AN: Bleeeeghh... I told myself I would work on my current fanfics, but I got sidetracked with this idea. I mean, I liked this idea, and I really wanted to do something with it, and I love Dragon Queen and Regal Believer (The only thing I love more than Regal Believer is Swan-Mills Family. This isn't Swan Queen, though.) and I just had to write it.
I hope you enjoy this 4 thousand and something worded fanfic.
WARNINGS:
Mentions of past sexual relationships
Angst (or at least an attempt)
I don't own Once Upon a Time
Silence
Silence is unbearable.
Maleficent knew that best as it settled itself between she and her daughter. The two women were walking cautiously next to each other, passing Storybrooke's many buildings and cars. The two knew that Storybrooke was a small town, but there should at least be some kind of noise. Anything other than the dreadful silence between Mother and Daughter.
The only arguably worse thing other than silence is distance. As Mother tried to appease her daughter by displaying a casual posture and a content smile, Daughter couldn't help but be oh so cautious of the distance between them. It is no secret that Daughter was nervous of their time together, not knowing what to do - especially now that she had her real mother. And it was also no secret that every time Daughter accidentally bumped shoulders with Mother, the former would take more than a step back.
They remained silent about their distance, though.
Lily licked her lips as she awkwardly tried to start a conversation, "So... You're a dragon?"
As soon as the question left her lips, Lily berated herself for the question. Of all things she could have asked, that was what she chose?
Still, Maleficent chuckled softly as a smile formed on her lips, "More or less so. And so are you."
Lily looked away as she was once again reminded of who she was walking next to, "Right... Because you are my mother."
Lily could only guess why that last word left an unpleasant taste in her mouth.
Silence once again captured the two as they watched a car pass by.
How can this be so hard? They are mother and daughter. They share flesh and blood. It shouldn't be this hard to connect with each other.
It shouldn't hurt so much just to try.
"So," Maleficent tried, realizing that it was now her turn to start a conversation, "how was life with your adoptive family?"
Surely they were good to her daughter? The man from Rumpelstiltskin's vision seemed sincere when he held her baby girl in his arms.
Unfortunately, Maleficent began to doubt it as her daughter stayed silent, refusing to look back at her mother. The frown etched on Lily's face did nothing to help.
Worried, Maleficent spoke her daughter's name, "Lilith?"
The two stopped walking as silence enveloped them again. It had them in its clutches, painfully squeezing Mother and Daughter.
It truly was unbearable.
And so was distance.
Lily stepped away from Maleficent, "Look, I know that you didn't want to give me up, and that this evil witch-"
"Queen." Maleficent interrupted, the image of her old friend appearing at the back of her mind, "She was a queen."
Lily raised an eyebrow as she continued on, "That this evil queen made it impossible for you to actually find me, but this is going to take some time. I..." she took a breath, "I'm not used to having a mother."
Maleficent swallowed a lump in her throat at the truth in her daughter's words, "I know, dear," she admitted, "You're... You're right. This is going to take some time."
Mother tried to reach for Daughter's hand, but Daughter took a step back to further the distance between them. Mother retracted her hand and looked at her daughter's eyes.
"I love you..." Maleficent said as her voice cracked, "I loved you the moment I gave birth to you; even before then. And I still do."
Looking away once more, Lily felt her eyes start to water. She nodded her head in acknowledgement. She turned away, and said the only thing she could say.
"I have to go. I'll see you later, Mo... Maleficent..."
And Maleficent watched as her child almost ran away from her.
As she watched the fleeting figure of her daughter, Maleficent felt an embrace that the chilly presence of silence generously gave her. In contrast to the terrible chill she felt, a warm tear threatened to escape her eyes. She clutched her hands in defiance, and turned away. She was about to start walking when she was greeted with a sight that hurt her just as deeply as silence did.
It was Mother and Son.
They were staring at the lonely mother.
Maleficent couldn't help but notice the twinge of understanding in Regina's warm brown eyes - a contrast to her cold blue ones. She watched as Regina gently nudged Henry forward, prompting him to walk towards the other woman. Maleficent stayed rooted, not knowing what else she should do now that her daughter was not with her.
