Once Upon a Time 1. Chapter 1

**Authors note: **Yes, I did it again, starting another story while I already have three others running but you know, this just sort off came to me while watching Salt (Angelina Jolie is absolutely amazing). But seeing that I'm almost done with school, and just have one week to go, I'll have more time to write.

Alright, so I'll stop talking now.

Hope you enjoy ;)

**Trigger warning: Violence, blood and finally, character death (nothing major)!**

...

She was disoriented to say the least, her head slumping against her shoulders, her body slick from the sweat as sand blew up and plastered itself on her skin, like a light blanket of filth. The bare heels of her feet scraped against the sharp little stones that were scattered around the cement floor. Probably laid there on purpose, to add some extra pain. Her body was aching, and it felt like she was in some kind of shock. The messy braid she had put her golden locks in this morning was now completely loose and strands of matted hair stuck to the skin of her forehead and neck.

The slight draft of cool air that flew in from the cracks in the with wooden planks covered window had her shivering slighty. After all, the black jeans and white tank top she had been wearing were now gone, leaving the blonde dressed in only her white boxer shorts and a sweaty, slightly bloodied sports bra.

Apparently she was too heavy to carry for long because her left side suddely connected harshly with the floor, those damn little stones cutting in the skin of her shoulder, nearly drawing blood. The two men who had been dragging her stopped walking, instead dropping her down completely and started shouting at each other in a language Emma couldn't and probably wouldn't want to understand.

Maybe it's better not to know in a situation like this. Even though her training had taught her the exact opposite of such thoughts.

But this was actually happening, and that was something completely different than listening to some old, almost retiring agent talking about it in a dusty room that reminded her of the classrooms in her old high school.

If Emma had the strength for it, she would hit herself on the head right now. How could they have been so stupid? They should've turned around and ran the moment she saw the suspicious glances yesterday, they should've blown the whole operation off and be on a plane back to Los Angeles right now. Safe, and not either dead or imprisoned.

And so now she was being dragged to a cage in her underwear, fighting to stay consious and catch glimpses of her surroundings, maybe even ways to escape. Even though she knew there would be none.

Because really. She was on her own, surrounded by heavily armed and trained soldiers. And Graham, the one who had come with her on this operation, he was... god, he was-

She couldn't even think the words let alone say them. Because even thinking about what she was going to think brought back the nausea and utter sadness she had been feeling.

She had watched Graham being shot through the head. It was like it had happened in slow motion. As if she had actually seen the bullet pierce the soft skin of his forehead and then the hard bone of his skul. The rain of blood and brains caused her to gag yet again and that finally caught the attention of the two guards above her as they stopped talking and instead stared down at her.

Emma squinted against the blinding tl-light that was attached to the ceiling as she tried to catch some of their features. But it was no use.

She felt calloused hands grab both of her aching wrists and her upperbody was harshly lifted off the floor again, though the sharp stones were still imprinted in her skin. Emma even thought she heard some fall as they freed themselves from her bruised skin.

"Almost there." One of the guards said with a heavy accent as he gave another hard pull at her shoulder and Emma swore she heard the bone crack as the ball was pulled from it's socket.

...

_"You spy, I know you are!" The North Korean soldier yelled as he raised the large gun in his hands, fingers shaking as he inched closer to the trigger._

_Emma looked around, they were on one of the large ships that was currently being used to transport large amounts of heroin and methamphetamine. But more importantly, there was no way to escape. And they were onto them, their operation has been pierced through._

_"We're not, I promise you that!" Graham yelled as he raised his hands slightly, looking at the man dressed in a suit that was standing a couple of feet away. "We're really not." _

_Emma took a small step forwards until she stood next to her friend. "He's right, we just wanna help you out, offer you some more business opportunities, you know?" It was worth a shot because really, Emma did not want to die on the filthy floor of a ship only to then be dumped in the sea. Her parents at least deserved to have her body back. _

