His skin tore open easily, separating, opening; offering a better punishment than any whip ever could. Nothing moved, nothing worked. Blood didn't pump inside veins to keep his heart beating. Everything was still. Still...and ripe for the picking. She didn't mind getting her hands dirty, but she supposed she could have been more...neat about it. Black gloves drenched with blood, bits of intestine slip-sliding off the smooth material. He would taste delicious, she was sure. It was a shame Cora wouldn't be the one dining on poor, dead Daniel.

Securing the ropes would have been easier if Regina stopped struggling. Each jerky movement only made Cora cinch them tighter, tight enough to leave unsightly welts on her daughter's skin. That was her own fault, and once her wrists were finally tied to the arms of the chair, Cora didn't feel bad about it. After all, Regina was going to sustain all the punishment she possibly could as soon as the dinner bell rang.

"Mother, please."

She knew what was coming, but she hadn't expected it. Regina's mother was cruel, to be sure; evil, even. But never had she ever anticipated her going this far. Her eyes anxiously scanned the dining room, hands twisting and jerking against their bonds. This couldn't be happening.

"Quiet, dear. Wait for your dinner patiently like the good girl I know you can be."

Regina whimpered, a sound she regretted as soon as it escaped her lips.

Cora slid onto the edge of the dinner table, nails clicking rhythmically against the surface.

"The stable boy bled like a stuck pig."

Cora's smirk made Regina's stomach churn.

"Why did you do it?"

Tears stung Regina's eyes, and she hated how quiet her voice was. She wanted to scream until her lungs were raw. She wanted to run as far away from her mother as she possibly could. But her mother's long fingers beneath her chin sent a chill up her spine that clearly said, you'll never get away.

"Because I know what's best for you," Cora answered, eyes twinkling with malice. Silence seized Regina's throat, and the dinner bell shattered what she could not.

A tray of covered plates was brought in by indifferent waitstaff. If they knew what they had cooked, or rather, who they had cooked, their expressions did not show it. They wore frowns so deep, Regina couldn't remember what they looked like smiling.

Nothing was prepared in the culinary fashion she was used to. There were no aesthetically pleasing dishes that could make her believe she was eating something instead of someone. Heart, lungs, liver—were splayed out on plates, cooked just enough to be comfortably edible, but not enough to allow for detachment from the situation.

And really, Regina knew her mother would remind her that she was eating Daniel with every bite.

Cora dismissed the help with a flippant wave of her hand, and pulled up a chair beside Regina.

"Are you hungry, dear?"

Regina did not answer.

"Silence is unbecoming," Cora scolded, reaching for the plate that held the heart. His heart. It was red, so red, charred on one side and looking like it was about to burst at any second. Cora stabbed it with a fork, a piece peeling off in a way that made Regina have to fight to keep herself from gagging.

"Open up."

Regina shook her head, keeping her mouth stubbornly closed. She remembered being a child, and whenever her mother would attempt to introduce a new food, she would spit it out, or flat out refuse to even taste it. This was so much worse.

"Regina. I said open up."

Mouth closed.

Cora sighed, "tsk tsk tsking" at her daughter before gripping her chin with two fingers.

"Listen to mommy."

The command made Regina's mouth fall slack, and she felt the cold metal of the fork on her tongue...and then him. It was burnt, bitter in her mouth as she tried to chew, tried to pretend that it was just the heart of some animal in the woods, and the more she lied to herself, the more she almost believed it. She almost believed that she was just eating a normal dinner, that everything was okay-

"How does he taste?"

Cora's words hit her right as the bite of the heart slithered down her throat.

Everything almost came up, and she balled her fists in her dress, coughing wildly, face red with the effort. Surely she could get it out of her...she'd rather vomit than digest what was left of him. She let it out harder, throat raw from the strain. She could do this, she could do this-

Cora's hand slid around her throat, squeezing and ending Regina's self-induced coughing fit.

"What do you think you're doing, dear?"

Regina felt tears stain her cheeks, and she shrunk away from her mother, shaking her head violently, eyes shut tight as she spoke.

"I don't—this is evil! Is it not enough that he's dead?"

Cora only smiled at her like a mother should, reaching out and stroking her cheek gently, ignoring the way Regina stiffened beneath her touch.

"Oh, my dear. One day, you will understand. You are capable—you deserve so much more than a stable boy. He was no good for you."

Regina looked down, Daniel's taste still in her mouth, clinging to her tongue and the insides of her cheeks. She knew it would always be there. She'd never be able to swallow him down. He would resurface, he would push past her lips, he would choke her over and over again until the day she died. She felt Cora jerking her upwards by her chin, fork in her free hand, a piece of heart dangling from the prongs. She pressed it to Regina's lips, and she refused to open up. Cora moved the offending piece of meat across her lips, the action disturbingly inappropriate and enough to make her tremble with disgust. She let her tongue slip from her mouth, just long enough to swipe along her lips, and there it was, his taste again, and she really didn't think she could chew him again.

"My sweet girl, when will you learn that I know what's best for you? He would only have brought you unhappiness. I'm being so generous, letting you taste him. It's like you're honoring him."

Regina's heart sank in her chest, and a gasp tore her lips apart, and Cora took the opportunity, feeding her the bite with a smile. She chewed, wondering if her mother was right. This saved him from rotting on the stable floor. This saved him from being devoured solely by the birds and the insects. This gave him a proper burial; inside of her. He would be there forever, bonding himself in her blood and sinew, clinging to her organs and finding his final resting place deep within her mouth.

The chewing became easier, and Cora couldn't help but smile at how conditioned Regina was, how naturally obedience seemed to come to her once she was shown the error of her silly teenaged ways.

This time, she smiled when she swallowed, and Cora cupped her cheek, proud of her daughter.

"There's my good girl. I hope you're hungry, there's plenty, and I don't want any leftovers."

-fin.