Hi there! :) this is definitely not my first story but it's my first one under this pen name. For some reason this was stuck in my mind and I spent all day writing a 5 chapter story. I'm not sure if I'll give it a sequel, I'll need to know there's people that want it. Tell me what you think.

This is season 1, after the curse is broken. Trigger warning for later chapters.

As Evil Queen I'd hurt a lot of people but most of all I'd hurt myself. Every moment after Snow White had told my mother about Daniel, I'd tried to hurt her as much as she'd hurt me. But the only one who'd ended up alone was me.

Now that everyone remembered who they were and what had happened, I had to face my own past. One that hadn't been full of me doing everything I could to hurt everyone around me and push everyone away.

My past had been filled with pain and suffering, not only the people around me but me too. My marriage, though short, had been filled with it.

For the longest time I'd been able to forget about it, about life in the Enchanted Forest. But now that the curse had been broken, all those memories returned and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

As Emma Swan kissed my son and broke the curse I knew that there was nowhere for me to hide. I wouldn't be able to see my son for a while probably and my heart was hurting because of that.

And for the first time since my marriage, I felt fear.

"You may now kiss the bride."

The words echoed in my ears as I turned my head toward the man beside me. King Leopold was old enough to be my father and that realization had brought tears to my eyes when Mother had told me I was to marry him.

Knowing my mother though, I had nothing to say about the matter and I did my best to accept the situation. I was making my mother's dream come true.

Marriage to a king.

His lips pressed upon mine in a bruising kiss, and my mind flashed to a wedding night I was hoping would never happen. The way I imagined it was filled with pain, and that was not how things were supposed to be.

As he pulled his lips off of mine, and I resisted the urge to wipe my hand over my lips, he turned me toward the crowd.

"I present to you, Queen Regina."

The crowd went wild - it had been long enough without a Queen, and they were excited to have a new and fresh Queen.

They didn't care that I was half his age, young enough to be his daughter. They didn't care that I only had a couple of years on Snow White, their princess and now, my stepdaughter.

Not even my mother cared.

"I'm so proud of you baby," Mother said as the king lead me down the aisle, his hand holding my arm tightly. "You make me so proud."

My heart swelled even though I knew my mother had just sold me to the highest bidder - she was proud of me for the first time since I could remember and for some reason, that was still what I lived for.

My head was pounding as I hurried through the empty streets of Storybrooke.

Even though the reason I cursed the Enchanted Forest wasn't legit anymore, I still felt the anger after all those years. But something had changed.

I had changed.

After 28 years in a land without magic, even while I was one of the few that remembered the curse and the life before it, I had changed and I believed it was all because of Henry...and Emma Swan.

As I reached my mansion, I heard something behind me. There was a chill going down my spine as I turned around to see what was going on, but it didn't prepare me for what I saw.

A dozen townspeople, glaring at me.

I had expected them to come, sure. But I hadn't expected them to be here this soon. I could feel my hands as they turned clammy and there was an unfamiliar feeling for fear tingling in my body.

A dozen townspeople, angry with me for casting the curse, but most of all, for hurting them even before that.

"I am so happy that you are my new mother," Snow White smiled at me and even though I was supposed to hate her, I felt my heart skip a beat as I smiled back. She might be my only ally in all this, maybe she could help me feel safe again.

"Of course you are." My voice sounded hoarse, but my throat hurt from holding in my frustrated screams.

"Tomorrow, we'll begin our lives together and we'll have so much fun!"

I wasn't even paying attention to her chattering anymore when my new husband looked over at me. His eyes showed something I really rather didn't see in there, and the shiver that went down my spine startled me.

"I think it's time to consummate this marriage." The words, coming from my mother, drained my face from blood and I blinked at the sudden change in temperature in the hall.

"I couldn't agree more," King Leopold said with a grin on his face. I watched as he stood and moved toward me, and I could hear Snow gasp in delight as her father picked me up out of the chair. "Everyone enjoy the party, it doesn't matter how late you make it."

He walked out of the hall under applause and cheering, looking down at me with something that seemed a little more evil than before.

Not even two steps outside of the hall, after the doors had closed behind him, he dropped me to my feet and grabbed my upper arm.

"Leopo-" I started but he cut me off by pulling me against him roughly, his face like thunder.

"I know you lied to your mother," he snapped, his upper lip curling in a way that seemed like a snarl.

"What are you talking about?" I asked him, thinking back on the last time I had a real conversation with my mother.

"You fucked the stable boy before she killed him, so I know you're not a virgin anymore."

I frowned at him, my throat constricting at his mention of Daniel, my head hurting at the thought of my love buried in the cold ground.

"I never - I didn't - I-" I couldn't even get the words out.

"Anyway, it means I can do as I please to my bride, I won't have to be afraid I'll hurt her."

I shivered at the memory, very aware of the danger in front of me but not being able to stop the memories from assaulting my brain.

"Pure evil, ladies and gentlemen," Doctor Whale said as he pushed forward, grabbing Regina's arm in a vice like grip.

"What do you think you're doing, Doctor Whale?" My voice was steady to my immense pleasure.

"Emma broke the curse with True Love's kiss. That means everyone remembers what you did." He pushed me against the front door of my house, knocking the air out of my lungs in the process and glared at me.

"That still does not explain what you think you're doing."

He was quick, his arm suddenly pressing against my throat just enough to make me short of breath.

"I'll tell you what I think I'm doing - I'm seeking and finding revenge for all the things you did to all of us. As the Evil Queen and as mayor Regina. You killed and hurt the people we love and us, and this land just makes it easier for us to hurt you back."

"What are you planning to do, huh? Kill me?" I asked, my voice shaking despite my efforts to keep my fear at bay. I rubbed my hands on my pants and swallowed, hoping against all hope there was someone out there that would see what was going on and help me instead of wanting to hurt me.

"Oh no, you deserve so much more." Whale changed position, now holding my throat with his hand and he, again, put just enough pressure to make me short of breath. Lightheaded.

"Yea, much, much more," someone from the back yelled and I felt another shiver.

This didn't bode well for me at all.