Chapter Text
"Why do I always end up crossing paths with that woman?" Emma wondered as she sorted the empty jars into a small box she hid under her bed. "I won't let anyone defeat me. I'll find a way to free myself and be reunited with my parents." She put her hand to her chest searching for the necklace her father had given her before she left, but she couldn't find it. She rummaged through her room frantically. The necklace was not there.
She headed to the Garden of the Omegas once she had exhausted all her options. She thought maybe she had dropped it in the fountain. She leaned over the edge but the bottom was clean. She closed her eyes heavily, regretting that loss. Suddenly, someone grabbed her from behind and covered her mouth with their hand. It was the man she had seen that night.
Graham had spotted the young omega from the top of the Tower Room, where he was meeting Regina. He decided to approach her to keep the blonde from getting into more trouble. Although he knew the Mistress wouldn't hurt her, his friend's intensity could be too much to handle.
The Beta put a finger to his mouth, asking for silence and removed his hand from the omega's mouth. "Forgive me but I really need to do something urgent... So, please... Let me go." There was something in the man's face that inspired Emma's confidence.
"It's not safe for you to be here now." The man whispered moving closer to her, until his lips reached her ear. The blonde blushed completely as she was not used to that kind of physical contact. "I recommend you leave. Now is not a good time." The man's voice made her skin crawl but she managed to get some distance, standing face to face. "The Guards might see you."
"It doesn't matter. There is something I must find." Emma said with determination averting her gaze from the man. "Thank you for your concern. I'll be careful." The omega turned to continue on her way but a hand on top of hers stopped her.
"Wait." Graham could understand Regina at that moment. There was something magnetic about that woman, something different that made him wish she wasn't far from him. After reaching into the inside pocket of his jacket, he pulled out the necklace he had found in that garden. "Is this what you are looking for?"
The smile the omega flashed elicited the same joy from the Advisor. "My necklace! Thank you so much!" A few tears escaped from the corners of her eyes. The man thought he had never seen anyone so beautiful.
"Now you must sneak away." He remained standing in place watching the blonde's every move as she walked away.
"Well, well. If it isn't none other than the sneaky little rat of the garden." Regina had watched the interaction very carefully and decided that now was the time to make her presence known. "Hello again... Little brat. What have you come to steal now?"
Emma couldn't believe her luck, it seemed like that woman was always after her. "Excuse me?! I didn't come to steal anything. I came to find something that belongs to me." The blonde was infuriated as she noticed how the smile grew on the Alpha's face. Everything she said seemed to amuse her to no end. She remembered Ruby's warnings, she still didn't know who she was up against. She had to be careful, beat her anger and play it smart. "I'm sorry. I don't even know your noble name, Miss."
Regina burst out laughing. The omega kept surprising her, just when she thought she had it figured out, she would outright change her attitude. "Did you say 'noble'? Since when do you hold me in such high esteem?" Emma blushed and shifted uncomfortably. That strategy would not work on the hideous woman. "I appreciate your newfound courtesy, little one, but you will learn my name in due time. You don't know it yet, but I am a very important person. Therefore, whenever you are in the Sanctuary, my eyes will be upon you."
The blonde was dumbfounded, wondering who the hell that woman was. Maybe she belonged to an enemy family of the Kingdom of Light and was there to torture her for her omega condition. She was suddenly surprised when a breeze brought the woman's scent to her nose. But contrary to their previous encounters, it was mixed with another, notably different one.
"Why are you standing there with that face? Go away and don't come in here again!" Regina realized that the omega had smelled her sister on her so she chased her away impolitely.
Emma hurried away, turning her head to look at those people one last time.
"Zelena's scent is getting more potent, Regina. You should keep your distance." Graham had very specific orders from Cora that only he knew. His priority was to keep the secret no matter what.
"My sister can't live locked up and isolated from everyone. I won't allow it." It wasn't the first time her sister's scent had brought her trouble. When she attended school it was common for the rest of the Alphas to detect the omega's scent on her skin. Elsa had been the first to spread rumors about it, provoking harsh punishments from her mother. "If we can keep the little brat out of the Garden, Zelena will be able to live more freely." Regina turned a pained glance toward the Tower Room where her sister remained hidden.
---
Emma spent the whole morning distractedly recalling her encounters with those strange people. Cruella, her teacher, was tired of calling her attention to each of her classes. The truth is that the omega rarely applied herself to learning the lessons she was taught, but lately she was even more distracted.
The blonde could not stop thinking about the strange scent she had smelled in the garden. The woman was clearly an Alpha, maybe she had slept with some omega before seeing her.
She didn't know why this thought gave her a knot in her stomach. Someone tapped her shoulder startling her.
"I'm sorry, Emma. I didn't mean to scare you." Belle looked at her with concern. "You're awake again?" The blonde was keeping her abreast of her plans to experiment with different plants in the garden until she got her pheromones under complete control. As she had been at the Sanctuary longer and loved to read she was able to get her some useful books for her friend.
