I told you why I kept my cursed name, Doc?" "No," Archie's voice answered from over to the right. "Not thus far. Although, I must say, it was not surprising. You were not the only one who kept their name. Of those who stayed in town, that is. Some wanted a fresh start, others just didn't want to deal with the paperwork of changing it."Ruby chuckled. Then she lifted one of her hands, tracing the bumps in the ceiling with her pointer finger."I decided to do it the day after the Curse was broken. I had woken up to the same place I had been before. Same bed, same room, same bathroom, same clothes and the same routine waiting. But it wasn't the same, too. This was the same town filled with new people, new to Storybrooke, not to us all. And so I decided to stay 'Ruby'. Or maybe make a new Ruby. Put some more of Red into her. Or me, I guess. Ruby had a better, happier life. She sure was not always appreciative of what she had, but then she had no point of compassion. So now she would. Which is to say that I would or get to have that, having both sets of memories. Does any of what I'm saying make any sense?" "Of course, it does." She glanced away from the ceiling and her finger to see Archie smile. "People faced with extraordinary experiences, and especially with the aftermath thereof, react differently to such things. One of the common reactions is the desire to reinvent oneself. Though, not everyone does follow through on that desire.""Well, I had some trouble with that," Ruby let out a dry laugh. Despite the sound, it was more contemplative than sad."Yes, you needed some help, nothing wrong with that. Was there anything else you wanted to do or change after the Curse was broken that you haven't managed yet?"Ruby stayed silent for a moment. She thought back to that first week after that monumental day. To the return of magic, to the struggle to keep the town together. Then there was the reunion with Emma and Snow. And the party that celebrated their return. However, none of these events took the focal point in her memory. There was someone else that was a permanent fixture in her thoughts that week, and thus had engraved her presence upon the memories of that time. A brunette, burdened with magic and history. A mother, trying to do right by her son. Regina was the one she thought about. She thought about the glances. Polite greetings. And the avoidance. The unspoken agreement to never mention what happened at the station again. She remembered the brown eyes. Slowly warming up, but still so distant. The aura of loneliness surrounding Regina. And she thought about what she wanted to do, but never had the stomach to actually go for. Not that week, not the months after. "Yeah. There was this one thing.""What has stopped you?" "Ah, I guess, I feared… um… let's say an explosive reaction. It was a crazy idea to even entertain the possibility back then. ""Alright. What about now?" "Now?" Ruby turned her head to see Archie properly. Her brows were furrowing and if she weren't lying down she would probably be tilting her head in confusion so much like her animal counterpart would be. "Yes, now. It was a lot to take in and digest at the time. But it has been some time since that day. Storybrooke is in as good a place as it can be. And you are not in the same place you were. You have made great progress, Ruby. Would the same obstacles stand in the way of what you wanted to do then or have things changed? How do you feel, Ruby?"Ruby's first instinct was to blanch at the suggestion, but it was not as easily dismissed. Archie raised some good points. And what felt like an insane idea, sheer impossibility, now felt less so. It has been some time. They were not the same people. And Ruby had been encouraged to take more chances. "You know what, Doc, maybe I could do something about that. It's gonna be my funeral, but what the hell, right? We all live only once." "No-no, that was not–" Archie started, but fizzled out after seeing her grin at him. He sighed and smiled back. Yeah. Ruby was going to have that talk. About that something that should never, ever be talked about. No acknowledgement, no passing mentions, no words, no memories, no nothin'. At least, that had been the rule. Well, Ruby was going to break that rule. She was going to go and confront Regina about what happened between them in the Sheriff's station on the day the Curse broke. Gods help her.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Belle French,
Three days after the Incident.
The shock started to wear off on the second day. And yes, maybe it was just the immediate shock of the initial discovery that had worn off and the full weight of the life-changing circumstances was going to hit her later… Either way, Belle was grateful for the clear head and nerves settling down. She felt a little bit more herself, or as much as she could given the body she was in wasn't her own. Her mind returned to the familiar: the reassurance of rational thinking and steady perseverance. Solving one problem at a time. She had not heard or sensed the Wolf anymore, thus the initial disorientation and fear had been replaced by the burning ember of curiosity.
That, in turn, had prompted a reaction from the two people she had been under the self-imposed house arrest with. Regina took the change in strides. They found a bit of a balance for the sake of solving this problem. Belle had to admit, working with Regina was both effective and fulfilling as far as the research was concerned. Still, they remained formal, distant and dry in their interactions, like work-colleagues, having to share desks next to each other.
Ruby was another story. She swayed from internal turmoil and outright panic to completely forgetting about being in another's body. And everything in-between. But what Ruby was most shocked and bewildered by was how Belle had acclimated so fast.
"How are you so calm?" she kept saying, "I'm freaking out over here and you are reading and having breakfast!"
The only answer Belle had to give was to remind Ruby about the life she had before Storybrooke. And even here, after the Curse was broken, something fantastical would happen every now and then. After getting over the immediate shock, it was not that much outside the realm of the usual.
"Ruby, you live in a town filled with magical creatures. Fairies, dwarves, witches. You yourself are a werewolf. It was startling to find out the wild magical accident had happened to
me
in particular, but to pretend like this is not exactly the kind of thing that would happen in this town? No, that would be incredibly naïve. Furthermore, have you forgotten about Rumple? I had been the kept woman of the Dark One for a long time. The magic I have seen… or read about would make the hair at the back of your neck stand."
Ruby gaped at her with wide eyes, but she had to accept with the facts of the matter. She deflated and dug into her cereal. Belle watched her for a moment, taken aback by the grumpy frown and upset chewing – both quite new expressions to see on her own face that she was looking at. It was strangely endearing and cute, though that only served to make Belle more contemplative and made her heart ache.
