Writer's Note: Here's a new story that I wanted to try out. I have a lot planned for this story so follow and review to let me know if I should continue with this. Enjoy!
Chapter 1
The Enchanted Forest is a land with magic embedded into a storybook. There are royal families, heroes, villains, various kinds of creatures that roam through the land, and anything else imaginable. Anyone who exists and roams in this world lives their life with a happily ever after. At least that is what a particular young lady thought. Regina Mills lived in her family's castle with her mother and father. She was a princess who was receiving Queen lessons from her mother daily. That was Cora's ideal lifestyle for Regina; but that is not what Regina had in mind. What she wanted more than anything was to be the wife of her beloved stable boy, Daniel. They were engaged and planning to run away to escape. He was everything to her. She did not care if they would be living in poverty. Their love for each other was all that she needed. That was, until her mother stopped her one evening and crushed Daniel's heart to ashes right in front of her. He was gone. Her love was gone forever because of their secret relationship being revealed. Daniel would have gotten in the way of Cora's plan for Regina; in her mind, he had to be removed. Regina's hope for her happiness was crushed; even more when she found out who had told Cora about them. Snow White was a sweet girl that Regina had adored; not anymore. She had nothing but anger towards her. Deep down she knew that she could not let her anger get the best of her, no matter how much she wanted to. She could not let her mother win. Regina still had to fight to keep control on her life. What she did not know, was that someone else was at the stables that night.
A heartbroken Regina was lying on her canopy bed. She was looking out of the large opening, where the balcony in her room was located, at the view when a small green light appeared. It was approaching her room as she sat up to get a better view; she could tell when it got closer that it was a fairy. Tinkerbell transformed into her human size form and took a seat on the edge of Regina's bed, looking at the brunette in front of her in concern. "Regina, I'm here to help. I know what happened and I want to be your friend. You can't let the pain lead you to darkness."
"What are you? My moth godmother?" Regina retaliated, noticing the slight hint of her already becoming sarcastic like her mother. She felt a bit guilty for insulting the fairy already as she apologized, "I'm sorry. It's just been a tough week."
"I completely understand. This is why I want to help you. You have to get out of this room sometime. Come with me into the village to get some fresh air, maybe some food?" Tinkerbell was genuinely kind towards the brunette. Tink herself was not the most appreciated among the fairies; she could relate and feel with Regina.
"I don't know. It's hard to get out of my mother's grasp."
"I can help with that, if you'll allow me."
"How?" Regina was still learning magic and she was curious with what the fairy had to offer her. Maybe a day out of the castle was just what she needed.
"Pixie dust of course!" Tink smiled brightly and gestured towards her satchel. She could tell that this is what Regina wanted to do as she took out a pinch of pixie dust and blew it over the brunette. Regina shut her eyes while Tink did this. She opened her eyes to see that she was as tiny as Tink was when she first arrived in her room. They were also floating in the air as Tink reached over and held onto Regina's hand, leading them out of her window. Surely her mother would not be able to see the two tiny figures flying towards the village. She could see the people below going about their business like usual. The sights and smells filled the air as the two of them flew behind a pub so that they could transform back into their taller selves. Tink linked her arm with Regina's as the two walked inside and sat down at a table in the back. They thought over the food choices that the wench listed before deciding on a soup that sounded appetizing to them. "I'm glad that you came, Regina."
"I am too actually. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I got a whiff of the smells coming from this pub." Regina smiled gently as she fumbled with the ring that Daniel gave her between her fingers.
Tink noticed the gestured and kindly asked, "What was he like?"
"He was... Kind, sweet, and very loving. It was hard not to fall for him. He was everything that I wanted." Sadness filled her eyes as the memories of her stable boy came back. "Although at first, I didn't care much for him. He was tough on me when I began learning how to ride a horse. I think when I really started to care for him was when we both went on a horseback ride through the meadow to a hill with a large tree and a view overlooking my family's property. We could see a lake and the village in the distance. We stopped to rest and I almost fell off of my horse when I was getting off. He was there and he caught me. I don't know what happened, but when I looked at him, I knew he was the one. I fell for him, literally."
Tink could not help but smile as Regina told the story. Fairies were not allowed to love as long as they were fairies. They had duties and tasks to partake in. "That's beautiful, Regina. I can tell that you loved each other dearly. You know that Daniel probably didn't want you to sit around and mourn him forever. He would want you to move on and love again. I know there has to be someone else that you'll love the same again one day."
"Do you really think so?" Regina still had some hope left. Any chance at happiness was important to her. She wanted something better than her mother's intentions.
"I know so." A beeping sound interrupted Tink's sentence as she looked down at the source. Her bracelet with a flower charm was glowing and beeping. "Uh oh, Blue wants me. Regina, I'll be right back after I see what she wants." Tink jumped up from her seat and went out of the back door. She stood out back and reached into her purse, pulling out a compact mirror as Blue's appearance appeared.