"No, I'm fine, Belle. Don't worry. I'll go to bed early tonight." The blonde smiled and led the other omega into her room to show her the progress she had made.
"Wow. Emma, this is awesome. And you already know if it works?" Belle flipped through the notebook in which her friend was making all her notes. She really had been studying hard.
"That's the thing. I guess my only option is to ask Ruby to use this potion." Emma blushed. Belle understood that for this her lover would have to sleep with another omega at the time of the heat.
"If necessary, I will not object." Her eyes filled with tears. "I've been in love with Ruby from the first moment I saw her. If you can get your potion to work, I'll be free to be with her without her having to buy me off." At that moment, the blonde understood the depth of Ruby's warnings. If she succeeded, not only would she be free of the Sanctuary's life, but so would all the omegas.
"Let's go. We should be there in time for roll call." Emma's resolve strengthened immensely.
"The omegas are here and ready to present themselves to you, Madam." Cruella was confident in the quality of her teaching. She had been at it for over ten years. Although on rare occasions she had had to deal with somewhat troublesome omegas, no one would go near Swan. No matter how many punishments she meted out, the newly arrived omega seemed determined not to apply herself to her studies.
"Have the omegas who have already presented themselves enter and have the rest wait outside until I'm done." Regina had read the files of each omega that inhabited the Sanctuary until she had memorized them. She found all her duties extremely tedious or simply unpleasant even though she performed them with the utmost dedication.
Graham had informed her of the name of the curious omega: Emma Swan. The Mistress had paid special attention to these documents. The granddaughter of her family's great enemy, she was under her care. Everything she learned about Swan became increasingly fascinating to her. According to reports, the omega was a favorite when it came to humiliation by the other inhabitants of the Sanctuary and her angry reactions had earned her several disciplinary reports.
After finishing with the protocol evaluation of the omegas providing service, the doors of the room opened allowing Regina to distinguish Emma from the rest of the omegas who had not yet had their first heat. Although the blonde was looking at the floor surely thinking about something else.
"I have no interest in evaluating omegas who have not yet presented themselves. I think it will suffice to examine one of them. You have entered that omega." The Mistress pointed at the blonde smiling mischievously.
"Emma Swan! Report to the Mistress." Cruella moved towards her to escort her into the hall. "Don't make me look bad, child."
Swan looked up and could not hide her surprise at seeing her new Mistress. She tried to calm her breathing, agitated by that discovery. That detestable woman was the highest authority of the Sanctuary, she was the person who had absolute control over her life.
"I'm afraid the girl has only been here a short time, my Lady. We have not yet been able to find her corresponding area." The omegas spent long hours studying various forms of entertainment to offer their buyers. It was usual for all of them to have basic knowledge of each area, but to specialize in one or two of them depending on their skills and abilities. This determined their value and correspondingly the treatment they received at the Sanctuary.
"Am I to believe that a person educated in nobility possesses no talent whatsoever?" Regina stared clearly as Emma struggled to maintain her composure. Far from being the person she had bumped into in the garden. "Couldn't the Whites invest in your education?"
The blonde gave her a withering look but remained stoic. "I never showed any aptitude toward the arts, Mistress." As much as her mother tried to teach her painting, dancing, embroidery, music and other activities that every respectable woman should learn, the blonde never took an interest. "I'm afraid my skills relate more to sword fighting, hunting, nature..."
"In summary, you're nothing but a talentless child." Regina approached her watching her closely. "Do you know how much money we're investing in you? Do you have any idea how expensive your education is, your attire?"
The omega tried not to lose her cool at Mistress' mocking tone." Once my heat begins, it will pay back and exponentially increase your investment. The opportunity to humiliate my family through me is an attraction in itself."
Cruella was not surprised by her student's defiant attitude; she was digging her own grave. "Why don't you take off your robe? Swan has a really privileged body." The teacher dared to suggest for fear of being dragged along with the omega.
Regina smiled mischievously. She really enjoyed it when that omega continuously challenged her. "Well? You've heard your teacher." Emma looked at her with all the fury she was trying hard to suppress. "Do you need me to help you undress?"
The omega cursed under her breath as she felt her skin prickle. Warmth ran through her body as she began to remove her robe in resignation. She watched in surprise as the Mistress's gaze transformed from amused to predatory.
The brunette ran her eyes over Emma's body. She felt the air leave her lungs and her mouth turn into a desert. She told herself that she was better than that, that she wasn't a slave to her physical reactions. "Good" The Mistress cleared her throat adopting a solemn posture.
"May I leave now?" Controlling her urges was becoming increasingly arduous as she felt more and more humiliated by those women.
"You are close to presenting your first heat and you are not ready for that moment. I have never been in the presence of an omega with so lacking in qualities." Regina paced the room calculating her words carefully. "She's going to need special lessons. Make sure she gets extra instruction."
Cruella hastily pulled out her notepad. "What kind of lessons should I give her?"
The Mistress stared into the omega's eyes. "All kinds of lessons. In fact, I'm going to train her myself. Send her to my private study every morning at seven. Sharp."