The evening ride was quite relaxing for Regina on most days, but today she was anything but relaxed. It wasn't the horse, though. It was something much deeper. The pain she was experiencing was evident with one look into her eyes. The normally smiling young woman looked broken and battered, as if she had just learned a loved one had passed. As anxiety overtakes her, she decides to head back to the stables.
Regina walks into the doors guiding her horse behind her. She stops to look at Daniel, who is immediately shaken by her uneasy glance. "You finished early today." He says, trying not to sound suspicious. "I really wasn't feeling up to it, I had more important things I needed to attend to." She glances down at the floor. "Like what, my darling?" She speaks softly "Daniel, we need to talk."
"I'm with child." She speaks as though she doesn't believe what she has said. "Regina, this is wonderful! We can run away together and be a family!" He exclaims. Regina looks up slowly, tears rolling down her chin. "We can never have this child, Daniel." His happy demeanor turned dismal in a matter of seconds.
"Do you have any idea what my mother would do if she found out I was expecting your child? She would kill us all without thinking twice." She said with a grim expression. Tears begin to fall from his face onto the stable floors,and shakily he says "That is MY child. Why can't we just run away like we've always talked of?" She looked at him shamefully "With a child we have no way to take care of?" "We could take care of it, Regina. If you only had faith in us."
"Daniel my mother would find us, no matter where we ran. She wouldn't stop until we were eradicated." "Regina, we can't talk of this. Your mother could hear us. You must leave, now."
After a quick hug, Regina walks back to her home.
Regina is left alone in her room, with only her thoughts to entertain her. She imagines a life where she and Daniel can stay together and keep their child with her mothers approval.
She shivers from pure joy but is almost immediately shaken down from the realization that it could never be that way. "What am I going to do?" she asks herself before she drifts off to sleep
Dressed in white, the woman walks slowly down the corridor until she meets with a familiar door. She exhailes sharply, and opens the door with one hard push. She looks over her surroundings and
is startled by what she sees. The door may have seemed familiar, but the room was nothing she had seen before. Her legs become week as she drops to her knees and begins to weep, filling the room with sounds of sorrow. The windows and doors had disappeared and an eerie crimson had taken the room.
Regina awoke with a sudden sickness and rushed to the bathroom. Heaving uncontrollably, she is reminded of the terror that lurked inside her body. I have to do something about this she thought.
Walking back to her quarters, She sees Cora in the distance. "Are you ready for your morning riding lessons?" Cora calls "No, mother, I'm feeling rather sick today. I think it would be best if I stayed in bed." Regina says with her voice cracking in fear. "When will you ever learn that sickness isn't an excuse, just a hurdle to jump?" Cora asks mockingly "Mother I'm just not up to it today, can't you leave it at that?" Cora looks Regina in the eyes, causing her to tremble in fear. She steps closer as the anger on her face becomes more evident. "You should really learn to watch your mouth, you silly girl. But because I'm feeling so generous today, I'm going to let you lay down and fake aliment." Cora turns and walks down the corridor slowly, almost as if she was insulting Regina with each and every step she takes.
After a long wait, Regina hears her mother's carriage leaving. "I mustn't wait. I have to hurry and deal with this."
The morning air is brisk and stings Regina's face as she walks out. She hadn't realized she had been crying up until now. "Hello my love" Regina calls from the stable doors. She waits a moment and is greeted with only the rustling of her prized horse. She checks each and every pin, but Daniel is
no where to be found. A sudden rush of anxiety takes over her and she quivers what if my mother has taken him? What if he has run away from me? her thoughts only accelerate her anxiety.
She decides to inspect further to try and shake her feeling of apprehension. Hidden under a saddle she finds a letter addressed to "My darling Regina", and her thoughts start to race.
Shutting them out as quickly as possible, she opens the letter and begins to read.
Dear Regina,
I am sorry I didn't tell you in person, but I was afraid you may try and stop me.
I love you with everything in me, and I want you to know you have my full support
with what ever you decide to do with our child. But I also must tell you I cannot
live knowing I will lose the only family I may ever have. I have heard tale of a dark
wizard who is able to take away any memory you posses with a simple spell.
I know it's risky, but I have to do this. I hope you understand. I love you Regina.
Daniel.
