So… I'm back. I know I haven't updated in forever, life has just been incredibly hectic these last few months. I give you chapter 2 – a complete filler chapter, but things start picking up from here. It's almost holiday so hopefully then I will have more time to write. As always, thank you for the lovely reviews, follows and favourites.
DISCLAIMER: Not mine. Oh… and I took A LOT of liberties and will continue to take a LOT of liberties with Once, a few other fairytales, mythology and folklore. So while no one in this fic belongs to me, I took them out to play with them. ;)
Chapter 2.
Regina stayed frozen in her seat when the meeting disbanded, unable – or perhaps unwilling – to move. Robin hovered nearby, his eyes glued to his wife's frightened face and Snow looked around subtly.
"Charming, Killian… why don't the two of you keep the children busy for a minute?"
Charming nodded at once and the two men left quickly, calling the children as they left. Regina only looked up when she registered Roland's laughter and Sarah's loud squeal of joy and she gripped Robin's hand tightly.
"This is not good. Surely you realise that?"
Emma folded her arms over her chest in a nervous gesture.
"So… Blue said the wand was deadly in the wrong hands?"
Regina nodded curtly.
"It was created by the darkest magic known to mankind… No one is even sure who the creator is, what the origin of the wand is but… only the strongest of all dark magic practitioners would go near it. It was safe with the fairies, they'd never be tempted to use it."
"Why not?"
Regina shrugged lightly, seemingly calming down when Robin entwined his fingers with hers.
"Anyone who is not truly dark… dark enough to handle the wand… will die if they even attempt to use it. Not a sacrifice the fairies would willingly make. They despise dark magic in all its forms."
Emma lifted her chin bravely.
"So… you and I have light magic, so does Blue. We fight whoever this is."
Regina shook her head tiredly.
"It's not that easy, Emma. We don't know who this is, we don't know where they are or what the plan is… We don't know anything and that puts us in a very dangerous position. It means whoever this is can take us by surprise."
Snow smiled and her eyes lit up.
"Regina… whoever this is lost the element of surprise. We know someone took the wand, so we can start preparing. And they most probably don't realize we know yet. We have time. Besides, you know by now… good always wins."
Regina's smile was tight and not at all convincing, but she nodded quickly and looked at Emma.
"I guess this means we need to sharpen up our light magic skills."
Emma flexed her fingers with a wide grin.
"If it means we're going to take down someone who is threatening our family… I'll be glad to suffer under your tutelage again."
Snow laughed gently and Regina leaned back in her chair, sighing when she felt Robin's hand softly caressing her neck. Despite the optimism around the table, she could not get rid of the nagging fear gnawing at her. However… she was not going into any battles alone. She was going in with her family and perhaps there was something to be said for Snow's optimism.
Perhaps good would win.
They knew.
Where she stood at the edge of the forest, black eyes scrutinising the castle, fury built up in the woman holding onto the Black Fairy's wand. They weren't supposed to find out this soon, it was not supposed to happen like this. She needed time to perfect her plan and she would not be able to do that with the blasted Queen breathing down her neck.
She had not counted on the annoying blue bug to actually tell the council – she was aware of the fact that Blue despised Regina and she had counted on that to keep her taking the wand quiet. Of course this meant she had to make another plan. It was vital that she kept the element of surprise and with a swirl of the wand she melted into her surroundings – able to walk the borders of the castle undetected.
As luck would have it, she spotted them just as she was about to give up – the young princes and their little princess sister outside in the courtyard – attended only by the handless pirate and the boyish prince. It was almost too good to be true and her eyes ran over them excitedly.
Henry – the oldest was too old to be of any real value for her. He would not be as easy to manipulate, he would not replace-
She stopped her thoughts from going in that awful direction and allowed her eyes to glide over the youngest two – Daniel and Sarah. Whereas Henry was too old to use, these two were barely able to walk on their own. They wouldn't help either, but the final boy…
She looked gleefully at the bright smile and mop of black curls and nodded slowly, letting long black nails travel over the wand in her hands.
Roland would do perfectly.
With no magic users around to contend, it was almost too easy and within a second all the figures in the courtyard were frozen. The dark sorceress basked in the fear visible in their eyes as she slowly moved out of the shadows to approach the group of children. Soon, her attention was focused on only one and she knelt down next to him, looking into the wide brown eyes.
"Don't be afraid of me, young one. I will not harm you."
He struggled when she pulled him into her arms, but with a single wave of her hand the freezing spell on his body was reactivated and he stilled against her, a single tear freezing in its run down his plump cheek. One more look at the frightened faces surrounding her then she was gone, the boy clutched tightly in her arms.
The sorceress was barely gone when chaos broke out on the courtyard – Henry, Hook and Charming all screaming, calling for guards or help at once while the little ones burst into tears. As terrified as they had been, Charming and Hook's fear multiplied when they heard the familiar click of heels behind them. As much as she had abandoned her Evil Queen title, Regina was still pretty terrifying and no one wanted to tell her that they were powerless watching Roland be taken away by a dark witch.
She noticed his absence immediately, her eyes darkening and cheeks flushing. Regina did not notice Snow, Emma and Robin appearing behind her. She did not notice the many guards appearing around them, or the fairies flying above them. She only noticed the absence of a little boy she had sworn to protect and her voice dropped a few octaves, the danger seeping through.
"Where is he? Where is Roland, where is my son?"
"Regina…"
Charming faltered when she turned her gaze upon him and Hook took a shaky step forward, choosing to speak to the man behind the queen. Only now did Regina notice her husband's presence and she grabbed onto his arm for dear life, letting go of her rage when she noticed the distraught expression on his face.
Robin's voice cracked when he managed to speak, tears already forming in his eyes.
"Hook? What happened here? Where is Roland?"
"There was nothing we could do, mate…"
"No…"
The king sank down to his knees with a whimper, pulling his wife down with him and Regina wrapped her arms around his neck, her chest heaving with deep breaths as she attempted to calm herself.
Henry took a reluctant step towards his mother, his eyes filled with tears.
"Mom… the witch, she appeared out of nowhere and froze all of us. We couldn't speak or move, we tried mom… and before we knew it she was gone with Roland."
Regina looked up, staring dazedly as Snow and Emma scooped Sarah and Daniel up into their arms, their eyes widened at Henry's words.
"The witch?"
Henry nodded hesitantly.
"She had to be a witch… I mean, she had magic. She told Roland… she told him not to be afraid then she just disappeared."
Regina moved to her feet quickly, a frown playing between her brows as she looked at her son.
"What did she look like, Henry? We need to figure out who this is so we can get Roland back…"
Henry nodded, desperate to help.
"She looked kind of young… Younger than Emma, but older than me. She had very long black hair and a scar on her neck… It looked like…"
"I know her."
Hook interrupted the boy and every face turned towards the pirate expectantly. He sighed deeply and wrapped his arm around Emma, smiling absently when Daniel gripped onto his thumb.
"You know her?"
Regina's voice was sharp and he nodded.
"Aye. I met her before I was a pirate, when she was the sister of a king."
Snow frowned and tilted her head.
"Which king, Killian?"
Hook sighed deeply.
"King Arthur of Camelot. Her name is Morgana."