Instead of dwelling, she turned to the riddle before here. This was the other reason why she was adjusting quickly and even a little bit excited. It was just so fascinating! No matter how awkward and hurtful the personal angle of it all was for Belle, she could not deny the scientific significance. Or perhaps "magical" would be the better term. It was, after all, not a natural phenomenon. Finding herself in a strange, unfamiliar body was a unique experience all on its own, regardless of the emotional baggage. Although, Belle had to begrudgingly correct herself on her use of words in this line of thinking. No matter what, if she was being honest to herself, she could not use "unfamiliar" or "strange" in regards to the body she was now residing in. It was an uncomfortable truth to examine, but the situation called for her best analysis, which meant admitting to biases and confronting the truth. She could not use such terms because… well, because Belle had familiarized herself with Ruby's body in most intimate ways during the time they were together. She was very familiar with the body she now inhabited. With every birthmark and every single scar, every protruding bone and every sound – from the beat of the heart and cadence of the speech to the most secretive of sighs and moans. She knew the scent of that body just as well as her own. She knew the texture of hair and the pressure of tensed muscles. The smoothness of skin and how warm it was to the touch. She knew Ruby's body, every inch of it.
Which made this both easier and harder. She knew exactly what to expect. But at the same time she had no clue. It was one thing to observe from up close and from afar, and still an altogether another thing – to be on the inside, to be the mind doing the driving.
Belle had some problems with the simplest of things like moving around on the first day. Even walking became a challenge for a bit there. Everything was different. The ground was further away, the ceiling was closer, her center of gravity shifted and her limbs moved so much faster, propelled with increased strength. Belle was grateful that she was able to refrain from face-planting on the floor again, especially so in front of the Mayor. Still, after a day of trial and error she seemingly had most of the motor skills figured out at least.
Another surprise for Belle was the appetite this new body fostered. Demanded, really. There was an endless, bottomless pit hidden in Ruby's stomach. Belle had not even noticed how much she was eating the Mayor out of house at that first awkward breakfast. Not until she gave it a thought later. Her sheepish apology was dismissed by a wave of the hand. However, Belle did receive an explanation right after. Both Ruby and Regina told Belle about werewolves' increased metabolism, even in their human forms. All that strength and speed, the heightened senses, not to mention the transformation, it all came with a hefty bill attached. Aside from the dangers of losing control, there was also the question of energy. Conserving, refueling and expanding. The first two were straightforward. Belle only had to refrain from getting used to higher tolerances. Not go without sleep too long, even though she could, for one example. Eat her own weight in protein a fortnight, for another. Couldn't be easier, right?
Now the tricky part was with the expulsion of energy. It had to be done through physical activity. For some reason burning energy by exercising the brain was not the right thing for the Wolf. That was just how it was, despite Belle providing backed by research arguments in favor of the scientific fact that brain-stimuli burned more calories and required more energy in general. Even receiving agreement and approval for her line of thinking from Regina, however conflicted that made Belle feel, had not changed anything. Magic apparently had different laws than nature. The Curse was powered on animal instinct. Though, it was twisted, augmented to suit the goal of the original Curse, and as such demanded obedience in accordance with its own rules.
Thus, on the third day, when Belle started to notice both her new body being tense and Ruby getting antsy, something had to be done.
And that was how Belle arrived at here and now. Standing in Ruby's bedroom, in front of her closet, and going through Ruby's collection of running outfits. She had looked for a while and had chosen a few of the only items that weren't red or had some kind of red accent. Blue running leggings that ended just below the knee and gray socks that would disappear into sneakers she saw waiting on the shelf by the entrance. Those were the clothes she already had on, but above the waist she was still topless, not counting the gray bralette. The finishing touch – a light blue sleeveless tee – Belle had just taken out of the drawer and hung it on the hook built into the frame of the standing mirror when a wave of emotion caught up to her.
It should not have been uncomfortable to undress here. Belle was alone in this room. She had been here before. It should have been fine. And yet…
Expecting to see one's reflection and seeing someone else staring back would be unsettling at the best of times. But Belle thought she had gotten over it. Rationalized away the awkwardness and stuffed the baggage in the furthest corner of her mind. And yet…
Those first two days Belle undressed and changed on autopilot. Just as she took her showers – nothing more than an autonomous machine, a robot going through the motions. Her brain had been overloaded with theories and possibilities, making it all the easier to ignore the questionable consent issues going on. Not to mention, having to be a reluctant guest at Regina's home and all this additional complication entailed. Aside from mechanically taking care of the bare necessities she needed to function, like food, sleep and cleanliness, Belle had been caught in a vicious theorizing circle. A loop of over analyzing every aspect of what happened. Every one except the ones she could not dare examine, the ones shoved away into that corner and left there. Belle had not really had a moment to slow down and just breathe.
Which meant, of course, that entering this apartment with its familiar scents and familiar layout and filled with familiar things as opposed to the strangeness of being at the manor, it meant Belle felt safe. A whole lot of tension drained out of her shoulders and neck. Her mind had a chance to slow down.
And an altogether different form of awkwardness came over her. This unease, a weird mixture of embarrassment, longing, sadness, guilt, and oddly enough – excitement.
Standing in just her socks on the carpet, Belle was all of a sudden overcome with this discombobulating feeling. Like she was there, standing on the floor and looking in the mirror, but also looking at herself from the outside. She would have called it an 'out-of-body-experience' if that term wouldn't have been entirely ridiculous under the circumstances. Still, the feeling was mesmerizing.
Belle looked and saw Ruby. But also that she was Ruby. She could make Ruby do what she wanted. And she could watch.
Belle had dreams like that. More than on one occasion. Vivid, vivid dreams.
She watched the reflection in front of her, and she watched from a different angle up above – the figure standing in front of the mirror. The figure was so very much the exact image of what she knew Ruby to be. But also not quite. The smallest details were different, adding to the eerily surreal spell Belle found herself under.
Ruby was tall, that she already knew. Ruby was tall and lanky – a willow tree that could bend, but never break. Ruby's musculature was not flaunted in all the obvious ways. It was hidden under the smooth and long lines of her body, under the expanse of skin and hidden amongst the impressive bone structure. Belle watched Ruby's hand raise up to her face. She knew she was the one making that hand move, but that knowledge was foggy, fallen away to the periphery, almost beyond notice. It was like the dream: Belle wished for Ruby’s hand to move – and so it did. She watched on, mesmerized, as the figure before the mirror moved, and so did the reflection. The hand rose up to move the strands of hair away from the face. And that was where the journey began.
