Chapter 6
Regina opens her eyes and watches as a tall woman, with beautiful blonde hair, walk out her bedroom door. She stares at the entryway as she hears the woman walking down the stairs and then opening and closing the front door. Confused about what's happening, she looks around the room. Her curtains are fully drawn open, emitting the afternoon sun in through the windows. There are books all cluttered over her desk and a draw open on her dutchess. Unimpressed by the clutter, Regina sits up and swings her legs off the bed. Instantly, her eyes capture the 6 beautiful lilies that are in the crystal vase on her bedside table. She extends her hand and touches the petals as she offers them a small smile.
The woman attempts to stand up but quickly sits back down as nausea ricochets throughout her body. She slumps over, resting her elbows on her knees and places her throbbing head into her palms.
"argh!" she groans, "I didn't even drink last night".
Shocked, she looks up and stares at the wall.
"last night?" she says in horror.
"the dark curse" "daddy" "I couldn't go through with it" "we were leaving" "snow white" "my magic was gone" "she killed daddy" "the protection spell" … "oh fuck!" … "the sleeping curse".
"what the fuck is going on?" she says as she quickly re-examines the room.
Someone has certainly been here, and they've left a fucking mess.
As the nausea settles, Regina gets up, pushes the open draw closed and then looks over her desk.
Irritated that the books are scattered everywhere, she picks one up and examines the title.
"Once upon a time" she scoffs, "oh joy! My saviour is a slob AND also knows I'm the Evil Queen. That's just great!"
She snarls at the book as she places it back in its rightful spot, "I should have burnt you when I had the chance".
Regina continues to observe the titles as she puts away all the books.
Taking her close to an hour to tidy up her room, the sun started to slowly set as she finished. Regina waves her hand and watches as all the torches in the castle spark to life.
"well at least you stuck around to greet me back into this new world" she says to her magic.
She lets out a deep sigh, grabs a pair of pyjamas from her closet and makes her way to the bathroom.
Feeling fully refreshed in her clean nightwear, Regina walks over to the basin while continuing to dry her hair.
She examines her face, smiling at the fact she has not aged one bit.
"how long has it been?" she thinks to herself.
"what is this new world like? Do they know who I am? Would they care? What story… no! I mean LIES, did Snow White tell everyone about that night? Is she still alive… I hope not!"
Regina finishes her hair and hangs the towel up on the hook. She looks down and spots a handtowel on the floor, "you've got to be fucking kidding me?!" she howls.
She bends down and aggressively picks it up and places it back on its own hook.
"I swear to the gods that fate has it out for me" she proclaims, "I needed a Saviour and they send me a slob!". She slams the bathroom door and heads down the stairs to the kitchen.
Shocked that the kitchen was clean, Regina heads over to the counter after spotting a loaf of bread and slab of cheese. She picks up two slices of bread, admiring the soft freshness and looks around for a bowl. She opens a cabinet and frowns that her plates and silverware have been moved around.
"of course" she sasses, "tell someone they're the only one who had access to your castle and they make themselves right at home". She shakes her head but finds that she ends up smiling.
Thinking back to the moment she woke up, she recalls looking at the blonde woman.
Long blonde hair that has its own natural wavy curls, strong shoulders that were noticeable through her white long sleeved shirt, brown riding boots that came half way up her calves and tight dark brown leather pants "that cupped her arse perfectly … you're a perve Regina" she shakes her head at her inappropriate thoughts.
She grabs down a small plate and fixes herself a sandwich and takes it back up to her room.
Sitting on the bed, leaning back on the headboard, she realises that her journal is open underneath the neighbouring set of pillows. She picks up the book while taking a bite out of her sandwich. It is opened up on a page from her childhood.
Today daddy and I picked some apples.
He watched me as I climbed to the top of the tree.
He laughed so much when I started to throw down a lot of apples.
I love hearing daddy laugh. It makes me very happy.
He always tells me to be careful when I climb down.
I am a very good climber. I never fall.
I love to jump into daddys arms. He always catches me.
We laid down next to the flowers again today.
They smell so pretty. They are my favourite.
Daddy and I love to lay down in the garden and close our eyes.
I love feeling the sun shine on my face. It makes me feel happy.
He says it is so peaceful. I don't really know what that means.
If it is what I feel when we lay there then I want to feel that way forever!
Sometimes I fall asleep. Today I didn't though.
Daddy and I ate apples instead!
Honey-Crisp Apples!
They are from the tree Daddy and I planted when I was really really little.
Regina wipes away the tears falling from her eyes and deposits her sandwich back on its plate. She closes the book and slides it back under the pillow.
Placing her plate on her bedside table, Regina looks at the flowers and smiles.
Picking one out of the vase, she lifts it up to her noses and admires how beautiful they smell.
