" … Fifty-four, fifty-five, fifty –", out of complete silence a hoarse cry arose. Halting mid-step, Regina glances around the street. Vacant – the world is quiet under the cool darkness of the summer night. The silence gnaws at her insides, like a gaping void, poisonous in its nothingness. She shakes her head and continues. "Fifty-six, fifty –", another cry, a soft mewling of distress. "Sounds like a baby," she mumbles carefully studying her surroundings, eyebrows lowered into a frown. The world was quiet once more, the silence eerily unnatural, like a dawn devoid of birdsong.
Having lost count of her steps, the delicate-featured brunette moves into the middle of the deserted road. Her chestnut eyes travel over the empty sidewalks, observe the quiet front of sleepy houses, and linger near the forest edge. Suddenly, she hears snuffling under a bush on the cusp of the dense forest trees. Stepping closer, she sees a black rubbish bag rustling under the shrub. A tiny hand pushes against the plastic.
Regina feels a wave of cold shock, and carefully peels back the plastic. It's a newborn girl, naked with the umbilical cord thick and dangling and her soft tuff of blonde hair slick with birth matter. The baby opens her mouth to cry but all her dry throat can manage is a weak mewling. Her legs kick in tiny jagged motion and her face is pink-hued from exertion. Regina holds her close, a hand beneath the wobbling head as the newborn peers through brand new eyes at what must be such a strange and terrifying world, after living in the comfort of her mother's belly.
The infant is startlingly cool to the touch. The mayor's heart breaks open as she thinks of her own daughter, Lily, warm at home with her other parent. This new person had filled her up with such love that she couldn't phantom ever abandoning her child. Straightening from a crouch, the woman unbuttons her blouse and presses the newborn against her skin. And begins to run.
XXX
Maleficent quietly sings to herself as she scraps tonight's leftovers into the compost bin, before expertly stacking them in the dishwasher. "Thunder only happens when it's raining. Players only love you when they're playing … When the rain washes you clean, you'll know, you'll know." It had been a busy week at the mayory, and Mal was very much looking forward to a quiet weekend with her spouse and their little hatchling. At the tender age of 24 days, baby Lily's teeth had just started to pierce the gum. Her ornery cries now a frequent backdrop in the everyday home life of the Mills family.
After wiping down the counters, Mal makes her way to the living room. Leaning against the doorjamb, she observes her little troublemaker with a raised eyebrow and a fond smile. Little Lily's snout was low to the ground, her two upper canines (her only teeth to date …) exposed as she growled at a tired looking plush mouse. Quickly, she swipes her tiny paw and sends her victim skidding across the hardwood floor, past her mother and into the hallway. Grunting, she clumsily makes her way towards her toy.
"My little bird, you are getting so good at stalking prey!" Mal exclaims in a warm and happy voice as she picks up and softly cradles her daughter. "Mama is so proud of you, my darling!" Lily's wide jellyfish-blue eyes stare up at her mother, the hunt forgotten, as she gently rubs the warm baby scales on top of her head.
"It's time for bed, bubbles. Let's get you settled in, and when mommy gets home she'll come give you a kiss goodnight" Maleficent says making her way up the stairs, as the little dragon lies her head against her mother's chest, listening to its soothing beating.
Suddenly, a series of insistent knocks at the front door. "Looks like mommy's home early, just in time for stories," she tells her daughter. "Did Regina forget her key again?" she thinks to herself with a smile. For someone as organized and methodical, her wife was surprisingly forgetful about the littlest things. Keys. Purse. Glasses.
"Hey babe, did you forget –" The blonde stops mid-sentence and stares gapingly at her spouse. Pressed to her bare chest was a naked infant.
"I don't know what to do! I was walking home and I found this little thing under a bush near the forest. Who would do that, throw away a newborn like yesterday's trash?!" The mulatto woman says in a shaky tone, as she bustles her way past Mal.
Shutting the door, the mother dragon follows the flustered mayor into the kitchen.
