Regina was curled up on her four-poster bed, exhausted and weary from crying herself to sleep, still trying to convince herself this was just all a bad dream she would wake from any moment now. She was dressed in her light blue nightgown- the one the King had gifted her and insisted she wear to bed- and had tucked the covers under all her limbs in a protective shell against the harsh, cold world.
Night-time was either the worst or the best time of her days, depending on Leopold's mood and needs. If things went her way, it was the best time for dreaming was the only escape she had from her awful reality. Unfortunately tonight she was restless, constantly waking to images of her mother ripping her true love's heart out over and over again, crushing it with a satisfied grin, whispering in her ear: Love is weakness, Regina.
Half-asleep, she shivered at the electricity and heaviness of the air, sometimes flinching at the loud claps of thunder echoing on her cold stone walls. The large windows to her balcony rattled, clangoring at every sharp gust of wind, and she feared they wouldn't last. She was lying down on her side, cocooned and tense, fists clinging to the sheets.
Her breathing was slowly evening out, she could feel the numbness of slumber slowly seeping in when suddenly she snapped awake, sensing that something was off. Immediately her head shot towards the jolting windows, a cloud of dark gray smoke swirling around an imposing figure. The young queen could make out horns on its head, and if she hadn't been alarmed before, her labored breathing and racing heart indicated how terrified she was now.
Regina had seen her mother's magic at work since she was a little girl, and she could recognize the teleporting spell. She just didn't know who- or what- had decided to pay her a visit at 3 in the morning in the middle of a storm. The smoke cleared quickly and her eyes strained to determine the woman's identity. A woman indeed, because though it was still too dark to see her features, the moonlight shining from her window inside her room outlined a figure that was most feminine.
Regina noted that, oddly, her heart rate had settled down, and now she only felt serene and apprehensive, her curiosity gnawing at the back of her mind. Puzzled by what she could only identify as a reckless courage, she didn't call for the guards or cry out. She continued her perusal, her dark orbs acknowledging the defined curves of the stranger, at the same time not leaving the peculiar horns protruding from what she assumed was her head.
These rapidly changing emotions had surfaced in a passing moment, Regina's thoughts racing through her head but her body unable to move in the slightest. The dark frame seemed to be heaving, slightly hunched over, and she could faintly hear soft panting from where she was sitting on the bed.
A lightning bolt flashed dramatically, illuminating the room, and the young Queen couldn't help but let out a gasp when the horned head snapped in her direction simultaneously, the pair of shining orbs burning into her.
All the candles in her room were suddenly lit, and she could now make out just who was in her bedchambers. Regina felt a strange tug in her torso at the sight before her. The woman was imposing and dangerously beautiful, dressed in a long, form fitting black dress made of an odd scaly material, a plunging neckline revealing her breasts and a large gemstone hanging from her slender neck. Said neck was encased in a high, turned up collar. Her eyes finally reached the impressive headdress, black twisted horns, invoking the image of dark powerful creatures like dragons and demons. The young queen could also make out the signs of a battle, a few strands of blonde hair escaped the helmet, the dress was stained and ripped, and she could spot a few scratches here and there on the areas of skin available to her gaze. The dark figure was gripping and slightly leaning on an intricate scepter of sorts.
Regina realized two things: one, that she and this majestic stranger had been silent for a good minute, and two, that she was being stared at quizzically. A rich, enticing voice reached her ears, breaking the eerie silence.
"Well, this was most definitely not where I planned to appear."
Maleficent was not in the best of moods. She was tired. Her magic has almost completely run out. She was injured. And worst of all, she had lost.
She had lost because she was weak. The dragon had been unable to harm her old flame, and now she and King Stefan had defeated her. Even using her full strength and powerful fire breath, she couldn't defeat an army singlehandedly. She couldn't harm Briar Rose, even now, even though she'd moved on.
Realizing she was cornered and tiring fast, she had conjured up all of her remaining magic to get herself away from the battlefield, used all her willpower to teleport herself back to her castle. Or so she thought. Her magic must've failed her along the way, sadly she'd landed in another castle-she didn't recognize this dark room- and used her last bit of strength to light up the candles.
Now she was staring blankly at the occupant of the bedchambers she had popped up in. From her mental calculations she must be in either King Midas' or King Leopold's castle…not that it mattered. She worked on her breathing, clearing her mind from thoughts of battle, and started to acknowledge the woman sitting on the bed in front of her.
