Alright my dearies! Another Evil Charming story! This one is a multi-chapter one, and the first few chapters will be set up with nothing much happening between the pair romantically or sexually, but you'll see a friendship build between them! I hope you all like it, and do feel free to PM or leave a comment in the reviews if you're interested in my continuing it! Enjoy!

James waved his makeshift torch at the wraith in an attempt to fight it off, to buy more time. He could hear Mary Margaret and Emma trying to figure out what was taking so long for Regina to get the hat to work. He swung at the wraith, saving a foot of space between where the wraith had been and where it was now. He kept fighting, worried mostly for his wife and daughter, but he knew that if Regina died it would break his grandson's heart and that was something he didn't want to see.

Regina was trying her damnedest to get the hat's portal to open. She was elated to find out that Henry had asked Emma to protect her; maybe he did love her after all. She spun the hat, nothing happened. She kept spinning; she could feel the wraith getting closer the more coldness seeped into every fiber of her being, all the way through to the marrow of her bones. She felt Emma kneel down by her and grip her arm, and suddenly it felt as though magic was once again pulsing through her veins, her blood, her skin and the portal opened. She looked at Emma, and then her eyes averted to Emma's hand on her arm in shock. Before she noticed anything else, Emma pushed her away from the hat.

The wraith finally gained enough advantage when James' torch burned out. The prince was tossed aside by the wraith, and as the soul-sucker was pulled through the portal, James' body slammed full force into Regina and the impact from them both being tossed aside, James from in front of the hat and Regina from the side, the two peoples' bodies curled around each other and both fell through the portal. Snow tried to dive for it, but by the time she reached the hat, the portal had closed.

"No!" she wailed, lifting herself off the floor and picking up the hat. She ran her hands against the now solid floor and flipped the hat over and over desperately.

"What?" Emma looked around. "What the hell just happened?"

"They…they fell through the portal."

"But, then, where are they? Regina said she'd be banishing the wraith to oblivion—what does that mean for them?"

"I…I don't know," Snow cried. "But I don't feel like David is missing from me…I guess let's just hope that Regina was wrong, or lying. It's not like it would be the first time."

At that moment, Henry burst into the room, followed closely by Ruby. He ran to grab Emma in a hug, but quickly pulled away to look around."

"Wh—where are my mom and David?" he asked tentatively.

"Kid…" Emma began slowly, trying to figure out a way to explain. "We were trying to send the wraith through the portal and…well, and they got sucked through it."

"But…to where?"

"We don't know exactly where, but we're thinking maybe to Fairytale Land, or whatever."

"The Enchanted Forest," Snow offered.

"Well, how do we get them back?" he asked earnestly.

"I'm not sure, kid. But we're gonna go find some answers." She looked at Ruby. "Can you stay with Henry just a little longer? Maybe meet us at the apartment in an hour?" Ruby nodded and ushered Henry out of City Hall after he got another hug from Emma.

"Now what?" Snow asked.

"Now we talk to Gold."

David woke up first to see two women standing over him, staring at him and the small form next to him. He looked to his left and saw Regina and the memory of them falling through the hat hit him with a deep pain to his heart. He would have been fine if it had been Snow or Emma, but why did it have to be his worst enemy? His thoughts of his wife and daughter cut him coldly in his soul. He had just gotten them back, and now he couldn't be with them.

"Who are you?" a dark haired woman with skin with creamy butterscotch colored skin asked.

"I'm King James, though I prefer the title of Prince. This is—" he paused. Surely he could not tell them who she really was without them knowing, and while he didn't particularly care what happened to her, he knew that he would likely need her help to get home.

"I'm Rebecca," Regina cut in. "I'm his wife's sister."

"Are you not Snow White's prince?" asked a fair-skinned strawberry blonde woman.

"You know of me?" James asked.

"I do. My name is Aurora. The beastly queen Maleficent put me under a sleeping curse that she procured from the Evil Queen. She was the woman who hunted you and your Snow White, right?"

