Love and Mischief
Chapter 2
Regina dreamed...
"Regina you're pregnant." Rebecka said
"Again?" Regina looked surprised then smiled. They'd thought Grace was their "miracle baby"
"It's twins" She smiled but there was a worried look in her eyes.
"What? What's wrong?"
"There's some risk. Your age is a minor point, but what's more worrying is the years of the infertility curse left some scaring on your womb. I'm worried about its elasticity to carry twins to term. Especially since you are over 40 biologically and women over 40 tend to have larger babies."
"Oh."
Yeah."
Regina then looked resolved. "I want them. I'll be fine. I carried Grace with no problem, I can do this too."
"You may need to go to Avalon then."
"Avalon? What does that have to do with this?"
"You were in Avalon during part of your pregnancy with Grace, right?"
"Yes, but-"
"The water everyone drinks in Avalon is naturally healing. That's why the adult age so slowly. Why they are all but immortal- according to legend."
"It didn't stop the progress of my pregnancy."
"The age slowing effect doesn't take hold until full biological adulthood- around age 25. The types and level of hormones that promote the development of the body resist the effects of the healing water. Most skilled healers have a small supply of Avalon water. The effects are known. Outside of Avalon the effects are much weaker and far more temporary. But you spent time on Avalon during your pregnancy. It was long enough to make all the scarring disappear until after Grace was born. But it's back now. If it was just one baby I'd say the healers here could make sure you'd be fine, but twins really complicate things."
"If I have to I'll go to Avalon. But I want to try it staying here. I have faith in everyone to get us through."
The months swiftly flew by. Regina seemed to be right, she was fine and so were the babies. But one month before the babies were due, it all fell apart. Early labor started and accelerated so quickly there was no chance of anyone opening a portal and getting her to Avalon. Regina and the babies made it through, but her health was permanently damaged. It took months for her to even be able to attempt going down the stairs, and longer still before she made it back to the mayor's office. Henry blamed Robin for what happened and Roland, Hope and Grace were terrified for a long time that they would lose their mother. They blamed their new siblings for almost killing her.
Regina awoke with a gasp of dismay. She quickly conjured a pregnancy test and fled to the bathroom…
Robin dreamed…
At first they greeted the news of the surprise pregnancy with joy and sheepish smiles to their friends and family members old enough to know how babies were made.
"Six children, you'll have six children to take care of" Snow chided Robin and Regina, and then shook her head ruefully.
"Henry will be 18 soon. He's not a child anymore. He'll be busy with college classes. Roland will be in school part of the day and Hope will be in kindergarten in the fall after the babies are born. Grace will be four before they are born and can go to preschool part of the day- she'll probably want to so she and Hope can go to school together. Robin and I have handed a household of with two infants and school age children before." Regina shot back defensively.
"I know, and goodness knows if anyone can handle it, you two can."
"Thank you." Robin smiled sheepishly. "We didn't think Regina could have any more. We thought Grace was a gift."
Snow smiled kindly. "Apparently when you broke the curse on the Mills women you must have broken the infertility curse as well."
Regina smiled lopsidedly. "Apparently so."
The prognosis from Rebecka wasn't as lighthearted. "This is a big risk. Regina's womb is damaged permanently from the years of infertility curse. There are large scars; her womb may not be able to expand to hold two full term fetuses. I'll be blunt; this could kill her before a healer could save her."
Regina though insisted on continuing the pregnancy.
To Robin's horror Rebecka's prediction came true. They were able to save the babies but not Regina. Devastated, he stood at a graveside one baby in his arms, the other in his sister's. The babies were crying, his two little girls were inconsolable, Roland had silent tears rolling down his cheeks, and Henry stared at him with blame and anger—
"No!" Robin's eyes shot open. "No" he said softly, tears in his eyes, he wouldn't let this happen, he would do anything to save her... Robin drifted back into a dream. This time it was a bit different...
