A/N: Hello, everyone! It's been a long while since the last time I was here. Frankly, it's a miracle I still remember my password. Anyway, I have no idea how it happened that I decided to write such a story (it's going to be a short one) but I think I got inspired by listening to Beyonce's "If I Were a Boy" song. Hope you enjoy!
Cora was not a fool.
She was aware that her newly married husband was good for nothing. A complete waste of space, if she had to be honest with herself. The only good thing about him was the fact that he was of royal blood, and quite handsome in his own right. This aspect of the man, thought Cora as she gently put her hand on her still flat stomach, could be beneficial for their future children, since they were both fortunate enough to be lucky in the beauty department. Unfortunately, these two factors were her husband's only redeeming qualities. Other than that, Henry was worthless.
Fifth in line to the throne!
She had always been an ambitious person and would do anything she could – consequences be damned – to escape her cruel fate of being born to an alcoholic miller. To a filthy peasant! Just thinking about her pitiful, impoverished upbringing was making her blood boil. She was so much more and she deserved to be admired by everyone. She deserved to be appreciated. And appreciated she would be. She would make people kneel before her. She would make them kiss her feet. She was about to get what she deserved and her husband was going to help her achieve her goals, one way or another. His consent be damned. He was merely a tool in her hands. She was going to use him and then dispose of him like the useless piece of garbage he really was.
She didn't love Henry. Not at all. She married him only because he was her salvation. Her escape plan. Their marriage opened a door for her that had previously been slammed shut. She was – finally! – allowed to enter the world of nobility. The world that should've been hers from the very beginning. She could already taste what it meant to be powerful, and if there was one thing everyone would say about her, it would be that once she had her mind set on something, nothing and no one could stand in her way. They gave her their little fingers. Now she wouldn't stop until she devoured their whole arm!
A grimace made an appearance on her pretty face.
She would've been there much sooner, if only she hadn't been tricked by the lying gardener. He made her believe that he was a prince. He made her believe that he could change her fate, while in fact all he wanted was to use her. He wanted to be allowed to taste her body. He wanted to claim her. To possess her. To deflower her.
Yes, she should've said no. She should. He didn't take her by force. He was welcomed in her room. She had invited him to her bed. She should've waited for a true proposal instead of trusting him that he would return to make her his wife, his beloved queen. She really should. But she didn't. She would rather picture herself as a victim of this relationship – one night stand of dubious pleasure would be a better way to summarise what was between them, Cora used to think – otherwise she would have to acknowledge that she had only herself to blame for what had happened to her.
Pregnancy.
Jonathan had impregnated her that awful night and, even though she knew from the start that he had to leave her the following day, he never returned despite the fact that he had sworn it on his mother's grave. He promise to make her his wife, his queen, his everything. He promised that when he was whispering her name into her ear. She foolishly believed him and paid a high price for that.
But then her path crossed with Leopold's. Prince Leopold's. A real member of the royal family. This time she was wise enough to check it before she allowed him to get close to her. Oh, how much she loved the way in which he used to look at her! He made her feel as if she was the only woman in the universe. She loved his touch, his gentle kisses… and she definitely loved the beautiful engagement ring he had put on her finger. But that, of course, was taken – stolen – from her. Leopold found out that she was with child and it wasn't his. His ex-fiancée overheard her not so private conversation with Jonathan – who, ironically, happened to be the gardener of the royal family she was about to marry into – and revealed her shameful secret.
She had never, in her entire life, wanted to hurt anyone as much as she wanted to hurt this little brat commonly known as Princess Eva of the Northern Kingdom. She wanted her to suffer and suffer Eva would be. She was going to ruin her life – preferably her reputation of a kind and loving person as well – and she didn't care how long that was going to take. The annoying brat dared to ruin her dreams and for that she must be severely punished.
Cora sighed heavily and added another ingredient to a potion she was brewing.
She had always suspected that she had magical powers but she wasn't certain until she met Rumplestiltskin. The Dark One approached her when she was closed in a tower because her foolish mouth announced that she was able to turn straw into gold when King Xavier, her then future father-in-law, humiliated her in front of everyone. Princess Eva, the guest of honour, included. She wanted to kill them all. Yes. Her worthless father was a miller but it didn't mean that she was as bad as him. No. She was better. She was superior. Others should be on their knees before her, not the other way around. Besides, the King had no right to judge her because he was the one who was basically selling his youngest child off because the kingdom was on the verge of bankruptcy! What a hypocrite!