As the two got close, Regina nodded her head in greeting, "Maleficent."
Maleficent nodded back, a tentative, "Regina..." escaping her lips. She looked at Regina's son; a boy who wasn't Regina's, but was also her's at the same time. She put on a forced, small smile, "Henry..."
Henry ignored the forced nature of the smile, and curved his lips back, "Hi, Maleficent."
Once again, silence ensued as the three stared at each other. Maleficent stared at Henry, thinking about the child of her former friend. Henry stared back at Maleficent, thinking about the villain who was redeeming herself, much like his mother was. Regina watched Maleficent, thinking about the fire burning within the dragon's soul, and pondering about how it must be faltering in power. Regina knew what is was like to feel that power painfully falter.
"Lovely day for a stroll, isn't it?" Regina asked.
"Yes, it is," Maleficent answered.
"My son and I were about to go to Granny's. Would you like to join us?"
Maleficent was surprised at the invitation. True, they were once very close friends. Friends who were almost more. However, that was a long time ago.
"I wouldn't like to intrude," Maleficent took a peek at Henry, "And I think your son would like to spend some time with his mother."
A contrast to how her daughter didn't want to spend some time with her.
Henry shook his head, "I wouldn't mind. I'd like to get to know you, actually. My mom told me about you."
Maleficent stared at the boy, then to Regina, "She did?"
Regina looked away, slightly abashed, "I... Well, yes... You were my only friend. A very close one..."
Maybe a bit too close, Maleficent thought as she remembered some of their more intimate moments.
"Yes, I suppose we were..."
"So?" Henry asked, a hopeful smile on his face, "Will you join us?"
Regina brought her gaze back up to look at Maleficent.
The dragon shifted from Henry's eyes to Regina's as she nodded her head, "Yes, I would love to."
The three had walked into Granny's, and took a seat. Henry and Regina was on one side of the table, while Maleficent sat across from them. They ordered their drinks. Henry ordered hot cocoa with cinnamon, Regina ordered black coffee, and Maleficent ordered a hot cup of tea.
A silence had befallen upon them as they stared at each other. This silence wasn't as crushing as the silence between Maleficent and Lily, but it was just as unbearable. At least Henry was there to break the silence as he directed his attention to Maleficent.
"How do you like Storybrooke?" Henry asked.
Maleficent took a few moments before she answered, "It's a very simple town... Very quiet..."
At the last word, Regina couldn't help but scoff, remembering the events of the past few years, "This town is far from quiet..."
Maleficent couldn't help but think about the times she had visitors down in the basement.
No, this town was not quiet at all.
And Henry didn't think so either. He nodded his head, "Mom's right. After Emma came to town and broke the curse, a lot of things happened. Grandma..." the boy stopped as he noticed the sudden stiff posture of his mother. Maleficent noticed as well, and watched as Son changed topics with a shake of his head, "Mom saved the town when these two guys took her and the trigger that could have killed everyone." he looked at his mother, pride shining in his eyes, "She's a hero."
Regina smiled at her son, placing a hand on his forehead, and sweeping his hair aside, "Because you inspire me to, Henry. I love you, my little prince."
Henry smiled back at his mother.
Maleficent watched the exchange, feeling a squeeze in her heart, and wishing it would go away. She shifted in her seat, glad that Ruby had came by to give them their drinks. At least they had something to do in the short amount of silence that had befallen them once more.
As Regina put her drink down, she stared at Maleficent with a neutral expression, "So, how's Lily?"
Maleficent took a slight pause as she also lowered her drink, "She is fine."
Regina nodded her head, studying her old friend.
She suddenly turned her attention to Henry, asking him if he wanted some of Granny's chocolate frosted donuts. When her son nodded his head, she gave him some money and told him to order some.
Regina watched as her son gave her a knowing smile, then left to talk to Granny.
Now that they were alone, Regina turned her attention to Maleficent. She wasn't surprised to find that the blonde turned away from her. Still, she asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"
"There's nothing to talk about."
"We saw what happened."
"Did you?"
"Yes."