"It's extremely risky" Rebecka gravely informed them.
"I want to continue, I want our babies." Regina looked determined.
"Can we do this?" Robin looked at Rebecka pleadingly "Tell me there's something we can do to make sure Regina's life isn't in danger."
"The last trimester you'll need to be on complete bed rest with at least a low level healer in residence. If there's even a tiny change in how you feel, the healer needs to immediately call on as many higher level healers as they can right away. Do not attempt to get here or the hospital. Any equipment we might need we'll transport with us. Even with this the risk is high your health will be permanently compromised."
"I don't care. I want to have these babies." Regina insisted.
Again Rebecka's dire prediction came true. Regina lived as did the babies. But her health was precarious for months and she never fully recovered. Hope and Grace resented the twins for ruining their mother's health. Roland took months to get over his fear that he would lose a mother for a second time. Henry blamed Robin for ruining his mother's health with this unplanned pregnancy and was more distant with the twins than he was with his other siblings...
Robin awoke. "No, I'll not accept this; there must be something else we can do..." Robin drifted back to sleep. Again they were in Rebecka's clinic-
"Surely there's something more we can do. Something where Regina will be okay."
"Avalon. That's your only real chance."
Robin was able to persuade Regina to go to Avalon for the rest of her pregnancy. There the babies and Regina came through the pregnancy safely. But Morgan spoke to them before they returned to Storybrooke.
"These children do have ties to you, but you didn't have to be their parents. Other family members could have had them and the bond would have been as strong."
Robin awoke fully this time. Regina was in the bathroom. He got up and went to her.
Regina looked at the test in her hand. She sat back down on the toilet, shuddering with relief; she wasn't pregnant. Still she'd call Rebecka and ask her to run a full pregnancy test.
Robin walked in then and saw the test in her hand. "So you had the dreams too. Are you?"
Regina shook her head no.
Robin sighed with relief. "Maybe I should start wearing a condom."
"They break." Regina looked at him morosely
"They do... I warned Henry about that when we talked about..."
Regina looked slightly uncomfortable but then added. "I told Violet that too last year. She said they weren't yet. Then asked me, even though she worked there, could I go with her to the clinic to get birth control."
"You did?"
Regina huffed out a short laugh. "I did. It's not like she could have told Hank."
Robin grinned. "Barring his first reaction, the poor man would be embarrassed to even walk in there. He's one of the few that prefers the hospital."
Regina looked rueful. "Here we were lecturing them though, and they've been more responsible than us."
"We didn't know there was any chance for more children and you did so well with Grace."
"I know. But I think I should go on birth control."
Robin nodded. "But in my dream Morgan told us-"
"We went to Avalon in your dream?"
"The third one."
"Three? I just had one; we didn't go to Avalon, no time."
Robin let out a shuddering breath and sat down on the floor. He looked down and stroked a finger down her leg. "In the first one…I…lost you. The babies lived…you…didn't"
"Oh Robin" She leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder, reached down and caressed the wrist that had his lion tattoo.
"The second, you lived and the babies, but it hurt you…permanently."
"That was like mine. And the third?"
"We went to Avalon and everything was okay. But after the babies were born Morgan told us that although they were tied to us, we didn't have to be the ones to have them. No matter who in our family had them, the bond would be as close."
"Good. I think I have an idea of what to do. Let me talk to Tinkerbell. I think the dreams were to warn us."
When they went down to breakfast Henry was already up. Regina noticed he looked anxious and tired. "Did you have nightmares last night too?"
"Yeah. Every time I fell back to sleep, and about everyone. Mom? Are you pregnant?" Henry blushed lightly asking her that kind of question.
"So you dreamed about it too. Robin and I did as well. No, I'm not."
Henry's shoulders sagged with relief.
"I think we can pretty much confirm someone was warning us now. What dreams did you have about others?"
Henry looked at his much younger siblings eating the pancakes he'd made, then back at Robin and Regina and shook his head no.