Ruby was tall. Ruby was tall and lanky. Ruby had impressive bone structure. Ruby had striking green eyes, eyes that were admittedly a bit unfocused right now. Ruby had sculpted sharp eyebrows and high cheekbones. Ruby had a slightly pointy nose that matched perfectly with the rest of her angular face. And, not least of all, Ruby had the jawline that could cut diamonds.
As each feature was called out in that salient, inner monologue of free-flowing thoughts, the long, slender fingers of Ruby's hand traced each one in turn. The pads traveled around the face: the feather-light touch moving from the brow to the side towards the cheekbone, then tracing the nose and slightly parted lips; moving to the right cheek and ending the circle with a glide along the jaw to the chin… and then descending down the neck. The fingers continued further down, barely ignoring the picking up speed beat of the pulse beneath the skin. Next the fingers arrived to the split in the road, denounced by the wings of two protruding collarbones. There, the right hand was joined by the left. Two sets of fingers moved along the collarbones away from each other. The pads put a bit more pressure on the bones, but when they proceeded towards the shoulders the touch became once more a barely there whisper upon the skin. Hands traced those strong shoulders, snaked under the wave of dark brown hair and went up the back of the neck. The skin under the touch shivered. But then the fingers arrived at the divot where the neck connected to the head, and instead of the pads the pressure was being made by nails. The lightest of scratching from the back of the head, down to just below the ears and onto the neck again. Another shiver ran across the skin underneath those hands. The fingers started to switch between the light touch with the pads and just as light scratches with the nails, chasing that shiver, letting it echo at the base of the spine and somewhere deep in the abdomen. It was a hypnotic feeling, enough to put one into a trance.
Ruby was tall and lanky. And she was stunning in her own unique way. Yes, her legs went on for miles. Yes, her angular face was gorgeous and her smile infectious if not borderline addictive. However, Ruby was never curvy or possessing a classical figure. Her chest was of moderate size, her hips to waist ratio wasn't what some beauty standards would call perfect. And yet… she was. All the long lines and effortless elegance of her body combined were nothing short of a perfect match. The eyes watching the figure standing before the mirror really took it in, followed each movement of the hands and drank up the view of each feature coming into focus.
The fingers returned to the small divot where neck and collarbones met, but, instead of separating as they did before, the fingers continued lower. The pads moved down the center of the chest, open in the deep 'V' of the bralette. The nails scratched along the center of the sternum. The pressure against the bone and skin, harder now, more insistent, produced another shiver. And another set of echoes elsewhere in that body. The heat started to pool at the base of the spine, sending tingles up the ladder of vertebrae. The fingers danced lower, skipping over the elastic band of the bralette, and moving towards the very top of the abdomen. That spot where the ribs would say goodbye to each other and move apart. That spot where the road to the middle of the belly would begin. The hands and fingers spread out. The first scratch of this sensitive area made the lungs expand and a shaky breath was sucked in through the clenched teeth. There were more shivers as the fingers explored the abdomen and sides of the torso. The tingling and warmth at the base of the spine expanded: like little streams of river rapids, it wrapped around the waist and dove down. All along the lower abdomen and further beyond the waistband of the leggings.
It was surreal. To watch and experience at the same time. To be the one at the center and the witness from the outside.
A dream.
And in dreams anything was possible.
"Ah!" –
a breathy exhale combined with the world tilting on its axis.
The eyes in the reflection flashed! Up to this point the gaze of these green eyes was unfocused, far-away, giving into the hypnotic trance. But then, in a split-second, like a strike of lightning, they looked straight into the reflection… and right at Belle! Gleaming, vibrant teal irises – without a trace of that fog, but with something else instead.
Intent
.
Temptation.
Daring.
And the smallest of golden flecks dancing in the sea of teal shine.
All of a sudden everything became sharper, all the senses woke up and joined the mesmerizing dance.
At first, she felt her flesh and muscles and skin more acutely. As if all and any pressure was amplified tenfold, but without crushing her under the weight. She could feel the elastic band of the bralette digging onto her ribs. She could feel just how tight the leggings were. She could feel them hugging her ass and wrapping around her legs. She could feel the cloth clinging to her inner thighs. It was as if the whole of her skin became more sensitive than ever before. It was hot and tingling all over, from her toes and all the way to the top of her head. The long tresses freely spread about her shoulders were the whispering chorus of touch, each strand – another point of contact.
Then, hearing directed her view on the inside. Towards the beat of the heart. To the pressure of the blood pumping in her veins. The breathing that kept picking up in depth. The almost imperceptible sound of clothes rustling against themselves and her skin.
Together, taste and smell joined the fray. And what she could feel now… The smallest of traces of salt and sweat and apple that were her skin and hair. She could taste those, she could smell the scents, but more than that. She could feel the moisture gathering
there
. She could feel it with the barest move of her thighs. She could smell it on the air. She could taste it at the tip of her tongue. That one flavor she would never forget.
The hands that had been exploring the open midriff had moved lower. All the way to the waistband stretched across the hips. The fingers played with the band. They played with the tingling skin beneath. And the fingers were trembling.
Belle was hit again with the full force of those daring eyes.
There was a sound of a shuddering breath being let out, a breath that made the whole body tremble. The heat had grown. And the scent became sharper. Closer.
She was quite
wet
.
But was it the figure she was watching or herself? What was it that she felt? To whom this wetness belonged? Was it the fantasy or the dreamer? Or was it, perhaps, one and the same?
Ruby in the reflection bit her lip.
Belle – the watching, dreaming presence – felt her own lip being bitten, hard.
The fingers delved beneath the waistband… and then retreated again, scratching a trail behind them. She could almost feel just how much her toes were going to curl at the first real touch of the wetness. The first dip into the heat and velvety tightness… it would be divine. There was a tremble in her calves and the muscles under those itching for more fingers tightened. She could count the divots of the steel-hard abs, hidden for a time under the smooth skin. The fingers followed the V formed where the stomach and hips connected, followed the indentations to slip past the waistband of the leggings and then lower to another waistband. The pads were met with the slightest of prickling, imperceptible to normal touch, of clean shaved skin as they neared their destination.
