Zelena learned and gained many things in the company of the dragons. Maleficent was the Dragon Queen, the Great Beast that razed entire kingdoms, destroyed armies single clawed, one of if not the most powerful being in existence, but looking at her now, you'd never be able to tell such. Maleficent was every bit the patient and caring mother, yet strong and strict when she needed to be. Especially since Lily was so hardheaded. Sometimes Zelena would find herself growing envious of their relationship, but Mal surprised her by turning that same affection onto her. Under the dragon's instruction, Zelena learned to fight using a variety of weapons and she honed her magical abilities to fine points. Lily as well. There was so much she didn't know about magic that Mal did, and the blonde shared all of her secrets free heartedly. She had so much faith in Zelena, that the redhead was terrified of doing something wrong and getting thrown out. The blonde never did.
Lily treated her as more of a sister than anyone she'd ever known. It was strange, yet wonderful at the same time to have someone to trust and share secrets with and enjoy being with.
Maleficent watched the growth and development of the Wicked Witch with a curious eye, noting how much the woman had changed over the course of just a couple short months. She was eager to learn, eager to try and grow. Unlike her sister, she was patient. Very patient. But she was arrogant and powerful. Her magic was extremely potent and controlled and she wielded it like a natural born witch. All the woman had needed was a little push to break through the cloud of envy and insanity that had nearly consumed her. Every day, she became stronger and more sure of herself.
Her pride and joy, Lily, was powerful as well. Temperamental and easily frustrated, but she was strong and eager to learn from her mother. Every time Mal looked at her daughter, she wanted to cry. She was so happy that she had her back. She could not have chosen two better women to fill the empty places left in the Queens of Darkness. And for her, loneliness was a thing of the past. Peace however, was another story.
"Are you ready?" Mal called from the other side of the yard.
"Yeah!" Zelena yelled from the other side.
"She is going to kill us." Lily said next to her, twirling her staff.
"Yes, most likely." Zelena replied. "Come on, Lily, confidence. We can take her. You're stronger, so head straight down the middle. I'll pick her off from afar."
"Didn't we try that before?" Lily asked. She sighed as Zelena moved off to commence the plan and ran at her mother, crossing the field with ease. Just before she reached Mal, Zelena started firing green bolts of magic from a wand that the dragon queen had given her. It was thin and silver, wrapped in green cords and made her magic explosive, not that it was actually needed, but she thought it was fun. It also morphed into a sword, so that was a bonus. Mal was distracted momentarily distracted as she deflected the bolts, but not so much so that she couldn't defend herself against Lily and her staff. They traded blows, neither able to get a hit in while Zelena continued her onslaught from the outside. The dragon queen displayed incredible flexibility and agility as she defended herself.
"The old woman can move, can't she?" Zelena called.
Mal suddenly caught Lily's staff in one hand and grinned. "Old, my dear? You did not just say that?" She suddenly threw Lily hard, sending her crashing into Zelena. Both of them hit the ground hard, completely down for the count.
"You had to say it, didn't you?" Lily said.
"Maybe." Zelena laughed.
"That was pathetic." Mal said as they disentangled themselves and got off the ground.
"You had to throw me halfway across the yard." Lily replied.
The queen chuckled. "I didn't have to." She smirked.
"I think I need a drink." Lily sighed.
Zelena smiled as Mal put her arm around her as they walked back into the house, but she stopped her before they could go inside. "Something wrong, Mal?"
Mal looked at her, gently touching her chin to turn her head. "No, you just look...brighter. Happier."
"Well, I'm not agonizing over my sister 24/7 anymore." Zelena shrugged.
"You don't need to. Regina is great and all...but she is not you. You have your own beauty, your own light. Your own fire. I'm glad you've embraced that, Wicked Witch." Mal smiled. "Come to think of it, you might need a new moniker. What do you think of Witch-Queen of Darkness? I kinda like it." The blonde laughed as she went inside.
Zelena stayed outside for a moment, silently pondering just how the woman made her feel like they were mother and daughter sometimes. Zelena's birth mother had abandoned her, her adoptive mother died at an early age, her real father hadn't wanted anything to do with her and her adoptive father was an alcoholic bastard. Good parental figures was not something she had a lot of, but Mal treated her no differently than she did Lily, except when it came to dragon business, but that was stuff Zelena preferred not to think about. The Queens of Darkness was exactly what she needed when she needed. She didn't even have those dark thoughts anymore. It was so strange to feel so free. But she knew that as soon as her sister had a break from her own happy ending and found out how long Zelena had been out of her cell, she was going to throw a fit. However, Zelena was not going back to that place. Never again.
She walked inside and found Mal in the kitchen, mixing a bunch of stuff that she kept poofing up and poofing out, into three shot glasses.
"This is a special recipe of mine." Mal was saying, while Lily watched intently. "Only real dragons can take this stuff."