Regina nodded.
Henry sighed. "I'm just glad I'm graduated and college hasn't started yet. I'm really tired, Mom."
Robin noticed neither Roland or the girls looked anxious or tired. He whispered to Henry "No nightmares for them?"
"Not that they told me."
"Thank goodness for small blessings, then." Regina said softly.
Regina's phone buzzed. It was Emma.
"Regina? Did you and Robin have some really vivid nightmares last night? Ones that felt like premonitions?"
"Yes" She said, walking into the living room. "Henry too."
"Henry? That means the kids too. Did-"
"No. Neither Roland or the girls from how they are acting. Henry asked too."
"So maybe teens and adults then, not the kids."
"Possibly. How many that you know?"
"All the adults I've talked to."
"Henry is almost 18 and he's the author. Whoever did this to us might have considered him an adult because of that."
"Did he say whether Violet had?"
"Not yet, but she's already 18, so likely."
Henry was standing in the doorway. Regina could hear Robin in the breakfast nook with Roland and the girls, distracting them with a funny story. She motioned Henry into the room and handed him the phone.
"Yeah mom, she texted me. She had a couple. Her dad is freaking out about his. Doesn't want her to leave the house today."
Emma sighed. "I'll ask dad if he'll drive over and talk to Hank."
"Grandpa and Grandma had nightmares too?"
"Yeah kid, they did. Killian and I did as well. It's been a rough night for all of us. Regina said you'd had some too."
"Yeah, about everyone. Mom and Robin think they might be some kind of warning. What they dreamed about hasn't happened yet."
"Same here."
Regina took the phone back. "We'll meet here, after the kids are in bed. We've gotten too complacent; someone got the drop on us."
"The question is who. Don't think it's Gold. Not his style."
"Plus he's not here. Hasn't shown his face here in over a year. He seemed bored when he was. Visited Belle and Bae, talked to Henry briefly, then left. We're beneath his notice. He has bigger schemes."
"Your sister is dead, Sidney's safely locked up, your friend Mal is reformed-"
"Your friend Lilly, not her style. Keith is too stupid, its not violent enough and its too sophisticated for Albert. Plus neither of them have magic and no one with magic would want to have anything to do with them."
"I can't think of anyone else"
"I can, but I don't think she has that kind of power."
"She? You think?"
"Possibly. She has the motive, and it's more her style than anyone else's, but she doesn't have the skill or power. At least I've seen no evidence, certainly not on this level."
"So you think someone is allied with her?"
"Likely. Someone from outside of Storybrooke with powerful dream magic that doesn't know her that well."
"You think she found someone that powerful in this world, outside of Storybrooke? Convinced them to come here and do this for some reason?"
"Not much a theory, I know. But I know you saw her once crossing back over the town line. She does have motive too."
"Okay, so she's top of the suspect list. Anyone else?"
"One, but no one's seen him for years, and how could he get back in. Plus how could he travel realms and bring someone here. He's not been the author for quite a while, so doesn't have the power to do this."
"Isaac."
"Yeah."
"Didn't you say that Tinkerbell told you that most the authors had some level of magic?"
"Yeah."
"Maybe he never left; we know he's really skilled at hiding."
"Possibly."
"This kind of pain would fit his M. O."
"M.O.?"
"Bail Bondman talk, his style."
"But even if he has a little natural power, this is very powerful stuff. I don't think even Mal could do this. Nor I."
"Gold?"
"Maybe he could have that level of power if he found the right spell, but I just don't think he thinks we're a threat to him anymore. We're beneath him."
"Guess that's a good thing."
"For now."
Emma nodded. Even if he thought they were beneath him and no real threat, if he thought anyone in Storybrooke was trying to thwart his plans he'd attack in an instant. For now he wasn't in Storybrooke and whatever his big plan was, he hadn't acted on it. Until they knew what it was and how much a threat it was it would be dumb to tip their hand that Belle was doing her best to try to find out.
