Chapter Text
She would never, Emma thought happily, get tired of kissing Regina.
They sat together on the porch of the mayoral mansion, lips pressed together in a slow but sensual heat. The sun was just setting, and soon the nighttime folk of Storybrooke would begin their routines. Emma herself would head to the wall around the town for her Watch duty, and Regina would be off to the Mayor’s office after they walked their kid to school.
For now, though, she enjoyed the peace and quiet and the feeling of delicious warmth that came as Regina’s lips left hers and began to slowly trail down her chin to her neck. A muted click and fangs extended, a slight hiss of delight when now pointed teeth dragged themselves over Emma’s skin.
“Mm… do that again, Madame Mayor,” she groaned.
A chuckle came up from the skin of her neck, followed by a repeat of the action. Until finally, teasing ceased and Regina bit down into Emma’s vein.
They both groaned at the feeling.
Emma never would have thought she’d enjoy being bitten and drank from on a weekly basis. But now it was one of her favorite times- precious moments alone with Regina as she fed. A warmth shooting up along her spine as the thought of her life force flowing into and actually sustaining the woman she loved.
It was absolutely exquisite, and surely nothing could shatter the bliss of the moment.
"Moooms! I'm hungry!"
...Except their son, evidently.
With a muted grunt of displeasure, Regina gave a final suck and a lingering lick against Emma’s skin, closing the wound.
Henry’s clunking footfalls could be heard coming towards the door, then the sound of it opening.
They sprung apart, Emma fumbling, Regina with the kind of liquid grace that so characterized most of her movements.
“I’ve asked you not to stomp around so much, Henry,” Regina murmured, wiping the corners of her mouth and removing any stray drips with a handkerchief.
Henry frowned as they came back inside from the porch, looking for all the world like he was the disapproving parent and they were the ones that should be ashamed. "Were you guys kissing again? I'm hungry!”
“So was I,” Regina murmured with a grin.
Henry looked aghast. “Mo-om.”
“We’re coming, kid.” Emma stuck her hands in her back pockets as they headed in toward the kitchen.
Henry was eyeing them as he shoved things into his backpack for school. “You know you could just let me open my food on my own and I wouldn’t have to interrupt you guys, right?"
Regina moved to the blood warmer. "Henry, we’ve been over this. Your mother or myself always checks anything before you eat it.”
"It’s been years and there are tons of precautions. Besides, no one can even get in the town now without knowing it’s here since you reinforced everything. I’m pretty sure I’m safe."
Regina just smiled and shook her head before going about checking the blood supply thoroughly. Very thoroughly. Once satisfied, she opened the bag, sniffed it just to be doubly sure, and poured it in a cup. With a curly straw.
“Mom. I don’t need a curly straw…”
“But you still want one, my Prince.”
“...fine.”
Watching from the doorway with a soft smile on her lips while her son chattered away about whatever he was currently learning about in school, Emma couldn't believe how domestic her life had become. That she, Emma Swan, Vampire Hunter extraordinaire, had found some strange peace living with a Vampire Queen and their vampire son.
Sunwalkers. Whatever.
Once the sun went down, it was time for Regina to get Henry to school and then head off to City Hall. Emma had some time to kill before she had to start her next patrol, so she headed to Granny's for breakfast.
And her daily heckle from Ruby, which started as soon as she rang the little bell on the door.
"Hey, it's my favorite squawker! Has Regina got you a birdcage yet?"
"Shut it, fur-sona."
"Make me, bird brain."
Emma smirked and settled into her normal booth. This sort of exchange was by now an extremely regular occurrence. As was her ordering breakfast.
A short while later Ruby set a frankly enormous plate of food in front of her friend, which Emma immediately began devouring like someone was going to take it away from her if she didn't finish it fast enough.
“Seriously, Ems. How do you pack all the food away? You're like me after a full moon, but all the time."
Shrugging, Emma finished the bite of bacon in her mouth this time before speaking. "Regina thinks it has something to do with the phoenix thing. Like... the potential for dying and coming back to life again somehow takes a lot of calories."
"Huh. Like me when I turn, but all the time?"
