AN: Yet again I would like to thank WickedRegalDearie for the inspiration in writing this story. This story is rated M for future plot. Please enjoy and feel free to rate and respond. I hope you all enjoy it.

*Byaboo

~Regina~

Regina hates Cora with such a passion that it practically consumes her. Practically, hell more like completely consumes her. Daniel had been her true love, the one person who saw her as a person and not a pawn to forward his own desires. Regina loved Daniel and Cora took him from her for no other reason than she wants Regina to marry a king and become a queen. Being someone never mattered to Regina. All Cora can talk about is that the king keeps asking about her. She does not blame Snow White for what happened. She knows how persuasive, or rather manipulative, Cora can be.

Regina is standing in front of her mirror looking at the over the top dress that Cora just demanded….asked her to put on. She is prattling on about how Regina needs to look her best for the king and how she thinks he's going to propose any day now.

"See, wasn't I right about the seamstress making you a new dress? The king has seen you in your best clothes and it would send the wrong message to have him see you wear the same dress again. You need to look your best on that day. Did I tell you that he is planning on coming out for a week so soon after his last visit? I think he shall propose on this trip."

"Oh, shut up mother." The tightness of the magic Cora uses to wrap Regina in is something that she has gotten used to, still doesn't make them comfortable or looser, just familiar.

"What was that darling?"

"Nothing mother."

"That's it sweetheart. Soon we will have the world at our beck and call." Regina immediately hears her slip. The magical constraints dissipate but are replaced by the ridiculously tight corset straps.

"I can't breathe mother."

"Breathing is for those who are married." Regina sighs; well she tries to sigh but manages only a slight exhalation. Cora sweeps the both of them out of Regina's room and down towards the receiving hall.

"The king will be here any moment." The dress has to weigh nearly thirty pounds and the shoes are incredibly uncomfortable. These are the things that are taking Regina's focus. A sharp smack on her hand brings her attention back to her mother.

"You are fidgeting, queens don't fidget." Queen, queen bloody freaking queen, that is all that woman can think about. The trumpet sounding the king's arrival makes her heart sink. Regina, however; plasters on a smile and curtsey's when the king stops in front of her.

"You look beautiful, Regina. Would you mind taking a brief walk with me through the gardens? It is too beautiful a day not to enjoy it." She can't speak. Cora subtly pushes her into motion, which is all the king needs as confirmation. He takes her arm and places it in the crook of his. The two walk out of the palace.

"Regina, you have shown Snow White such kindness that hasn't gone unnoticed with me. It has been passed through the kingdoms that I am seeking a new wife and mother for Snow. I would be honored if you would accept my proposal of marriage."

"Your Highness-"

"Leopold, please call me Leopold."

"Leopold, I, I'm not sure it would be a good idea. I'm not really the mothering type." She can see the look of disappointment in his eyes and can practically feel the magical constraints tightening around her.

"You can learn to be a good mother, and I, well I have feelings for you Regina." Against her better judgment Regina slumps, at least it is an attempted slump, against her corset.

"I shall marry you Leopold." He leaps up and wraps Regina in a tight hug. He pulls away from her and puts the sapphire and diamond ring on her finger. She flashes a brief smile at her new fiancé, while her stomach sinks to her knees. Cora appears suddenly and envelopes the two of them in a hug while gushing about how happy she is for the both of them. Leopold sends one of his knights to retrieve Snow from the carriage.

"She fell asleep on the ride over and I didn't want to wake her until necessary." The brunette child bounds towards her father with a wide smile.

"Snow, darling, I want to introduce you to your new mom." The girl, who usually is very happy and eager to show affection, is reserved and quiet. She briefly hugs Regina and runs off.

"She'll come around. She does like you Regina." Regina wants to crawl out of her skin at the moment. In a matter of a few months she would be a mom and a wife and be required to have a child of her own, preferably a boy. She uses Snow's departure as a way to get away from her mother and Leopold.

"I'm going to go check on Snow." She can hear Cora chirping at Leopold about how mothering Regina is. Just like mother. She knew one thing; she would not be a mother like hers is. She will not force her child, or children, into marrying someone they do not want to. Regina silently sits down next to Snow. She watches as the girl ignores her and messes with some nearby rocks.

"I hope you know I will never call you mother."

"I wouldn't want you to if you don't want to do that. I am not replacing your mother."

"Then why does father need to marry anyone? We are happy just the two of us." It is a good question that if answered will only make Snow even more unhappy. Regina decides that instead of being honest, she will tell a little white lie.

"Your father and I are in love, Snow. That's what people do when they are in love. They marry. I am truly sorry your mother died. His marrying me does not mean he didn't love her, it means the exact opposite." The young girl turns an inquisitive eye towards her and just stares for a second.

"I mean it Snow; I am not looking to replace your mother." The girl gives a small smile and tosses a rock that sinks immediately.

"Let me show you a little trick." Regina says as she picks up a small flat rock, she skips it across the lake. The two spend a few minutes more skipping rocks before Leopold calls to them.

"My girls, it is time for supper." Snow runs off and hugs her father. He gives Regina a smile and kisses her temple.