_"You want to help me out with business opportunity?" The man said as he signaled one hand towards the shaking soldier to lower his gun. "How?" _

_Graham slowly lowered his hands, careful not to tick off the soldier in front of him as his eyes remained locked with the man. "We have connections, connections back in the United States, in Canada, you name it. We can expand this... _company _of yours on a more global level instead of only going up and down between here and Australia." _

_"Global?" The accent in the man's voice was heavy. "I like the sound of that." _

_"I thought you might." Graham smiled and placed his hands on his hips, slowly inching his right hand towards the back if his cargo pants. _

_Emma held her breath as she noticed the small movements of Graham's hand. This could so easily go fucking wrong and they would be fish food, then the CIA would have to come and collect their bodies, if they would even be able to find them. _

_God dammit they were in way over their heads. And it would probably be fatal for the both of them. _

_"And how would you suggest we go about this... _opportunity_?" The man asked again, folding his hands in front of his chest and looking at them with suspicious eyes and pursed lips as he tapped his shoe against the metal floor, the sound echoing throughout the eerie silence._

_"Let me have my phone back." Graham started, removing his left hand from his hip and holding it out, while his right remaind inching to his back pocket. The back pocket where both he and Emma knew was a small gun hidden away. "I can make a phone call right now, call my buddies back in the States and we can arrange it all, the price, payments, route, everything." _

_The moment the word 'phone' left Graham's mouth, something seemed to click and the man's eyes narrowed to black slits as he squeezed the mobile device in his left hand. "Phone?" He held it up. "You mean this phone?" _

_"Yes." Graham breathed and held out his hand even further. "Just let me make a call, you'll have your deal, win win for everyone, right?" _

_"Win, win?" _

_Emma caught it from the corner of her eyes, a small hand signal, just a little twitch of the man's right pinky and it was enough. _

_A gunshot went off. _

_It was loud and deafening, but the scream that followed was way, way worse. And Emma was sure it would be branded in her brain forever. _

_Graham slumped to the floor, his right hand falling away from his back pocket as he clutched his left knee with both his hands, blood oozing through his fingers. _

_"You think I'm stupid?!" The man yelled, spit flying everywhere as the vein in his neck bulged. He let the phone drop from his hand, the device falling on the metal floor with a thump and then crushed it with the heel of his expensive shoe, a brand Emma probably wouldn't be able to even so much as pronounce. He turned to the soldier who had just pierced Graham's kneecap and screamed. "He die, take her, maybe we can use her!" _

_Emma could only stare in horror as the soldier nodded, shakily placed the barrel of the gun against Graham's forehead and pulled the trigger. _

_The blood and brain matter pooled on the metal floor and Emma didn't even know she was screaming. The body that used to be Graham slumped to the ground, his eyes staring up at the ceiling, cold and lifeless and so, so _different_. _

_The heavy, solid object that suddenly connected with the back of Emma's head actually didn't hurt as much as her heart. _

...

The guards didn't say anything as they dropped Emma's body down on the hard floor and left her there, locking the cage behind them when they left.

There was a loud silence and the only sound Emma heard was her own laboured breathing as she pushed her slightly off the floor, only to drop back with a pained whimper when the pain shot up from her toes, to her brain and down to her toes again.

"Are you alright?"

The voice coming somewhere from her right scared the living shit out off Emma and the blonde flinched as she willed her body to turn around so she could look at the darkness next to her. The darkness the voice had come from.

"Wha-" Emma coughed as sand made it's way in her airway. "Who's there?" Her voice was soft and groggy and it sounded foreign to Emma herself.

"Are you alright?" The feminine voice repeated and it sounded beautifully low and warm in Emma's ears.

"Yeah," another cough. "I think I'm fine? You?" That couldn't have sounded more lame in Emma's ears seeing that they were both locked up in some cabin in the middle of nowhere.

"Yes." The voice said again and Emma heard bare skin scraping against hard cement, signaling the mysterious woman was moving. "I'm fine."