"I guess." Emma was a bit reticent on the subject. It had been years since any of her.. powers.. had shown themselves. She hoped to keep it that way- as the last time they had, she’d died four times and risen out of her own ashes. She didn’t really have any desire to do that again.
Ruby chuffed her lightly on the shoulder. "You keep pounding all that food back and Granny will come out and tell you to slow down. You’ve got time- your shift on the Watch doesn’t start for like… 2 hours.”
“Yeah, but the faster I eat, the more of Granny’s delicious food I’ll be able to shove in my stomach!” Chuckling, Emma continued downing her food like it was about to turn into dust, and Ruby shook her head and went off to wait at other tables.
Hopefully life would always be this peaceful.
….
Once she arrived for duty on Watch, though, Emma couldn’t shake the feeling that something was about to happen. It wasn’t a necessarily bad feeling, like it would be something terrible , but nevertheless the thought hung above her, an ominous cloud as the hours passed by on Watch.
It was late when the guards patrolling to the east walls spotted it. The radio call came in, frantic. A humanoid figure, impossibly large, a mile or so away but rapidly approaching the town. By their speed, they had to be a vamp.
Emma was on watch at the north end, but came running as the call came through on her walkie. By the time she arrived, she’d already prepped her gun and signaled to the wolf on Sniper duty. "Get ready!" She hissed to the rest of the Watch team. The clicks of ammo being forced into chambers resounded as they, too, took aim. Emma steadied her gun against her shoulder, her finger moving over the trigger, and prepared to take the shot.
Beside her, Graham sniffed the air. The tip of his nose twitched and his eyes turned Wolf yellow for just a moment. His eyes widened, returning to normal, and he raised his arm up quickly. "Hold! That’s a clean Vamp. Not a mindless one!"
Emma didn't lessen her guard, but glanced over at Graham. "Are you sure?"
"Positive. But… it’s weird. I’m getting multiple scents."
A voice rang out, clear and compelling: "Storybrooke! I am Hive-less; my Queen has been killed. I come seeking safety in your city." The voice was feminine and imperious, as if whoever speaking was used to giving orders and them being obeyed.
There was a moment of hushed whispers as Emma and Graham gathered with the other night chiefs on watch. Finally, Emma looked back to the vamp.
The figure was just outside the wall now, and the spotlights focused to illuminate a woman, absolutely enormous, in a white dress that had seen better days. She raised a hand to block the lights from her eyes.
Her enormity was no trick of the dim light. She had to be close to ten feet tall. Emma just stared for a moment, taking her in. She'd only seen one other person so tall before, and that was an actual giant. If she truly was a vampire, she was unnaturally large. And that put Emma on edge.
From beside her, Graham called down to the large vampire through the PA system. His voice rang out among the clearing: “Are you alone?”
Lips that had clearly once been painted red pulled back in what could have been called a haughty sneer. “Does it look like I’ve brought a retinue?”
Emma still held her gun, knowing full well the vamp could see her aiming it. SHe took over the PA from Graham. "And how do we know you can be trusted to enter?"
Enormous hands moved to rest on enormous hips. "I was invited. Ask your Queen Regina. She will know me."
Emma glanced over at Graham. “For her to have even found Storybrooke, she would have to have been invited, right?”
Graham nodded. “Regina enacted that spell years ago. Her story might check out.”
The gun lowered, and Emma stepped forward, now nearly directly overhead the tall vamp from her position on the wall. "Who are you?"
The giant woman looked up at her with eyes that shone gold. "I am the Countess Alcina Dimitrescu. Tell your Queen I invoke the Edict of Sanctuary."
There was a hushed hissing from the vampires who were on the guard, almost awed.
Graham swallowed, those words bearing weight, and turned to Emma. "Call Regina. Now."
...
The few moments that passed while Emma dialed and spoke to Regina were tense. Her eyes never left the looming figure below, and the hand that held her gun was antsy, eager to shoot. When Regina finally answered, she told her the situation. She couldn’t remember the vampire’s name, so told Regina that she’d been requested by “Countess Dimitri or something.”
There was a notable pause on the line before Regina responded. “Dimitrescu?”
