The Royal Affair

All saw the benevolence of their ruler, everyone except her. She got the anger, hatred and brutality of an heirless king, still mourning his beloved Ava. Regina finds herself drowning in the silence, temped by the allure of dark magic…that is until she meets Robin of Locksley. The queen goes down a path of seduction and hope, which causes her to do unspeakable things.

Rating: M

Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon A Time, nor am I affiliated with them in any way. I'm just playing with the characters.

Note: I've twisted the backstories of some characters to fit in with the plot, which you'll discover as the story goes forward (although most of the important changes are highlighted within this chapter.) This is what is going to get me through an OUAT'less summer after last night's finale.

Note II: The rest of the chapters will be double this length, but this one was to set the foundations of the story.

-Chapter One-

The air was cracked, thunderous and full of misery. It was quite befitting of her emotional state which was in tatters. Slowly she brought the baby blanket up to her face and inhaled softly, the barely touched fabric still a pristine white, with a name etched perfectly on the corner in coloured thread. A stray tear fell from her tired eyes, the relentless knocking on the doors of her chambers disturbing her solitude…although she had enough of that to begin with. But in the silence she thought of her baby boy. The queen had cast a spell upon the door-frame, in hopes of keeping the king at bay.

"Regina, you must stop this moping and allow the king in. He will leave you alone the sooner you give him a child," Cora announced, appearing into the room within an instant. Regina knew that she was not to blame for the king's lack of heirs, although the thought in turn made her bitter as she thought once more of her baby. Regina did not wish to give the king a son, since he was the reason that her own was taken away from her, although her mother was also the cause.

"He is inadequate for the job, mother" she muttered bitterly, placing the blanket back in her closet. It was not the barrenness of the queen, or herself that left the king childless. Voicing such a thing would likely have incurred his wrath, and she was not in the mood to try and fight him off. Regina had been practicing her magic, but it was always so tiresome and took lots of practice. Natural skill at the craft had not been bestowed upon her. "Do you want to tell him why you know that? The king would sooner have you burned than accept that the fault is with him. Perhaps you are not trying hard enough."

"Your sister has already given the Sheriff of Nottingham a child and you know the sooner that Leopold has one, he'll grant the Sheriff more titles. Our family will rise even higher." Regina clenched her hands at the mention of her sister, how she had come to hate the woman. The envy that Zelena had held towards her had left Regina broken hearted. But the woman had become a great marvel in her mother's eyes.

"Zelena had to come up with ways to keep the sheriff in her bed because she gets frightfully jealous when he flirts with others." She would not care if her dear husband took to another's bed, in fact she'd be relieved. But he had a lack of virility. On more than one occasion, he'd taken her hand to him – in an attempt to get his vessel afloat. The thought made shivers run down her back, touching all the nerve-endings as the revulsion washed over her body. Absentmindedly she touched her lip scar, a flourish of anger washing over her at the memory. What had it been? A silver brush and a force of anger that had seen Leopold raise his hand and strike her. They had been married for three miserable months and he was disappointed, at least that was the pathetic excuse he gave for his actions.

"Regina, be reasonable," Cora implored. Regina shook her head, walking away from the wretched woman whose death she dreamt of. Maleficent told her that it would come, that she'd be able to enact her revenge on her mother and Zelena for taking away everything that she loved, Daniel and Henry.

"Get out and try not to ruin Snow's life." The least her mother could do was to spare even one of her daughters from a loveless life. Regina had come to envy her younger sister's freedom, although she did not resent her as Zelena did. She was certain that the oldest would soon turn green from the jealously that radiated from her. She did not notice that her mother had disappeared, or the fact that the magic guarding the door had diminished leaving her once again defenseless against the king.

"You were not at dinner, wife." The words were spat out, eyes burning through her as the guards were dismissed. She found it horrid that the chambers she stayed in were that of his former wife, who he claimed to love above all.

Regina blocked out the next words that he spoke, thinking only of her loss and hope for revenge. There were spoken of the next day's masquerade and how she might pretend to be happy, his continued disappointment about the lack of a child. An entire year of marriage and nothing, and it was all he fault, just like the several years childless with Ava was the fault of the former queen because Leopold would never think to blame himself.

"There is an urgent matter that I must speak with you about," he announces, sitting down on the bed. It caused her to instinctively clutch her robe closer to her body. "You have failed completely in you duties as queen and as my wife." The words did not hurt her as he intended them to, in fact she felt numb to them. "The council are currently deliberating the legitimisation of any bastard children that I may have. Divorce is not an option, and I cannot be seen as heartless to the kingdom. For the next month I will continue to visit your bed, but should you fail, my time with you will end. We will be married only in name," Leopold announced.

Perhaps she ought to have been sad that her husband no longer wished to share her bed, but it filled her with joy. She detested the way his hands ran over her body, or the sounds of him taking heaving breaths beside her.

"For your failure, you will not be permitted to see that enchantress any longer. Should I hear of it, then I will make sure you are punished for it. And you know I do not go back on my word."

"—God forbid you ever go back on your word." She breathed heavily, pressing a hand absentmindedly to her stomach. Regina walked over to the balcony, unable to look at him for another moment. She wanted to summon a fireball to burn him where he sat, or rip his heart effectively from his chest and crush it without another thought. On the anniversary of Daniel's death, she had been unapproachable – the magic which she was trying to learn, problematic and uncontrollable.

Not seeing Maleficent again was not an option. Recent circumstances had been her teacher being absent, and a month was not a sufficient time to learn everything she needed to. Mal had suggested patience above all, and the revenge would come later.

Regina stood among the crowd, a mask held upon her face as great plumes of peacock feathers sprouted from the gilded base. She was an image in teal velvet, the gown smoothing down all of her curves as it came up high at the front and dipped low at the back, whilst being decorated with ornate embellishments – all befitting a queen. Her hand caressed a goblet as she watched Snow, dressed as an innocent swan enchant the entire room. All loved her little sister, whilst they looked at he with such resentment. She was the queen they did not want, one that they would never love. Advisers urged her that should she give the king an heir, then all would fall down on their knees and love her.

She watched from the corner as the king entertained, laughing with jubilant glee. He looked at some the way he never looked at her, and danced with Snow laughing as he did. Her little sister of sixteen years was no longer a child, but she was far from a woman. Although Regina being three years her senior, hardly felt as though she was a woman either. Just a girl struggling to find the will to enact her revenge.

The absence of Maleficent was noted by all, and it made her sigh in resentment. Her mentor and friend could not help it, but she wished to at least have one person on her side at the ball. Others were relieved that the enchantress had not arrived, for most feared her and that was the only cause for Leopold extending an invitation.

"Can I have this dance, milady?" Her head turned at the question, staring down at the arm that was outstretched towards her.

End of Chapter One.

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