After she finished the conversation with Emma, Regina called Rebecka and told her about the nightmares.
"So you had nightmares too. Mulan and I kept having variations on our nightmares every time we went back to sleep."
"That's what happened to Robin too. I just had the one because it woke me up completely. Henry had nightmares about everyone all night."
"Poor Henry."
"I know."
"So I'm guessing yours had something to do with the health of someone in your family."
"Me. I want you to run your most sophisticated medical and magical tests to see if I'm pregnant or not."
"Sure. I have a cancellation at 1 PM. Have any idea on who did that nightmare spell on all of us?"
"We'll be meeting to try to figure out that tonight after the kids are asleep. You have any thoughts, your welcome to come too."
"Not my forte or Mulan's but if you find out anything pass it along."
"I will. Robin will be coming in too for the appointment. I think we both want to talk to you about birth control options. The pregnancy test I did this morning said I wasn't pregnant. I think Robin and I were being warned that I shouldn't get pregnant."
"Uh huh. Your uterus has a lot of scaring in it from the effects of that potion. A pregnancy wouldn't be wise, not unless you went to Avalon."
"That's what you said to Robin and me in our dreams, but I was already pregnant with twins."
"Not good,"
"I know. I want to prevent it, so does Robin."
"Okay, we'll talk more when you get here."
To everyone's relief, Regina was indeed not pregnant.
"I generally can't sense a soul until they are already loosely attached to a fetus. But I can sense both of them. I think you got your warning dreams just in time. They are definitely tied to you."
"But Morgan said we didn't have to be their parents, that others in our family could be and it didn't have to be right now."
"You might need Tinkerbell. She can help you talk to them and persuade them to wait and let someone else be their parents. I don't have that kind of skill."
"So it could work if we spoke to them?"
"Yes, I believe so. But lets get some birth control started right away, and no intercourse until it's effective."
"I could do something too, to keep it from happening?" Robin asked.
"Yes. It's called a vasectomy."
"I'll do it."
"If you'd rather have Doctor Whale do it I can speak to him. I understand if you'd be uncomfortable about a woman doing this procedure.
"No!" Both Robin and Regina shouted Then Robin looked embarrassed "Sorry for the outburst. I just would rather never go to that man for any medical thing. I can deal with the slight embarrassment of whatever you have to do."
"Okay. I know a lot of people in Storybrooke have similar feelings about Doctor Whale.
"He's repulsive" Regina spat out.
"Understood." Rebecka pulled out her tablet and typed in the link. Then handed the tablet to Robin. "This is what a vasectomy is."
Robin glanced at the diagram. "I'll do it. When can you schedule it?"
Rebecka called Nova at the reception desk. "When's my next day with no patients scheduled?"
"Okay, good. That should be fine."
"Would two weeks from today work for you?"
"Yeah."
"In the meantime Regina I have the pills you can start taking today and an activated herb with it as backup. Wait at least 3 days before any intercourse though, maybe longer under the circumstances."
"We can wait. I want this thing with those souls connected to us fixed first."
"Talk to Tinkerbell. I've vaguely heard of a ritual that might work, she probably knows of it. From what I recall about the ritual it was a fairy spell."
"I will."
Regina called Tinkerbell right after they got in the car and told her about what had happened.
"So we weren't the only ones. I'll tell Mal as soon as she comes back."
"Back?"
"Back. She turned into a dragon and said she'd hunt down whoever did this."
Regina sighed "You did tell her to bring them back alive so we could question them?"
"I did. Hopefully she calms down enough if she does, that she to listened to me. You think it's more than one person?"
"That's our guess, with this many people affected. And about Robin and my dreams, do you know of anything we could do to talk to these souls and tell them to be a bit more patient?"
There was a long pause from Tinkerbell. "And to ask them to choose someone else in your family as their parents? Yeah but whoever is offering to be their parents needs to be there too..."