From what Maleficent could gather, she was in the regal chambers of the Queen, and that left no confusion on the identity of the lithe, dark haired woman on the bed facing her. The presumed Queen was unabashedly and intently staring at her, seemingly unafraid, not calling her guards, and the dragon wasn't sure if she was stupid or brave to do so. It was peculiar to say the least.
Her interest piqued, the sorceress took a few steps towards the bed, bent on deciphering the little mystery before her. She was a very beautiful woman, and the dancing shadows of the flames only seemed to enhance her striking features. She ignited a fire in the dragon's chest, who couldn't seem to tear away her blue orbs from the opposing dark ones. At first Maleficent only noted the Queen's exquisite features; her full, kissable lips, her beautiful long locks of raven hair cascading around her shoulders…but then she noticed other things. A yellow-green bruise fading on her exposed arm, a puffiness around her eyes that only came from hours of crying, and lastly, a look of resignation and despair in her deep, dark orbs.
She felt a tinge of pity, easily grasping what the young woman's situation was, as arranged marriages were commonplace in this realm.
The silence was broken by a soft "Are you real?"
All the tension that had been building seemed to melt away, and Maleficent burst out in laughter, surprised that the woman had asked such a question, but also at the absurdity of the situation. The dragon was confused by the strong reaction this woman elicited from her, her heart thumping louder in her ears, and light tingling sensation blooming from chest. She felt like she could trust this girl, and answered her with a quirk of her eyebrow. "Yes, of course I'm real."
"And what are you doing here?" The Queen immediately followed.
"I don't need to answer that." The sorceress was slightly impressed by the young woman's straightforward curiosity and apparent lack of fear, but was still a little wary.
"Can I at least know your name?" A small smile graced her lips, and the young Queen shuffled on the bed until she was sitting on its edge, facing her.
"Maleficent." She answered flatly, but her eyes betrayed her amusement. "And you are…?" Since she was out of magic and stuck here, she might as well get comfortable. Talking to this strange girl was probably going to prove entertaining, too.
"Regina."
No titles? Royals were usually so resolute to share their high position, looking to get respect and deference at all times. This…Regina kept on surprising her. The dragon turned her head to gaze at her again and noticed that the fire hadn't left her eyes after all.
After a few minutes of small banter (if you could call their rather one-sided conversation that, it was mostly her refusing to disclose any information), Regina had offered her a seat, sat up, stalked to a cupboard across the room, and retrieved a couple of items on a tray. She was had placed the tray on the coffee table and was sitting on the armchair opposite hers.
A few snarky comments and a lot of convincing later, Mal was reluctantly letting Regina clean and dress the visible cuts, and her head was still swimming with thoughts of "how the hell did we get to this point" and "why am I letting her do this?". She would never admit it aloud but she wasn't having such a bad time, considering the circumstances. Also, the tea and biscuits didn't hurt, she could feel her strength replenishing already.
Regina could feel the other woman start to relax and open up a bit more, and her heart felt strangely…warm at the thought. The sorceress was very stubborn and had taken a lot of coercing to get to this point. Regina didn't understand it herself, but she sensed a need to help the blonde woman before her. The young queen was kneeling in front of Maleficent, handling the injured forearm in her delicate hands, finishing wrapping the bandages over the cut when the sorceress let out a huff of discontent, tearing her arm away. Regina's arms fell back down in her lap, limp.
Surprised, Regina looked up to see the sorceress bring her hands to her head, fingers wrapping on the sides of the headdress before pulling it off in one swift pull. Light blonde locks cascaded out, framing her face in unruly curls, and Regina was sure she'd never seen such surreal beauty. She couldn't bear to look away, enthralled by the sight before her. The blonde threw the horned helmet to the side, shaking her head in an attempt to put her hair back into place. Finally she looked back down to Regina, blue locking with brown once again.
Maleficent cocked her eyebrow, her face donning an unimpressed look. "What? It's itchy."
"Nothing, I was just thinking you look beautiful with your hair down." Regina felt the words cross her lips before she could even consider stopping them, immediately her face and ears felt warm, and her eyes couldn't find anywhere to rest, darting to the sides, looking anywhere but at Maleficent.
Regina's ears perked up at the mischievous, throaty laugh that erupted from the blonde, and suddenly she felt pressure on her chin, the force tugging and bringing her to her feet. Disoriented- it had all happened so fast- she was gazing up into the dragon's half-lidded but fierce eyes, identifying the pressure on her jaw as Maleficent's hand tilting her head upright. Her heart was hammering hard in her chest, she was breathless from the closeness of their bodies, feeling the oh-so-close warmth radiate in waves towards her own.