Silence slipped between them as Regina took a sip of her coffee. Maleficent was suddenly not in the mood for tea. As Regina put her mug back down, she gave a sigh, drawing Maleficent's attention to her.
Regina folded her arms across the table and leaned in to get closer to Maleficent. She started softly, "I know what it's like to... have a child who pushes away from you." She sneaked a glance at Henry before returning to look at Maleficent once more, "It hurts, and it makes you angry... Angry at the people who have taken them away from you. Angry at the people who would try to take them away from you..." She lowered her volume for her last statement, "Angry at yourself for pushing them away."
Maleficent sharply turned her gaze at Regina, now fully facing her. Regina couldn't help but notice the red and puffiness of her friend's eyes, and the angry scowl marking her beautiful face, "I am not pushing Lily away!"
Placing a hand on top of Maleficent's, Regina responded with, "I know."
The two stared at each other in silence as Maleficent slowly calmed down. Regina always had that effect on her. Just one touch from the younger woman, and Maleficent could calm down. Ironically, there were times where Regina's touch would excite her so much, feeling as though she would burst with intense emotion. Her touch was addicting. That was all Maleficent knew as she twisted her hand around so that she was almost holding Regina's.
Almost, but not quite.
Taking the almost hand-hold as a sign to continue, Regina spoke once more, "When the curse broke..." she shook her head, "No, when Henry found his book, he pulled away from me. All of a sudden, the ten years we spent together as a family had slipped away, and all that was left was hatred and anger, and...," she took a pause as she snuck a glance at Henry once more. Her voice was beginning to crack as she added with a squeezing of her hand, "and pain... He left me one day, and when he came back, Emma Swan - his birth mother - was the one he was clinging to. He didn't want anything to do with me."
Maleficent looked away, but her hand stayed. In a quiet voice, she asked, "What did you do?"
Maleficent couldn't help but notice how Regina's voice cracked, "I fought for him, Maleficent," Regina placed another hand on top of her friend's, "And I made some bad moves. My battle plans were not the best, and they only served to push him further away from me. But you know what? I realized something. I could either go back to being the Evil Queen and take him back by force, never really having his love... Or I could change and become the hero he believed I could be."
"Why are you telling me this?"
Regina tightened her grip on Maleficent's hand, "Because I care about you... And I wanted to give you some advice. Mother to mother..." At those words, Maleficent looked at Regina, "It will take some time. And you will feel like you are dying inside. But you have to keep going. You have to keep fighting. And no matter how tempting it is, don't go back to that horrid place. Because that will do nothing but hurt everyone - including your child. And as mothers, we would never want to hurt our children."
As Regina finished, Maleficent felt herself choking back a sob. Regina moved to the other side of the table, and placed an arm around her friend. Not once did Maleficent's hand disconnect with Regina's. Maleficent buried her head in the crook of the other woman's neck, silently sobbing. Regina felt Maleficent's hold on her hand tighten as she finally grasped on. The former queen looked up and glared at the few customers who curiously looked their way, wanting Maleficent to have some privacy. Henry continued to talk to Granny, knowing what his mother wanted for her friend. Regina was silent, but so was Maleficent. Their actions, however, spoke loud volumes.
Eventually, Maleficent calmed down, and the two just held onto each other. They stayed as they were for a minute or two before Maleficent felt the urge to tell Regina something.
Something that she had kept silent for far too long.
"Regina...?" Maleficent started softly, hesitantly, sounding almost scared.
Regina, who noticed the tone of Maleficent's voice, answered back softly, moving her head to peek at her friend, "Yes, dear?"
Maleficent took a pause before continuing, "Lily... She..." Maleficent swallowed a lump as she lowered her voice even further. She was tempted to back out, but she couldn't. If she did, she may never tell Regina. She will always stay silent, "She's not just my daughter..."
Regina smiled, "I know. She's your everything..."
Shaking her head, Maleficent tried to explain, "No... Well, yes, but that wasn't what I meant."
"Oh?"
"She's not just my child..."
Regina blinked, "Well, I would assume so... It normally takes two to create life, unless dragons are an exception..."
Maleficent shook her head against Regina's neck, irritatingly breathing her friend's name, "Regina…!"