"You seem to have smoothed the way with little Snow." Cora jumps in at that moment to croon about Regina, and more importantly about how good a mother she is because of how good a potential mother Regina will be. Cora is always looking for a way to promote herself. The next day the wedding announcement goes out and Cora has already called upon a seamstress and a wedding attendant, someone to help with wedding details.

"Mother, Leopold and I spoke at length last night. We do not wish to have a long engagement or a lavish wedding. We want something quiet with close family and friends in attendance." Secretly Regina is happy with Leopold's suggestion because it means fewer people she has to pretend in front of. Cora just waives her comment off and continues with her prattling.

"Please, darling you know that you will look back on a small wedding and wish you had done as I suggest. Why fight me on this, you know I will get my way. I do agree with you on the long engagement however. One shouldn't leave a man alone with their desires for long." Regina just slumps against the chair resigned to the huge lavish affair that her mother will plan. She spent much of the following two weeks trying on an ever growing lavish wedding dress. The most recent fitting is a disaster from the beginning. The poor seamstress is practically shaking whenever Cora is in the room to the point that Regina gets stuck four times in ten minutes. After the fifth poke she turns to her mother.

"Why don't you go see if the wedding attendant has drawn up the designs for the wedding hall?"

"Now that is a bride planning ahead. I told you that you would get into the planning." Cora's departure leaves the room with a palpable calmness.

"I know she is a little….difficult and can stress out the calmest person. I am truly sorry for all that she is putting you through." The seamstress smiles and subtly wipes her eyes. Regina spends the next hour in almost absolute silence with the seamstress as she finishes the final measurements of the dress and its mock up. Once the seamstress is done and left to begin working on the wedding dress Cora arrives back in the room. She sits down with a sigh and looks at Regina.

"You should be so thankful that I am taking care of all of this for you but that is what the mother of the future queen should do." Instead of answering her mother Regina gets up and walks out to the barn. Her mother got rid of Regina's horse when she killed Daniel, so that Regina could not run away. Regina just wanders the barn; it has always been her best place to calm down. She can feel eyes on her.

"Mother I am not going to run away, you can stop watching me." There was no response. The feeling of being watched did dissipate though.

~Rumplestiltskin~

The poor girl is desperately sad; it's what initially pulls him to her location. That is how he is able to appear just when needed. Usually whenever the person calls out he makes his presence known but this time it feels wrong. His foresight is telling him to wait that she will call on him again. He reappears back in his castle and sighs at the silence that surrounds him. It is amazing how much he misses Bae's noise. The noise of other people's wishes can be deafening and is something that used to bring him happiness and take away a certain degree of missing sadness due to the silence in the castle. Knowing how many people are out there that have such trivial desires and how quickly they are willing to practically sign their lives over for, quite effectively, nothing. Sure it seems important to them at that moment but most of the time if they just let things play out it always ends up the same way, just a little later than they wanted. Cinderella did not need a spell to be able to go to the ball that leads her to meeting the Prince, her future husband. He was planning a trip to meet and greet noble families prior to the ball. He would have met Cinderella during this meet and greet. That was derailed once Cinderella went to the ball and dropped her shoe. The Prince just tweaked his reasons for the visiting of the families. This doesn't mean that Rumplestiltskin doesn't delight in manipulating things so he can get what he wants from these people; it just means that they are usually unable to wait for things to fall into place.

This girl in the barn intrigues him though. She is very strong and has an aura of magic surrounding her, something that is surprisingly unusual. It is a mere week later when he is pulled to her again, this time she calls him by name and not by just a feeling of desperation.

"Rumpelshtil- Rumpelshtilshin, I summon thee."

"That's not how you say it, dearie. But then, you didn't have to say anything." He can see how uncomfortable he makes her. Usually he relishes doing that but for some reason he feels bad about it. He doesn't show her any of that though, a deal is a deal.

"What are you?"

"What, what, what. My, my what a rude question. I am not a 'what'." He is amused that she has the naiveté to even ask. He looked into her life during the previous week and found out that her mother is Cora. Cora, the woman who taught him that being heartless is better than being with him.

"I'm sorry, I… I don't really know what I'm doing."

"That much is clear. Allow me to introduce myself, Rumplestiltskin." He could feel her eyes assessing him in a way that he had grown used to, except this is different. She was initially horrified but now, she seems just plain curious.

"And I'm-" He cuts her off because he wants to get the fact that he knows and taught Cora out of the way.

"Regina. I know."

"You do?"

"But of course."

"Because of my mother, Cora, you taught her."

"My legend precedes me." Rumplestiltskin desperately wants to know how much Cora told her but he keeps his attentions aloof and continues to let her feel him out.

"Then, can you help me?" The hopefulness in her voice is ringing through loud and clear, even a blind deaf mute can feel it.

"Possibly, yes. You seek power, the death of your enemies….the death of your friends." Regina's face does not react with satisfaction of being read, it is in fact looking quite horrified.

"No! I don't want to hurt anyone." Ah, there's the difference. Regina still has her humanity. He moves his hand and behind him appears a covered object.

"How did -"

"Magic, it can set you free."