Hey lovelies, so I finished my other story Never Really Alone this weekend, so this is my only focus for now. That means theoretically chapters should come closer together, we shall see. In this chapter it jumps back and forth between present day Storybrooke, and the week leading up to Leopold asking for Regina's hand. Enjoy! And as always Happy Reading!
Chapter 4 – Everything That Glitters
Cora followed her daughter out of the library. Zelena was preoccupied, way to worried about this book and the dangers it posed for their future. Cora had been through every inch of that library, and she had never run across a book like Zelena was describing. Maybe, though she would never admit it to her daughter, maybe there was some merit to her worries. If this book really was different, really was changing things, well, that wouldn't be pleasant for anyone.
-o-o-
"Cora! Cora, where are you?" Henry was rushing through the castle looking for his wife. The King was to arrive in the morning on his summer tour, and there was much to be done.
"We are in here Henry." Her answer came from the library, and when he entered he found that all three of the women in his life were curled up on various lounges, reading. "What could possibly be causing you to run amok throughout the palace calling out? That is highly undignified, and definitely below your station my dear." Her chastising look had little effect on her husband.
"We are to have guests on the morrow my darling. The King, the Princess and their entourage will be arriving just after sun up."
Cora flew from her seat and started yelling at the servants. There was no time to be angry with Henry, she would worry about that later. Right now she was determined to present their home, and their family in the best possible way to the recently widowed King. "Girls!" Two pretty faces shot up to meet their mother's gaze. "Go to your rooms and find something suitable to wear. You must make a good impression on the King."
Both girls rose and headed for the door. Henry let Zelena pass him, but caught Regina's arm on her way by. He whispered in her ear, "My dear. Tomorrow your sister is going to try and win the heart of the King, as per your mother's instructions. If you ever want out of here, away from them, I suggest you win the heart of the Princess." When he let her go she nodded once and made her way up the stairs behind her sister.
"I saw that Henry."
"I have no idea what you are talking about."
"You, coaching Regina. She is the spare Henry, and a poor, non-talented one at that. You should be focusing on Zelena. If we want either one of our daughters to make a good marriage, maybe even to the King, it should be her."
"Her magic does not make her better than her sister. Her magic has made her dangerous, much in the same way yours has made you cold. They are children Cora, and I will not let you favor one of our daughters so strongly over the other."
"Let me! Let me! Everyone knows who holds the power in this castle Henry, and it surely isn't the Prince!" She swept past him and went to using her magic to speed up the preparations for the Royal party's arrival.
-o-o-
The bell over the door in the pawn shop jingled as it flew open. Cora stormed in and marched straight up to Mr. Gold. All of this time he had claimed not to remember who he was. Insisting that he was a simple pawn broker, but Cora had had her suspicions, and she was going to make him answer her again. "Mr. Gold."
"Good morning dearie, what can I help you with today?"
"I have a question Gold." He simply looked at her, waiting for her to ask. "There is a book, that both of my daughters seem to have taken a particular interest in, would you know anything about that?" She watched him carefully, but he was just as careful to not give anything away.
"A book. Well, books are mighty powerful things dearie. If looked at closely they can open up the mind to many possibilities."
"That's what I was afraid of." She muttered and turned towards the door.
"Happy to be of service dearie," He waited until the shop door had swung closed behind her. "Have a nice day, Your Highness."
Oh yes, he knew the book she was talking about. The book that had the power to bring about the end of this curse. To set them all free. He knew, and if he knew that meant that Regina had found it. Whether or not she knew she had, she had started them all down a path from which there was no return. It was coming, the final battle was about to begin.
-o-o-
"Zelena! Regina! Get down here! Now!" Both princesses came out of their rooms and headed down the stairs to meet King Leopold and Princess Snow White. Regina had listened to her father's advice. Instead of wearing a low cut, jeweled gown like her sister, she was wearing a dress fit for horseback riding, and playing with a young girl.
When they arrived in the Great Hall Cora scoffed. She needn't worry about Regina outdoing her sister for the King's affections. There was no way her younger daughter would make a better impression than her precious Zelena. Together the three women turned to face the doors and quietly they awaited the arrival of the King.
They heard footsteps approaching, and the sound of Prince Henry's voice as he spoke with the King. When the three women came into view the party stopped. "Your Majesty, may I present my wife, Princess Cora," Cora kept her eyes averted, as she curtseyed, she couldn't bear it if the King recognized her. "And my daughters, Zelena," her curtsey was so low that she practically sat on the ground, "And Regina." Her curtsey was low, but not as low as her sister's had been.
"Thank you, ladies for your gracious welcome into your home."
"Of course Your Majesty," Zelena smiled, "It is an honor to have you here."
He nodded at her before continuing, "And I would like to introduce my daughter, Snow White." The little girl came out from behind her father. With dark ebony curls, and blood red lips, she was a very pretty child.
Regina was the first to address the girl, after all, her father had told her to impress the Princess, not the King. Much to everyone's surprise she crouched down in front of the little princess and smiled. "Hello Princess, I'm Regina."
"Hello Regina."
"What is your favorite thing in the whole wide world my dear?"
"Oh goodness, I don't know. I really love horses." The Princess's smile grew wider.
"Well, I'll tell you a secret." She smiled, "I like horses too." Regina stood once more and looked to the King, "If it is alright with your father, I would love to take you to the stables for the morning if you would like."
When she met the King's gaze she couldn't help but notice that the walls that had been built up in his eyes when he first entered had fallen just a little bit. "If Your Majesty would allow it of course?" She curtseyed again slightly.
She could hear the smile in his voice as he answered her, but she dared not meet his eyes again. "Snow, would you like to go with Regina?"