Unconsciously, her eyes flicked to the dark red lips in front of her, and she felt her tongue flick out to wet her lips in anticipation. The blonde whispered. "Do you know what happens when you play with fire?"
She let the question hang in the air, not knowing whether or not she was supposed to answer it, and simply continued to lose herself in the blue orbs. Goosebumps erupted on her arms, the tension high in the room.
"You get burned." Regina thought she could hear drums beating as the sweet distance between their lips shrunk, she could feel Maleficent's warm breath reaching her lips… Her eyes closed, but the kiss never came.
Her eyes snapped open at the noise she was now also hearing. From the sound of footsteps reverberating on the stone walls, she would guess that a dozen people were nearing her quarters, and fast. Panic, incomprehension and fear gripped her, and she broke away from the blonde sorceress, her body already missing the warm contact. "Why would anyone come here at this hour? Are they spying on me? Did mother do this-?"
Maleficent was sourly disappointed by the interruption and she wasn't ashamed to admit it. She'd never felt the need to lie to herself or anything of the sort. She was very good at understanding herself and what she wanted. And what she wanted, she got. And right now her affections centered on the little dove in her golden cage here. She was unusually frightened for a Queen in her own castle, and Mal felt her anger start to boil inside, her mind conjuring twisted but plausible scenarios as to why that might be.
The sounds of steps got louder and louder, indicating the imminent confrontation that was about to take place. Maleficent had no doubts as to why people were being sent here, someone must have alerted them of her presence, the dragon hunt had not ended. The blonde sorceress was trying to figure out what strategy would work out best, but she kept on getting stuck on two details: one, what magical creature could have possibly sensed her presence in this castle, and two, what to do of the little dove? Her thoughts were racing and she knew she had little time left to take a decision.
She couldn't well leave her here, they would probably punish Regina for helping her… Mal didn't want to leave the poor girl to her fate, from what she'd gathered she was deeply despaired and unhappy here. That and their very mutual attraction.
"Regina." For the first time, she spoke her name, calling the distressed girl's attention back to her.
They knew they had little time.
"Do you want to leave this place? Are you unhappy here?" Maleficent stared deeply into the young queen's eyes, ready to sense if she was lying.
She could almost see the cogs spinning fast in her head, a look of comprehension dawning on the brunette's uneasy face. The girl hesitantly opened her mouth, about to start speaking, when the doors flew open. Their time was up.
In came a dozen castle guards, all dressed in ridiculous outfits that visibly weighed down their movements. Armed with swords and spears, they made a semi-circle at the door, and Mal's eyes narrowed to their chests, identifying the crest as King Leopold's. Who knew that old guy could be so vile.
Said King stepped into the room, conveniently protected by his soldier's formation, arrogantly looking down at the dragon by tilting his head back.
"Maleficent." The balding man acknowledged the powerful sorceress with a scowling nod.
Obviously waiting for her to reciprocate his 'greeting', the silence became awkward as Maleficent remained silent, staring impassively at the plainly tense men before her, waiting for orders. Regina oddly remained unnoticed by her King, fretting at the scene unfolding before her.
Leopold cleared his throat, and pointed accusingly at Mal. "Sorceress! You have attacked my ally! You invade my castle and my Queen's chambers! You are a threat to this world. More soldiers are coming, you are surrounded! Yield, and your life may be spared-"
While the pathetic King made his little speech, Mal attempted to make eye contact with said Queen, still divided on her plan of action. Regina's eyes flew up to hers, and the message was clear. Save me. Take me far away from this place. So she would. Maleficent was determined to rescue this little dove.
Regina was confused. She still didn't understand how she'd gotten in this situation in the first place. Surrounded by soldiers in her own chambers and the enthralling woman she'd befriended being threatened by her 'dear husband'. All she knew now was that she had an opportunity to be free at last. The woman who'd puffed into her life seemed powerful, strong enough to elicit such a reaction from Leopold. From her little knowledge of current events- the King severely restricted what she could and couldn't know, conscious of the power knowledge holds, preferring to keep his trophy wife ignorant but she had her ways- she gathered that Maleficent was the powerful dragon at war with King Stefan.
This meant she had a chance. She could escape. Could leave this horrible life, her privately tyrannous husband whom she dreamt would just die of illness, old age, an accident, anything! Just seeing his face had made her stomach churn and her blood boil.
The main problem in her mind had been the person who had probably alerted King Leopold in the first place… but Maleficent could potentially be stronger than mother. Could protect her. She focused all her hope and determination in her eyes, using all her willpower to get her message across to the blonde. Save me.
