Regina-centric ficlet.
Have I told you about a girl with long raven hair with a heart of coal?
Who allowed hatred and bitterness to choke every bit of kindness remaining in her as she believed in the words of her mother that love is weakness.
Whose dark eyes have seen the vile acts of her own mother and yet was powerless to stop it, and in turn, did the same as she rip the heart out of the unsuspecting groom who reminded her of her own loss.
Whose lips that curled into a smile as she relished in the terror she caused to the villagers that dared stood against her in her search for vengeance, is the very same person whose upper lip bear the memory of a hard lesson that taught her not every hurt can be healed and not every scar can be faded with time.
Whose hands that offered a cursed apple to her sworn enemy subjecting her to an eternal prison, are the same ones that once held the reins of her beloved steed as they breezed past the forest, hoping to catch that glimpse of freedom only to be confined again to a life that does not belong to her.
Perhaps you would be surprised to find that behind her vile acts, there is an untold past that haunts her.
Perhaps you would be even more surprised to find that those very same eyes, now shine with love for her son as he smiles back at her, proud at her for believing in herself and for being the hero he knew she could be.
Those very same lips, now turning upward into a smirk as her stepdaughter-turned-enemy-turned-family and her insipid husband teased her mercilessly about her barely contained displeasure of her son's new found crush.
Those very same hands, now carrying her homemade lasagna as insisted by the old wolf ("I am not catering another party so bring your own meat!") to a celebratory party after relieving her friend of the dagger and its power.
It seems that the heart of coal which once burns with hatred and anger now burns with a fiery passion of her life, redeemed and reclaimed, now set ablaze with love for her family.
Thoughts? :)