"Good." Emma said breathlessly and found it within herself to push her body up and resting her back against the metal bars. "What's your name?"

A soft sigh was heard and the voice answered again. "What's yours?"

Emma let out a wheezy chuckle as the response. "I'm Emma."

"Regina."

And somehow in Emma's mind, it fit. That voice and that name. It was just... right.

"For how long have you been in here, Regina?"

"I don't recall." Regina said softly and moved closer to the bars again. "Maybe six months, maybe a year. Time has been lost on me for quite a while now."

_A year? _Emma thought in surprise. This woman, _Regina_, has been locked up here for a year?

Emma wanted to ask why, but something in her told her not to. Not now, at least.

"Can you come closer?"

And this time there was no answer, only a soft sigh as the sound of skin scraping against cement filled the air again. The first sign Emma caught of the woman was a tanned and slender hand that wrapped itself around the rusty bar. And then the woman's hauntingly beautiful face came into view. Her cheeks were slightly sunken, her deep brown eyes were somewhat dull and her dark hair was hanging loose around her face.

But she was absolutely beautiful to Emma.

"Emma." The blonde said again and stuck out a shaking hand. One the brunette took with an unsure smile, but a smile nonetheless.

"Regina."

...

Seeing that I still have a debate to do for school and I already have three stories running, I don't know when I'll be able to update again, but I'll do it as soon as I can, promise! And if you want, please leave review, I love the feedback. ;)


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors note: **Thank you for the kind response to this story. I hope you all like this chapter. Now remember that I said it was going to get pretty dark? Yeah, keep that in mind.

**Trigger warning: Abuse!**

...

The hand Emma had been holding just a couple of seconds ago was quickly retracted through the rusty bars again. And the blonde wasn't sure why exactly, but she immediately missed the feeling of the slender hand in her own. Even though the hand had been bony and even filthy with the sand that was covering the floor, the hand had still been... warm. And Emma could really use some warmth right about now.

Her thin and sweaty body shivered as an especially cold breeze made it's way through the cracks between the wooden planks that were used to keep strangers from peeking in. Not that anyone would help them, even if they saw two women locked up in cages. Crossing the soldiers here was not something you could do without losing at least your tongue. And probably your life after that.

Behind the wooden door that separated them from the soldiers, Emma could hear the soft murmur of talking. Not that the blonde could understand what they were saying, but it was at least something to know that they were not left alone to starve to death in these cages.

She brought her hands up to softly rub her freezing cold arms, feeling the slight scratch from where her broken nails moved over the fair skin. Sand collected itself under those nails and Emma sighed in disgust as she began to remove it from under them. She felt disgusting and in dire need for hot shower.

"What have you done?" The soft sultry voice came from the other side of the bars again. The slender, tanned hand curled around the orange turning metal again and the sound of skin scraping against the concrete filled the air again.

"Huh?"

"I mean, what have you done, why are you here?" Regina repeated and brought her cheek against the metal bar. Those chocolate brown eyes were captivating and for a moment it seemed that Emma would never be able to look away again.

"Oh, that." Emma snapped out of her daze and smiled softly at her foggy mind.

A deep chuckle left full lips as Regina cocked her head slightly to the left. "Yes, 'that'."

"I was-" Yes, what was she? She couldn't tell the woman the details even though Emma was somewhat sure they would never leave this place alive. "Me and my friend were... writing an article about North Korea. It seemed that they don't like journalists here." It was the best lie she could come up with in less than thirty seconds.

"And why is your friend not here?" The brunette asked carefully even though, deep down, she already knew the answer. The same happened to her a little over a year ago.

At least Emma could be honest about this. Sadness filled her heart as she wiped the sweat from her eyebrows. "They killed him." She said grimly, not looking up to meet the brunette's eyes.