"So we'll need to talk with everyone and see who would."
"Yes. Okay. Well everyone will be at the house tonight anyway. We'll just make it another topic of discussion..."
"Would you want Mal and I to be there too?"
"Yes." Despite the situation, Regina smiled as she hung up. Maleficent and Tinkerbell, who would have thought a few years ago. The dragon and the fairy. But the two had taken an instant liking to each other and it grew from there. Was it true love? Who knew? They were happy though. That sounded like true love to her. The same as Mulan and Rebecka, Rowena and Wilfred, and she had to admit it, Henry and Violet. Her little prince was all grown up...
That evening they all sat in Regina's formal dining room. Henry and Violet included.
Hank had finally agreed to let Violet leave the house when Emma arrested Keith for his twelfth DUI. Hank's nightmare was Keith, driving drunk, struck Violet with his car that evening and seriously injured her. Keith was sitting in the Storybrooke jail with no bail allowed. He'd be in jail until his trial, and with his history and so clear evidence, this time hopefully he'd be serving the longest sentence they could give him. With any luck it'd be years before Keith stepped foot outside a jail cell.
Mal was glowering as she sat down, "I could see the magic signature but they must have a strong illusion powers, there was no one there where the trail lead me."
"Was it one you'd seen before?" Regina asked
"No. Definitely not male though. That's all I could tell."
"That rules out Gold for sure, then." Emma responded.
"And if you didn't recognize it, then it wasn't the Blue Fairy." Robin said
Tinkerbell laughed. "She couldn't do this; she doesn't have that kind of power."
"But she could have manipulated someone who could. She has the clearest motive" Regina said
"Yeah, hate to say it, but she does." Snow looked distressed. Despite all that happened she stilled had hoped her fairy godmother would give in to her loss of power with grace.
"So what now?" David came to the point. "An intervention isn't going to work with her; we'll have to catch her in the act somehow."
"Agreed." Regina nodded her head. "Tinkerbell do you know the real level of her power?"
"Not as much as she pretends she has. The Dark One caught her off guard more than once. He was more powerful than her even the first time that happened."
"What about compared to us?" Emma asked.
"Hard to say. Regina is the only one of you that I can see her full magic potential"
"Because you were supposed to have been her fairy godmother, right?" Snow said
"Yes. The good news is that Regina's light magic power is actually stronger than hers. The Blue fairy saw that prophesy about her being the savior in the Enchanted Forest so she suspects Regina is more powerful."
"So fairies can tell how powerful another fairy is?" Mulan asked.
"Yes. She made sure everyone was aware she was the most powerful fairy, of us and had us in a strict hierarchy by power limits."
"Tinkerbell was higher up than me." Iris said.
"Way higher than me. I was near the bottom" Nova looked sad. "She claimed I could become a fairy godmother one day if I just applied myself."
"She was just using you." Leroy growled.
"Used a lot of us, including me." Emma responded.
"But she can't anymore so she's likely found some way to used someone even more powerful than her."
"So how are we going to catch her in the act?" Belle questioned.
"The most likely way is to find whoever she's manipulated and confront them. They may not be evil. No one's nightmares seem to be just designed to frighten us, they seem to be warnings of things we have to prevent. Some sooner than others."
"Yeah, mine was years from now. It was about Rumple taking Bae away from me once her magic became active."
"When?"
"When she's 10."
"We'll all help keep him from doing that."
"Thank you. I'm just afraid he's made himself too powerful for anyone to stop him."
"We won't take him on alone then, none of us." Regina said firmly
"Remember that, my love, when the time comes." Robin took her hand.
Regina nodded. Then her expression became solemn. "I'm afraid Robin and I will need to ask a major favor too. To those of you that are couples and have some kind of family bond to one or the other of us."
"Is it what happened in your dreams?" Snow asked.
"Perhaps I should tell them, since I had multiple versions of the dream. " Robin said.