"We only get one glass?" Lily asked.
"This stuff is extremely potent and drinking a lot of it makes you horny for some reason and unfortunately...there is no man or woman in this town that would even slightly peak my interest."
"Oh please, didn't you have a thing for Regina when she was young?" Lily said, watching as her mother continued mixing the drinks, adding in small drops of several liquids from labeless bottles.
"I taught her everything she knows." Mal smirked. "But emphasize young, my dear."
"Things must be starting to droop by now." Zelena muttered. "She's so focused on Robin Hood boy wonder to notice anything else anyway."
"He's so boring. I talked to him once and he would not shut up about bowstrings and shit." Lily added.
"Let's face it, all of their 'true loves' suck. Charming is oh so courageous, but so stupid and just follows Snow like a puppy. Hook is just a perverted prick."
Lily suddenly looked up at Mal. "Did you and ever have a thing?"
Mal let out a fake laugh. "Let's just say there is a reason that the Dark One did not dare mess with me. You really think he tried that shit with me?" She paused, looking off dreamily for a moment. "Your father though, that was a real man. Not even a man, a dragon. If only you could meet him."
"What was he like?" Zelena asked with interest. She herself had never given much thought to true loves and soulmates and stuff, not that she wasn't averse to it. It just seemed to her like women, especially those in Storybrooke, spent an obscene amount of time chasing after foolish men.
"He was very handsome and very strong, like a god. He was a gentleman, polite and courteous. He even ripped the head off another dragon to win my favor."
"That's so romantic." Lily said sarcastically.
"To a dragon it is. You would be surprised. Dragons enjoy the idea of power, whether it be physical strength, knowledge or wealth. Wealth really has a category all its own though, it's pretty special."
"Because dragons like to hoard?" Zelena asked.
"Indeed." Mal smiled and looked down at the three full shot glasses. "Just two more things." She pricked her finger and let a single drop fall into each glass. Then she blew flames over the tops of them and let them catch fire. "And voila. I call them Hellfires."
Lily picked up one and knocked it back without hesitation. "That was good. Oh my-oh my god." She looked down at her hand with wide eyes. "My hand is talking. What the hell? Mom, tell the fucking walls to shut up."
Mal snickered and pushed one to Zelena. The witch smirked as she downed it. The floor started turning yellow and the bricks started getting up and dancing with the little dogs that just appeared out of nowhere. "Holy shit." They started singing. "Oh hell no, shut up please. I cannot stand musical numbers."
Mal was busy walking along the back of the couch, leaping onto the recliner and then the table and a desk. "You can't touch the floor, it's lava, you'll die."
"Oh my god!" Lily and Zelena both scrambled onto the kitchen table. "What do we do?"
"We have to get outside."
"There's an ocean outside." Mal whispered. "But it's full of zombies."
"We're the fucking Queens of Darkness, we can totally take them." Lily said.
"Let's do it." Zelena bounced up and down excitedly. There was a groaning sound and suddenly the table snapped in half. Zelena screamed and Lily ran and knocked Mal off the desk. "It burns."
"The darkness is closing in." Mal whispered.
"I love you guys so much." Lily said.
"It's been a pleasure serving with you." Zelena added.
"And you." Mal nodded to her. "Tonight, we dine in hell!"
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"Holy shit." Zelena hissed after waking up the next with a killer headache. She was lying on the floor in front of the fireplace while Lily was a few feet away practically on top of Mal. "I am never drinking anything Mal makes again."
"Mal isn't either." Mal whispered. "Please talk quietly, my head is throbbing." She shoved Lily off of her and sat up, squinting at the light shining in through the windows. She waved her hand, closing the curtains and blinds, as well as magically getting rid of their headaches.
"Ugh, that was so much fun." Lily laughed. "Mom you thought the floor was lava."
"And you climbed on top of me to get out of it after you two morons broke the table. Thanks for killing me by the way."
"No problem, Mom."
Zelena smiled as each of them picked themselves up. "I'm gonna take a shower and head to bed."
"Right behind you." Mal suddenly pushed Lily over the couch and ran inside the bathroom.
"Dragon Bitch!" Lily yelled.
Mal stepped back out and motioned for Zelena to enter. "You can go ahead, dear."
"Evil!" Lily yelled.
Zelena smiled. "Why thank you, your majesty."
They each showered and took a long nap before getting up and devouring a banquet that Mal prepared and lounged around the living room while Lily lazily flipped through the tv channels.
"Let's go to the Rabbit Hole tonight." Mal suddenly suggested.
"You at the Rabbit Hole." Lily laughed. "That is hilarious just thinking about it."
"Why is that so amusing?" Mal asked.
"Because..you're you."
"That hardly answers my question. We're going."
"Someone should call ahead and tell everyone to brace for the arrival of the new and improved Queens of Darkness." Zelena said.
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