Chapter 9: Maleficent
Emma stood outside the older Victorian home. She'd never really been on this side of Storybrooke. There hadn't really ever been a reason. But, when she saw the look on Regina's face, she realized that this wasn't a section that was part of the first curse. She knew most of the town and she knew most of the newer parts, but she hadn't been here.
"Was this here before?" Emma asked stupidly.
"Not that I am aware of, Dear," Regina answered.
"And, the Major Oak that the Merry Men are staying at?"
"It wasn't part of my curse," Regina replied.
"Shit, I am going to have beef up patrols."
"I am sure that you can figure something out, Emma. Like you said before, we don't have a lot of crime here. I will do what I can to get you more deputies on the payroll. It will be up to you to break up the town and train them. Storybrooke did get considerably bigger. It shouldn't be that big of a push, but we both know that the council wants to know where every cent of every tax dollar goes. Especially since we aren't technically sending anything to the government at large."
"Wait, so I've been paying taxes for no reason?"
"Well, Dear, you are technically the only one with connections outside of town. I've made sure that yours are paid, but the location has been changed. I doubt that the IRS will ever come looking for you or any other government agency for that matter. You told me that there wasn't really anyone outside of Storybrooke looking for you. Were you wrong?"
"No, no, I wasn't wrong. There is really nothing outside of town for me now. Everything that I know and love is here. My family, my friends, and I doubt that anyone would believe me if I told that I am really a princess of the Enchanted Forest. I would probably be committed and I really don't have time for that."
"I doubt that anyone does."
"We could ask Belle. I mean, really, Regina. Twenty-eight years in solitary. That was harsh."
"Have you met Rumple?" Regina retorted.
"Fair point."
"Knock already," Regina told her.
Emma nodded. She reached up, pulled open the gingerbread trimmed, wooden screen door, and knocked on the front door. She rapped twice and waited, still holding the door open. Maleficent opened the door a few minutes later.
"Sheriff, Regina," she said in greeting.
"Can we talk, Mal?" Regina asked.
"Come in," Maleficent replied, moving to allow them into the house.
They followed her into a sitting room near the front. Emma took in the room. It matched the solemn feel of the exterior. It was still a traditional Victorian style. Deep maroons, burgundies, and greens colored the room. The rich wood furniture blended perfectly with the wood floors. Everything was illuminated with floor length windows and strategically placed mirrors.
Maleficent had them sit down on a deep forest green leather sofa. She sat across from them on what looked like a hand carved arm chair with a matching forest green, maroon and gold brocade upholstery. Regina smirked at the chair and Emma had a feeling that Regina either recognized the chair or it resembled something that she'd seen in Maleficent's lair back in the Enchanted Forest.
"Have you found anything yet?" Maleficent asked them as she got comfortable.
"Nothing more than corroboration of what you told me. My parents admitted to their part in your daughter's disappearance and kidnapping. However, we now know that she was sent to another realm by a spell from the Sorcerer himself. His apprentice cast it and we are trying to figure out what realm it was."
"But, you took my blood and saliva," Mal countered.
"On the off chance that she might be in this realm. Doc is testing your blood and saliva for a DNA sequence. Once he has it, I am going to run it against the governments' databases. If there is a hit, I'll possibly have a name and a location. But, that is assuming that she came here, too," Emma told her truthfully.
"You don't know that for sure though?" Mal questioned.
"Not at the moment we don't, no. But, Mal, you must know that I am trying to help her with the magical aspect of this. I owe you that much and more. If she is in this realm, we'll find her and bring her here," Regina added.
"And, if she isn't?"
" Then, we will keep looking. I still have some of my mirrors. We'll find her."
"I've waited this long. I can wait longer. I just want to know that she is well," Mal replied.
"And, that is what I want to give you."
"But, you want to ask me more about it, don't you?" Mal questioned.
"Yes, I do. If that's okay. I know that it might be hard for you, but you may say something that will help us find what realm the sorcerer sent your daughter to and if we know that we can find her faster."
"What would you like to know?" Mal probed cautiously.
"How did you know that you were having a daughter? I mean, you had an egg. How did you know that the little dragon...eh, being...baby inside it was a girl?"
"If I said mother's intuition, you'd laugh. Honestly, I don't know how to answer that in a way that you'll understand. As far as I know, it's a dragon thing. We know as we lay our egg what sex our child will be. Before the egg is laid, we have no clue. Some dragons destroy their eggs if it isn't the sex they want and they try again. I didn't care. I wanted a child. I wouldn't have sought another dragon for any other reason. Dragons are generally solitary creatures, but I had been living as a sorceress for so long amongst the humans and other magical creatures that I wanted someone I could share my life with. I know that seems selfish and stupid for someone of my abilities, but it's the truth," Mal explained.
"No more than selfish than when I sought a child for myself, Mal."
"Henry?" Mal asked.
"Yes, Rumple made sure that it was him that I ended up with. I couldn't have been happier to hold him the first time. He taught me to love again. So, in many ways, it is appropriate that he bears my father's name."
"It is."
"What were you going to name your daughter, Mal?" Emma asked her.
"Lilith."
"The mother of monsters...interesting choice," Emma muttered.
"I am sorry?" Maleficent questioned.
"In religious lore in this realm, Lilith is the first woman created by God. Adam refuses her when she won't bend to his will and God casts her out of the Garden. She becomes the mother of monsters and demons along with Adam's son, Cain as their father."
"And, Scylla?" Regina inquired.
"Different religion all together. Scylla was the mother of dragons and sea monsters. Lilith was the mother of the demons of the night and supposedly vampires, more specifically succubi," Emma stated.
