A/N: Hope you enjoy.
Chapter Two: Nadja
Snow sat by the dancer (as Regina had grown to call her)'s bedside the next morning. Regina hadn't expected to see her there so early in the morning. And judging by the look on her face, Snow was just as surprised to see her as well. Snow greeted her with a smile. Despite everything that she'd been through she still looked as innocent as the day she rode into Regina's life.
It'd been three days since the dancer fell. Since then she'd been moved to a private, single bed room. The only machine connected to her small body monitored her heartbeat. She was breathing on her own. A good sign. Regina's eyes then fell on the story book in Snow's lap.
"David said he heard my voice. That it soothed him." Snow said. "Maybe it'll help her too."
Regina nodded.
Snow opened the book.
"The other day, you said you knew her." Regina said. "How?"
"I'm hoping she can tell me when she wakes up."
Regina gave Snow a wary look when she handed the book over. Snow excused herself to go to the restroom and call and check up on Neal and David. Regina sighed and took Snow's seat. She opened the book, turned to her story and began reading.
Wake up.
Regina looked up. Snow had returned with coffee. She thanked her with a smile.
Wake up.
"What?"
"You heard that, too?" Snow asked.
Wake up.
Regina and Snow shared a look. Then their gazes turned to the sleeping girl. Her brows were furrowed. Sweat glistened on her forehead. Regina closed the book. She pressed a hand to the girl's forehead.
"She's burning up."
"Fever?"
"I don't know."
Snow moved to the other side of the bed. She saw what Regina saw. The girl wasn't just sweating, she was drenched.
"What the hell?"
"Get Dr. Whale."
By the time Snow returned with the doctor, the dancer had begun unconsciously fighting Regina off. Whale and a nurse came over to help calm the girl.
Wake up!
Regina and Snow stared in horror at the girl who was in their heads. Or they were in hers. Either way, they wouldn't get answers until she woke up.
Wake up. Now!
The nurse removed a syringe from her pocket. Containing a sedative, Regina assumed. Dr. Whale took the syringe from the nurse and went to stick the girl. The dancer grabbed the syringe before it pierced her skin and bolted upright in the bed.
"Where am I?" she breathed.
"You're okay. You're in the hospital." Snow told her.
After scanning the unfamiliar faces in the room, the girl's mismatched eyes (one brown, one blue) found Regina's. She seemed to calm for only a moment. Then she vomited beside the bed.
The dancer sat up in bed reading Once Upon a Time. Although she'd kicked off the blankets and tied up her hair, she was far from comfortable. Dr. Whale had procured her a portable fan but it only helped a little. Why was she so hot? With a groan, the dancer closed the book and got out of bed.
Her body was stiff from sleeping in the same position for the past three days. But to say she'd broken her neck, she was perfectly fine. She walked barefoot down the air-conditioned hallway with no idea where she was going. Dr. Whale told her that she was in a town called Storybrooke. That he'd see to it that she got back to her family in Boston. She'd lied. She wasn't from Boston. And she didn't have family.
The dancer did a three-sixty when she saw the three women in the waiting area. Two of them had been in the room when she woke. The other was blonde and she wore a badge. A cop.
"Hi," the cop said. "Just the person we wanted to see."
The dancer turned.
"Why?"
"I'm Sheriff Swan. You can call me Emma." Emma said. "This is my mom Snow. And Mayor Mills."
"Your mom?"
Emma and Snow nodded.
"We were hoping you could tell us your name." Mayor Mills said.
"My name is Nadja."
The conversation was continued in the "privacy" of Nadja's room, as Emma said. Nadja only answered what was asked of her. Her full name, age, who her parents were. Nadja English, fourteen, deceased. The last thing she remembered before waking up in the hospital was preparing for a recital. Mayor Mills, oddly, wanted to know how long she'd been dancing.
"As long as I can remember," she told her.
Snow told her about the town. Nadja was sure she left out some key elements but she didn't call her on it. She also beamed about her son Neal and husband David. And apparently, she was old enough to be some kid named Henry's grandmother.
"You're staring," Nadja told Mayor Mills.
"I'm sorry."
"It's just that you look very familiar." Snow said. "Maybe we've met before."
"I think I'd remember if I met someone named after Snow White."
The Evil Queen woke to a terrible pain. No, this was before she was the Evil Queen. When she was just Regina the King's wife. The pain brought bile to her throat. She couldn't form any words so she screamed for help.
None came.
Nadja stood at the foot of the bed. Dressed in white like the last dream. Her eyes still ablaze. And she smiled at the hurting queen.
Regina jerked awake. It took a moment for her mind to realize that she wasn't in pain. That it was just a dream. Her eyes then focused on Snow, staring down at her with a concerned face.
"Snow?"
But it wasn't Snow.
It was Nadja.
"It's just a nightmare."
"How are you doing this? Why are you in my head?"
Nadia smiled. "I'm not in your head. You're in mine."
When Henry walked into his mother's room a few minutes later he found her alone. She looked like she'd seen a ghost.
tbc