It was all no more than an appetizer before the main, delicious meal. The road of exploration had led right here. Just an inch more and those long, flexible fingers would meet the gathered wetness. And then, slicked all over, would dip into the heat, into the promise of most exquisite pleasure.
The fingers moved half an inch.
And there was moisture on the tips of the longest two.
'Yes. There. Right there!'
Another inch and…
BANG!
BANG-BANG!
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Belle's heart skipped a beat, did a somersault and jumped up to her throat. She staggered, trying to keep her heart from jumping out of her chest altogether. Her hand flew out of her leggings just as fast as it felt for her outside persona to fly back into the body she was now occupying. The disorientation was dizzying. Not in the least aided by the warring feelings and emotions. Arousal, fear, surprise, disappointment, shock, just to name a few. Belle staggered on her trembling legs and made a step towards the mirror frame. She looked around, gathering her bearings. It was not unlike waking up from a vivid dream. An overload of information for the brain to sort through, enough to cause whiplash.
However, now she knew what startled her out of that daydream. What was most likely a gentle tapping of knuckles against the door, that knocking had sounded to Belle as a whole battalion of canons.
And then a voice called out from the other side of the door.
"Belle, I'm making energy drinks, you want one?"
Belle's own voice. The voice she always heard in her head. Her voice, her body, but not herself. Her thoughts became morse code: coming in short bursts, the series of lightning bolts without the thunder.
Ruby was there.
Ruby was behind the door.
Ruby was in the same apartment.
Ruby was the one who brought them here.
Ruby was the one who suggested going on a run. Ruby was making drinks in the kitchen while Belle changed.
Ruby had been there this whole time.
Belle grabbed the shirt she had prepared and hid her face in it. She could not face the reflection. Belle could feel her face growing hot red, she could feel her ears burning. She took a few deep breaths through the cloth just to keep herself from hyperventilating.
She wanted to scream, she wanted to groan. She wanted to go back and finish what she started and she never wanted to touch this body again. She wanted to open the door and shake Ruby and blame her and kiss her and she never wanted to open that door, not ever. She wanted to run away and she wanted to fall through the floor.
Belle turned away from the mirror. She straightened, swallowed, cleared her throat and attempted to keep her voice calm when she spoke.
"Y-yes, that would be great. Thanks."
There was a pause, each second of which was counted by the thundering beats of her heart.
"Gotcha," sounded Ruby's reply, getting more muffled as she was walking back towards the kitchen, "I'll get us two cups to take with and then…"
The voice faded away.
Belle exhaled. She was still clutching the shirt to her chest, as if trying to cover herself even though she was alone. She was staring at the wall with unseeing eyes.
And then she felt it. A presence. A weight in her head. The dull pressure of an alien will.
It could have been there much earlier, it most likely was, but only now Belle became truly aware of it. It was not expressed in words or even thoughts. It was more of a feeling, a complex mixture of instincts and emotions, all mixed up – yet somehow understandable.
It was like something unfurled in her mind-space. Unlike what Belle remembered of her last encounter, the Wolf was not a storm of absolute fury. It was rather calm and steady – a monolith of will, lazily moving in her mind-space. And its communication was colored with amusement and condescension and an odd sort of approval.
"Good spark. Learn the flesh. Command it. Enjoy it. Dare. Take. Indulge. Run free."
Belle's eyes grew large and frightened, but the presence fell away, leaving her with only her own thoughts.
Thoughts which, after some more calming breathing exercises, began to run rampant.
What was this? Just a daydream brought on by lack of sleep and stress? Magic? Belle's subconscious at work? Was it always like this for Ruby? The smallest drop of arousal igniting a full-body experience that might as well count as getting high on some magic mushrooms? Or was this only possible closer to the full moon? Was it the Wolf that pushed her senses into overdrive? Had Ruby felt this much when they were together? Were those howls real and not the role play Belle thought them to have been? Or… or was she like that now… Was it something unlocked after they broke up? Was it… was it something Regina had done? Had it been this intense because Ruby had gotten something with Regina that she had not had with Belle?
Belle had a myriad of questions. And none of those she could ask the person that would have the answers.
She pulled the shirt over her head automatically, her arms going through the motions of their own accord. All while her mind ran circles in her head with the same questions over and over, and some different questions that led to new ones, round and round it went. She had not noticed the distance eaten up by her legs. She only realized she had moved when the door appeared right before her. The door, behind which Ruby and their run awaited.
Belle let out a quiet sigh. What she told Ruby that morning was a lie. What she was telling herself was not the truth either. It was not that hard to pretend to be calm and collected. Sure, Belle saw fantastical magics, she was more well-read in myth and histories of the Enchanted Forest than just about anyone else. Yes, her rational and level-headed approach to one crisis or another had saved her many times before. But none of that mattered, really. It was easy to deal with those other situations. Even when her life was at stake, Belle could take a step back and deal with the problem. This time,
she
was the problem. She was at the center of it and everything had changed. She was not okay. Her nerves were not settling down. It was as weird a situation as it gets. Up was down and the sun came up in the west.
It was time to face the cold, hard facts.
Belle was trapped in the body of her werewolf ex-girlfriend along with the terrifyingly real Wolf. And the best candidate for getting her out and back into her own body was her ex's new girlfriend. Who, by the way, was also the very same person that cursed half a realm and put Belle herself in a mental facility for a few decades.
And now she was going to go on a run with her ex, while they were switched. Right after Belle had almost taken advantage of that borrowed body.
Perhaps, a while of, as they say, pounding the pavement would do her some good. A dose of physical exhaustion might be the thing to clear up her mind. That is, if she could ever find the courage to face her potential running partner and step out of this room.
"Fuck,"
said Belle in a small, tired voice.
She leaned heavily against the door and let her forehead rest on the wood.
Her life became so screwed up in such a short time.
What the fuck was up with that?