"That isn't making me feel any better," Regina replied.
"It doesn't matter. I am sure that Lilith is a good name from the Enchanted Forest. Our religious...well, this realms' religious mythology doesn't mean anything to you. I'm not helping myself here. Let's try it this way, then. What does Lilith mean to you?" Emma asked.
"It is a beautiful white flower. I was naming her after the flower. She was going to be my flower," Mal said.
"In this realm, that flower is called a lily. Lily can be short for Lilith. So, that is what we will go by. Your daughter will be your flower. I can't guarantee that it is the same name that she'll be using, but we don't know that. If you talked to your egg and told her that her name was to be Lilith, she might just be using it. I can't discount anything, large or small when it comes to this case, Mal, and I'm not."
"Thank you," Maleficent answered.
"I am not just doing this for you, Maleficent. I am trying to right a wrong that my parents imposed upon you. No one should have their child taken from them, especially in the manner in which my parents took her. I will do my best to bring her back to you. You can trust that I mean that. And, I know that Regina is going to help with that. We aren't going to stop until we find her or we exhaust every avenue, magical and otherwise, to find her. And, even then, I doubt that I will give up."
"I can see that in you, Emma. You are stubborn, but it is endearing in someone such as yourself. You give and give and expect nothing in return. But, know this, regardless of the outcome of this case, you have a friend in me," Maleficent told her.
Emma didn't know what to say to her. She wasn't sure that she wouldn't put her foot in her mouth. She looked from Mal to Regina and back again. Sighing, she sat up a little straighter.
"Is there anything else that you would like to know?" Mal asked her.
"You said that you didn't know who Lilith's father was. How can that be? You obviously had relations with him. How did you not know who he was?" Emma asked her.
Mal laughed slightly. Regina bristled a little. She hadn't been expecting Emma's question. If she had, she would have stopped her. But, it was obvious that it didn't bother Maleficent that Emma had asked. And, for that one reason, Regina kept her mouth shut and didn't censor Emma. Mal must have sensed Regina's stress over the situation. She gave Regina a pointed look with her bright blue eyes.
"I did indeed have relations with him, Emma. But, when we are in dragon form we don't who the other dragons are. We are a solitary creature as I said before. I was searching for a male dragon and I found one that I liked. The rest is just biology at that point. In the wild, dragons are usually alone. You might find a mother and child, but that is usually rare. We don't tend to congregate together that much except to mate. There are however some dragons that form colonies."
"They do?" Emma inquired.
"But, these dragons are usually on an island and at sea. They don't stay close to civilizations for obvious reasons," Mal replied.
"Obvious reasons?"
"Man hunts us. Those of us that are collectors become hunted for our treasures. Man doesn't want to work for it. They would rather steel it. So they raise vast armies to destroy us. Your uncle was killed by a dragon. It was how your father became George's heir. When James was killed, George killed any dragon he could find, peaceful or not. He didn't care. If it had scales, it died. If it could fly, burn it."
"And, you response to King Stefan?"
"Was a little dramatic, but he started it. I was merely making a point. And, one that I think he finally understood when I cursed his daughter. It was a last resort. The story wasn't totally correct and neither was Aurora. But, then again, I wouldn't expect her to be with her father poisoning her reasoning. How is she by the way?"
Emma wanted to laugh. Mal had balls. She knew what she was and she wasn't afraid to flaunt it, good or bad.
"Last Snow told me, she was pregnant with Phillips baby. That was before they came back, so... I'm assuming that she's had the baby by now. I don't know though. I haven't had to contact the Enchanted Forest for any news or anything lately. And, if I do, I usually get Regina involved. Thankfully, things have been fairly quiet."
"I see."
"Does that bother you?" Emma inquired.
"No, why should it?"
"You can't go home," Emma replied.
"To a cave and a lonely existence wondering if my child was still alive...some life that would be. If you don't mind me asking, why were you contacting the Enchanted Forest to begin with. I thought that everyone was here as a result of the Curse. Did I miss something or did the curse?" Maleficent questioned.
"A good friend of mine decided to go back to see if she could find more of her kind..."
"The child of the night? I believe her name is Ruby, right? Well, did she?"
"I don't know. Ruby doesn't really talk about it. She came home though with a friend. We were just glad that she came home that we didn't question the why. Maybe that makes me a bad friend. Maybe it doesn't. But, she seems happier now and that is all I wanted for her," Emma told her.
"To be happy?"
"Yes," Emma replied.
"I dare say that you need a new name then. Saviour takes away from your true occupation here, Sheriff. Do you know that?"
"And, what is that?" Regina inquired as she watched Mal.
"She is the giver of happy endings. One person at time, but she is doing it. Maybe it that Charming blood. Maybe it is what she was meant to do. But, either way, Emma delivers. And, I hope to be another success story."
Just then, Emma's phone rang. She looked down at it. It was Doc at the hospital. He'd sent her a text.
"News?" Mal inquired with a crook of her head.
"Yeah, sorry we have to go. Thank you for your time. If I have anything else to ask..."
"You'll be in touch."
"Yeah," Emma stated dumbly.
"Goodday," Mal told them as she escorted them out the door.
"Doc?" Regina asked as they neared the cruiser.
"Yeah."
"He's got the DNA sequence?"
"Yup."
"We're going to the hospital, aren't we?"
"Yup."
"I'll call Granny's for dinner. It looks like it is going to be a long night. I'm sure that Henry won't mind."
"I'm sure he won't," Emma said as she pulled out and started towards the hospital.
