Sometimes I wonder what must have been going through her head, how she felt, sat alone in the palace she never wanted with the crown she never craved.

She'd told me about it, how she'd spent the last few weeks in seclusion after the fruitless ineffective slaying of her wicked step daughter.

There had been word of an intruder through the walls, Regina laced in one of her many jewel glittered gowns, woven bloodshot silk smeared with heartless black lace to enhance the ferocity in her eyes as the guards enter, thrusting the uninvited visitor before their queen. She'd eyed the creature curiously, her hair a knotted mass of rime, ashen complexion and washed out orbs barren under the snarl of pointed teeth over dreary sliver cracked lips and ebony inked talons, a long stretch of bloodstained hoary ribbon masking the remains of her slackened stateliness.

This being was once no doubt a beauty to be beheld, glittering and profound. Nevertheless she was her own undoing; she had abused her power like few before her, swayed into darkness and sin by desire and greed. She had broken her vow and betrayed her own, she had to be punished.

So sat before the queen was a woman stripped of her grace, wings turned to dust… she wasn't a fairy anymore, she sat there in her new form, a Goblin.

"So… who are you and what are you doing snooping around my castle?" the beautiful queen quizzed the creature placed at her feet with a vexed tenor. Regina didn't take kindly to being robbed

Smirking up the Goblin answers in her broken shrill voice "me is Hibiscus and Hibiscus wants something… something you have, me wants a heart!"

With a bitter laugh the great queen raised a brow "is that so? And pray tell whose heart are you after"

"Why you care? Killing Hibiscus anyway, but she sees you I do… Hibiscus sees the queen, all alone" it gave snarled chuckle with a pert glare

Regina raised her head high, not to be outdone by someone so meager "you know nothing, your own people cast you out and now you come here to steal from me? You should be begging for your insignificant life"

"Why? When we could abet each other…" she smirks up to the woman holding her life in her hands

Gliding back the queen laughs "I'm not in the business of working with Goblin's"

"Me has something queeny wants…" Hibiscus sings, struggling against the guards

Looking down to the disgraced erstwhile fairy with a bitter smile "what do you have that I could possibly want?"

"Happiness" she groans with a mischievous smirk

Chocolate glazed gems widen at the Goblin before turning back to look over her shoulder Regina catches a glance of her father through the crack of the door, sleeping peacefully in his old blue chair, the queen remembers sitting in his lap on that chair as a child, twisting back to the creature she waved dismissively "leave us!"

Bowing with the respect she deserves the guards took their leave and with the loud clang of the door Regina watches the ill dressed woman stand with an arch in her spine "speak, before I decide to take your heart"

"Hibiscus has something special, something rare, you wants?" pulling something from her ribbon binding the goblin smiles, opening her clawed skeletal fingers to reveal a small spectral flecked oval glittering in the candle light

"Is that… a pixie grain" she looked down at it in wonderment, having heard of the thing but never before perceiving one. Pixie grain was said to be a seed of hope, an unspoken wish stored for eternity. Pixie's where the half-breeds of the magical world, when a fairy or elf feel in love with a human and bore children, they were pixies. However they were said to be unnatural and were banished to the outlands… no one truly knew where Pixie grain came from. Only that it was powerful and forbidden in these lands

Inconsiderately Regina had reached for the grain only for Hibiscus to snatch it away from her coveting gaze "we make deal, yes?"

At the menacing smile the magnificent queen nods "I think we can come to some sort of arrangement, tell me whose heart you came here for?"

"A man, human man… his name be Eric" she smirked with a skip in her step as she followed the trail of silk and lace

With a raise of her shapely brow and opening the vault the jewel glittered beauty asks "the mermaids boy, sorry prince… what do you what with his heart?"

With a stern snarl the goblin squealed "that be Hibiscus's business!"

"Whatever…" carefully she maneuvers the heart into the view of the white haired woman who had leapt forward in hasty want

Swaying it from her grasp the queen smirks "ah, ah, ah… the grain first!"

"Same time!" the fanged creature growls

Slowly their hands stretch out, paths crossing before the other held what it was they had bargained for "it been a pleasure doing business with queen Regina"

"I'm sure… I'll see to it you have no trouble leaving" the queen escorts the Goblin from her vault

The creature turned back to look at the woman who was once so different "be careful queeny, that grain will give you your heart's desire… just take care of it"

Regina was left confused but had brushed off the warning, retreating the sanctuary of her garden, preparing a plot for the grain she had heard so much about, careful not to waste her wish… she knew she couldn't bring Daniel back; no magic could undo that evil. But she could wish for something else, her vengeance had to be by her hand, so as she tenderly laid the glittering seed into the earth she closed her eyes made a wish and waited…

And waited…

And waited…

Until one day as the queen strolled through her cherished garden a gasp escaped her lips because sat there was a locked crimson tulip. It was far larger than any other tulip she had ever saw, but as her chocolate orbs scanned over the budding flower she felt a strange pull and leaned with sealed eyed before her ruby lips traced the wrapped petals in is kiss.

A shimmer of violet smoke rounded the flower as it steadily bloomed, Regina laughed in shock with tears brimming as a shallow cry came from the lit flower. Looking down she moved to embrace the crying figure in her trembling arms. Caramel glazed orbs locking with bottle green emeralds and her heart caught in her throat… Daniel's eyes

She sniffled back the fallen tears as she smiled down to the child giggling in her arms, her child and breathed "Hello Callina…"

That was a happy day, filled with celebration and love, one of few for the beautiful queen… but she got her wish, she would never be alone and she had a small part of her true love that would never leave her.

And I never will…