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Ruby Lucas Three days after the Incident. Ruby had made a terrible mistake. Horrible, good for nothing, rotten, bad-bad choice. Sure, it seemed like a reasonable move when the thought popped into her head. It seemed even better as she went about making her idea happen. It was supposed to solve all the immediate problems. Well, except for the biggest one, but still! The tension, the awkwardness, the stifled air just hanging over the three people stuck in the house together. Her idea was genius! It was foolproof! It was going to work, yes, one hundred percent, for certain! That was what she thought. But now, heaving and bent down with her hands on her thighs, Ruby was rethinking her entire worldview. Running has always been a positive outlet for her. Be it for her human or animal alter ego. The freedom and speed of the hunt as the wolf! Nothing could compare. The smells and sounds of a forest, the complexities of the whole biome around her, and the thrill of being able to run free. The grounding feeling of jogging as a human. The calmness and stability of pounding the pavement in the wee hours of the morning, watching the sun as it rose over the ocean. Running was a safe, balancing space for Ruby, even during the Curse. The one place she had to herself, to silence the voices in her own head – doubts and insecurities having been pushed out for a time. All she had to concentrate on was her breathing and keeping the muscles moving. Not a big ask, right? Why wouldn't she trust in the process after all this time?She pulled another heaving breath in through her nose and tried to stand up straight. There was a pulsing pain in her side, her lungs felt like they were on fire. There was sweat gathered across her forehead and along the spine column, making her undershirt stick to her back. Her feet and calves became sluggish and heavy like they were suddenly made of metal and gained a hundred pounds in weight each. And worst of all: her hands were trembling.Ruby raised her face to the sky, breathing in and out. She placed her hand on her upper chest, where ribs met collarbones. There, she could feel the frantic beat of her heart – a scared, fluttering bird trying to escape the cage of bones.Well, wasn't that an apt description? And the crux of her current predicament? The irony was not lost on Ruby.She closed her eyes and blindly pulled out the water bottle from her belt. Ruby uncapped it and took a small sip, knowing full well the dangers of gulping it all down at once. Her lungs were still burning. It wasn't all that bad of an idea, wasn't it? Convince Belle to go on a run, leave the mansion, let the body and mind decompress, breathe some fresh air, maybe even talk a few things out if the run went well. Not some grand plan or ingenious strategy. Why did it have to backfire on her so spectacularly? Well, there was an obvious reason as to why. So obvious in fact, Ruby was mentally hitting herself for not being able to just put two and two together. Those weren't her muscles pushing the body forward, not her lungs doing the work. Ruby shook her feet and legs out, finally feeling the pins and needles in the locked up muscles. She put her bottle away and started to walk while stretching, letting her heartbeat go down easy. The Wolf was gone. The muscle memory would not line up with the memories in her head. None of it felt good or right. They say you can't forget how to ride a bike. But what if the bike is upside-down? What if your shoelaces are suddenly made of steel wire? Can you still tie them like nothing's changed? Well, what if all you have is the memory of doing things, but the rest of your body is not your own? What she missed, besides the obvious, was the vast difference in ability between these two switched up bodies. Belle was always quick on her feet, taking good care of herself. Ruby knew just how resilient and willful Belle was. She could overcome many an obstacle on nothing but her intellect and sheer will alone, and had done so on more than one occasion! Ruby heard the stories, she was a first-hand witness herself, too! And during the beginning of their relationship she experienced the boundless nature of Belle's endurance. However, dangerous adventures and spicy hook-ups were no replacement for athleticism, especially not when compared to that of a werewolf. When Ruby had started to lag behind, when her breathing and pulse began to falter, she was reminded of that fateful morning when they switched. And that mad dash to Regina's. Though, back then Ruby was overwhelmed with shock and adrenaline, letting her cover a considerable distance in Belle’s body without falling over afterwards. This run was not like that. It was eye-opening. Without her Wolf, not in her own body that was used to hard labor from a young age and trained for all the years of the Curse, Ruby was put before the cold, hard fact that she could not just go back to her usual routine. Activities that were safe and easy would no longer be as such. After a while Ruby had no other choice than to convince Belle to go on without her. It was strangely easy to do – Belle had been even more distant and awkward ever since they left the house. She agreed to continue on by herself and meet up at the mansion later. Agreed a tad too fast. Ruby sighed in sync with her moving arms as she was speed-walking down the side of the road. She understood. Expecting a heart-to-heart this fast was too much. It was just… Ruby had chickened out of having a talk with Belle so many times over the last few months. Somehow she thought being switched would change it. Being forced to interact would break the cycle and get them past that wall. Not that Ruby wasn't equally at fault for putting bricks into that wall, she was. But maybe this was enough to somehow get them on the same page…She was so preoccupied with her sour thoughts and the rhythmic stretching that the sound of a slowing down vehicle went over her head. However, when a car came into her peripheral vision, slowing down to match her speed, and a voice called out Belle's name – Ruby jumped. Her heart made another attempt to escape the rib cage prison. Yes, it was startling and she was frazzled, but the fact itself was wholly surprising and new. Ruby could not remember the last time someone was able to catch her off-guard or sneak up on her. Least of all – a car. Turning around on her toes and clutching at her heart on instinct, Ruby saw something that she probably should have expected. Next to her was the Sheriff's cruiser. And on the inside, looking towards her with a smile, was Deputy Sheriff Hua. The car came to a stop and Mulan leaned out through an already rolled down window. Ruby's eyes scanned over the car and its interior of their own accord while she tried to calm down Belle's rebellious heart. The cruiser was in as good a shape as it ever had been. The paint chipped here and there, but otherwise nothing else to remark upon. The inside was another story. It had changed a lot since the days Graham used to drive it around town. The backseats were now reinforced and the console between the front seats had been modified. Instead of the usual weapons rack there was some sort of a custom contraption, something that would not be seen anywhere else but Storybrooke. Safely clamped into place were several sheathed swords. Ruby couldn't name what kind those were