There was a moment of thick and heavy silence between the two women, but it was quickly interrupted when the wooden door was thrown open with a harsh bang. The sudden sound startled them and their heads snapped towards the doorway where a man was leaning against the rotting door frame, a vicious grin on his face. The man was old, easily in his fifties. He wore dark green cargo pants and a white sleeveless shirt that was supporting several grease stains, among other things.

What surprised Emma was that the man spoke perfect English.

"Regina, sweetheart." The words were singsonged and they caused Emma's skin to crawl and her stomach to flip.

The woman locked up in the cage next to her was doing no better. The tanned hand that had been curled around the bar immediately ripped away. The beautiful face, disappeared as quick as it had appeared, back into the darkness that was surrounding them.

But even though Emma couldn't see the brunette, she was sure Regina was terrified. Heavy breathing with the occasional hitch could be heard and Emma bared her teeth in a growl.

"It's time to resume our last lesson." The man slowly moved towards the brunette's cage, keys clinking against each other in mocking movements as the gray haired man moved closer and closer.

Neither women said anything as the cage was opened and Regina was pulled out. And even though Emma was terrified about what was going to happen to the woman, she couldn't help but look.

The brunette was exactly as Emma had imagined. Slim, tanned, not too muscular. She was only wearing underwear, just like Emma. But whereas Emma was clad in boy shorts and a sports bra, Regina was wearing dark red lingerie, made from satin and lace and even though it had been a year, it still looked very expensive. Probably even more expensive than Emma's crappy apartment back in LA. She really missed that apartment.

But the awe that Emma had felt in seeing the beautiful woman had quickly disappeared and transformed into anger. Regina was shaking from fear, her hands curling around her upper body, trying but failing to cover up as much of herself as possible to stop the man's lustful gaze.

"God, I'm so happy it was you we grabbed that day." The old man smirked and moved one hand to the brunette's behind who flinched away.

"Get your filthy hands off of her." Emma growled threateningly before she could help herself. The fear that was on Regina's face had been too much for Emma to handle.

The only reaction she got was a loud laugh as the man only grabbed Regina arm harder. "Well, well. Aren't you quite a _savior_, Agent Swan?"

Regina's brown eyes snapped up at her in confusion, but Emma had no time to explain. "I said, get your hands off of her." Her whisper was deadly.

Another laugh, and this time a small whimper from the brunette as he buried his nails in her arm. "It's such a shame you won't be able to join our party. We've got to keep you clean for bargaining and all that." The man sighed and then shrugged. "Ah, well. More fun for Regina."

Emma could only look in defeat as Regina was pulled through the door. Her hands stayed down when the awful, awful screaming began. The least she could do was be a silent support. She would not led Regina be the only one in pain. And so she listened to every horrible sound that left the full lips that had been turned into a small smile not even fifteen minutes ago.

…

It was late in the evening, probably almost midnight judging by the darkness seeping through the cracks in the wood, when Regina returned. Gone were the warm eyes and the hint of a smile Emma had seen when they'd first met just a couple of hours prior.

Instead there was now a woman that looked broken, shattered beyond repair. God, Emma hoped that that wasn't true.

"Such a shame." The man spat and pushed the brunette back into her cage. Emma had never caught his name. "Pretty face, but no stamina." The keys clinked in his hand as he locked the cage, the glimmering metal was mocking to Emma.

"I bet you have stamina, though." His wrinkly mouth curled up in a grin and Emma swore she saw a piece of nacho in his gray beard.

He turned around without a second look and hobbled towards the door, closing it with an unnecessary hard slam.

Emma breathed out, clenched her hands in fists to keep herself from hitting the bars in an act of rage because it wouldn't help at all to injure herself.

"Are you alright?"

It was a stupid question, because of course the brunette wasn't alright. But it was the only thing Emma could manage right now.

The only thing that left Regina's mouth were shaking sobs as one hand made it's way through the bars again in a silent request of support. And so Emma grabbed it, rubbing her thumb up and down the skinny limb, hoping it would be enough to comfort the brunette.

She made herself the promise that she would never leave this place without Regina.

