Disclaimer:

I do not own Once Upon A Time or Frozen.

Author's Note:

Sorry to keep you waiting for this update… I totally suck. To the reviewer who asked, Regina and Snow has a 2-year age gap. Uhm, yeah… Mistakes are mine. So here's a new update!

Chapter 4: Mourning

When Princess Regina turned 16, she was presented to her first grand ball as a debutante. The King and Queen decided to throw balls for the Princess' birthday celebrations in hopes that she'd be able to find her True Love from the many guests that they invited. Suitors from royalties to nobles flock in and out of the Palace to catch the Princess' attention but to no avail.

Every passing year, the Princess' magic grew stronger. She would no longer fall ill because her magic protects her body from illnesses that used to permeate her system. As years pass, the Princess became distant and indifferent. She mostly keeps to herself. She would be often seen reading in the Palace library if not locked up in her room. Sometimes she would go to the gardens gazing at nothing in particular. It was like her body was there but her mind was elsewhere. Her relationship with her sister Snow has been changed drastically. They would stay out of each other's hair but if by chance they did cross paths, they would just smile softly at each other and would go on their separate ways as if nothing happened.

Regina didn't want to be distant to her family but she couldn't help it. The Blue Fairy said that magic is emotion and her family brings out emotions from her that she feared she could hurt them so she's just withdrawn when in their presence. She would always say to herself that she just needs to find her True Love and then everything will go back to the way they used to. She misses her family so much. Even if they're near that she could see them and touch them, she still feels like they're so far from her grasp.

In the confines of her bedchamber, the Princess would practice her magic. She was terrified of her abilities the first time it manifested but after years of possessing it she became used to the feel of magic coursing through her system. Everytime she takes off her gloves, she would feel those tingly sensations that tickles and relaxes her entire being. She's free to use magic inside her room, away from prying eyes. In the years she's had magic, she managed to teach herself some few tricks. She could move things using magic. She could conjure fire, electrical sparks, and objects too. The most recent trick she did was to transport herself from one place to another. It was the most terrifying yet exhilarating magic trick she's performed. She never told anyone about her practicing magic, not even her parents. It was her secret and she believes that what they don't know won't hurt them. Magic is her little happiness, it was her freedom.

A few months before Regina's coming of age, her parents were invited to the neighboring Kingdom for some deals and contracts that needed to be settled.

"Do you really have to go?" Regina asked, hoping her parents would just stay at the Palace. This is the first time her parents would go out of their Kingdom and she was afraid.

They were at the foot of the grand staircase of the Palace bidding their goodbyes before the King and Queen's travel to another Kingdom. Princess Snow was perched by the docks waiting for her turn to say her goodbyes to her parents. Princess Regina didn't want to set foot outside the Palace doors so she stood by the stairs to bid her parents a safe trip.

"We'll be back before you know it, my love. Take care of yourself and your sister while we're gone. Love you, my Princess." The King placed a soft kiss on his daughter's forehead before nudging her nose to make her smile. He stepped a little away from his daughter when his wife came to embrace their child.

"My darling, you'll be fine. I love you." The Queen said softly to her daughter. She didn't want to leave her daughters behind but duty calls so she has to assist her husband with the deals involving their Kingdom. Extracting herself from the hug, she placed kisses to her daughter's cheeks before stepping beside her husband.

That was the last conversation that Princess Regina had with her parents before the tragedy happened. Their lingering smiles and retreating backs were here last image of her parents. A great snow storm hit that night. It was in the morning, after the storm, that they received the news that changed the Princesses' lives forever. The ship sank and the King and Queen perished within the seas.

Days after the devastating news that broke every hearts in the entire Kingdom, Princess Regina was never seen roaming neither the Palace gardens nor the library anymore. She was cooped up in her bedchamber that even her sister couldn't make her come out.

It was snowing on the day that the King and Queen will be transported on their final resting place. A snow day used to be a happy day for the Princesses but that certain day entailed an entirely different emotion. The Kingdom was mourning for their beloved King and Queen. It was a day for grief and loss. When the funeral ended and there was still no Princess Regina in sight, Princess Snow decided to talk to her sister. She should be with her. They should be mourning together for their loss. It was a time to be with their family even if it's just only the two of them now.

Knocking gently on her sister's bedchamber, Snow tried to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes. " Gina?" she asked softly. She wanted to be comforted right at that moment. She wants her sister so bad. They should be comforting each other at that moment not ignoring each other's existence.

"Please I know you're in there, people are asking where you've been. They say 'have courage', and I'm trying to. I'm right out here for you, just let me in. We only have each other, it's just you and me" she tried to approach and talk to her sister before but she was hard to reach and cold. She desperately wanted to have the relationship they had when they were still children. She had no idea when things started falling apart, it kills her inside everytime. "What are we gonna do?" she asked dejectedly. It wasn't like their lectures taught them what they'd do after their parents are suddenly taken away from them. There's no such thing as being ready when it comes to losing the ones you love. She felt like half of her died along with her parents. It was just too painful.

"Do you wanna build a snowman?" she sank back down to the floor, her tears falling endlessly from her eyes. She rocked herself trying to take comfort knowing that her sister is just on the other side of that door.

Princess Regina on the other side heard her sisters agonizing cries. She was slumped on the floor just like her sister. She bit the palm of her hand trying to muffle her sobs. She should be outside comforting her baby sister but she was a coward trying to hide there in her dark room surrounded by darkness which she considered her friend for so long.

A/N: Dramaaaa…So what do you guys think? Leave me reviews? Thanks for reading. xo