To say that Drizella loved her mother was an understatement but to say that she hated her was one as well. Drizella did not love her mother nor hate her, instead she felt nothing for her. It was a much better alternative than the other two—if she loved her mother than Lady Tremaine had power over her, and if she hated her mother than Lady Tremaine still had power over her. Power to make Drizella do whatever she wanted. Either feeling would have Drizella in her mother's control, her thoughts would be on her mother, she would be a figure in Drizella's life. But if she felt nothing for her than Lady Tremaine was cut off from Drizella all together.
Loving her mother would hurt too much and hating her would just make Drizella weak. Only weak people allowed themselves to hate others. And loving someone made you selfish—yes, Drizella's was selfish but not in that way. So, Drizella kept her heart closed, locked ever since she was small, ever since her step-mother—her true mother—vanished from her life. Ever since her father died by the hand of Lady Tremaine. Ever since Lady Tremaine became obsessed with bring Anastasia back to life. Ever since her mother clearly showed that Drizella meant so little to her that she forced her to never use her magic. Telling her that magic was weak and could be taken away easily, that the only way to get to people, to hurt them and make them do what you wanted, was to scare them. That fear lasts forever and that magic is only temporary.
Drizella didn't believe that though, fear could be broken, people can face their fears and get passed them. Magic could stay with a person throughout their whole life, it could aid them and protect them and make them stronger than they ever thought possible. Fear was temporary, magic was what lasted forever and beyond.
And Drizella wanted to last forever and beyond. She wanted to be the one who controlled things and made them how she wanted. She was tired of her mother being the one in command, being the one to call the shots and make the rules and plot out the schemes. Drizella always following in her shadow with a 'yes, mother' and 'no, mother' at the ready. She was treated worse than Ella considering that Lady Tremaine actually paid attention to her. With attention came criticisms and snide comments and disappointment. Ella was left alone by Lady Tremaine, only being spoken to when something needed to be clean or when Lady Tremaine felt particularly snippy that day and was bored with chewing out Drizella.
And Drizella was done with being her mother's little lackey, her yes-girl, her second-if-not-third-best daughter. She wanted to punish her mother, not because she hated her or loved her, but because she wanted control of her life. But to get in control, Drizella had to remove the obstacle in front of her. Her mother was just a means to an end and Drizella would deal with her accordingly.
She found the answer to her questions when she met Regina Mills a.k.a the Evil Queen of the other Enchanted Forest. But to say that this woman was evil was downright laughable to Drizella. And a bit discouraging—here Drizella was in front of the woman who had killed hundreds of people; put a murder call out of her step-daughter, used a curse to put said step-daughter to sleep for eternity; and had taken control of the Enchanted Forest. Not to mention unleashing the Dark Curse—the curse to end all curses—on the entire kingdom. Now Drizella saw no trace of that woman, instead she saw someone who fought evil and saw herself as a hero. A woman wanted to help the good defeat the bad, who saw her past accomplishments as mistakes and wanted to better herself. Drizella couldn't help but feel sad for the Queen. She was clearly having a midlife crisis and her support system was lacking.
Never the less, Drizella needed a teacher for her magic and someone who her mother wouldn't come in contact with. And even though it would involve Drizella playing the role of a helpless, sad, girl who just wanted to better herself and be good then she'd do it. She'd play the victim for once.
"I'm not strong enough." Drizella sniffed lowly, breathing labored after spending the last thirty minutes trying to lift a boulder.
Though her words were fake, her exhaustion was not. Magic was hard and she was getting tired. But she had to get this right. If she couldn't even lift a simple boulder than how was she ever going to get rid of her mother?
Regina let out a breath, her shoulders slumping, "Don't give up." She said firmly as her dark eyes met Drizella's. "You can do this. It's a simple levitation spell. You just have to concentrate and really want to lift the boulder—or whatever it is you're trying to lift."
"But why would I want to lift a boulder? It's just a piece of rock, there's no emotional value in it." Drizella protested, crossing her arms over her leather vest. Regina had told her that magic came from emotion, how you felt had a powerful effect on it. But it was important to be in control of those emotions or the magic would go haywire. If you can control your emotions, you can control the magic.
"Don't put your emotions into the rock itself, put them into wanting to life it. To wanting to use your magic, use that feeling of determination and want to lift it." Regina explained. She gently nudged Drizella out of the way and stood in front of the boulder. She took a deep breath and raised her hands steadily, "Like this." She murmured as she locked her gaze onto the boulder.
Drizella watched in awe—and annoyance but that was kept inside—as Regina's hands glowed with a purple essence that shot out toward the boulder. Purple light glowed along the boulder's edges as it began to rise from the ground. Regina lifted it higher and higher into the air, arms raising over her head, until it was a good ten feet above them. Regina then took a breath and quickly brought her hands down to her sides. The boulder landed with a loud crack and an explosion of dust and pebbles scattered around them. Drizella shielded her face with her arm and turned her head away from the swirling dust.
When it was fairly clear, she dropped her arm and looked at Regina who stood with her arms crossed, a smug smile on her face. Drizella resisted the urge to roll her eyes and instead gaped like she was impressed.