…

"_Regina, darling." Cora greeted when she saw her daughter enter her office. "How would you feel about going with me on a little business trip?" Cora had always been direct, it was _the _way to get things done fast, and to be honest, Cora Mills liked fast. No nonsense, no going around the subject. You say what you want, or you don't say anything at all. _

"_What kind of business trip, mother?" Regina asked softly as she dropped her purse on one of the chairs and sat down on the other, facing her mother's desk._

"_Well, I need to visit an oil company we've been hunting for for a very long time. They're finally willing to make a deal, and you know how much I love deals, dear."_

"_So I'm there for... what exactly? Arm candy to give them that little extra push in the right direction? That being _your _direction?" The younger brunette asked with a raised eyebrow as she crossed her legs and smoothed imaginary crinkles out off her black pencil skirt. _

"_No, dear." Cora chuckled and sat back in her chair. "I just thought it would be nice to finally do something together again. It's been a while."_

_The suspicion was still intact in Regina's eyes, but the brunette complied. "And where is this so called business transaction?"_

"_North Korea."_

_A sigh resounded. "You truly believe that that's a nice destination for a little mother-daughter bonding trip?" Regina asked with a small smile and reached for her purse, pulling out her cellphone. _

"_Well, I'm sorry, dear. Which country would you have preferred? Hawaii maybe?"_

"_It's better than North Korea."_

"_Please, just stop being so stubborn and come with me, dear." Cora said with a sigh as she crossed her arms over her chest. _

"_Fine, you win mother."_

…

Leave a review, please.


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors note: **Hi, I'm back, sorry for the long wait. Anyway, someone asked if we'll get more of Regina's backstory and the answer is; yes, we will get more information about that, don't worry. I don't know when I'm able to update again seeing that I'm on vacation to Germany without wifi from July 26 till August 3 and I still gave a ton of things to do, but on the bright side, I can write ahead. Hope you like the chapter ;)

**Trigger warning: Torture, allusion to rape! **

...

It was

_supposed _

to hurt like hell. Emma knew for sure she should be crippling in pain right now, ripping her skin raw from pulling at the seemingly unbreakable tape around her wrists. The fact that she wasn't, was telling her that something was very,

_very _

wrong.

The soldiers spoke to each other in what Emma's foggy mind thought sounded like confusion when she didn't scream out like she'd been doing this past hour, but just lolled her head from side to side against the back of the old, barely standing chair she was taped to.

The knife was blunt and it wasn't easy to get through her skin. Emma could see the tiny droplets of sweat on the forehead of the man who was holding the knife.

Maybe she didn't feel anything because the broken bone of her wrist was blocking a nerve or something. It was the only logical explanation the blonde could come up with as to why it didn't hurt as they cut the skin of her finger until the bone was hit with a sickening scrape that had Emma almost gagging.

She swallowed harshly and lolled her head to the right, staring at the door which she knew Regina was behind, with delirious eyes. The heat and pain were getting to her and Emma knew it wouldn't be too long before she would pass out.

Pass out and drift away from this horrible reality to a place where there was only soothing, blissful darkness.

Her eyes were already rolling back in her head when a harsh kick to her bruised shin brought her back to the present. The soldier leant over closer so his nose was almost touching hers as he yelled something in Korean, spit coating her lips and chin and Emma wanted to puke her guts our right then and there.

...

Emma's screams, god they went through flesh and bone and Regina was thinking that maybe her screams sounded like that too. God, she hoped they didn't. She hoped she didn't sound so... so _hopeless_.

All the brunette could do was guess what they were doing to her in there. And with all the clear thoughts she could muster, it wasn't really that hard. Her hands shot up to her ears when the screaming started again, her short nails digging in the skin of her head. Those cold, lifeless and painful screams that would never leave her again, would for ever be a part of her sleepless nights for the rest of her life.

The screaming suddenly stopped and instead eerie silence filled the room. That silence that automatically gave you a bad feeling. And Regina was praying to the god she knew did not exist that Emma was alive. Just _alive_.