"Oh Father, could I? Yes, please!"
"Very well." The Princess hugged him and then reached out and took Regina's hand. The two started to turn away when the King called out, "And Regina,"
"Yes Your Majesty?"
His smile really did meet his eyes this time, "Thank you."
Her answering smile was hidden when she nodded her head, but she couldn't help but think that maybe he had seen it.
-o-o-
Cora was determined to find the book now. Gold had not eased her fears on the matter, if anything he'd made them worse. Books were powerful tools. They could both mend and destroy, and for herself, and Zelena, Cora was sure she knew on which side this particular one would fall.
She figured she would have to be rather discreet about it. She didn't want to seem too invested in Regina's life, considering she ignored her most of the time, and she didn't want Zelena to see that her new found fears were justified. She would have to go about locating and examining the book quietly. Now the only problem was getting ahold of it.
It was the middle of the day and she knew the Blanchard's home was empty. Mary Margaret was at school, and Leo and Regina always met for lunch. She took the opportunity to try and find what she was looking for.
Cora went through every room of her daughter's home. She opened cabinets and drawers, even rooted around in closets but she came up empty handed. Her frustration grew with every dead end. She needed to see the book, needed to make sure that Regina didn't find out the truth. If she did, well, the consequences of that were not something that this town was ready for.
She left the house empty handed moments before her daughter arrived. Regina unpacked the groceries she had stopped off to purchase and went about putting them away. As she did she thought about what had happened with Zelena that morning. She never spoke to anyone that way. She was always quiet and kind, but this morning she had stood up for herself. She had told her sister to back off.
Something had changed in her over night. She was more confident, more self assured. She didn't think she was strong enough to stand up to her husband, but she had walked away from her sister. What had changed? She thought back to everything she had done yesterday. Everything that had been out of the ordinary. Every day she could remember had been exactly the same, only yesterday had things had changed. Yesterday a mysterious brown book had come into her life, and somehow, some way, something had shifted.
-o-o-
The King and his entourage had stayed the entire week. It was a great complement to their household to have them stay for that long, but the Princess was happy there and the King would do anything to see her smile again.
Their last night in the castle Cora had arranged for a party of sorts. Other nobles from the area had arrived and there was to be dinner and dancing and all around merriment. The party had lasted well into the evening and the King could see that Snow was growing tired. He decided it was time for his last surprise of the visit.
He signaled the band and they stopped playing, everyone turned to face him as he stood from his chair. "Thank you everyone for attending this celebration tonight, and thank you to Prince Henry and Princess Cora for their gracious hospitality this past week." He reached out and put a hand on Snow's shoulder. "My daughter and I are grateful for the time we have spent here, we will never forget these happy times." He looked down at her and she smiled.
He stepped out from behind the table and made his way to the dance floor where Zelena and Regina both stood with their dance partners. He continued to address the room as a whole. "It has been a rough year for my lovely daughter, but these past few days I have seen life, and light return to her eyes. Because of that I have come to a decision," he gestured towards the side of the room and a steward came forward carrying a small gold box. "There was a sense of family here, a sense of belonging and comfort that my daughter seemed to enjoy. It has been a year since the passing of our late queen and it is here that I have found someone to take her place in all of our lives. So," he opened the box and took out a beautiful diamond and gold wedding ring.
Zelena gasped and started to step forward, only to stop suddenly upon hearing the King's words. "Regina, from the moment she first met you, you stole my daughter's heart, and in doing so you managed to awaken mine." The King sunk to one knee in front of the petite brunette. "Regina, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"
Zelena's outrage was poorly concealed as she looked up towards Cora. The shock on her mother's face grew even more pronounced when Regina answered, "Yes Your Majesty, for the Princess has captured my heart as well."
The King took her hand and slid the ring into place, upon standing he signaled the band to play once again. It wasn't that he loved her, though one day he thought he might, it was that she made Snow White smile. When he had first thought of taking one of Henry's daughters to be his queen, the logical choice had been the elder, but then he had seen her. The way that she had shown an interest in his daughter that no one else had.
He had known then she was special. She wasn't done up in ribbons and jewels. She hadn't tried to make herself stand out. She had been young, and kind, and beautiful. He had made his choice, and Regina was to be his Queen.
-o-o-
"Mother," They were sitting on Mary Margaret's bed, Regina brushing the younger girl's hair, "Are you sure you are not a Queen?"
Regina laughed, "What?"
"A Queen? The Queen in my book, well the second Queen, the first one died. She is an awfully lot like you."
"Like me?" Regina tickled her side and the girl laughed, "Like me? Really? How?"
Mary Margaret caught her breath before she answered, "Well she's young, and she's pretty, they say she's the fairest of them all." She looked up at Regina, "I'd say that's right."
"Mary Margaret!"
"What? You're pretty! Anyway, she has long hair and brown eyes, and she loves horses. She has an evil mom and a wicked sister, and she loves to read. Don't you see? She's you!"
"Just because all of those things are things we share, doesn't make me the Queen in your book dear."
"Oh really, but what if I share things with the Princess, and Daddy shares things with the King, would you believe me then?"
"What are you talking about Mary Margaret?"
"The Princess, she is just like me! And the King, he's just like Daddy!"
Regina took the book from her daughter and put it on the nightstand. "Alright Little Bird, that's enough stories for tonight." She tucked her in and gave her forehead a kiss. "I love you, a million Swedish Fish."
She smiled when she heard the familiar answer, "And I love you a million red M&M's."
She considered taking the book with her, but thought better of it. She didn't want Leo to take it away from Mary Margaret. She figured she could check it out tomorrow while her daughter was at school. After all, there was something very strange about it.