Four months later
Emma, after the Queen's departure, had taken the reins of the castle, beginning from te guards and the army.
Astonishing her parents, she had called a truce, that had obviosly been acceptes with joy. Despite the two kingdoms were allied now, though, Emma didn't accept to unite them, with great displeasure from the two sovereigns. Also, despithe the continue requests, the new queen had never accepted to attack Maleficent's lands, not even under Stephan and George's pressures.
Emma didn't accept visits from anyone, not even frome her parents, who she met just once, one week after Regina's departure, to from the alliance.
She sat on the throne, tired. It wasn't like she actually did something that day, but she felt worn out, always.
She opened the umpteenth letter from King George, who pushed her to join the war council that would have taken place in three weeks. She crumpled the letter and threw it on the floor. Her gaze fell, as always, on the marks left by Maleficent's claws on the marble.
Since four months Regina lived inside the Forbidden Fortress. She actually had taken refuge in there, repudiating her feelings.
Emma's face was always present in her thoughts, but she kept trying to banish it running otno Maleficent's arms, a pleasing company, anyway.
She indolently got out of the bed, wrapping then herself into a nightgown when the icy air hit her naked body. She gave a glance at Mal, still asleep, then went ouside, on the balcony.
Her gaze wandered over the far horizon, as if looking for what was once her imagined Emma sitting on the throne. She smiled, unable to do anything else at the thought of the princess.
Maleficent suddenly woke up, as always. She touched the bed without finding Regina. She turned then towards the balcony, already knowing that she would be there. She stood up and got out that way, naked, the dragon's fire to warm her up from the inside. She hugged Regina from behind, kissing her neck.
«Something worries you, my dear?» she asked in a murmur.
Regina tensed for a second, then she relaxed at that contact.
«What should I be worried for?» she asked turnng her head and smiling at her. «You, instead, dream always more frequently your daughter… you're restless at night. Can I do something about it?»
«I'm afraid you can't.» the blonde smirked. «What are you doing outside in the cold? Come inside…»
Regina didn't move, but kept staring at her.
«What if there's a way?»
Mal glared at her.
«Don't delude me, Regina…» she growled.
«I would never do that…» the brunette replied, offended. «Not to you.»
The dragon lowered her head, regretful.
«Forgive me… It's just that when we talk about her…»
«I know.» Regina lifted her face and lokked in her eyes. «But I had an idea, and maybe it might work.»
«I'm listening.» the blonde murmured, paying more attention.
«I know that those two idiots have a magic bean…» the queen began, staring at her. «Do you know what can it do?»
Maleficent goggled at her and took some distance from her.
«What?! How did they geti t? And how do you know it?»
Regina smirked devilishly.
«I have a spy at their castle, obviously. That stupid fairy thought she could protect them from me in case I cast a curse…» she added with dark fun sparkling in her eyes.
Maleficent smiled, her eyes wet.
«Regina… if we take that bean…»
The brunette gave her a smile.
«You could look for your daughter.» she finished for her.
The dragon's smile, though, estinguished quickly.
«Buti t will be safe inside their castle…»
«I'll take care of that part. I'll make sure you have it.» Regina reassured her.
Mal took her face between her hands, the worry clear in her blue eyes.
«How? I don't want you to risk your life for me.»
«Don't worry.» Regina said before kissing her. «I'll be fine.»
The blonde didn't say anything else and gifted her with anothe kiss, full of passion, and Regina answered with as much intensity.
«You've been away from your daughter way too long. It's not fair that you're suffering so much.» the brunette plowed on, slightly smiling.
Maleficent stared at her with tears in her eyes.
«Thank you.» she said smiling.
«I owe you…» Regina replied caressing her face. «I'm leaving now. I will come back soon.»
The blonde smirked.
«You owe me nothing.»
«I owe you more that you think.» Regina said, walking then out of the room
Maleficent was left alone, a never before felt sense of gratefulness to warm up her soul.
«Thank you.» she whispered.
Blue suddenly straightened her back. There was a new source of power in the castle. It was somehow familiar, but she couldn't say whom it belonged to. Her forehead was frowned by the worry that built up second by second. She flew quickly to the queen.
«Snow… are you expecting visits from anyone?» she directly asked.
The woman gave her a surprised look.
«No. Why?»
The fairy scowled.
«There's something weird…» she answered, the worry increasing. «… a sorcerer, in the castle…»
«A sorcerer?!» Snow exclaimed with surprise, opening wide her green eyes. «There's no…» She stopped, her eyes even wider. The two of them shared a terrorized stare.
«Regina!» they shouted together.
«I go and catch her, gather the guards!» the fairy barked, immediately flying towards the power's source.
The magic draped a long black dress over Regina's body, majestic, menacing. The woman gave a last glance at Maleficent's castle before appearing inside her enemy's, Snow White, inside the treasure's tower. Careful to stay unseen, she cautiously walked through the large circular room, checking every chest. She threw away gold, rings, pearls, a few swords.