The door creaked open and the first thing Regina saw were messy, dirty blonde curls that framed a pale, expressionless face. A sigh of relief shouldn't follow when you saw someone in the state Emma was in, but yet, the breath of air escaped from behind Regina's full lips.

The blonde was holding her left wrist in an awkward way and Regina could see the bone was twisted all the wrong way. Nausea filled her body, but she wouldn't let it show. All she wanted to do was make sure Emma was alright.

Emma was practically thrown back in her cell, the soldiers didn't even pay attention to the pained whimper that left the woman.

The moment the wooden door closed behind the two men, Regina's hands were wrapped around the wall of bars that seperated herself from the blonde.

"Emma?" She asked frantically, but the only answer was a huff of pain as Emma tried to push herself up against the filthy wall behind her.

"Emma, are you alright? Please tell me?" One hand unwrapped itself from the rusty bar and instead went through them, reaching towards the woman who was clearly in pain. Bony fingers making a grabbing motion.

"Please, Emma, let me take a look at you. You're hurt."

"And if they find out you helped me, _you _get hurt. _Again_." Emma wheezed with that same lopsided smile on her face that she had shot Regina two hours ago. Like she hadn't just been tortured for answers she would never give.

"I can take care of myself." Regina snapped, her old self making a reappearance and Regina was relieved. She had been losing herself more and more over the past year and was glad some fight was still there. She was still a little Regina Mills and not just 'slave' or 'pretty face'.

"Let me at least take a look at your wrist, it looks dislocated." Regina almost begged and it felt strange, but not as horrible as when she begged _him_. Begged Leo.

Emma sighed, looked into sincerely worried brown eyes and finally relented."Alright."

With a great deal of difficulty and pain, she eventually managed to get close enough to the bars so Regina could see her broken loin.

Purple bruises were already starting to form on the flesh and Regina tried not to get sick to her stomach when she saw the obvious tear in the bone. "It's definitely broken, dear. I think I need to set the bone so it can heal properly."

"Wait? You?!" Emma voice shook as she looked from her wrist, to the brunette. "You can do that?"

"Yes." Regina nodded slowly. "My boyfriend Daniel was a doctor, he taught me a thing or two."

"Oh." The moment Emma heard how dissapointed she sounded she tried to smile a little brighter. "Oh, you have a boyfriend."

"Had." Regina's eyes turned sad as she slowly touched the wrist. "He was killed a few years ago." She reached behind her and grabbed the thin blanket she had gotten so as to stay warm and tore a stroke of the fabric off in one smooth motion. At Emma's surprised look she explained. "It's to wrap your wrist in once it is set."

Letting out a deep breath to try and calm her nerves Emma nodded. "Alright let's do this."

"Here." Regina grabbed the rest of the blanket and stuffed it through the bars. "Put it in your mouth and bite on it, that way they won't hear you."

"And you're sure you can do this?"

With false confidence Regina nodded solemnly and turned to the arm. "Yes."

Emma passed out the moment the bone started to move.

...

_"You're a fighter, Leo loves fighters. Though his last one was a little too much so she had to be put down." The man with the dark sunglasses chuckled as they stopped next to an abandoned house. _

_The back of the truck was opened with a loud creaking noise and Regina was roughly pulled out. Her hands were bound behind her back too tightly and the rope was cutting in her wrists. She wanted to spit on the man, but the cloth that had been shoved down her throat prevented her from doing it. _

_Two men dressed in cargo pants and white shirts pulled her up by her arms and escorted her into the building that looked like it was about to collapse. Regina wished that that would happen. She'd rather die than having to be some filthy pig's personal slave. The four inch heels weren't doing her any favor and she stumbled slightly. She was just able to catch her balance before she was kicked in the back of her knees, falling to the floor with a pained whimper. _

_An old man, twice her age, came through the door on the right, looking at her like she was less than a human. _

