Two empty bottles of gin lie on the floor of Regina's vault. The ex-queen had let her crash there for the past few nights, knowing she had no where to go and showing a little bit of empathy. It wasn't ideal, but it was better than sleeping out in the cold. One of the bottles was shattered into pieces and the other still in tact, recently dropped carelessly on the concrete by it's owner. To say that Cruella indulged too often was an understatement, but it didn't matter. She had no happy ending. She had nothing to lose. Nothing to care for, or so she thought. Not thinking of the consequences, she cracked open the third bottle of the night and put it to her lips. The taste had lost it's bitterness years ago. Her tolerance was high off of the charts and any worry of her deteriorating health was nonexistent. She figured she had probably killed her liver by now, but what did that matter? What did anything really matter? Just a week ago she had had it all. She may have not gotten the happy ending she thought she needed, but she got something more than that. She started finding comfort in Ursula and suddenly their friendship didn't seem the same. She grew accustomed to her soft touches and falling asleep in her arms every night. It was platonic, but it was real. Then, the last night they had spent together, their lips met for the first time and she couldn't deny that a spark went off inside of her. It was scary. Terrifying. Liberating. Still, she would never admit how she felt. She was too proud and too determined to keep up that "independent and strong" act she's held onto for so long. But Ursula was gone now and she wouldn't have to worry about facing her fears. The sea witch had finally found the happy ending she has been yearning for. She had her voice back and she had her father's love too. She knew she should be happy for her but she was consumed with sulking at her absence. Maybe there was a little piece of her that had hoped she would have chosen her instead.

Her head was swimming as she alternated between taking swigs from the bottle and lying on the couch staring up at the ceiling. The vault was definitely well-furnished for a place that was hardly used. The furniture was lavish and brand new, the countertops were granite and expensive, a marble shower even enclosed in the bathroom off to the left. It was almost as if Regina was planning to hide and live there, but why would she have to run away? She had it easy. She put everyone around her through hell and back and is still forgiven and treated like a queen. But Cruella, no. No one would ever love a wicked soul like her. She would never be cared for or forgiven. She would be left to rot while everyone smiled and laughed around her and she was well-prepared for that. In fact, it made her wonder why she was still living at all. Her intentions that she had when she started this journey don't make any sense now. Nothing made sense. Everything that she had once held dear in her hands was always ripped away from her the moment her heart started to grow in warmth. Regina was a villain who had gotten her happy ending without any help from an author; she was the flaw in the system just like she always was. Going through every bad memory in her life, Cruella continued to mumble and curse at herself in her drunken state. Drunk and alone. Drunk and alone. It was all she was used to. All she was good for.

Of course drinking was no longer enough for her. It had it's perks, but eventually the gin would run out and she would be left craving that intoxication until she restocked her supply. Cruella was never satisfied. When she reached perfection, she always wanted more. She felt around in the pocket of her coat before pulling out the small vile she had been hiding. She had figured Mal would come looking for her the second she realized it had been missing, but she never came. At first she took it in the hopes that she would actually find her. If there was anything that would make Mal get up off of her ass and hunt her down, it was her drugs. But she should have noticed by now; maybe she had just given up on Cruella like everyone else has. She nervously stared at the sharp edge in her hand before pricking her thumb, staring as a small drop of blood appeared moments after. There was something about blood that made her skin stand up on edge with arousal. Crimson red. A sting behind it. She got off to the pain, never being one who enjoyed gentle action or caressing. That's what made it different when it came to Ursula. She had beaten down the walls of this broken woman, changing her from a monster to a human. Underneath all of the make-up and fancy furs, she was just a victim of abuse. A washed-up villain who accomplished nothing yet wanted everything. The product of self-destruction and a lack of confidence.

She could feel the effects of the strong substance mix with the alcohol coursing through her body. She felt her muscles relax and her worries start flying away from her. All of a sudden it made sense to her why Mal relied so heavily on things like this. It felt good to ride on the wings of escape. It felt so good to fly. She wished she could have captured this feeling in a bottle and recreated it over and over again. Once was never enough. Her head hit the pillow she had been leaning against for the past half an hour and she felt like doing nothing but sleeping. Drifting off into a slumber that let her forget about Ursula; a toxic combination of anything that would numb the pain. She swore she heard voices talking to her in the back of her mind but hadn't the strength to bother looking. Stars danced around inside of her eyelids. A humming sound flowed through her ears. She no longer wanted to move or take any more swallows from the bottle. She was finally released from the shackles of desperation and unhappiness. She was finally free.