Yes, indeed."

"So I ask, who is this woman with you, truly? I know that Snow White was an only child."

"Indeed she was. Rebecca was a close family friend of the Whites and they grew up as sisters." Aurora and her companion exchanged doubtful looks, but with no way to prove him wrong, they accepted his explanation.

"Very well. I am Mulan. You're coming with us," she said, not in an offer, but in a demand.

"Excuse me?" Regina asked, incredulous. "No, we're not."

"Yes you are. You brought the soul-sucker who killed Prince Philip." Regina appeared to be readying herself to use magic, but James nudged her in the ribs with his elbow and gave her a pointed look. She rolled her eyes and seethed while Mulan began to bind their wrists.

It wasn't long before they were being dragged behind three horses, one for each woman and one for what seemed to be supplies.

"What the hell was that story?" Regina demanded in a low voice to ensure they were not overheard.

"They can't know who you are…not yet. You may have magic, but we don't know if it's what it used to be and I have no weapon."

"Fine," she huffed in response. She hated being wrong. Hated it even more when it was an enemy who was right. "Why did you even save me? You could have told them who I was and they probably would have locked me up…or killed me. Then you would be rid of me. And even before that—you could have stopped fighting the wraith, you could have just let it come after me and take my soul. Henry would have gotten over it quickly, I'm sure. Hell—if you weren't with me, I'm sure nobody would care to search for us."

"First, I wouldn't condemn even a wraith to having to possess your soul," he growled. He was tired of hearing her mouth. Tired of being away from his family and it had only been possibly an hour. Tired of the fact that he would have to work with Regina to get back and that had only come to him recently. "Second, saving people…it's what good people do."

"Your daughter once said that to me."

"Yeah, well, she's a good person."

"Right. Well, if you're such a good person, why was your first instinct to let me die?"

"Nobody's perfect." He glared at her, annoyed that she had a point. He shouldn't have ever said anything about letting the wraith take her, he had meant it in that moment, but thinking on it now made him realize that it would have hurt Henry. "Do you think they're really looking for us?"

Regina snorted. "Yes, James, I think they'll be looking for you. Snow White isn't going to give up her precious prince," she snarled.

They glared at each other until they noticed that they were coming up to some type of civility. They saw a group of people that appeared to be refugees, and James was the first to speak.

"What is this place?"

"It is our safe haven," Mulan answered.

"So this part of the land was untouched by the curse?"

"Indeed."

"You don't know how?" Regina asked suspiciously.

"No. Why do you ask?"

"We lived under that curse for a long time and it was…powerful, to say the least. We had no memories, no history. A curse that powerful…it would have taken a great deal of magic to protect against it. Even Maleficent and the Dark One were there."

Aurora gasped, but it was Mulan who spoke. "How do you have so much knowledge of the Queen's dark curse?"

"The Blue Fairy was on Snow and my counsel," David spoke up. "She was a close friend of the family, the White family to begin and then my and Snow's family. We both know much of magic because of it."

"Including," Regina continued, "A bit of information that I believe young Aurora here will find great pleasure in, should you let us go."

"What information?" Aurora demanded.

Regina ignored her inquiry. They were freed from the horses and were being led into the camp towards a row of cabins.

"You can speak to our leader about that," Mulan supplied. Regina hid behind James' larger frame, uncertain of whom their leader was and if they would recognize her. She was amazed that they had made it so far without someone being able to pinpoint who exactly she was. She found herself wondering if a decent haircut, different makeup and an entirely different wardrobe could really have that much of an impact, but she guessed that it did, apparently. The door opened and a man with a tall and broad build, a hairless head and dark skin came out of the door, having to duck slightly in the doorway because of his height. He was dressed in full armor with a sword on his hip and Regina found herself recognizing what little of him she could see over the prince's shoulder.

"Lancelot?" James bellowed excitedly. "You look well!" The man stepped toward him.