beyond one of them being straight and two others – curved, but she could see those were real swords. Real, taken good care of and prepared for use. After that quick look around the car, Ruby's eyes landed on the person driving it. Back when Mulan had just accepted the job, she would always be seen wearing her uniform on the clock. She would be as reverential towards it as she had been towards her family armor. Though, since then Mulan had mellowed out. Being the Deputy Sheriff of Storybrooke was nothing like the experience from either realm could have taught her. It was unlike serving in the army or adventuring across the Enchanted Forest. It wasn't even remotely like being a Deputy Sheriff in any other town on Earth either. A normal town and not one populated by former residents of a Fairytale Land. Everything was mixed up in this place and could not be judged by any standard metric. Getting to terms with that let Mulan find her own way, similar to how every other Storybrooke resident had to. These days the Deputy could often be seen more laid back, in casual clothing, even while patrolling. As she was now. Mulan's hair was swept over to one side with the very ends braided together and laying on her shoulder. She was wearing a loose button up, white-blue stripes going down her front. Mulan had rolled her sleeves up to the elbows and only buttoned up the shirt in the middle, leaving the lower halves of it unbuttoned, which let her tuck the right front corner into her belted jeans. Ruby's trained on her own fashion woes eye immediately figured the reason for it: on Mulan's right hip was a holster with her service pistol and over to its left, on the belt – was the golden Deputy Sheriff's badge. That choice was stylish and convenient in Ruby's opinion, though Ruby had to admit her own experience of trying to negotiate an abundance of jewelry with the waitressing routines could not truly compare to carrying a weapon.All those thoughts sprinted through Ruby's mind at a hundred miles per second. Along with another torrent of thoughts. Ruby had been so thrown off her game by this jogging failure, she could not remember if Mulan knew. On the second day after the switch up Ruby, Belle and Regina agreed to keep the magical transfer on the down low for the time being, but certain people had to know. Granny, of course. Henry, too – if only to keep him from trying to investigate the strange behavior on his own. And Emma. As the Sheriff she had to be informed, not to mention Regina was leaning towards having Emma as an additional source of magic for the reversal ritual just in case. (Naturally, Regina would not say so outright, but Ruby could see it: it wasn't all about the magical backup, no, Regina needed a friend.) And that was the end of the discussion. Only the people who had to know would know. But surely Emma would want to inform her own Deputy, right? Right? Yes and no. Emma would without a doubt insist on involving Mulan and it was not like either one of them had any objections, it was just that… Regina was going to meet Emma tomorrow and have a long chat about what had happened. Tomorrow. Not today. Which meant that…"Hi, Belle! What are you doing by yourself all the way out here?" …Mulan had yet to be told. And it was not Ruby's place to tell her. She promised. They all promised each other that they would discuss it first before revealing the truth to anyone else. Though, of course, no one could have predicted this sort of a conundrum. As Mulan looked her up and down and continued with the same familial smile, Ruby was still trying to process. "Have you actually followed up on my advice? Aw, you should've told me! We could have gone running together. I still haven't given up on convincing you to take some self-defense lessons. I promise, I will not go too hard on you!" Mulan threw her hands up, but then her eyes crinkled with her laugh, "At least not at first." Ruby stood there, stunned. Her mouth hung open, but no words came out. "Are you alright?" asked Mulan, her face growing concerned, "Belle! You have overdone it again, haven't you? Yes, I can see as much by the look of you. I know and respect your resolve, but there are times stubbornness will do more harm than good. Come on, I will give you a lift. We will work out a proper training schedule going forward. And no clever arguments to dissuade me this time! I insist." Mulan beamed once again. Ruby remained frozen in place. Oh, boy. Mulan had no idea. And Ruby was about to get in the car with the only other person in Storybrooke that knew Belle as well as she did. Oh, boy. This was going to be a long ride.
. . .
Regina Mills Four days after the Incident. The magical, golden fire in the sconces made the interior of the Vault seem more like a high society club rather than a secret hideout under a crypt. The decor of the main room helped as well. The burgundy upholstery and mahogany wood of the chairs and tables and shelves. Assortment of odd crystals and small devices scattered about the surfaces. And, of course, the books. Books were everywhere. On the shelves and tables, stacked in the corners and poking out of the alcoves. Another addition to the room that made the comparison so easy was a full-fledged bar. With the massive glass cabinet filled with decanters and bottles against the stone wall, and barstools arranged in a row on the other side. The collection of alcoholic beverages and the timeless wooden décor would have made the proprietor of the Rabbit Hole green with envy. Though, very few people knew about it and fewer still had seen this secret bar. At present, there were two women seated at the bar. The first one perched on the stool was dressed in a black and white striped dress, sleeveless and ending just above her knee. She was the picture of elegance – spine straight, legs crossed at the ankles, where the straps of her heels were. The other woman was her polar opposite. Dressed in skinny jeans, boots, v-neck tee and a blue leather jacket, she was seated with one booted foot on her knee and leaning heavily on the bar for counterbalance. Regina sipped from her glass, holding it by the stem. She paused, enjoying the burn her martini left in its wake, and put the glass back down on the coaster. Then she pulled the olive on the pick out of the glass and bit into it. Regina glanced over to her companion, noting for what seemed to be a hundredth time how different they were. And how surprising it was becoming what Regina begrudgingly could only describe as best friends with this woman. This golden-locks-sporting, leather-jacket-wearing, unsophisticated, brash and subtle as a freight train, mother-of-their-son woman. The one who showed up to ruin Regina's life and the one she now, years and so many adventures later, would turn to to make the world right again. Not that Emma was capable, really. She was simply a good soundboard. Helpful in a pinch. At least, that was what Regina used to grumble about when pressed on the matter of this odd friendship. There was a long moment of silence. Regina was chewing on her olive, and Emma was deep in thought. Which was understandable. Having been invited to the mayoral mansion and shown the results of the most recent magical mishap would leave anyone comprehensive. Although, being the Sheriff of Storybrooke, Emma was more used to this sort of thing than most. That was this morning. Now, late into the evening, they met up