"Okay." Regina replied.
"They all involved twin souls. Rebecka can sense them even though Regina isn't pregnant yet-"
"I know you somehow had Grace, but didn't you curse yourself with the infertility potion?" Emma asked.
"Yes, mother came and tried to manipulate me into marrying Nottingham-"
"Nottingham? " David looked incredulous.
"I know. Even as far gone as I was then, I saw through what Mother tried to do. I dispatched Nottingham to my dungeon for a few hours-"
Everyone laughed. No one liked him and if anyone deserved a few hours in the Evil Queen's dungeon, he was one. Even Mulan quirked a small smile. She still hadn't completely warmed up to Regina but she despised Nottingham/Keith as much as the others.
"What did you think your mother would do?" Snow gently asked.
"Wait a few years until any children were old enough to be molded by her, and arrange some kind of 'tragic accident' to befall my partner and I. Then she'd do to my children what she did to me and rule my kingdom. I cursed myself to prevent that from ever happening. I regretted doing it immediately and even more so when Robin and I got together. I thought I would never have a child but apparently being soulmates can overcome that. But what it can't overcome is the scarring on my womb. I spent enough time in Avalon when I was pregnant with Grace that it temporarily healed my womb, long enough to carry her safely to term. But now the scarring is back, it's twins, plus my age too..."
"It's too dangerous. You don't have to tell us any more about your dreams. What can we do to help?" Snow looked Regina in the eyes and took her hand.
"There's a magic ritual, Tinkerbell knows it."
"We'll go out by the lake tonight. Ask the souls if they will choose to be the children of another couple in the family. They will have a close bond to Robin and Regina so it's like being surrogate parents, but they'll have a bond to you too. It's more likely to be successful if the alternate parents are connected by family."
"So that means David and I are one couple." Snow nodded
"Wilfred and I are another." Rowena said
"Us too." Violet looked at Henry, and he nodded emphatically.
"You're too young!" Regina and Emma both cried out. Robin nodded, he though so too.
"I think we can convince the souls to wait, if they choose Henry and Violet"
"Moms, Robin. Violet's already 18 and I'll be 18 in two months. We're adults. We're in." Henry glared back at them.
"But how will you support them. You just finished high school, haven't started college yet, even your incomes combined in Storybrooke isn't enough to raise a family on." Emma argued.
The two teens looked crestfallen, neither had thought about that.
Regina looked at Robin. Robin nodded; he had a good idea what Regina was going to say. They both knew Henry's nature and had gotten to know Violet's. She had proved to be as tenacious as either of Henry's mothers, although more freely kindhearted. It was the combination of both those factors that made accepting Violet easier for Regina as well as the girl's intelligence. "I'll accept you too, on these conditions. We get these souls to wait a few years. I want you both to finish your college degrees, at least your undergraduate degrees, I want you both working in your careers, getting a decent paycheck. I'll pay for the first down payment and cosign on whatever house you want to live in here. I know you'll want a place of your own, and you deserve it. "
"Mom..." Henry looked overwhelmed.
Regina smiled. "And that goes for whether they choose you are not."
"I'll help you out too, kid, whatever happens." Emma said
"Us too." Snow said firmly.
"Absolutely" David agreed.
"If you want to work more time at the shop or at the library, either or both of you, any time to get more of a head start on savings, I'd be glad to have you." Belle offered.
"I can always use your help at the clinic, Violet, if you want to work more days now that you are graduated and before your classes start." Rebecka stated.
Before long everyone else in the room had offered some form of help to the young couple...
Rebecka, Mulan, Belle, Emma and Killian stayed at Regina's house to keep an eye on all the sleeping little ones, while Regina, Robin, Rowena, Wilfred, Henry, Violet, Tinkerbell and Maleficent headed out to the lake. Maleficent would guard the magical perimeter during the ritual.
