Apples Red as Blood
Author's Note: You can't be surprised at this point that it's a Rumple/Regina story. I am seriously obsessed, people. Set sometime between the flashback scenes in Season 2, Episode 2 ("We Are Both") and Season 2, Episode 5 ("The Doctor"). Before her wedding to King Leopold, Regina receives another "gift."
"Such a lovely tree."
"Yes, it's from my childhood garden. Well, the tree and I share something in common. Neither of us can leave the palace and neither of us truly belongs." – Regina and the Genie, Season 1, Episode 11, "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree."
She still can't believe she's actually going to go through with this.
In the end, it was Rumplestiltskin, of all people, who talked her into the wedding. On the road, after they made their bargain, he'd persuaded her to stay and marry the king after all. She'd been so determined to get away, but he presented the alternative to her in a way that somehow made sense.
"If you run away now, they'll chase you. They never stop until they find you. Not to mention they'll probably assume I abducted you, dearie."
"Can't you shield me from them?"
"Yes, but why go to all that trouble? You think I'm going to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder and dealing with Leopold's pesky little knights just to train you? You may have a great deal of potential, Regina, but I'm not going to waste my time with that. Not when there's an easier way, not when you can just marry him. It won't be so bad, dearie. You'll have some power, and some measure of freedom to come and go as you please."
"But I –"
He giggled. "It's not like you're going to marry anyone else, is it?"
Regina thought of Daniel then, and she couldn't help it. She felt the tears prick her eyes. Rumplestiltskin's smile faded, and he looked away from her.
"Don't," he said sharply, and she sniffled, trying to keep the tears from falling. Then, more softly: "Regina, don't …" A sigh. "Here."
She took the handkerchief from his him – no doubt he'd magicked it up from somewhere – and quickly dried her tears.
"Thank you," she said. He shrugged.
"Just marry him, dearie, and use your powers as the queen to do as you please. You'll hardly be the first woman to make the most of being wedded to a man you don't love." There was a bitterness in his voice that she couldn't fathom, and if she hadn't been so distraught, she might have wondered where it came from.
"Alright," she said wearily, defeated. "I just wish …"
"What?" He sounded impatient now.
"I just wish there was something there, in the castle that was … mine. Something familiar, to make it feel more like home."
"Well, you have your father, don't you?"
A smile flitted across her features at that. She had the most heartbreaking smile, he thought. An entire legion of besotted kings and sweet simple stable boys ought to fall down on their knees and worship at the sight of that smile…
Manipulating men with her charms, he hastily reminded himself, should be one of the things he gave her lessons in. He needed her to be devious in every way.
"Yes, always," she said. "But … there are just things … little things, simple things about my home that I miss."
He considered a moment. "Well," he said. "Perhaps we can remedy that."
She looked at him questioningly. "What do you mean?" He gave her an enigmatic smile.
"You'll see. Run along now, dearie. Leopold will be looking for his blushing bride." Now looking reluctant but resolute, Regina re-mounted her horse and galloped back off the palace.
And so here she was, on the eve of her wedding to the king. It was taking place a little later than had been planned, owing to the "tragic" disappearance of her mother. Leopold had made a show of sending his knights out to search for Cora, but Regina knew he didn't really care, and soon enough, the wedding was back on.
"At least you still have your father," he told her, trying to sound conciliatory. His words would have been cold comfort if she had actually been mourning Cora's absence – though some small part of her did miss her mother, she supposed, despite everything. In any case, she bit back a bitter retort, and made herself smile and nod at him.
She sits in her chambers now, contemplating her wedding gown. Truth be told, it's far too ornate for her tastes. When she'd pictured her wedding dress, she'd always seen something very simple, yet still elegant.
Of course, in her dreams, the groom had always been Daniel, and not some old man with a crown who was marrying her because he wanted a damn babysitter for his little brat.
