Hello my beloved readers, I only now noticed that this story reached over a hundred followers and I am so happy! I've been feeling quite down lately, but this really cheered me up and I am so grateful for Everyone who follows, reviews and favs this fic!

I hope you will enjoy this chapter as well, happy reading!

x Muriel

WARING, MENTIONS OF ABUSE

Chapter Twelve

Regina staggered as her heeled feet hit the ground of the marble floor of her house. Soft clicks of her heels echoing through the empty foyer and for a moment she let herself sink down against the wall and regain her herself. Calm her thundering heart down, but it seemed impossible. She wasn't safe anywhere anymore.

When she head the voice of her mother ring through the house she scrambled up with a semblance of grace that had embedded itself in her from childhood because of said voice she had heard. She swallowed hard and put on her usual mask she had on with her mother here. She didn't really favour anymore abuse today, she already had enough bruises from her mother on her body as is.

'Regina, dear, where were you?' Her mother asked and looked at her with a disapproving look like Regina had grown used to, and she felt a slight anger towards her mother burn. She of course couldn't say anything offensive or anything she actually wanted to say to her mother, lest she be disrespectful to the woman that had raised her.

'I was out in the forest testing out the limitations of magic here in this realm.' Answered instead, because it was true that she had tested it, just in a slight different way by testing how far she could go before she would lose control. So she wasn't lying to her mother, because her mother would know. She just left some of the truth out of the equation.

'Good. You need some practice with your magic, it looks sloppy.' Her mother spoke and seized her in. Taking in her appearance, but she couldn't see anything out of place so she accepted the disappointing view of her daughter before her. She had failed in raising the heartless creature she herself had become. Sad.

'Yes mother.' Regina supplied, because she knew her mother always wanted an answer. She knew what would happen if she didn't supply one and it wasn't pretty.

Regina made her way to her kitchen as she wanted to eat something to make her feel a little less queasy when she heard her mother enter.

'tut tut tut, Regina, haven't you already eaten quite a bit today? Wouldn't want your clothes to get a little too snug now, would we?' He mother asked and Regina dropped the food the was holding and threw it in the trash. Damn her mother. Why would she even let her mother dictate this for her? She should be able to shut her out, but she knew what would happen if it did. Her magic was weaker than that of her mother, she was certain.

Regina felt angry though, angry enough to make a move and she turned quickly and shot her arm out to remove her mother from the room so she could at least eat normally.

Her hand was frozen, then her whole being, for the second time this day and she felt even more anger flare up just at being at the mercy of someone for the second time dammit! Fear pulsed through her, mixed with the pure rage that kept growing. 'Let go of me mother, I'm not a child anymore.' Regina protested ad was surprised at how even and angry her voice sounded.

'Then stop acting like one. I had thought you would have grown out of these temper tantrums by now, but apparently I have to be disappointed by you yet again.' Her mother said and that dug deep. Wounds she had thought were closed were ripped back open ad she lay bare and vulnerable for her mother to hurt her more as she pleased.

'Let me go.' She repeated again, her voice wavered only a little but she wasn't going to back down and give in. Not with her mother like this. Not when her mother just viewed her as something weak to control. It wasn't fair.

Instead of letting go, her mother lifted her off of the kitchen floor and swept her across the room and let her collide with a wall. The pictures that hang upon the wall clattering down to the cold ground where Regina lay with pain emanating from her knee. A picture frame shattered. It was of her and Henry together when he was still oblivious to the curse, now ruined by the shards of glass that had cut through it.

'That will teach you for your insolence.' Her mother said angrily and then walked off. She hated to her her daughter this weak, but the girl had to learn, didn't she? This was what was best for Regina in the long run, and she knew it.

Regina got up and ignored the incredible pain in her knee as she held the ruined photograph in her hands. Of course she had more pictures of Henry and her together, but he was so proud of this one. She gingerly waved her hand over it and it slowly mended itself, but somehow it seemed the smile Henry wore had turned into a scowl.

I don't want you to use magic. Magic is evil. She heard him say to her and she teleported the photograph to her desk in her office, because looking at it now would remind her of her mother, and of her son that hated her.

Emma would poison him against her. Would say that she was stealing another heart, that Regina was evil and a monster and that Henry should never want to see her again. Henry would listen to that of course, because Henry listened to everything that Emma would say. He adored her in a way the she longed to be adored by her son.

Regina tried to let healing magic pulse through her body to heal her knee from the injury it sustained because of her lovely mother. It didn't work and she took a deep breath to calm the anger she felt at being held down like this. She needed to either break from her hold of her mother, of convince her that she was strong. Dark. That she could participate in any plan her mother had thought of and help her with it to win Henry back that way and be powerful again.

She just didn't know yet what she should choose. Breaking free, or regaining power at the side of her mother.