"Right. Sorry. You were saying?"
"Lily's other parent," Maleficent started again, feeling her nerves turn to jelly, "She, well, Lily doesn't really have a father..."
Regina blinked once again, then raised an eyebrow. Her mind took her back to old times. She remembered the many times when she had met with Maleficent at the dead of night, and had gotten as intimate as she did with her dreadful husband. Maleficent wasn't dreadful, though... Quite the opposite, really. And she seemed to enjoy it as much as Regina did.
But that didn't have to mean that Maleficent preferred women over men...
Or maybe it did, now that Maleficent revelation came about.
"Oh?" Regina started, "Well, you know I don't mind those kinds of relationships, Mal. There's no need to worry whether or not I am supporti-"
Maleficent raised her head from Regina's shoulder, impatiently looking at her as she raised her voice, "That's not what I meant, Regina!"
In response, Regina scrunched her eyebrows together.
Maleficent sighed, "Don't you remember those nights... we spent together in my bed?"
Regina stared at her friend, still not quite understanding what Maleficent was trying to tell her, "I... Yes, of course I do, but... I don't-"
"You're Lily's other parent, you stupid girl!"
Silence was crushing and unbearable, and there were times where Maleficent just wanted to destroy it with sound.
Unfortunately, her sound may have been too loud as it had caused a much more malicious silence. It was twice as heavy and unbearable.
And there were two other sounds that just couldn't bear the silence.
"Mom?" asked Son, who turned away from a shocked Granny.
"Mo-Mother...?" asked Daughter, who had just arrived at the diner.
And all Maleficent and Regina can do was look at their children, then to each other, "Shit..."
Lily walked briskly to the pair of women, stopping only a few feet away.
The shocked daughter raised her voice over the deafening silence as she stared at... her parents, "What did you say about this woman? She... She's my other parent? How is that even possible? Why did I only find out about this, now?"
The equally shocked son took a step towards the two, but didn't approach, "Mom? Wh-What's going on?"
Sister and Brother were not the only ones to have shock painted over their faces. As Maleficent and Regina turned to each other, they could see it plain as day. Beneath all that shock, however, was a more pressing emotion.
Fear.
Regina looked towards Henry, her voice shaking, but otherwise in control. She was mayor, after all, "Henry, I... I think we should go talk somewhere else..." She snuck a glance at Maleficent, then at Lily, "All of us should go talk somewhere else..."
Maleficent turned her head to her daughter, her voice pleading, "L-Lily, I can explain-"
What came out of Lily's mouth made Maleficent wish for silence to fall upon all of them.
Lily let out a cruel, cold chuckle as she shook her head, suppressed thoughts reaching surface as old feelings came about, "Yeah, I bet you can. Like you can explain why you couldn't run after the people who took me instead of blasting the damn entrance and blocking yourself from them! Or how you couldn't look for a way to create a portal to this world, and look for me, all powerful Maleficent!"
Regina, Henry, and Maleficent winced and flinched at Lily's words. All harsh, but true.
Maleficent felt tears well up in her eyes once more, "Lily, please..."
But Lily just shook her head, turning to the door, "I'm leaving."
Just as Lily opened the door, Henry had called after her. And before the boy knew it, he found that he had his hand gripping onto her wrist. Everyone in the diner looked at them in silence, wondering what would happen next between the siblings. Meanwhile, Regina gripped Maleficent's hand, both of them now providing the other comfort.
Lily pulled her wrist away from Henry, "Leave me alone, kid, " she sneered.
Before Lily could push Henry out of the way, the boy raised his voice, "Don't just leave!"
"And why shouldn't I?"
"Because you're hurting your mom!"
Lily shook her head as silence almost enveloped the two, "I don't have a mom."
Sister turned to leave again, but Brother stepped in front of the door, successfully blocking her path, "You do have a mom! You have two!"
"Move out of my way!"
"Not until you talk to Maleficent." Henry suddenly lowered his voice, his volume still loud.
Lily stared at Henry before shaking her head, "You don't know what you're talking about. You're just a kid."
