Chapter Six

Regina pressed her fingertips against the small of her back as she paced the length of her Vault. Magic crackled around her, sparking as dangerously as a livewire. She was fuming, furious, seething, enraged; she was so incensed that the dictionary didn't have enough words for her to describe her current state of mind. The knowledge that a mere, tangible person had managed to move her to helpless fear had ignited her. A vengeful firestorm brewed inside, desperate for release.

"Who the hell does she think she is?" Regina spat. She paused in her pacing to hurl a fireball at the already blackened wall.

"How dare she push her magic at me! I am the Evil Queen!" She hurled another fireball, more furiously than the last.

"No one pushes their magic at me, and gets away with it!"

Another fireball roared to life at her fingertips, but abruptly fizzled out as a serene voice unexpectedly interrupted her rantings.

"It wasn't my magic. It was yours."

Regina whirled to face the source with a new fireball instantly raised high above her head.

The Red Queen reclined nonchalantly in an armchair, watching her with mild interest. One leg was hooked casually over the side of the chair, its outline just visible beneath the silky sweep of her long red dress.

"You!" Regina's rage howled forth at the sight of her, "How dare you! I will destroy you!"

Intoxicated by fury, she flung her fireball at the Red Queen without a shadow of hesitation. It sizzled through the air, whining with the force of its velocity, and hit her squarely in the chest. The Red Queen's eyes flared open in surprise as it exploded into a whorl of flame and engulfed her entirely in an instant, and Regina's hungry, vengeful smile grew wide at the sight.

After an intense moment, the flames died down to a quiet crackle, and then the Red Queen gingerly rose out of the burning chair, looking down at it in disapproval.

"I liked that chair."

Regina gasped, her face draining of colour as she reeled back against the far wall. "It's not possible..."

"Of course it's possible," the Red Queen disagreed. She planted her hands on her hips with a pout and gazed down at the smouldering furnishing. "You don't know my tastes - I really did like that chair!"

Regina didn't hear her. "You should be... You can't be... No one could have survived that!" Her fury dissipated as fast as it had earlier arrived, to be replaced only by the first icy shiver of true fear.

The Red Queen turned to look at her, raising delicate eyebrows. Without warning, she swept across the room in one smooth motion. In an instant, her face was mere inches away from Regina's, and Regina tried her best to surreptitiously melt into the wall.

"I'll tell you a little secret," the Red Queen whispered conspiratorially. She tapped her lip thoughtfully, and then traced the tip of her pale, cool finger curiously down Regina's cheek, as though taking her measure. "You can't destroy me. If you did, you'd destroy yourself."

Regina inadvertently turned her head away from that cool, unnerving touch, squeezing her eyes shut to avoid the Red Queen's uncanny moonlight gaze. She was cornered, she was in trouble, and there was nothing her magic could do. Luckily, her stubborn pride came to the rescue, rising up to push aside her helplessness. She would not be cowed by this upstart. She reached deep inside herself for her resolve, lifted her arm like lightning, and backhanded her assailant across the face.

The Red Queen staggered back in surprise, pressing a delicate palm to the sting in her cheek. Regina unplastered herself from the wall and drew herself up to her full height, pulling her wrath about her like a suit of armour.

"My magic may not be able to hurt you," she growled, balling her hands tightly, "But my fists certainly can!"

The shocked Red Queen stared at her for a long moment, then unexpectedly burst into laughter.

"Oh, Regina," she said breathlessly, eyes wet with mirth, "You certainly are just what I expected."

"How the hell do you know my name?" Regina hissed, letting the question feed her renewed fury as she took a threatening step forward. Her voice dripped with malice, and her fisted knuckles began to turn white.

"Relax, dear," the Red Queen said airily. She ignited a blue-and-white fireball in her palm and spun it playfully on one finger. "All in good time."

Regina ground her teeth in vexation, but stepped back towards the wall again. Despite her wrath urging her onward, she knew she was at a distinct disadvantage. It was obvious that her magic couldn't hurt the Red Queen, but there was no reason why it wouldn't work the other way around. The Red Queen studied her face for a long moment, toying with her fireball as she gauged the play of conflicting emotions in her countenance. Finally, her expression softened from mirth to understanding.

"You have nothing to fear from me, Regina," she said softly, as though reading her mind, "My magic cannot hurt you, either."

Quick as a flash, she hurled the fireball at Regina, who cried out in surprise but had no time to react. The flames burst over her in a rush, crackling angrily across her body. Regina covered her face with her hands in horror as the fire flared bright and hot, but the flames soon burned themselves out. She opened her eyes just a crack as the inferno subsided, panting with dread as she risked a peek at the damage. Astonished, she found herself unscathed.

Her knees went weak, and she felt behind her for the solidness of the wall to keep her upright, sinking back against it once more.