"Green, where are you? There is pixie dust missing and you were the last seen near it," Blue said with a firm tone.
"My name is not Green. It's Tinkerbell. I just borrowed a little. I'll return what's left when I get back, promise."
"You must not interfere with anything. You know that. If you do anything, I'll have to strip your wings." Blue's picture faded until she was gone. Tink knew that she would be in trouble. She just had to make sure that she kept the pixie dust safe until another day.
While Tink was outside talking to Blue, Regina was left alone in the pub. She was hardly eating her soup, but circling her spoon around the bowl. The memories of Daniel kept her thinking about him and what would happen in her future. She wondered if she would ever meet someone she would love deeply again. She wondered if she would end up marrying the King in an arranged marriage. Tinkerbell was right. Even if she grew old with Daniel and he died before her, he would want her to move on and find love again. He would not want her to be alone. She still had a part of her heart that held hatred towards Snow for spilling their secret relationship to the one she wanted it kept from the most. It was only a moment later before she heard a voice who she realized had been speaking to her. She was so lost in thought that she did not hear the stranger. Regina shook her head gently and looked up to see a man standing beside her, looking down at her. He wore leather pants, boots, and a vest over his off-white buttoned up shirt. He was attractive to her instinctively. She had seen him with a group of other men when she entered the pub, but hardly paid any mind to him. "I'm sorry?"
He found it amusing how she did not pay attention to him at first. But he knew that the beautiful woman in front of him had a lot on her mind and he could not help but wonder if she was alright. Something was different about her when she walked into the pub. "I said, is everything alright? You've been stirring your soup for a while now. I don't think cold soup would not be the best taste. If you want, I could buy you a drink to make up for it?"
"It's fine. I just got lost in my thoughts. I wasn't that hungry anyway," Regina lied. She was hungry, but she did not want to appear as the damsel in distress so that the kind stranger would not have to bother with helping her. "I'm just waiting for my friend to return anyway."
"As you wish. It was a pleasure meeting you..." He tilted his head and gave a kind smile, hoping that she would give him her name. He wanted to remember this woman who fascinated him.
Regina was skeptical with giving him her name. She knew that he would find a way to see her again if he knew her name; or he could know who she was and use it against her. She was a royal, after all. The look in his eyes told her different. It was as if she could trust him. She opened her mouth to speak just as Tink reappeared through the back door. "Come on, we have to go, now." She reached over and held Regina's hand, leading her towards the back door. Regina gave the man an apologetic look as she quickly placed money on the table for their meal. She was dragged outside and Tink returned them to their small forms before Regina had a chance to say anything. They were off of the ground and in the sky before she knew it. They were on their way back to her castle. She glanced over her shoulder and saw the man standing outside, looking around for her. Maybe it was a sign from Daniel. She just was not ready to open a new chapter of her life just yet to find out. Regina saw him return to his group of men before she looked forward as they flew through the sky.
It was not long before Tink dropped Regina off just outside her home. Regina waved as they said their goodbyes. Tink flew away as Regina began walking towards the castle. Now her normal height, she almost got inside when she felt something wrap around her wrists, ankles, and waist. She panicked as she was pulled back by the tree limbs that just magically grew. She was trapped in the tree's grasp. The brunette struggled and attempted to get free when she felt a familiar presence coming towards her. Cora Mills had an amused smirk on her face as she watched her daughter. "Be careful, darling. You don't want splinters." Regina rolled her eyes and resisted as she watched her mother. "That's my girl. Where have you been? You didn't think that you could escape, did you?"
"No, mother. I was just getting some fresh air. The air in the castle was getting too stuffy." Regina snapped at her mother. She could not help but get upset over the way her mother treated her. The restraints on her tightened, causing her to gasp. Talking back to her mother was something that she should not have done. "Please..."
Cora loosened the restraints when Henry appeared on the scene. He was concerned for his daughter. "Cora, she's just a girl. Let her be."
"She's a young lady who is going to accept the King's proposal when he arrives at the end of the week," said Cora. Regina knew that her mother was going to make sure that her plan would follow through. Henry saw this and stepped in.
"Perhaps so, but Regina is accompanying me tomorrow and the next couple of days on my journey to the next kingdom. Isn't that right, Regina?"
Regina noticed what he was doing and caught on to the conversation. "Of course. I went to pick apples off of my apple tree for us to have on our trip, but there were none ready for us to eat. I'll be ready to leave with you first thing in the morning." Cora glanced between the two and waved her hand, releasing Regina.
"Fine. But you must be back by the end of the week. You will be engaged to the King whether you are here or not." Cora turned and walked back inside as Henry went to Regina's side, helping her up onto her feet.
"Thank you, Daddy." Regina kept her arm linked with his and pressed a kiss to his cheek to thank him.
"You're welcome, darling. Now come, we must be ready for our week. I needed to spend some time with my daughter." He smiled and led her inside. Regina smiled back and returned to her bed chamber. She was going to have an eventful week. She just did not know it yet.
