Once on Instagram II

I'll Be Your Mirror (Part One)

who is that girl i see, staring straight back at me?
why is my reflection someone i don't know?

~

The Dark Swan stood as Hyde and Jafar entered the room, leading a woman towards Emma's dark side. Her hands were tied behind her back, but she didn't seem nervous.

"Nice to see you two can do something right," the Dark Swan muttered. "Now leave us."

Jafar vanished in a cloud of orange smoke, but Hyde stayed where he was. "Emma--"

"Don't call me that. I am not Emma. Regina has made me very aware of that."

"Dark Swan," Hyde corrected himself, "pardon me for doubting you, but the last move we made was smuggling - what's his name? Penser--?"

"Pence."

"Yes. Our last move was smuggling him tickets to that musical about the ham kid. When will we actually begin--?"

"You don't know this world, Hyde!" The Dark Swan snapped. "You don't know anything about how this world works! The people in this land are...delicate. We cannot rule them by terror in the beginning. We have to let them fall into fear themselves first, and once terror has corrupted them, we take over. Patience is a virtue, and an incredibly important one at that. You would do good to learn that."

"And what about the soulmates?"

The Dark Swan turned so her back was to Hyde. "I have my own plans for the Locksleys. When the time comes, I will allow you to do as you please to Jasmine and Aladdin. But the Locksleys are mine."

Hyde almost spoke again, but before he could, he decided against it. Instead, he turned and left the Dark Swan and the woman he and Jafar had kidnapped alone. As soon as the door shut, the Dark Swan turned to face the woman. She had a smug smile on her face.

"You're not scared?"

"You're forgetting something, Emma. You and I have something important in common. Her darkness. I know you better than you'd like."

The Dark Swan frowned. "You think I'm not going to hurt you?"

"I know you won't hurt me," the woman taunted. "Even if you wanted to, you'd risk destroying yourself. So, tell me, why did you really bring me here? Why didn't you go after Hook, or Regina, like everyone is expecting?"

"Because they know to watch out for me, and they're trying to stop dabbling in darkness. But you..." the Dark Swan stepped closer the woman, "you don't mind a bit of darkness."

"I don't mind it because I am darkness."

"Yes," the Dark Swan grinned, "that's what I like to hear. So, will you join me, Lily?"

"I will gladly join you."

~

"Regina! Regina, I need your help!"

"Calm down, Emma," Regina tilted her head so her phone was caught between her ear and shoulder. She then took the bottle of water Roland was holding up to her, silently asking for it to be opened. As she opened it, she continued her conversation with Emma. "Now, what's wrong?"