But the damage was done. She cheekily claimed that she was able to turn straw into gold, and the King ordered to close her in the tower where she was supposed to spend the night. He expected her to demonstrate her skills in the morning and if she succeeded – the Prince would marry her. Her failure, on the other hand, was equal with death. Rumplestiltskin came to her unexpectedly and offered her a deal she couldn't decline: he would teach her how to, for real, turn straw into gold and in exchange she would give him her firstborn child.
She almost laughed.
Almost.
The Dark One could see the future. Well, the glimpse of the future, really. He informed her that her firstborn child, her daughter, would be essential to his plans. But he meant the child she was going to have, not the one she had already given birth to. He had no clue that she had already had her firstborn child, a daughter. If Cora wasn't in such a precarious situation, with her life on the line, she would have laughed in the man's face for arriving too late. She had abandoned in the woods the brat she spawned the minute it was born. She wanted power and to have people at her feet. A bastard would only make everything harder.
She signed the contract without betting an eye, much to the wizard's delight. She paid him no mind, however, as she cared for only three things: her survival, her revenge on Eva, and, of course, gaining power. Rumplestiltskin's deal was perfect because it would give her what she needed and wanted, but at the same time she didn't have to pay any price. She had no idea what had happened with her daughter and, frankly, she wouldn't lose sleep over her fate. As far as she was concerned, the bastard could be dead.
Something had happened that night. Something magical.
The Dark One not only taught her how to turn straw into gold but he also showed her what does it mean to be appreciated. What does it mean to be a woman. It started with a kiss. A simple, slow kiss. Then he gently placed his hand on the small of her back and slid it further down, caressing her feminine figure, and before either of them could realise what was going on – they found themselves in a queen-sized bed that the man conjured up just seconds before, making love to each other.
What a great lover he was!
He most certainly knew how to please a woman. He mentioned something between kisses that the only person he had ever slept with was his wife – who dumped him for someone named Captain Hook, and as he informed her, he killed her when she refused to return home to their son – and Cora just couldn't comprehend how she could do something like that. Rumplestiltskin definitely knew what a woman needed in bed and, heavens, he was not ashamed to give her exactly what she desired. If she had to describe their shared night in one word, that would be magnificent. How his wife could leave him for some stinky pirate was beyond her. She was sure that he wasn't as good in bed as the Dark One. She seriously doubted that anyone could be. He was the best lover she had ever had, and she already bedded a future king and a lying gardener. Neither of them knew how to please her the way the sorcerer did.
Cora shook her head and stirred up the potion.
Rumplestiltskin indeed was a brilliant lover, and maybe something more, but he already belonged to the past. She chose power over him and his love – and power was not a foul-smelling pirate, power was much more important, so she was justified – and decided to marry Henry instead of eloping with the Dark One.
Maybe if she still had a heart in her chest – and boy, life without having that disgusting, beating thing inside her was so much better and easier – she would feel sorry for abandoning the wizard and stripping him of all hope. But then again, she disposed of her firstborn like the piece of rubbish that she was while that awful organ was still a part of her body, so she highly doubted that. The only thing she regretted, or rather missed, was sex.
Her pathetic excuse of a husband paled in comparison to Rumplestiltskin, but, astonishingly, he still was a better lover than Jonathan and Leopold combined. The wizard was confident and it was obvious that he knew what he was doing. He wasn't afraid to spice things up between them when she asked him to. He was aware that she wasn't made of glass and wasn't going to break the moment he touched her too hard. Henry was, on the other hand, hesitant and unsure. It was blatantly obvious that she was his first. That made her feel oddly satisfied because as far as she knew, men used to get attached to women who were their firsts, and that would help her manipulate him more smoothly.
A cruel smirk graced Cora's lips when she noticed with immense satisfaction that the potion was finally ready.
She was an ambitious person and she knew very well what she wanted to achieve in her life. She wanted to be admired and respected. She wanted to rule, as she knew ruling was in her blood. She wanted to have people at her feet, and the potion would help her accomplish her ultimate goal.
