This will be short, as it is a transition chapter
February 14, 1528
Winter Palace, Castelia
The announcement finally arrived this morning, to the disappointment of the entire court, including my husband. The child is a girl. Already they are trying to have Cora tried for adultery, as there hasn't been a female heir born to the Aragon line in two hundred years. It's completely ridiculous. That girl is absolutely Henry's child- Cora wouldn't dare risk her chances at the throne, the absolute witch.
She's been given the name Regina Ava Victoria. It's obvious that Cora named her, given the break of tradition, which states that one of her middle names be Isabella. She did that to spite me, I'm sure of it.
Sent word back with the courier expressing my congratulations. Cora won't want me anywhere near little Regina, but she's not the queen. I have the final say in this matter, as this child is the heir to Castelia.
Happy birthday, princess. Your Grandmother cannot wait to meet you.
Isabella's elegant script ended there, and Regina closed the diary almost in tears. She was loved from the very beginning, a thought that shook her to the core.
"And you saw fit to cut her out of my life?" The Queen snapped at Rumple, placing the diary in her coat pocket.
"Not immediately. I wanted to see if she would be of use." Regina didn't like the implications of that.
"What is that supposed to mean?" The Dark One smirked, and handed her a glowing white vial.
"Now, if I revealed everything at once, what would be the fun in that?" He gathered a few more ingredients from his shop and poured them into the vial.
"One at a time. Drink." Regina eyed him skeptically, but downed the potion anyway. It was the only way she was going to get some answers.
The bitter tasting liquid was tough to swallow, but as soon as she did she felt a stabbing pain erupt at the base of her skull, and cried out sharply.
"Recovering forgotten memories is quite unpleasant business. You might want to sit down for this next bit." She heard him but was only half listening. Her vision was starting to blur, and she was having trouble breathing.
Soon, she was swept up in one of her earliest memories, a grand estate coming into view.