"No I'm not," Henry stomped his foot aggressively, "I'm also a son. And a-apparently, we share a mom!" He looked at Regina, "A mom who has done bad things, and was a villain..." Regina looked away, and Maleficent squeezed her hand, "But she isn't anymore."
Lily looked back at Regina and Maleficent, then scowled, "Well, that's your mom. She's not mine."
Henry opened his mouth, but Lily cut him off.
"She wasn't the one who fed me, and took care of me. She wasn't the one who held me in her arms, and changed my diaper. She never put up with any of my tantrums, or nursed any of my fevers," with each statement, Lily increased her volume, smashing the silence to bits, "She never even looked for me!"
Lily felt the few droplets of tears fall down her cheeks as she stared at Maleficent, who also had tears running down her face. Regina squeezed her hand, and Henry tried to reach out to squeeze Lily's. She pulled away before he could brush their fingers together, though.
Henry stared at Lily, and softly suggested, "Then let's talk to her. Let's talk to them both."
That should have been the end of it. Everyone was hurting, and this should have been the end. Everyone should have been able to get out of the diner and talk about what was happening. That should have been it.
But Lily wasn't ready to give up the fight, "And why should I?" she asked.
It was a good thing Henry wasn't about to give up on her, "Because..." he faltered as memories invaded his head. Shameful memories that he wished he could forget, "Because if I can forgive my mom, then so can you. Not too long ago, I pushed my mom away, a-and I was mean to her. I ran away, and I tried to replace her... I only ended up hurting her." Henry felt his own tears threatening to spill, even as he raised his wrists to swipe them away, "But she never gave up...! She never let go of me. She kept fighting for me. She changed for me! She-She loved me, even when I almost hated her!"
"Almost?" Lily asked, her voice now quiet.
Henry just shook his head, his voice cracking, "I never stopped loving her. She's my mom," he looked at Regina, who was watching them with watery eyes, "I will always love her." He looked back to Lily, "And you will always love Maleficent. She's your mom, and I know you love her."
Lily stepped back, but her fight was nearly diminished, "You don't know anything, kid..."
Henry stepped closer, "I know a lot of things. I know that you won't be happy until you give something up for your mom - your anger. Mom gave up a lot for me, and I had to give up being angry for her. For a long time, I was angry at her, and even when I was with Emma, I still wasn't happy. I needed my Mom."
Lily dropped her head, defeated. In an almost inaudible voice, she said, "I don't need her... I'm an adult now. She's too late."
As Maleficent's heart squeezed at the truth in Lily's words, Henry just shook his head, "It's never too late, Lily. All it takes is one chance. One chance for her, and for you."
Once again, silence had befallen them. The only thing fighting the silence is the sobbing thirty year old, who had fallen to her knees, and cried into her hands. Her much younger adoptive brother kneeled next to her, and draped an arm over her shoulder. The two siblings started to sob together as their mothers quietly approached them, tears also welling up behind their eyes.
Regina had left some money on the table, not bothering if she was leaving a twenty dollar tip. Not once did she let go of Maleficent's hand, "I'll take us to my mansion."
Maleficent only nodded her head as the two stood in front of their children. She placed a gentle hand atop of Lily's shoulder, silently relieved that the former did not move away. She did, however, sob just a little bit louder.
Meanwhile, Regina placed her own hand on Henry's head, ruffling the mop of dark brown.
Regina turned her head towards Maleficent when she felt her hand being squeezed. All she heard from the blonde was a quiet, "Thank you."
Regina shook her head, squeezing back, "Thank you."
Then the two turned back to their loud, sobbing children, and closed their eyes as they let their tears flow.
A dark, purple smoke surrounded them as they silently left the diner.
Silence is unbearable.
And it hurts.
But sound can hurt just as much, Maleficent realized.
Luckily, she had the reassuring squeeze of a hand to take some of the pain away.
And now, Lily had a wonderful younger brother who would always fight for her.
Feedback is much appreciative, especially since angst is hard to write (right?).
Also, I'm thinking about writing a sequel, or some kind of continuation because I feel like I can do more with this idea. Any thoughts on that?
Thanks for reading.