"Oh my . . . ." She brought her hand to her mouth in wonder. "That was incredible!" She grinned, dropping her hand.
"And you can do it too." Regina said knowingly, dropping her hands to her sides. "You just got to want it. Focus on how good it'll feel when you achieve it. Focus on how much you want it to happen." She motioned for Drizella to take her spot in front of the pile of pebbles and shards of rock.
Drizella stood and looked at the broken boulder, "You want me to lift the rubble?" She looked at Regina skeptically.
"Yes, being able to lift this will help in a fight. It's important to know that anything can be used as a weapon if need be." Regina answered with a nod.
Drizella sighed and looked back at the—useless—pile of boulder scraps. Clearing her throat she looked at the pebbles and rocks and lifted her hands. Focus. Lift this inane pile of dust, she told herself as she stared at the pile. Do it, do it so that you can move on and figure out a way to get rid of your mother. With this done you'll be free of her once and for all. With that thought in her head, Drizella closed her eyes and let the feeling fill her full. How it would feel once she had her mother trapped and in her control. How it would feel when she watched as her mother begged and pleaded and sobbed for her life. How she was afraid of Drizella. Afraid that she would die at the hands of her own child.
Drizella smiled just as she felt a light tingling start at the palm of her hands and spread toward her fingers tips. She smiled wider as the feeling spread throughout her arms and chest. Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw that little pieces of rock and pebbles and dust were rising into the air. Drizella felt the tingling increase as she lifted her arms a little higher; the rocks following slowly. A faint yellow light glowed around the rocks, a thin line going from them toward Drizella's outstretched hands.
I'm doing magic! I have magic! Drizella couldn't help the excited giggle that escaped from her lips as she lifted the rocks higher into the air. Her body buzzed with glee and happiness. Mother was wrong! She was wrong, magic is powerful! I'm powerful! The rock pile seemed to quiver as the more excited and proud Drizella got. The yellow light getting brighter and brighter.
"Reel it in, Drizella. You're getting too caught up in your feelings." Regina cautioned.
But Drizella ignored her, she was already giddy with the knowledge that she finally had the means to punish her mother once and for all. She was drunk on the feeling, not taking in the fact that the rocks were quivering faster and the light was getting brighter. She lifted the rocks higher, her arms over her head, the pile a shaking cloud above her. Her heart hammered in her chest and her blood sang. Sweat beaded across her forehead and she was breathing heavily. But that didn't even concern her. This is just the start, she thought as she watched the rocks shake and glow, soon I'll be making potions and casting spells. Maybe I can even test some out on mother. The thought had her snickering to herself.
"Drizella, calm down, you're getting too excited." Regina warned, her voice sharp. "Stop this, now. Slowly."
But I don't want to stop, Drizella thought giddily. She wanted to keep going, she wanted to lift more rocks, more of anything, until she had what it took to get back at her mother. Her head spun with ideas and anticipation so fast that she felt dizzy; the pile overhead shook violently, the light becoming blinding. Drizella just laughed, not even worried about something bad happening. What could be bad? She thought as she lifted the rocks a little higher.
"Drizella!" Regina yelled, "Stop! You're going to—"
In a burst of light and dust and rock, the pile exploded with a loud bang. Drizella felt her arms drop to her sides and she barely had time to duck out of the way of a flying shard of rock. Throwing her arms over her head—which were tingly with pins and needles—she felt pebbles hit her back and dust rain down on her.
When she was sure it was safe to remove her arms from her face, Drizella slowly stood up—only feeling slightly lightheaded—and looked at the rocks scattered around her. She turned and saw Regina straightening from her crouch and wiping a hand across her dust covered forehead.
"See what I mean about controlling your emotions?" Regina huffed as she wiped her face and picked pebbled out of her hair.
Drizella just grinned, looking at the small explosion she had created. "Sorry, I got caught up in the moment. Won't happen again." She said as she looked back at Regina.
Regina nodded as she placed her hands on her hips, "Good. Now, I think that's all for today. We'll meet back here tomorrow."
Drizella nodded, "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow. And thank you for helping me, Regina." Her voice turned somber, expression sober. "Really, I would've never known I could be able to do this without you."
The Queen gave her a soft smile and shrugged, "You just needed someone to believe in you. We all do." She placed a hand on Drizella's shoulder and squeezed lightly. "You have the ability to be good, Drizella. You have a choice. I wish someone had told me that sooner." She rolled her eyes to the left, as if remembering an old conversation.
Drizella hummed, "I'll remember that, Regina." She placed her hand on top of the Queens and held it briefly. "I'm glad I have you to help me see that."
Regina smiled brightly, "I'm glad you let me." She slipped her hand out of Drizella's and took a step back. "Have a good night, Drizella." She nodded.
"You too, Regina." Drizella nodded back before turning and heading into the small opening of the trees.
As Drizella walked down the path that would lead her back to Lady Tremaine's castle, she let herself smile and bask in the knowledge that her plan was working.
A/N: Thank you for reading! Please leave a review! xx