"Lancelot, this is Prince James and his companion, Rebecca," Mulan stated.

"Yes, I know James." The men shook hands, coming together in a half hug, clapping each other hard on the shoulder. When they pulled apart, the man looked Regina over, and then unsheathed his sword, holding the point at her throat. "That is no woman named Rebecca. That is the Evil Queen, Regina!" he yelled. "Take them to the pit!"

When they were tossed into the pit, Regina was knocked unconscious and James was teetering on the edge of consciousness. Still, he pushed himself up off the ground and moved closer to her to check her over.

"Regina!" he growled, gently slapping the flesh of her cheek. "C'mon, Regina! We've spent a lifetime trying to kill each other, don't tell me it would have been this easy!" He shook her shoulder and when the act held no response from the brunette, he checked her pulse. Relieved to feel the steady pumping against her throat, he relaxed his body and stood to examine where they were. James was startled when he heard a hesitant voice.

"Hello?" was all the voice said. He faced the shadows, noticing a silhouette moving closer to him.

"Who are you?"

"A fellow prisoner. I've been here a long time. Who are you?"

"Prince James, and this, my companion, is Re—Rebecca." The woman made a point of looking around him.

"Rebecca, you say? She bears a rather strong resemblance to Queen Regina."

"I wouldn't know."

"Yet another lie. Why would you be protecting her? I thought she was sworn enemies with you and your wife."

"Uh…it's complicated. Who are you? You never answered me." James heard a heavy gasp followed by the sounds of Regina scuttling around on the ground, drawing herself up to stand. When he turned to look at her, he found that she appeared to be terrified.

"James, stay away from her!" Regina ordered, the fear in her voice palpable.

"Who is she? Why am I staying away?"

"Cora."

"Cora?" he asked.

"My mother," she snarled, her upper lip curling in distaste. "Don't speak to her, James. Everything you say, she will use against you."

"Regina," he whispered, not turning his back to the other woman in the pit, but trying to keep the conversation between the two of them. "What do we do?" He had heard a little bit about Regina's mother from Snow, but the look of horror on Regina's face really had him fearing her. Anyone who could scare a woman as powerful as Regina surely was not someone to be messed with.

"I…I don't know, James." She leaned in so her mouth was close to his ear, trying to be as quiet as possible; she breathed, "I can't beat her." He turned his face farther to look into her eyes, shocked at her admission. A rope dropping from the opening of the pit cut the tension in the small space that they occupied.

"The leader wants a word with the Prince," a deep voice announced. James looked at Regina, who was looking at her mother, afraid.

"I won't come without the Queen," he answered.

If you can control her, she may join you." Regina scoffed at the though of him having any control over her, but he just shook his head and looked at her with a desperate look.

"Promise me, Regina. I really don't want to leave you down here with her." Finally, Regina pursed her lips and nodded her agreement.

James knelt to the ground and brought his hands together, weaving his fingers to form a step for her. He hoisted her as high as he could onto the rope before grasping it below her and climbing underneath her. He was surprised at her strength when she was able to climb a good amount of the rope, holding her own weight in her arms. When they reached the higher ground and both were standing, he stood in front of her, using his body to guard her and holding one arm out to his side protectively in front of her. Looking around, he saw that half a dozen men were hoisting swords pointed in her direction.

"You can lower your weapons," he stated. "We are coming peacefully, please do so as well." His stance and voice were very King-like, demanding but respectful. Regina stared at him in shock, and found herself amused by his protectiveness. She had never needed a man to protect her and she sure as hell didn't now, either.

"And for your information," spoke to the men, "if you tried to hurt us, I could kill all of you with a snap of my fingers. Lower your weapons."

"Regina," James sighed. "You can't try for just one minute to play nice?"

"Excuse me for being defensive while several weapons are aimed to kill me on quick notice."

"Alright, well, let's get this over with. Let's go speak with Lancelot."