_"This is the one you picked for me?" He asked in a low voice, looking the brunette up and down as he crossed his hairy arms over his chest. "She looks a little fancy, doesn't she?" His eyes scanned the black pencil skirt and the blazer Regina was wearing._

_"We can help you with that." The same man who drove her here smiled and grabbed a knife from his back pocket. _

_Regina couldn't stop the scared whimper as she looked at the knife and tried to crawl away but was stopped by a harsh hand in her hair, pulling her back. _

_"Don't worry, I won't cut you." He whispered in her ear and roughly grabbed the back of her blazer to pull it off, almost dislocating her shoulder in the process. The expensive piece of clothing was carelessly thrown to the side as he grabbed the back of her blouse and cut it to shreds until it just fell from her shoulders. It wasn't even long before her skirt was cut off too and Regina felt vulnerable in just her underwear. _

_"Well thank you for that, Angelo." The old man grinned, the crotch of his cargo pants becoming tighter and Regina wanted to gag. "Then I guess I said nothing, why don't you throw her in her cage, and keep rope on her wrists, I sure love a little bondage." _

_The man Regina had come to know as Angelo nodded and slightly bowed his head. "Of course, boss." _

_The old man dropped down to one knee in front of Regina and grabbed her chin so she had no other option but to look at him. "Now, I hope your new home lives up to your expectations, because you're going to be here for quite a while." His eyes found the expensive clothing in the corner and he grinned. "Your Majesty." _

...

Leave a review and until next time! ;)


	4. Chapter 4

**Authors note: **So, so sorry for the truly massive delay, I've just been busy with school and life and also a massive writer's block for this story. But anyway, I'm back and I'll try to update again as soon as I can. Hope you enjoy the chapter.

A little side note: I am in no way an expert on how such police matters go, I did some research but probably still made some mistakes, so apologies for that.

...

**~ One year ago, New York Police Department. ~ **

"Please, I need someone." Henry Mills practically begged as he moved to the first desk that came into his eyesight. "Bring me to your captain, please." He wasn't even sure he was in the right precinct, but it truly didn't matter to him. He just needed someone that could help him, help him find his family.

"Sir, what's wrong?" A kind looking police officer asked from behind the desk. She had red hair and freckles that almost covered all the pale skin of her face and chest. Kind blue eyes were narrowed with concern as she looked the old man up and down.

He looked wealthy, his gray hair neatly styled, matching the clearly expensive suit he was wearing.

"My wife and daughter." Henry almost yelled in desperation, clenching his hands in fists. "I haven't heard from them for almost a week, they went to North Korea for a business appointment and they were supposed to call me five days ago, but they never did."

"Please calm down, sir." The officer comforted and got up from her chair. Bringing a hand to the older man's elbow she slowly sat him down on the chair facing her desk. It wouldn't do to have him go into a panic attack.

"But, my daughter, my wife..." Henry stammered, twisting his hands in his lap, nervously playing with the golden wedding band that sat on his left hand. "You have to find them, please. You _have _to bring my family home. You have to find my little girl."

"Calm down, Sir." The redhead said softly, pulling a notepad from the corner of her desk. "Now, first let's start with some basic information like names and ages, alright?" She clicked the pen held it closer to the white paper.

"Yes- okay, that's...yes." Henry's breathing started to calm down somewhat as he answered. "My wife's name is Cora Mills and she's fifty-two." His dark eyes watched nervously how the woman nodded softly and wrote it down. " And my daughter's name is Regina Mills. She is twenty-six." His words were quick and jumbled as he looked up with tears in his dark eyes.

"Do you have any pictures with you, sir?" She asked and put the pen down again.

"Yes- yes I have." He reached for the pocket of his coat and pulled out his wallet. Giving the police officer the most recent picture he had, he begged again, "please just find them, bring them back to me."

...

