Heart beats fast
Colors and promises
How to be brave?
How can I love when I'm afraid to fall?
But watching you stand alone,
All of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow.
One step closer
Maleficent watches as Regina blossoms into a ruler, graceful and beautiful in all the ways she wanted. She had known her for many years now, longer even than their existence on the earthly plane, though her current consciousness couldn't recall this fact. It was only recently they had met in this lifetime, two lonely souls consumed by hate, though Regina's burned brighter every day while hers dimmed.
They spent many days together in her castle, not necessarily speaking but keeping the other company just the same. It was on one of these days, one where the young queen looked absolutely gorgeous in some new gown, that she realized that she loved her. It came as any other thought, no widening of the eyes or theatrical gasp to accompany it, but she knew just the same. And for the first time in many, many years, she felt the twisting of fear in her stomach. It was very small, almost unnoticeable, but there all the same.
But she was never one to bow to fear.
True, she was wary of beginning something with the other woman simply because she could see the darkness feeding on her soul and draining her very being. She observed as the woman stood alone and ran a kingdom, simultaneously crafting a devastating form of revenge. It wasn't until Regina presented her with the dark curse that all her fear vanished. If she was to save her, she needed to act now.
When she kissed the younger brunette and made love to her for the first time she wasn't aware that it was the last time she would see her before the darkness completely consumed her.
Time stands still
Beauty in all she is
I will be brave
I will not let anything take away
What's standing in front of me
Every breath
Every hour has come to this
One step closer
Maleficent will be damned if she lets Regina cast the curse. She thought their night together had softened something in the other woman, because she's sure her affection isn't one-sided nor imagined. So when Regina comes to retrieve the curse she fights, but loses, because she is shocked at the woman Regina has become. Her once warm chocolate eyes are hard and nearly black, and anger radiates from her in waves. She is beaten, imprisoned in metal, but still she fights.
"If you're going to kill me, kill me," she says once, determined to find if the Regina she knew was still there.
"Why would I do that?" the brunette questions, snarky but genuinely confused. Then her eyes soften, just a fraction. "You're my only friend."
She leaves then, and with her the metal entrapping the older sorceress. Maleficent barely has time to think through the situation before the curse is cast and she's trapped in her other form.
I have died every day waiting for you
Darling, don't be afraid I have loved you
For a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more
And all along I believed I would find you
Time has brought your heart to me
I have loved you for a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more
One step closer
One step closer
She isn't sure how long it's been when she next sees daylight. Her former allies are there, along with the two idiots who came to stop them and failed. She doesn't care about them, she only cares about Regina. Her magic is all around them, and it's intoxicating. She had suffered loneliness for far too long, and now she was going to have her happy ending, fate be damned.
She searched out the other woman, surprised when Regina threw herself into her arms, sobbing and apologizing. She held her, murmured soothing words until she had calmed down.
"I've always loved you, you know," Regina whispers some time later after Maleficent's tended to her. The blonde looks down at her where she rests against her. "From the moment you revealed yourself to me in your castle, I've loved you."
There is sincerity in the words, along with regret and a few shades of long forgotten hero worship. Maleficent is stunned, her memory bringing forth a foggy half-forgotten memory of tender caresses and passion filled kisses in a foreign land when both were still powerful and feared. She knew she hadn't imagined the reflected attraction.
"Well that's wonderful," she responds just as Regina begins to feel on edge, "because I love you as well."
The kiss they share then is filled with love, and in a flash Maleficent remembers. She remembers a time before she was Maleficent and Regina was Regina, a time when they were two souls in the void, and remembers the literal attraction that had been present. She remembers being born first and feeling incredibly lost in a world without her other half. From the brunette's shocked gasp it's clear she remembers as well, and it only heightens their emotion.
It made sense then, then unyielding pull she had for the younger woman. Another memory pulls at her, and she allows it to wash over her.
They are still souls in the void, two halves of a whole, but she can sense a change. She senses they will soon be separated, and it's not long after she begins to fade. The soul that is now Regina cries out for her, tries to follow her or hold onto her.
"I will find you, always," she whispers before entering the shell now known as Maleficent.
"Destiny," Regina breathes as she recalls the same memory. "Soul mates. Forever."
"Always," Maleficent responds before kissing her again, feeling the cosmos sing as they embrace their future.
I have died every day waiting for you
Darling don't be afraid I have loved you
For a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more
And all along I believed I would find you
Time has brought your heart to me
I have loved you for a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more