As they walked to the spot David whispered to Snow. "I know you had Emma and Neal okay, but this is twins and you had a cursed womb too, what if there's the same problem, if there's more than one?"
"I..." Snow looked conflicted. "But wouldn't Rebecka have said something if that was the case? I go to her for my checkups too."
At the same time Wilfred was expressing doubts of his own. "Rowena, you just had Cedric last year. We'd have five kids if it's us, three of them infants. Can we handle that?"
"I want to, but yeah it's going to be a lot on us. But someone needs to, Regina can't."
Henry and Violet though held hands and smiled at each other, they knew if it was them they could do it. Any hint of doubts had been washed away with all the offers of support and the conditional blessing of Regina. Henry was certain the twin souls would be happy to wait if it was them.
Maleficent cast the protective circle once everyone was inside the area, then Tinkerbell cast the circle around the ritual space.
Tinkerbell spoke the words of the spell ritual and the space was filled with a soft glow. They could see two balls of light floating near Robin and Regina.
Rowena let out a soft gasp, she was the one least experienced at seeing this kind of magic.
"Who first steps forward to be the parents of these souls?"
"We do" Snow said emphatically as she and David stepped forward a step.
The twin souls moved toward them and hovered, but then moved back to Robin and Regina. Tinkerbell shook her head no, but Snow knew they hadn't passed whatever test the souls needed.
"Sorry Regina." Snow said sadly.
"It's okay. Let's continue."
"Who next steps forward?"
"We do." Rowena said softly. She and Wilfred took a step forward. The twin souls moved forward again, but after a few minutes again moved back to Robin and Regina.
"Sorry."
"It's fine." Regina squared her shoulders. Robin took her hand reassuringly; whatever happened he'd make sure she was okay.
"Who next steps forward?"
"We do!" Henry and Violet chorused with confidence.
The twin souls moved forward and hovered. This time they glowed more brightly and stayed by Henry and Violet.
"You have been chosen." Tinkerbell said solemnly.
"We will love you as much as if you were our biological children." Regina assured the souls "Will you be willing to wait a few years until Henry and Violet have finished their educations and have careers so that they can give you the best possible lives?"
The twin souls glowed again.
"They've agreed." Tinkerbell said.
Regina sighed with relief and Robin drew her into his arms. They'd done it.
Tinkerbell ended the ritual and Maleficent dropped the protective barrier.
"So? Successful?" Maleficent asked.
"Yes." Tinkerbell smiled
Maleficent smiled back. Then she turned to Regina. "So who did they choose?"
"Us!" Henry and Violet grinned.
"Good." Maleficent still didn't completely trust Regina's stepdaughter and her husband. As for Robin's sister and her husband, they were too normal to truly deal with a situation like that. Regina's son and his girlfriend were the best choice.
"Especially since we got them to wait until Henry and Violet finish their degrees and start working." Regina said.
"A different realm from what we grew up in, yes."
"Better."
"Indeed. I have space to be alone and am not facing constant hostile invasions. I have my daughter back."
"And you have me." Tinkerbell grinned.
"I do. It's nice to have good company."
"Company?" Tinkerbell said in mock outrage as the two women walked away together. Soon there was a laugh in the distance from Maleficent, and a giggle from Tinkerbell as they transformed to their dragon and fairy forms for a faster trip home.
Everyone else got back into their vehicles. Regina let the others leave before them. She glanced back at the young couple cuddled together in the back seat of the family SUV with a lopsided smile. Robin touched her shoulder. She looked at him. He gazed at her with that look that warmed her soul. "It's alright now, even I can feel it." He said gently.
"Yes." Then she turned back around, locked her seat belt in place and started the engine for the short drive back to their house.
As the headlights disappeared, a shimmer of light from behind a tree reveals a woman with long curly black hair dressed in a fuchsia and gold sari. Maya smiled. Her dreams had worked; they'd made the right choice. This was a strange realm that she'd suddenly been called to, but people were much the same in their souls.
