It was brought to my attention by a stranger that some people seem to think I'm "botching" other movies and TV quotes as an attempt to support my lack of creativity. I am writing other stories and have written other stories without any parallels at all. I shouldn't have to explain myself, but this is something I wanted to do for me. Some of these quotes have a really personal meaning to me and I felt honored to include them. If this bothers you I'm sorry, but I'm in no way claiming rights to these pieces and trying to write them off as my own. I'm just doing what I love. I'd say that after this chapter I'd put a TW out but at this point I'm not sure what it will contain. I'll update when I have that information. Thank you for everyone who enjoys!
It's been at least twenty minutes since Cruella and Ursula left for their walk and Regina still cried uncontrollably, her head resting on Mal's shoulder. She wanted to stay away and keep her distance but she couldn't deny her need for human contact. Years and years of being strong and losing all of her happiness finally caused her to cave in. Two lost loves, a broken childhood, being almost killed at least fifty times; she didn't have enough tears to allow her to release the tension. Flashbacks were pounding through her skull every few seconds and causing her chest to fill up with the most hateful thoughts she thought possible. She seen herself sticking a dagger through Snow's heart, choking her mother until she was lifeless, telling her son to go find his happiness somewhere else. It was revolting, even to her.
Her heart still continued to pound with a constant changing of emotions and she felt like she was about to be sick. The fire in her hands would dance around and fall to ash in a repetitive motion, showing without words the ups and downs in her stability. The older woman said nothing to Regina but continued to rub her back soothingly and let her cry. She knew all too well what happens when you bottle things up for too long; Regina was the perfect example. She felt nothing more than terrible for her. She thought back to her own battles and remembered how close she was to losing the same control. She was on the edge so many times but had more power to pull herself back before she was too far gone.
The sound of footsteps entered their ears rather quickly as the two queens returned from outside.
"Well, well, what do we have -", Cruella started to tease on her way in as a fireball flew towards her, causing her to jump back.
"Get out.", Regina said through gritted teeth. She looked down into her lap but felt all of the eyes in the room on her. You could have cut the tension with a knife. Mal sighed to herself and felt a nervousness ticking in her heart. Right when she was close to helping this woman breathe and piece herself together those two had to come in and get her worked up again. They seem to be the cause of most of the group's problems, especially Cruella's urge to constantly open her fucking trap. She didn't think they knew the possible consequences of Regina's anger and pain. It wasn't something anyone but Maleficent was used to dealing with. She squeezed Regina's hand gently as an attempt to remind her that she was still there.
"Cruella please.", Mal pleaded with her, interrupting the two who looked like they were about to kill each other. "You need to give us some time because -"
"Why should I leave just because Ms. Perfect had a reality check and now she can't deal?" As quick as a flashRegina jumped up and flung towards her, grabbing her by the throat and holding her up against the wall.
"Do you not fucking understand? Look at us. We're villains. We are here to destroy everything and everyone else because we have nothing. You can go and get your happy ending and waltz away into the sunset with your octopus lover over here but it doesn't work like that for me. I have nothing. I have no happy ending to go back to. You can't tell me that you've never broken down and cried when you realized you lost it all. Let yourself fall apart in the middle of the night when no one was there to see it. Right now you are nothing more than a coward." She pushed harder on her neck and a violent tone echoed through her words. She was practically yelling now.
"Do you want to know what a reality check is Cruella? Watching your son give his real mother all of the love he never gave you. Having dreams about a man who no longer exists because your mother killed him right in front of your fucking eyes. Holding a sleeping curse an inch away from your hand because nothing else sounds better than putting yourself out. I…you don't…I can't…" Her voice broke as she let go of the taller woman's neck and turned away. "I can't." She felt the hot tears roll down her cheeks again as she closed her eyes and tried to pretend that none of this was happening. That she was back where she was meant to be living a life with someone who actually loved her. Her breathing shallowed as she became engulfed in a full blown panic attack. Cruella did her best to fight back the urge to snap, realizing just how serious this situation was getting. Regina was right, she had broken down more than once. For once, she felt a pang of sympathy. The pieces started forming together in her mind. Regina throwing small fireballs all night long and squeezing her hands open and shut. Her eyes widened.
Before she even had the chance to apologize and try to calm her down, they smelled smoke coming from the outside, the sunny glare turning into a dark haze.
"Jesus fucking Christ.", Cruella said slowly in shock as they all looked out from the cabin. The trees surrounding them were now burning the whole way down, bright orange embers flying onto the ground and the surrounding brush. Regina gasped at the sight and looked down at her hands, her skin now covered in black residue. She felt a burning sensation underneath her palms and it terrified her. She never felt the effects of her own magic before.
"Regina, Regina you need to stop this! You're going to burn the whole town down and in case you haven't noticed that includes us too!", Maleficent said in a panic. She shook Regina lightly by the shoulders in hopes that bringing her out of her state of mind would stop the forest from burning. "You have to have the power to stop the fire."
"Don't you see Maleficent? I can't."
"Yes you can! I know you can. We can fix this together. You don't have to be afraid."
"You're wasting your time." Ursula walked over to Regina and got an inch away from her face, looking as if she were about to knock her out.
"You are NOT going to stand there and let everyone fucking die because of your selfishness. What, just because you have nothing to live for means that everyone else should perish? I've come too far to be at the mercy of your hands.", she scoffed. "Maybe you were destined to have nothing you monster." This caused Regina to explode with rage as she walked outside, yelling at the women on the way out. Mal lifted her head as her and Cruella tried to stop Ursula before she continued to egg her on but quickly realized that they were too late.
"If I burn, you burn with me."
Cruella and Ursula started pacing back and forth muttering to themselves, quickly trying to find a way out of the situation. They didn't posses the power to poof themselves somewhere else at this point and it was pretty clear that no amount of water would put out the fire. They wondered how far the fire has spread and if the others down in Storybooke had any idea of their upcoming fate. The citizens of the town were so used to curses that they would expect a fiftieth round of sleeping curse before a fire. Maleficent ran out after Regina and grabbed her from behind, stopping her just a few feet away from the flames.
"What are you doing!? You're going to get yourself killed Regina." With the look of the hollowest of souls, she stared into Mal's eyes with a stare she's never seen before in her life.
"That's the plan."