**~ Present. ~ **

"So, why did you lie to me, Emma?" Regina Voice was groggy, scraping against the tender flesh of her aching throat. She had been screaming, begging even, though she hated to admit it because it was not something Regina Mills would've ever done, for the better part of the day. Forced to play the part of slave again, the part she had been playing ever since she had been dragged into this house, this hell.

Emma slowly turned her head to the voice that was speaking next to her, her mind was woozy, her left wrist was pounding in dull pain, purple bruises already formed on the swollen loin. "Hmmm?" The words had never reached her fuzzy brain and so she asked Regina to repeat the question using only a low hum.

"Why did you lie?"

"Lie about what?" Her tongue felt thick in her mouth as Emma blinked slowly, she couldn't see Regina, but Emma knew she was upset by the tone of her voice. And for a moment she thought it was because the brunette had been lied to, but then she remembered Regina was being held captive as a sexslave and yeah, that explained it.

"You said you were a reporter." The voice got softer and softer, sounding as if Regina was about to fall asleep but Emma knew the brunette never slept, napped maybe, but never _slept_. "But Leo called you 'Agent Swan'."

Another hum, and Emma just didn't know how to answer the confused question. Yes it was true, she _had _lied and Emma was more than aware of the fact that Regina didn't like to be lied to. "I didn't want to- I don't actually know, to be honest."

There was a pregnant pause, and Regina suddenly let out a throaty chuckle that actually both surprised and frightened Emma. And for just a split second there, Emma thought this place had finally broken Regina, had finally caused Regina to go insane. That Emma's lie had been the drop that caused the bucket to overflow.

"You don't know?" A snort of laughter and Emma could hear Regina's smile through the words. "You don't know?" She repeated and the laughing fit that left her sounded genuine and it even caused Emma's lips to turn upwards with a small smile.

It went on for minutes and after the most was over, only occasional wheezes left Regina's lips. "Thank you." She said softly, her dark eyes blinking, staring into the nothing that surrounded them. "Thank you for making me laugh again, Agent Swan."

"Oh, it was my pleasure Miss..." She started, but stopped when she realised she didn't even know Regina last name.

"Mills." Regina answered the unasked question as she moved closer to the bars. "Regina Mills."

"Well then." Emma grinned even though Regina couldn't see it. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Mills."

And through Regina's snort of laughter, Emma wondered why that name sounded so familiar to her.

...

**~ Two weeks ago, Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California. ~**

"What do you mean, went wrong?!" Mary M. Swan practically yelled. Her dark brown coffee mug was still lying in pieces on the floor, coffee now forming a small puddle at her feet, soaking the flip-flops she was wearing. She'd dropped it, just like that tall man wearing his dark suit had just dropped that news. That terrible, horrifying news. Mary's worst nightmare.

David Swan was just sitting at the wooden table, not knowing what to do, not knowing what to say. Though he was doubting he could even speak.

Emma, his beautiful little girl was somewhere out there, probably hurt, maybe even dead.

They never should've allowed her to pursue such line of work. Why couldn't Emma just have liked to teach, or hell, even paint? Why was his little girl always drawn to danger.

"Ma'am, we think their cover was blown." God why was Jerry Alderling always the one to bring the news, to drop the bom and destroy the family.

"You should've protected her!" David Swan finally joined the conversation. The thick vein in his neck was bulging and spit was flying from his mouth. "You and your agency, you said you'd do anything to keep her safe when she first joined your little suicide mission!"

Seeing as Jerry Alderling had always been the one to inform the relatives, he was trained to handle situations like this. There were many reactions, he knew. Some people started crying and screaming, tearing at his freshly ironed shirt. Some just went silent, forcing Jerry to watch their throat to make sure they were still breathing. And even though option one was the most common, he was no stranger to option three, which was blinding fury and blame. The exact reaction he got from the Swan family.

And so he started to try and calm them down with words like 'we're doing everything we can' and 'nothing is certain yet'. And though the words were true, they were still empty and Jerry knew that. Mary M. Swan and David Swan knew that too.

...

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Once Upon a Time, Angst, Romance