Henry was fifth in line to the throne. She would have to murder quite a few people in order to wear a crown on her head. And murder… well, she wasn't against the idea of ending a life or two – or a dozen, if needed – but she would rather have her hands clean. For now. No… at this moment murder was out of the question, but she still saw it as an option. She would never cross such a solution from her list.
She simply needed to find a different, more indirect, approach to get what she wanted and, surprisingly, her pathetic husband did something right and already provided her with one. Not that he was aware about it, obviously.
She was pregnant with a royal child.
She was going to give birth to a young prince or a princess. Her child was going to have a claim to the throne by the right of its blood… at least once she had eliminated those in line to the throne before her unborn descendant.
She poured the potion into a goblet and drank it without hesitation.
She found out about her pregnancy barely a few hours ago but she already had everything planned in her head. She already saw her child with a crown on his head. Obviously, it was impossible for a doctor to tell her yet if she was going to have a baby girl or a baby boy, but her name was Cora and she had everything planned in the smallest detail. She learned from her mistakes and made sure that even her back-up plan had at least three different back-ups.
She was going to have a son.
She was going to be the mother of a future king.
She was the Mistress of Manipulation, the Empress of Evil. According to her drunkard of a father, she was scheming even before she could talk properly. For that reason, even before she found out that she was, again, with child, she considered all of the possibilities available at her disposal. Rumplestiltskin claimed that her firstborn child was going to be a girl. He was correct in his assumption, naturally, because her firstborn, her bastard, was indeed a female. But Cora was a clever, cunning woman. Her short – yet wonderful – time with the Dark One gave her an opportunity to learn a thing or two about his powers. He was able to see the future, but if he didn't have all details about a person he was making deals with, he had to base his claims on his premonition. He had no knowledge about her bastard child, so he assumed that her future child was going to be her firstborn.
A girl.
Cora shuddered. When Rumplestiltskin informed her that she was going to have another girl, she was… quite content. She already started plotting how to replace Eva with her future daughter, so her unborn baby could take her place as a queen. She had no doubt that Leopold's father would breathe his last breath soon, and his kingdom would have a new ruling couple. Nonetheless, she then realised something much more important: that was not enough for her.
Being the mother of a queen would be a waste of time. She realised that even if she succeeded and her daughter married the king, she would be only the king's wife. Leopold would be the one with the real power, then his heirs – starting with the ones he was going to have with Eva. Women didn't have much political power on their own, only if they were direct heirs. Unfortunately, her child wouldn't be.
Boys, on the other hand, were a completely different matter. Sons were craved. Sons were needed to carry on the family's name and legacy. Sons were respected and appreciated. Sons were destined to replace their fathers once they passed away.
Cora exhaled sharply and put the goblet down on the table.
A son was what she needed to achieve her goals, and a son she would have. She just made sure of that. The potion she drank would make sure that her child was going to be a boy: her future little king.
A vicious smirk made an appearance on Cora's red lips as she put her hands on her still flat stomach and began to rub it gently, almost affectionately.
The roles in the Enchanted Forest were quite obvious: daughters belonged to mothers, while sons belonged to fathers. A woman was supposed to look pretty and be a good wife. Mothers were teaching their daughters just that. Fathers, on the other hand, were expected to teach their sons how to be good men and leaders. They were supposed to be a good example for their sons' to follow.
Cora cleaned up the place with a wave of her hand while the other was still rubbing her stomach.
While sons indeed belonged to their fathers, mothers usually had a special place in their hearts. But she was about to change the rules. The child belonged to her. Henry was a weak man, which meant that she was going to influence her son from the very beginning. She was going to mould him into the man she wanted him to be. She was going to become the only role-model he needed. She was going to make him the greatest king the world had ever seen.
And once the crown was resting on his head, she was going to rule the kingdom. Because her son would be sitting on the throne but she would be the power behind it.
Her child would do what she wanted. Because he belonged to her. Not to Rumplestiltskin – she already had a child so he was free to find the bastard, she couldn't care less – and definitely not to Henry. He was hers. She owned him. She made him. She was his mother.
And mother knows best.
A/N: Thank you for reading. Hope you enjoyed.