"See?" the Red Queen said, looking at her curiously.

Regina simply stared at her, breathing hard, unable to find anything to say in response. The Red Queen smiled, and then, without seeming to move, abruptly closed the distance between them as swiftly as a falcon. She trapped Regina against the wall with her proximity, and, appraising her intently, reached out to tuck a loose strand of dark hair behind the Evil Queen's ear.

Her expression was unreadable.

She traced her cool fingers slowly along Regina's jawline and lightly cupped her chin, tilting her face up to force her to meet her raptor gaze. Regina held her breath and stood frozen, hands pinned against the wall behind her, now truly helpless. She found herself staring directly into those unfathomable eyes with her heart in her mouth, not daring to move an inch for fear of what the Red Queen might do next. She suddenly had the thought that she knew exactly how a mouse might feel staring into the eyes of a hawk. She was pinned to the spot by that indescribable gaze, and had no choice left but to accept with cold dread that she was beaten.

Her head started to swim under the intensity of the other's gaze, but she couldn't coax her will to break eye contact and try to escape. It was as though the Red Queen's eyes saw directly through her, into the depths of her very soul; mesmerising her. Unexpectedly, the hook behind her ribcage constricted sharply, harsher than ever before, and she gasped with surprise at the real pain it wrought this time. As she did so, she noticed the subtle mirror effect on the Red Queen, who caught her own breath soundlessly and furrowed her brow in discomfort - almost as though she bore a hook of her own in sympathy.

The Red Queen blinked once, appearing to regather her composure, and Regina watched her dark lashes flutter, down and up again, as though in slow motion. Regina tried to force herself to breathe, feeling as though she might be torn apart by the pressure inside her chest, and then the Red Queen captured her gaze again, something inexplicable in the depths of her eyes.

The hook tightened ominously, and Regina yelped softly, fighting for breath, back arched against the tautness of the invisible string laced through her heart. She wondered how long it would take the inexplicable magic to crush the life out of her, and what the Red Queen hoped to gain from it.

She held onto the fact that whatever the sinister magic was, it was affecting her adversary too; she could see it in the tight lines of her face.

Some curses were like that, she knew. Magic always came at a price, and, observing the twitch of her enemy's brow, Regina hoped the price hurt. Her head spun in agony and her breath came in shallow gasps, but although she leaned as far back against the wall as she could, she refused to drop the gaze of the Red Queen.

She at least wanted the small satisfaction of seeing it hurt her, too.

"The more you fight it, the more it hurts," the Red Queen whispered with teeth gritted against the pressure, as though it were Regina's fault.

Regina noted her reproachful tone. Despite the crushing power, she managed a breathless laugh at the insinuation that this magic – the magic that was killing her – might be her own doing. How preposterous! If Regina had the faintest idea of how to use it - to fight it, to stop it - she wouldn't hesitate an instant. The pain was becoming blinding.

The slightest frown drew down the Red Queen's brow at Regina's reaction. Panting almost inaudibly, she leaned fractionally away from her quarry, as though trying to escape the pressure. Regina cried out; the raw power inside her seethed at the increase in distance between them.

Instinctively, she leaned forward to close the gap. To lessen the furious agony.

Just when it seemed like the power's tearing claws might sever Regina's soul in two, the Red Queen sent a lightning glance heavenward in mute appeal. Fleet as a diving hawk, she ducked down and kissed the woman in front of her.

At the meeting of their lips, the power ceased abruptly. Ears ringing at the sudden absence of the silent roar, Regina's eyes flew wide in surprise at the very last thing she would have expected from any adversary.

But she didn't pull away. She couldn't. Instead, her eyelashes fluttered closed, and she let the other's lips part her own, powerless to resist after the barrage of magic. The timorous kiss was soft and fleeting, but it set her lifeblood aflame.

And then, the Red Queen was gone.

Fading wisps of red smoke and the scent of honeysuckle and apple-blossom were all that remained in the room. Suddenly alone, Regina dropped forward from the wall onto her hands and knees. Breathing hard, she reached up and pressed two shaking fingers to her lips, feeling the whisper of the Red Queen's power there.

She stayed where she was for a long moment, trying to make sense of what had happened; trying to regain her strength, and still her thundering heart. At length, she knelt upright and took a deep, shuddering breath. She could still feel the ghost of the Red Queen's fingertips where they had cupped her face for those long, helpless moments.

The memory made her shake with trepidation.

She felt torn up inside. The raw, inexplicable power that had savaged her heart and soul had left its mark. Carefully, she sat back against the wall with her hands resting limply at her sides. Her mind was a muddle of fear and uncertainty. Her rage had long since abandoned her, and she had no idea what to make of it all, nor what to do next.

For the first time in her life, she felt utterly defenceless.