“Yeah, that’s the one.”
A few moments later a blur of motion came to a sudden halt inside the gate and resolved itself into Stroybrooke’s Queen. Emma hadn’t even hung her phone up yet. Through the gate, Regina took one look at the figure who towered over her on the other side. She glanced up at those on the Watch atop the wall. "Let her in."
Emma wanted to argue, but the look of recognition in Regina’s eyes stilled her. The gates parted. Regina’s gaze stayed locked on the immense figure of the new vamp, slowly approaching and moving past the gates and into the city proper. The vamp, likewise, only had eyes for Regina, paying no attention whatsoever to the Watchmembers still with their guns trained on her. The gates were quickly closed behind her.
While the two were still appraising one another, Emma scurried down the ladder to the wall, arriving at Regina’s side in but a moment. The tension between the two vampires was nearly palpable, as if some unvoiced power struggle was happening between the two.
There was a subtle shift in Regina’s posture; a change in her gaze and the way she held her head. Suddenly, her presence loomed. The shadows behind her stretched somehow, making even the barely five foot tall Regina seem larger even than the enormous vampire in front of her. Regina looked every inch the Queen, even in her sensible Mayoral pantsuit.
As if in response, the Countess bowed her head and dropped into a deep curtsy. She was still far taller than Regina even bent nearly in half, but somehow she looked so much smaller now in comparison. Bowed, it became evident that she was carrying a large steamer trunk strapped to her back.
"Hail Regina,” she said, still bowed, “High Queen of Hesperia, Countess of Andorra, Sovereign of Gibraltar, Commander of the South Reach, the Terror of-"
Regina raised her hand to cut her off. “Enough. Those have not been my titles in centuries. I am Queen of Storybrooke. Nothing more.” She was speaking normally, her tone firm and even and her volume nowhere how loud Emma knew she could get. But somehow her words echoed- carrying over the wall and beyond.
Emma was trying hard not to stare at Regina. She’d never heard those particular titles before, and it had been years since Storybrooke’s Queen had looked so… impressive. Even to her, who was always impressed at anything Regina did. Still, she remained focused on the potential threat at hand. The new vamp remained bowed. Now that Emma could get a good look at her, she could see the obvious wear on the woman. She looked like she'd travelled a long way to get here. Lines of worry seemed built into her skin, which was a pale grey in color. It looked like the large vampire had applied makeup several days ago, for the lines of her face were smeared and tear-stained. The dress she was wearing had been white, once, but now a mix of grime and dirt and possible bloodstains covered nearly every inch of the garment. Her hair was similarly disheveled- matted and mussed waves of black that looked like they’d once been perfectly curled. And that trunk on her back was strapped to her with a series of thick belts.
“You may rise, Countess Dimitrescu.” As Regina spoke, Emma was surprised to note that both her upper and lower fangs were extended.
The Countess straightened. Emma kept her gun trained on her, finger carefully just above the trigger.
A large eyebrow raised at the sight of the gun, but the Countess did not address Emma about it. Her focus remained wholly on Regina. “Your guard dogs remain stalwart as ever, I see. Though guns are a bit gauche.”
“She is no dog, and she is trying to keep us safe.” Regina glanced over at Emma, hand motioning to put the gun away. Begrudgingly, Emma did as requested. Regina was well able to defend herself, after all. “Keeping everyone safe is what Storybrooke is for.”
“Indeed. That’s why I’ve come.”
Regina took a long, appraising look over the giant woman. “We understand you have invoked the Edict of Sanctuary.” Emma raised her eyebrow at the royal ‘we.’
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Above, one of the other Watchmasters shifted hold of their own gun. Regina noticed. Her lips pursed almost so imperceptibly that Emma doubted she'd have noticed if she wasn’t deeply familiar with those lips.
"We will discuss this in private. Come with me. Watchmembers, to your posts. Miss Swan,” she glanced at Emma. “With me." She turned to walk away.
Slowly, Countess Dimitrescu followed, taking great pains to match her ridiculously long strides to that of Storybrooke's Queen. Still wary, Emma fell into step behind the immense vampire. Her eyes kept straying to the large trunk on her back.