«Usless things…» she angrily whispered, frustrated.
She stopped to look around. A tiny casket made of raw wood caught her gaze. She walked to it and opened it, smiling as she saw the opaque object she was looking for sparkle between the wooden, thin walls. She took the little white bean between her fingers. She had never seen one.
«How much power inside such a tiny object…» she murmured to herself.
«Drop it now, Regina!»
The high and imperious voice of the fairy surprised her. She quickly moved her hand and had the bean appeared inside Maleficent's castle, away from her.
«Good luck, my friend.» she whispered with her eyes closed. She then turned and glared at the hateful fairy. «I'm not taking orders from you.»
Blue smirked.
«This time you do.» she said before waving the Black Fairy's wand in the air.
A black leather bracelet appeared around Regina's wrist.
The woman barely noticed it. She raised her right hand to use her magic against the fairy, but the fireball didn't form.
«What the hell did you do to me?» she yelled at Blue, rying to tear the bracelet off of her wrist.
The fairy smiled hearing the guard's patter coming closer.
«You'd better not resist, Regina. Oh, and you should cut your arm to take that off, without magic. » she said approaching her. «Give up, Regina: you lost.»
The brunette glared at her with rage.
«I might have lost, but you did too.» she smiled. «My job is done.»
Blue stared confusedly at her, then she replied with anger: «Prepare to rot in a cell for the rest of your life.»
A moment later Snow entered the room, followed by the guards that immediately immobilized Regina. Snow looked at her in confusion.
«Why are you here?» she asked her.
«I needed a thing.» the woman answered with arrogance, ignoring the fairy's words.
«What?»
«Ask the fairy.» Regia laughed. «She looks quite angry…»
«She took the bean.» Blue participated, glowering at her.
Snow alternated her gaze from Regina to Blue.
«Why do you need it?» she questioned her enemy.
«Nothing you need to worry about. The bean is in the hands of the person who needed it.» Regina answered, bored.
«Regina, if you're not talking by fair means…»
The brunette yanked the guards to move closer to her.
«What will you do? Trust me, you can't do anything else to me!» she growled glancing at her with rage and contempt.
Snow gritted her teeth.
«Bring her to the dungeon.» she roughly commanded to her guards.
The Evil Queen's laughter echoed in the room while they were taking her away.
Snow lokked gloomily at the fairy.
«Call James. And the council.» she ordered, exiting the room with heavy steps.
James entered almost running the council room, after that Blue had informed him.
«How on earth that bloody witch did manage to elude the guards?» he shouted. Everyone gazed down but his wife.
«She appeared right inside the treasure's tower… It doesn't matter now, however. She's in a cell, and without magic. But the bean is somewhere else, and who knows how many damages could it cause…»
«We must discover whom she gave it to now!» the king stated staring at her eyes. «And we will, by any means necessary.»
Snow pinched her lips sighing.
«I know. We can't afford to put in danger an entire kingdom.»
James nodded, determined.
«Let's go to her.»
His wife stood up with difficulty, weighed down by her age and her duties.
«Yes, let's go…»
Together, they walked out of the large crcular room. Blue watched them go, smirking behind their back.
After being brought to the dungeons, Regina had layed on the cell's bunk. She sighed, staring at the ceiling.
The two rulers arrived at the dungeons a few moments later, escorted by the guards.
«Regina.» Snow roughly called her. The woman barely turned her head to look at them.
«How, here's the happy duo…» she devilishly smiled. «Did you miss the dungeons?»
Snow gave her a sharp look.
«Regina, I'm giving you a last chance: tell us who's got the bean, and why do they need it.»
The queen sat with elegance on the filthy bunk.
«Do you really think I'm going to tell you? You're even more idiotic than I thought…»
Snow gritted her teeth.
«Guards.» she simply said, moving them to make them pass. The men opened the cell and rudely grabbed Regina's arms. The woman istinctively raised her hand to use magic to defend herself, forgetting for a moment the bracelet that imprisoned her wrist.
While two of them kept her still, one of the guards punched her in the face. The woman didn't make a sound and stayed standing, turning again her head to face the spouses, her lip bleeding.
«Is that everything you can do?» she asked towrds Snow, smiling.
The queen motioned towards the guards to go on.
They hit her on her stomach, taking her breath away. Despite her legs had collapsed because of the violence of the strike, she stood up withouth levering on the guards' grasp.
The hit wasn't enough to make her talk, and neither those who followed.
Emma was inside her chamber, Regina's ex-chamber, whe a little blue bird landed on the windowsill. The window was opened to let the morning's fresh air in. She recognized it immediately. Something serious had happened if her mother sent her one of her messengers. She leapt up and took the message, tied to the bird's tiny paw, reading it quickly then. Her face lost any trace of color as her eyes ran over the words.
She dropped the message and stormed out of the room.
«Guards!» she shouted, running towards the stables.