"so beautiful" she says.
In that moment, she recalls smelling the same smell and hearing a woman saying those same words. A thought comes to her head.
She hops out of the bed and heads over to her dutchess in search of something.
Looking in every draw and every jewellery box, she comes to the decision that the blonde woman must have it.
She reaches her right hand into her shirt and lifts out a golden circle pendant hanging off a necklace. It starts to glow a vibrant purple.
"Well this definitely explains things better, Blondey must be my true love" she says to herself.
She lifts the pendant up to her lips and places a light kiss on it.
"thank you" she whispers as she places it back inside her shirt.
Making her way back to the bed, her eyes start to become heavy as she lets out a slight yawn.
"guess sleeping curses don't really count as much sleep" she says as she gets herself comfortable.
Regina wakes up early, the sun rising and shining on her face. She stretches and lets out a deep grunt as it loosens up her limbs. Continuing on her normal daily routine, the woman grabs herself a set of clothes and heads into the bathroom.
She quickly undresses and steps into the warm inviting shower. She grabs the soap and starts to wash her body. Her finger tangles in the necklace and she smirks.
"oh this is going to be fun" she says evilly.
Regina places the pendant in her mouth and starts to play with it with her tongue, she takes it out and places a light kiss on it.
She lets out a deep throaty laugh, "I've always wanted to do that".
Regina finished washing her body and starts to dry herself off. She looks out her window and is absolutely shocked when she sees the courtyard.
"oh my gods" she says, as she brings her hands up to cover her mouth, "it's so beautiful again" she whimpered.
She quickly tries to dry herself.
"fuck it" she giggles as she waves her hand over her body and becomes fully dressed in her pants and shirt.
Running down the stairs, almost tripping off the last step, Regina picks up the pace as she makes her way to the back door. Pausing with her hand on the handle, she takes a moment to catch her breath. Collecting herself, she inhales deeply and opens it.
"woah!" eyes wide, jaw dropped, Regina walks out onto the terrace and takes in her surroundings.
The gardens radiated with lilies.
Butterflies fluttering around in the air.
Birds flying around in the morning breeze,
as the leaves of her favourite tree dance.
Slowly stepping down the steps, Regina makes her way to the tree. She reaches up to her necklace and clasps it in her hands. She reaches up with her other hand and picks an apple.
Taking a big bite, she hums as the juices flow into her mouth.
"just like I remember them" she states joyfully.
Placing both hands along the tree trunk, she runs her fingers along the bark. The same familiar feel as it once was before she was taken to the White Kingdom. Regina smiles as she remembers that her journal was open on the page that spoke of the tree and the gardens. She looks around and chuckles.
"this must be the Saviours doing" she says with astoundment.
Making her way down the courtyard path, taking in everything around her, Regina finds herself looking down towards the lake.
"what the hell is that?" she says as she spots a weird object along the stones hugging the water.
She walks down the hill and picks up a woman's white singlet.
She frantically looks around the area but does not see anyone nearby.
"hmmm, guess someone forget to bring down a towel" she laughs.
Regina walks back up to the tree, singlet still in hand, and sits down and leans against its trunk. Closing her eyes, basking in the warmth of the sun on her face, she brings the singlet up to her nose and breathes in.
"Mmmmm" she hums into the shirt. It smelt sweet and musky with a little hit of cinnamon.
She folds the shirt and placed it next to her on the ground. Lifting her right hand, she flicks her wrist and a book appears in her grasp. She starts to read.
An hour passes, Regina getting half way into a new chapter until she hears the front door slam.
"you've got to be kidding me" she scowls in the direction of the castle.
She continues to read until she hears heavy footsteps echoing up the castle stairs.
"seems to be an elephant in the house" she snickers.
She just sits there and stares at her book, not reading any words… waiting.
Boomboomboomboomboom!
Regina smiles as she hears someone running back down the stairs.
She smiles, this is the moment, this is the moment where I am about to meet my truelove.
Taking a deep breath, Regina relaxes her face and busies herself with (pretending to) read her book.
The back door swings open.
"this is it" she thinks to herself.
Heart beating fast, she fights herself not to look up.
"Regina?" she hears a panicking woman say her name.
'Be still, don't look overly eager, just tilt your head and offer a small smile', the brunette thinks to herself.
"Regina" the other woman says sounding so relived.
Regina can't help herself, she looks up towards the blonde and a huge smile invades her entire face.
"hello dear" she says to her sultry voice.
"how, how are you awake?" the blonde asks as she starts to walk down the steps.
"well isn't that obvious?" Regina says while lifting an eyebrow and offers a devilish smirk, "trueloves kiss"
At that moment, the blonde trips down the rest of the stairs and lands face first into the dirt.