in the Vault, ostensibly to continue with research, but most of all to talk. So far, they only exchanged a lot of small talk, relying on liquid courage to get things going. "So, how are you dealing with it?" Emma asked after a while, turning her glass around in her hands. "I am trying to find a solution, of course!" Regina snapped back, wincing at how harsh her own voice sounded. That was not what she wanted to say or how she wanted to say it. She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed before adding, "It has to be reversible. All we need is the right incantation, probably some rarer ingredients. I have not been researching for long just yet." "That's not what I meant." "Emma, you know I do not like playing word games with you. It could be fun sparring with someone else – not you. You have your good qualities and even hidden admirable ones, but eloquence is not one of them." "Thanks. There was a compliment in there somewhere, I think," Emma smirked, then grew more contemplative, "How are you handling this? Personally."Regina's hand came up to tuck a stray lock behind her ear. "I would be lying if I said this situation has not affected me at all. It is strange. I caught myself yesterday noticing the similarities in the smallest of things…""Like what?" piped up Emma as Regina trailed off into silence. "Well," Regina started and there was a curious expression on her face, caught between comprehension and embarrassment, "Ruby, she… She has this habit of flicking moisture off her skin. In many varied instances, for example, when washing dishes or after taking a shower… and, um, she still does that, even in a different body. I do not know, perhaps it is a habit picked up from her werewolf side. Large furry animals do have that instinct to shake off water, do they not? Ah, it sounds silly. I have gotten used to that trait of hers, but it used to be so irritating. Because she used to do that with her hair as well. Can you imagine? Walk out of the shower and shake out that mane of hers! She would leave the entire bathroom covered in droplets! I have trained her out of that, at least."Emma let out a noncommittal hum, still preoccupied with playing with her heavy glass. Regina, of course, knew what Emma was doing. Getting Regina to one up and release some stress. Any other day she would make a teasing show (or a lecture, depending on the mood) of catching Emma in on the act of trying to get one past Regina. Any other day, but not today. Today it was easy to just ignore her ego and allow a friend to be a friend. "It was bizarre to see Belle and yet… to notice all the familiar mannerisms and same routines. A few times for a moment I almost forgot they were switched." "Wow, it must have been hard not to… you know," Emma trailed off wagging her eyebrows suggestively. Regina glanced back at Emma, not quite knowing herself what to say. There was just no time to entertain such ideas. All three occupants of the house decided it would be simpler for each of them to have a separate room. The minefield of ethical trappings for this kind of magic were weighty enough as they were, without adding fuel to the fire. Thus, in the two days since the incident, Regina was always either too busy or too exhausted for her mind to wander anywhere near the subjects of carnal nature. Leave it to Emma to bring it up over drinks! Regina shook her head and gave Emma a pointed glare. "Fine, fine!" she threw up her hands, laughing, "I know you wouldn't do anything with the way things are. Doesn't mean you have to police your thoughts either. And what better time to indulge a bit than with a non-judgmental friend half-way to being drunk, huh?""Stop it. I am approaching this accident with utmost professionalism. And nothing more. This is not the first time we experienced magic going haywire in this manner."Emma snorted. And then, faced with another glare, she clasped her hands over her mouth to stifle her laughter. "Oh, you mean the time dwarves were all switched with the nuns because of the fairy dust or whatever? Yes, you were very professional back then! Only fifteen sarcastic comments and eight jabs at Blue. What was it that you said? That Blue 'would cause less collateral damage if she stayed Sleepy permanently'? That was peak professionalism, yeah-yeah." Regina raised her brow, "I stand by that statement. And, as you can remember, we have put them all back in order not long after. That went very smoothly in my opinion. Just like it will be this time.""But it's not the same, Regina! And you know it. I mean, it's not just someone in town! It's your girlfriend and her ex. Hell, I would've freaked if Neal and Tink switched! That would have been all kinds of awkward." "I still can't believe that happened," Regina took yet another sip of her martini."What? Oh, Tink and I? Is it so hard to see? We came back from Neverland all together and then she wanted to know more about this world. And I showed her around. We got to know each other. It was nice. She's funny and charming and quick on her feet. She was even interested in my magic, no matter how much of a failed magician's apprentice I am. And then somehow I ended up giving her some of my memories. You know, like general knowledge about how this world works. And then some… other things happened. Magic stuff." "Yes, I suppose it is better that she had taken up your education. I would not have had nearly enough patience to keep teaching you, as we both know. Now Tink has that handship and I could not be happier. For myself." "Har-har-har. Very funny. You know, maybe if you had more faith in my apprenticeship and stayed on as my teacher, we could have hooked up instead of you and Rubes. That would have been–" "A disaster," finished Regina, unimpressed, "An unmitigated disaster. Though, rest assured I would have never made 'a move' on you, as they say. I am not that desperate." "Shut up, woman! You like me just as much as I do. We click. We're better as friends, I get that. Would have been fun, though." "Well, if I had to admit something… I suppose you are rather cute. In a rough, terribly uncouth, unrefined manner. Poor Tink." Emma laughed and pushed Regina's shoulder with her own. Regina rolled her eyes."Furthermore, when I demonstrated how to use the residual energy from the Curse to help with knowledge transference, I was not intending it to be used for you to get more dating opportunities." Emma made a "pfft!" sound with her lips before taking another sip of her drink. "That was to help Mulan fit over here! Don't pretend seeing her as my Deputy isn't much more palatable to you than David." Regina scrunched up her nose in mock disgust. "Yup, that's what I thought," Emma continued on, "Mulan would probably make a better Sheriff than I am, too. Everyone respects her, half the town adores her and the other half – is afraid of her. Just what you need to keep the order in a town from a different dimension. Plus, having my dad in the department would have been too weird. I am not the most strict rules-follower, but that's too much nepotism even for me. Hell, there are still people looking to Snow to be their voice, even though no one elected her and she doesn't even want to be in office!""I was not elected until recently either."Emma chuckled, "Well, to be fair, you had cursed all of them. But they still chose you now, haven't they?" Regina gave her a small smile, feeling some of the stress