Regina glared down at a small girl, who simply stared up at her with a blank look. She looked so malleable, just as Regina wished Snow was, but she was not a stupid woman. The girl standing across from her was not malleable, but she was the closest thing Regina had to a friend in all of the madness that was going on in her life. At the moment, however, the girl was being anything, but a friend, Regina felt.
"I wont let you." Regina hissed angrily as she stepped closer to the small girl whose lips curled into a devious little smile. Regina knew this girl was anything, but an innocent, blank little girl. She was a demon who needed to be dealt with immediately.
"You really think you can stop the likes of me?" The girl's voice sounded so soft, fairy-like, even and paired with her bright blue eyes and dark, sandy blonde hair and pale skin, she could probably fool a lot of people into thinking she was a fairy, but Regina knew better.
"Yes, I do." Regina smirked as she lunged forward. She plunged her hand deep into the girl's chest, but as her hand wrapped around the girl's heart, she giggled. Regina pulled roughly, but the girl's heart would not budge from her chest. She let out a feral scream of frustration as she ripped her hand away from the girl and glared at her. How? How was she able to keep her chest so firmly planted into her chest?
"I thought you smarter, Regina." The girl giggled softly as she dove her own hand into her own chest and pulled out what was supposed to be a heart, but all Regina saw was the girl's hand dripping in red paint. "My heart isn't like yours, it isn't even in my body. It was ripped out a long time ago and placed into something very dear of mine. Something that never leaves my sight." The girl let out a tinkling chuckle as she flicked her hand towards the floor.
Regina stiffened, both because of the anger of losing, and because of the mess the bratty girl had just made on her clean floors.
"Have you ever seen a piece of art so amazing, so life like, you thought it might just come to life. Just lift from the canvas and be right there for you to touch?" The girl tilted her head up towards Regina. She could only scowl at the girl and clench her fists so tightly her long nailed pierced the skin of her palms.
"My brother did, the poor sod. He had a painting of him done, looked exactly like him. So lifelike and real and he made a pathetic wish. Didn't even realize I was in the painting too and his stupid wish cursed us both!" The girl displayed an emotion she never had in front of Regina; anger. Regina actually felt a small bit of fear of the girl.
"He made a wish that the stupid painting would grow in his place, so that he may live forever and you know what happened? His wish was granted, but not without consequences, Regina. Do you know what happened to me?" The girl began to shake now and Regina carefully reached out a hand to rest it upon the girl's shoulder. She smiled at this comfort and placed her own clean hand above her own and ceased her trembling.
"While his part of the portrait grew old and ugly with every misdeed, mine grew younger and I grew older. So I killed my brother by ripping the portrait apart, but in doing so I tore apart my soul and you know what that can do to someone?" The girl looked up at Regina with a look that seemed so hopeless and childlike.
"It eats you alive, so I asked for a favor from someone. The man with the hat, and he brought me here, where I tore out my shattered heart and plunged it into a new portrait of me and since then I have been like this and I will always be like this. My heart is replaced with paint and my body is to forever remain young." The girl let out a hollow laugh while she walked towards Regina's bed and flopped upon it lazily.
"So, Regina, at least allow me to have a bit of solace by leaving this place, will you?" The girl's piercing blue gaze shifted onto Regina, who felt her own tired heart coil with guilt. On one hand she wanted to keep her friend with her forever, but on the other she felt she could understand her friend and couldn't live with herself if she dared to try and make her live another day in the Enchanted Forest.
"Alright, but… Before you go, I want to give you something." Regina sauntered to her vanity and pushed open her jewelry box. Among the many beautiful jewels was a simple silver locket. While the girl lay on her own bed, Regina briefly put an enchantment upon the locket and tossed it to the girl.
She lifted her head, staring down at the metal neck piece before she slid it on so that it could hang next to her smaller golden pendant. "Thank you for understanding me, Regina." The young girl slid from her spot on the bed and walked over to the queen. Without much warning the girl threw her arms around the queen, unaware of the devilish smirk she wore.
"I will miss you, friend." The girl whispered to Regina softly before pulling away from the hug and walking away from Regina, unaware of what the elder woman had planned for her.
The girl had been wandering for so long she was certain her feet were going to begin to bleed inside of her boots. She had been so certain she was going to find someone or something in this apparent forest, but she found nothing. Twice she thought she had heard the sounds of whispering and he hollering of boys, but when she tried to find the sources of the sounds, she found nothing.
Perhaps it had been a mistake, all of this. Perhaps she should not have left Regina and instead stayed with her friend through her hardships. Losing Daniel, raising a daughter not of her own, then marrying that silly king and yet all she could do was wallow in self pity and wriggle her way out of helping her only friend in what seemed like years.
She continued forward, her hands reaching up to clutch her locket. She held it close to her, cherishing the gift her friend had given her. Regina had been nothing, but giving and yet here she was, by herself, probably going to fade away into insanity because she needed a change of scenery. She truly was a selfish, horrible person.
The girl stopped suddenly, then laughed at her own joke. It did not matter to her what happened. Regina was a strong woman, but she had her own needs she needed to take care of instead of helping along some woman who simply wouldn't see what she had. Riches, marrying into a wealthy kingdom, and the most beautiful step daughter that anyone could ever want and she was throwing it all away from some stupid stable boy who had died at the hands of her mother.
The girl snorted and rolled her eyes. Truly the would-be queen was naive and childish in her anger and while she looked like a little girl to most, she was years ahead of her time. She had already lost count of how many years it had been. The last year she counted her birthday, she had been turning eighty seven, and yet she looked like a sweet, innocent fifteen year old girl. Some even said she looked like a fairy, and those who knew of them, an angel.
Oh how such thoughts made her want to laugh until she grew ill. A fairy? An Angel? Her? Goodness no, she was as tainted as they came. She slaughtered her own brother, and only had one person she ever needed to look out for, herself.
"I want to make a deal with you." The small girl looked up at the glittery skinned male, who stared back at her with such a look of disinterest. She could almost smile at him, but instead she removed the pendant she held so dearly to her. "I know it might not seem like much, but, allow me to explain my story to you, and why I'd like this deal, and in the end, I will owe you a favor." She watched as Rumpelstiltskin twitched and turned his attention onto her entirely. Just what she needed.
She told him of her brother, of the portraits, of her true age and her position as a friend of the queen. She told of the world she came from, and how she had gotten to the Enchanted Forest, and by the time she was done she had his full attention. She was a bit surprised that of all people to actually know how to be quiet, Rumpelstiltskin would be one of them. Somehow she always imagined him to be talkative in how the people had talked about him.
"Now, you know my story and I wish to offer you a simple favor in the future and to show I mean business, I offer this pendant." She smirked as she held out the gold piece of jewelry. Rumpelstiltskin seemed to consider her offer and smirked as he snatched it from her hand. "We have a deal, dearie. Here ya are." He tossed her a bean. To be more exact, a magic bean. She caught it adeptly and nodded, glad to see her deal was struck.
"I will be seeing you then, Rumpelstiltskin." She turned to walk away, but was surprised to find Rumpelstiltskin standing right in front of her with a curious gleam within his gaze. "Before you do go, dearie. Most tell me their name before they go about leavin'." He grinned at her as she chuckled and offered her hand as a polite gesture.
"I'm Dahlia. Dahlia Grey, sister to Dorian Grey." She snickered as Rumpelstiltskin avoided touching her hand entirely and simply nodded before she went about finding a use for the bean she had been given.
I realize I have another story going and I wont be abandoning it seeing as I've JUST started it! I will be giving both stories equal attention!