Regina is still not entirely certain how she felt about Snow White. Her thoughts towards the girl seemed prone to shift violently at any given moment. She could so easily imagine doing violence to the child, but at the same time, those notions terrified her. I should have let her die on that horse, she'd said to her mother.
Could she really have done that though? Could she have let that little girl die?
"Regina!" Snow White bounds into her room, grinning widely. She tugs at her soon-to-be-stepmother's hand. "Come, you must see, there's another wedding gift for you!"
Regina sighs. She isn't interested in pretending to look pleased at the latest bauble the kingdom is offering in honor of her marriage. "Snow dear, I don't think –"
"Oh, please come. You'll like this one, I know it."
Regina forces herself to smile and allows Snow to lead her outside.
When she sees the apple tree, she gasps.
"That's –"
"From the garden at your home, I know," Snow says happily. "Your father recognized it right away. I thought he had it brought here, but he was just as surprised as me to see it." She beams. "Isn't it a thoughtful gift?"
"Yes," Regina manages to say, and gives Snow a stunned smile, the first genuine smile she has given the girl in quite a while.
Snow looks up at the tree. "The apples look delicious. May I have one?"
Regina feels a surge of possessiveness go through her then, but she ignores it. At least the brat is asking this time, unlike earlier, when she had slipped the chain with Daniel's ring around her neck, with no regard for courtesy.
"Of course dear," she says tightly.
As Snow bites into the apple, Regina imagines her choking on it. She feels simultaneously horrified and exhilarated at the idea.
If she had just been able to keep her mouth shut …
"We should tell my father to come see this," Snow says, through a mouthful of apple. One would think a princess would know better than talk with her mouth full.
I'm sure he wouldn't care, Regina thinks. Out loud, she says, "Oh sweet Snow, it's bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding, didn't anyone ever tell you that? We'll show him after. But why don't you run along and find him? Show him the dress you're going to wear tomorrow instead. Besides, I have a few last-minute preparations to make."
"Alright." The half-eaten apple in her hand, Snow smiles sweetly at Regina, and dashes away. At the entryway into the palace, however, she turns to look back at her.
"I'm so glad you're going to be my mother, Regina."
She feels a tightness in her throat then, and tears blur her vision, but she does not let them fall. She can't begin to sort out the mass of contradictory emotions that Snow's simple, heartfelt statement brings to the surface.
"Me too," she forces herself to say, praying Snow won't notice the catch in her voice. Fortunately, she seems not to, and then she is gone.
Regina stands there for a moment. She closes her eyes, and breathes in the scent of the apples.
"Rumplestiltskin," she whispers.
"At least you pronounced it correctly this time, dearie." She hears his voice behind her. Opening her eyes, she turns, entirely unsurprised to see him standing there.
"You brought the tree here." It wasn't a question.
He bows to her with a little flourish. "But of course."
"How?"
"It's a simple summoning spell, my dear. I'll be showing it to you sometime, along with several other useful –"
He's taken quite aback when Regina rushes into arms and hugs him. He expected her to pleased, of course, and it's not as though he hasn't held her before, but …
"Thank you," she mummers into his ear.
She smells like apples. She always smells like apples. How long could he linger here, just breathing her in …
He pulls back. "Yes, well. You can repay me by proving yourself a worthy student." He must not allow sentiment to enter into this arrangement, he reminds himself. Not if Regina is going to become who needs her to become. Bringing the tree here was just … just a gesture, to further cement her trust, to further win her loyalty. And he will need her trust and her loyalty, at least for a while.
"Oh I will, I promise!" She looks so eager now. "When can I have my first lesson?"
"Soon, dearie."
"I look forward to it." Truth be told, it's about the only thing she's looking forward do.
"As do I. You really don't know how powerful you are, Regina. How powerful you can be. And I look forward to showing you." Another flourishing little bow, and he disappears.
The energy of his magic seems to linger in the air, and Regina turns back to contemplate the tree, feeling a little thrill of anticipation at the thought of using magic again.
Her apples are as red as blood.
Blood that she can spill, if she wants to.