fading from her shoulders. It did indeed take a lot. A lot of effort, a long road of redemption. Proving by deeds not words that she had changed. Also being one of the few people in Storybrooke willing and capable of defending it against all and any foe or disaster – that went a long way to help her position. It was true that the residents ousted Regina from the office of mayor as soon as they could. However, the ensuing struggle for power and position among the Fairytale Land's royals and nobles made Regina's term as Mayor a comparatively idyllic affair. Add on top the quite apparent ignorance of all the other candidates in the matters of bylaws, ordinance and structure of towns magically constructed by a Dark Curse… and at the end of it there were only two people capable and qualified to run Storybrooke. And since no one wanted Gold to have the title, Regina was elected to office once again. Or, more precisely, elected for the very first time. Regina breathed out, ran her fingers through the waves of her hair, fluffing out the already perfectly coiffed tresses. The woes of her personal life had consumed all her thoughts over the last few days. It was a comfort to be reminded that her professional life was on the upswing. Regina's smile grew as she toasted herself in the mirror, half-turned towards Emma and drank. They shared an understanding nod, though the impish grin on Emma's face was filled with more mirth at Regina's expense than she would have liked to see. "Now, let's get back to the issue we were discussing before you changed the subject." "Which one? You brought up so many…" drawled Regina, feeling much more herself. "The nepotism at your place of work? Snow's utter failure at being the Mayor? Your relationship with a fairy outcast? Or the most 'genius' thought you have ever had, the one about the both of us getting together?" Emma rolled her eyes. She drained her glass and slammed it on the bar. "I fail to see the appeal," continued Regina, "Not to mention the dreadful lack of an appropriate opportunity. When would have been the right time? When we hated each other and fought for Henry like he was some kind of a trophy? When we were on a rescue mission? The time you almost hooked up with a slimy pirate? Or when we finally came to an understanding, risking that tenuous peace for a fling?" Emma snorted, "Wow, there. Overthinking it much? You blew right past the little joke I was trying to make. Still, if we're talking hypotheticals… We probably would've regretted it either way, but… Hate sex when we were at each other's throats would have been hot! Hooking up on one of those dangerous adventures, when the tensions are running high, that would've been, I dunno, therapeutic or whatever. What?"Regina's left brow moved higher and higher up as Emma was talking. Now, she was both amused and incredulous at Emma's antics. Regina was not quite sure what she was so taken aback by: Emma's brazen, unfiltered (perhaps, even overblown) confidence or that she was making some sort of sense. Emma was looking her over, appraising, then something clicked in that unpredictable brain of hers, Emma gave her that full-mouthed grin and jumped up to her feet. "You know, Your Highness, before you dismiss all my amazing ideas out of hand, you should know – I do possess something your girlfriend does not," Emma chucked her jacket off and threw it on the bar. The white v-neck top she was wearing was sleeveless and figure-hugging. Emma raised her arms and flexed her biceps, then rucked the hem of the shirt up, exposing her belly and showed off the indentations of a noticeable six pack as she tightened her abdominal muscles. "I might not have Ruby's stamina, but I beat her on strength and flexibility! And I know that for a fact. We checked. Ha!" Regina watched Emma with sparks of contained laughter dancing in her eyes. Emma had put her hands on her hips after the demonstration, so very smug and quite a bit past tipsy. Regina let out a chuckle. "And when, pray tell, did such checking occur?""When I got into town. I was not, you know, planning to stay, and Ruby was helpful. And we were both interested in figuring out who would get the upper hand, if you know what I mean. I won. He-he, yeah, I did! Go Emma!""I see," Regina said, slow and thoughtful."What? Why are you looking at me like that? You knew all of it already anyway! You and Rubes weren't together then, it was fair game.""No-no, it is not that. I am not being territorial about my partner's past like some sort of Neanderthal," Regina waved her hand, then her eyes were on something far away and her smile became dreamy, "However, I am afraid your information is outdated. Your time with Ruby was during the Curse. You have not been with her after. When the Curse had been broken, everything changed. And I assure you, no one, absolutely not one single person can match Ruby's strength or flexibility, let alone surpass it now." "Huh? Is she really that good?" "You have no idea," Regina intoned, the meaning of her words evident upon her face. "Aw, shucks! Damn you, Rubes, and your werewolf cheating!" Emma signed heavily, plopped back on the stool, leaned on the bar and even put her head on it. She was pouting. Over some nonexistent competition and fictional accomplishments. Regina felt her laughter bubbling to the surface. It was in a word… nice. All of this was idle talk, she knew Emma had not meant any of this seriously. Still, this ridiculous conversation did help to clear her head. "You are an entertaining drink, dear."Emma grunted into her hands. Then she turned her head and laid it on her arm sideways. There was a red spot in the middle of her forehead where she had pressed it against the wood of the bar. That redness matched the rosy blush on her cheeks from all of the consumed alcohol."Yeah, I've been told," mumbled Emma, "But if I start singing, please, stop me." "Oh, I don't know, maybe I should collect video evidence instead. I do know a former fairy that would be interested in such a recording." "Ugh, Regina, you're the worst. And I was trying to get your mind off your girlfriend-snatching, body-swapping problems! Ungrateful. Traitor. Why am I even friends with you?" Regina laughed. She felt pleasantly buzzed. And the weight of having to solve what happened to Ruby and Belle as fast as possible had somewhat eased off her shoulders. Regina knew she needed to get away and recharge her mind, but she was not aware just how much she needed a breather. The constant tension of being trapped in the mansion, right in the middle of all the complications… it had been a lot. Laughing and watching Emma's hijinks, the lessened tension in her shoulders, the warm weight of the cocktails – one of those or maybe all of them had made a certain set of gears come to life in Regina's mind. She thought of something she had not before. Trapped in the eye of the hurricane with all the hectic and nervous energy around her, Regina had dismissed the most important question. She was so preoccupied with ways to put Belle and Ruby back where they belonged, she forgot to make sense of what caused the swap. They all assumed it was an accident. And it might very well have been. But what if it was not? Regina smiled into her next drink. Perhaps, now she was on the right track to figure out what exactly had happened. And armed with that knowledge, what would be beyond her ability to make right? What, indeed.