She groggily opened her eyes, feeling someone shaking her body. She couldn't figure out where she was, what she was doing or why she was in so much pain. Her head throbbed, her stomach was churning and her body felt weak and achy. The events from last night came back to her as soon as her subconscious woke up. It wasn't all a dream, she really had stooped that low. There were no windows in the vault and she had no idea what time it was, but she felt like she hadn't slept for that long. Her body felt ill and still intoxicated at the same time and again it didn't make sense. Nothing made sense. She felt the hand shake her again and laid still. If she pretended to still be asleep, she hoped that Mal or Regina would give up and let her rest. She wasn't in the mood for their bitching or lecturing. She wasn't in the mood for anything.

"Cru, wake up.. please." The urgent voice pounded through her skull like a bolt of lightning, causing her to almost sit straight up. A familiar hand brushed against her thigh and she had hoped that it wasn't all a dream. It would kill her. "Hello..Cruella?", a hand waved in front of her face to break her of the trance that the stupor had put her in.

"Ursula….is it really you?" The woman smiled at her and looked down, clearly proud at her decision to come find her again. Ursula couldn't have looked more beautiful under the dim lights of the low ceiling. Her hair hung freely down past her shoulders, her skin was smooth and vibrant, her smile white and beaming.

"Yes of course it's me. I've been trying to wake you!"

"I'm so sorry darling. I'm just so tired." As much as she wanted to wrap the other woman in her arms and never let go, Cruella still couldn't get herself back to reality. Her eyelids fell heavily as she struggled to keep them open. Ursula was here with her again, she could relax. She didn't have to worry any longer. "Why did you come back Ursula? You found your happy ending."

"I came back for you. I have the rest of my life to spend with my father. I have until the end of time to sing. But I don't want to waste another second without you." Their bodies got closer to one another and Cruella could feel the other woman's breath on her lips. The definition of friendship was leaving her again; this had to be something more. There was no running away. No more excuses.

"I came back for you Cruella."

"But…why?", she heard herself say. Surely she couldn't have been more important than her father. Ursula had been searching for him for so long, there wasn't a chance that she walked away from him so quickly. Instead of an answer, she felt her lips being kissed slowly. Passionately. Full of vigor and impatience. The hair on her arms stood straight up, goosebumps pricking at her skin. They embraced and held one another the way that they had just days ago, only this time the feelings were stronger. They were real. Her heart started beating twice as fast, a mixture of lust and nervousness. Their kiss continued as Ursula's hands wrapped around Cruella's neck, almost as if she was afraid she would disappear. Finally she pulled away and looked deep into her eyes. She had never felt connected to someone in her life. She had never felt so alive.

"I came back because I love you."

Cruella tossed and turned on the couch, Mal rubbing a wet cloth on her head and Regina frantically searching through the vault for some sort of magic cure.

"I already told you Regina, I didn't give it to her! She stole it from me."

"Yes well you see what happens when you two decide to constantly alter your sense of reality!"

"We don't have the time to argue okay? Did you find it?" Regina finally brought up a small tube with a green liquid in it, throwing it over to Mal as she caught it.

"You need to sit her up."

"I know what I'm doing Regina! Jesus Christ." She tilted the vile into Cruella's mouth, making sure that it was swallowed and breathing a sigh of relief as the woman started taking deep, slumber-filled breaths beneath her.

"She'll be okay now."

"And I thank you for that. I don't have much left, but she's my friend. She's helped me. I don't want to lose her.", she said in a tone that was still cold. She stroked Cruella's hair as she slept underneath her touch, suddenly aware of the pain that she must have been feeling since Ursula's departure. Her and Ursula were partners in crime; they were each other's other half. She had been so busy trying to get her own happy ending that she had been blind to her friends downfall. Regina finally left, announcing that it was five-thirty and she had to go make dinner for Henry, leaving her and a sleeping Cruella alone in the vault. Mal continued to graze her skin gently and play with her hair in a comforting motion until she herself finally drifted off.

Maleficent fell asleep holding her, happy and content. Cruella, still passed out, continued dreaming of a woman who wasn't coming back.