It all happened in a blur, but she'd always remember this moment. Maleficent smiled wickedly and contently at her, nodded, and turned back to Leopold. The room filled with graphite-colored cloud swirling around the sorceress's figure, gradually engulfing her whole and concealing her completely.
The smoke screen grew bigger and bigger, and the people present in the room (with a thankfully high ceiling) backed away to avoid getting crushed. The soldiers, Regina, the King… all of them were looking up at the alarming mass, mouths gaping. Suddenly the smoke disappeared, fast, like a gust of wind had cleared it in an instant. Where the lithe blonde sorceress had stood now was a large, black-scaled dragon, and it was menacingly looking in the King's direction. Instinctively, Regina moved to go behind Maleficent's dragon form, knowing in her heart that she wouldn't hurt her, and if she wasn't in the way, whatever she had planned would be easier to carry out.
Leopold shrieked and ordered his men to protect him, to attack, and to most of all never leave his side. When he saw his wife moving secretly behind the dragon his eyes widened in shock and his voice bellowed. "TRAITOR! ARE YOU CHOOSING THIS EVIL MONSTER'S SIDE OVER YOUR KING? OVER YOU OWN KINGDOM?"
Regina couldn't believe the words she was hearing. She felt like her heart was at the tip of her lips, barely containing a gag from the outburst of dark feelings and memories. She felt unshed tears sting in her eyes. She didn't know if it was the adrenalin, the situation she was in, or the sudden hope that she'd gotten from the sorceress's warm eyes, but she knew that liberated is how she felt after the words spilled out of her mouth.
"IF ANYONE'S AN EVIL MONSTER HERE IT'S YOU! YOU DARE CALL ME THAT AFTER FORCING ME IN THIS ABUSIVE MARRIAGE KNOWING I'M ALMOST YOUR DAUGHTER'S AGE?"
Maleficent's dragon form seemed even more threatening after that. The glowing green eyes seemed to narrow at Leopold, the King taking a step back towards the door. Some more men were rushing into the room, desperately sending useless arrows flying into the hard dragon scales with their bows. The winged beast turned its body and lifted its tail, bringing it down in one fell swoop, crushing almost half of the present guards. Leopold was still shouting orders and cowering behind his men, and Regina retreated further towards her balcony windows, keeping her eyes on the action.
Regina started seeing everything in slow-motion from that moment on. The coal-black dragon pulled its head back, breathed in deeply and howled out in the door's direction, blazing everything with its fire breath.
She couldn't hear the agonizing wails of the castle guards being burnt to death. No. All she could hear was Leopold's screeching, his shadowy form in the flames distinguishable from its roundness. Flailing around in pain, the King's shrieks echoed in Regina's mind, and it's only later that she would realize, in that moment, she was smiling. She was truly happy to finally see her captor in pain and dying. She could feel the burning inferno warm her skin, and she got lost in its mesmerizing beauty, staring into the dancing flames for what felt an eternity.
The King was dead.
The fire breath hadn't lasted long but the damage was enormous, the fire catching onto the drapes and all objects in its proximity. The charred and blackened bodies, some still flailing on the ground and on fire, also helped spread the fire through their movement. In a few seconds the small battle had ended. Maleficent turned her head back to Regina and motioned to her back.
Regina quickly understood the plan, the only remaining exit from her room being her balcony, and laboriously climbed onto the dragon's back and then neck. The scales that were in contact with her skin were surprisingly smooth, and the warmth radiating from them was soothing. She contracted her thighs around the dragon's neck and found two scales for her to hold onto with her hands. The anticipation was building, and she was still feeling an enormous rush of energy from the events that had just unfolded.
Regina's face was split by a grin, her heart beating so hard and fast in her chest she couldn't believe it. Enraptured, elated and free, the young Queen felt Maleficent move under her, and the brunette let out a surprised yelp when the dragon ran towards the balcony, broke the window and jumped out into the cold night air.
Their free-fall was abruptly stopped when Mal finally extended her wings and started soaring through the sky. Regina held on tighter but wasn't frightened. She felt her hair swishing around her, the wind thundering in her ears, her skin kept warm by the dragon beneath her.
Oddly this…ride reminded her of simpler, happier times when she could freely ride Rocinante, and her tears were ripped away from her face by the tempestuous air. She realized her eyes had been closed the whole time and she had to make a conscious effort to open them.
The view from the back of a flying dragon was indescribable. Regina didn't know where she was going, what she would do there, who she would be… but she knew two things for sure.
One, she was finally free and happy, had a wide future full of possibilities before her. Two, she wanted Maleficent to be part of that future.