What Comes Next
Empty rooms and Confessions
The next day start out just fine with all of them enjoying breakfast in the large dining room. Maleficent and Lily chats briskly, and Esme chirps in here and there.
Snow and Charming are obviously concerned about Emma, but Snow is still sickeningly optimistic. Emma is with Killian and Merlin. Everything will be fine.
The dwarves show up and tells them that there's no news of Arthur, which probably means that he's given up on ever finding them.
Belle keeps a close eye on her rose in the glass, but the petals seems to have reached a permanent state. Which means that Rumple's situation hasn't worsened.
And Regina chats on with Henry, teases him a little about Violet, and the teenager blushes and whines: "moo-ooom, stop it!"
Regina is entirely amused by that.
Henry bravely changes the subject by saying: "I'd like to see more of the castle. Do you think it would be okay if I explored it a little?"
"Ask Maleficent," Regina encourages.
And so Henry does. The teenager clears his throat before he says: "Maleficent?"
"Yes, Henry?" Maleficent answers, rather surprised. She's not used to anyone beside Regina and Lily speaking directly to her.
"Would it be okay if I looked around in your castle?"
"But of course," Maleficent smiles. "But steer clear of the downstairs department. That place is not for children. Or teenagers."
"Why? What's downstairs?" Henry asks. His curiosity is clearly roused.
"The dungeon." Maleficent admits and gives Regina a certain look.
Regina almost scoffs. Ah, yes. The dungeon. The place Mal so often threatened to lock Regina away in whenever she had been driving Maleficent crazy.
"Okay." Henry says.
"And there's a room on the second floor I would prefer if you didn't go into to, but apart from that, the Forbidden Fortress is yours to roam freely in."
"Cool," Henry grins as he rises from his chair and disappears upstairs.
"Your son is not afraid of me," Maleficent says to Regina and beams.
"Well, he has no reason to, has he?" Regina retorts.
"Do you think he could even grow to like me eventually?" Maleficent asks and suddenly looks rather uncertain.
"Like you?" Regina echoes and chuckles a little. "Mal, he already does."
"He... He does?"
"Of course," Regina assures. "He sees how happy you make me. He doesn't need any other reason to like you."
"I'd like to be friends with your son, little one," Maleficent says.
"And I have a feeling you and he will be the very best of friends."
"You think?" Maleficent says. "I'm not used to... I'm more used to children running from me, not befriending me."
Regina shakes her head. She more than understands why children ran from the great and terrible Evil Queen back in the days, but that children should run away from Maleficent makes no sense. Maleficent has done nothing to be feared among children.
"You and Henry will get along beautifully," Regina assures and gives Mal's hand a little squeeze.
"You really think so?"
"I know so."
Maleficent flashes her another smile.
Suddenly, Snow pushes her breakfast away, rises from her chair while muttering something about following Henry's example and take a walk in the castle.
Regina raises an eyebrow as Snow walks off.
"I think she's going a little stir crazy," David comments and rocks Neal. "And I think, behind her optimism she's worried sick about Emma."
Regina nods. She can understand that.
"But Emma will be just fine, won't she?" David says softly to baby Neal. And Neal coos in return.
Then Maleficent rises from her chair too. "I think I'll go see where Diaval is. Are you coming with, my darling?"
"Maybe I'll catch up with you later," Regina says and looks at her still full breakfast plate.
"Alright." Maleficent presses a quick kiss to Regina's temple and then the blonde sorceress disappears out of the dining room.
Regina turns her attention back to her breakfast, and it doesn't take long before Lily hijacks Maleficent's abandoned chair and starts chatting briskly with Regina while she eats breakfast.
"So, you and dragon mom are gonna live together when we get back?" the young brunette inquires.
"Who told you..."
"My brand-new brother let it slip," Lily chuckles.
"Oh. Well. Yes, yes, we are." Regina admits.
"Good. I'm glad. "She'll need someone to help her with all the modern stuff, and you seem like the best candidate," Lily says.
"She'll need you too," Regina says gently.
"I know. And I aint going anywhere," Lily assures. "But still, I'm glad she's not gonna live alone."
"There will be no more of that," Regina says firmly. "I'll make sure of that."
"Good. She adores you," Lily says plainly.
Regina blushes a little at that. "She told you that?"
"Nope. Didn't need too. I have eyes, you know." Lily teases.
A new wave of heath colors Regina's cheeks.
"Have she always looked at you like that?" Lily asks casually.
"I suppose she has. At least for a while." Regina mutters.
Lily chuckles. "I didn't know dragons could be mushy."
"They can't," Regina deadpans. But the way Maleficent looked at her the first night they spent together comes back to haunt her.
"You sure about that?" Lily teases.
"Absolutely. What about you? Are you gonna live alone when we get back?" Regina asks to change the subject and glances at Esme.
Now it's Lily who blushes slightly. "I dunno yet..." she mutters. "We haven't really talked about things, y'know? But she's definitely coming back to Storybrooke with us."
"I'm very happy to hear that." Regina smiles. "She seems nice."
"Let's hope things won't be as rocky between us as they were between you and mom."
Regina grimaces. "I guess you could say our relationship was a bit turbulent, yes."
"A bit turbulent? Didn't she try and strangle you once?"
"I think she's oversharing." Regina mutters. "What else have she told you?"
"Not much," Lily shrugs. "Just how you guys met and stuff."
"I see."
Lily looks over her shoulder and smiles at Esme. Then she looks back at Regina. "Anyway, Esme and I are gonna go for a walk. See you later, mom."
"Yes, indeed." Regina says as she scarfs down the rest of her breakfast
Regina was planning on heading into the library to catch up on some reading, but that idea is quickly shattered when she hears shouting from the second floor:
"... A reason this door is closed! People aren't supposed to snoop around in here, and you least of all! Put that down this instant!"
Regina pauses on the stairs. That's Maleficent yelling. But why is the dragon yelling? And who is she yelling at?
She quickly abandons all thoughts about heading to the library. Instead she half-runs up the stairs to see what on earth is going on.
She finds the answer in a room on the second floor. Maleficent is standing in the middle of the room, face twisted with ice cold anger, and Snow White is standing backed up against the wall. Her green eyes are wide with fear and her face is drained of color.
"What on earth is going..." Regina begins but then she stops and shuts her mouth completely as she looks around in the room. She very quickly realizes what this is about.
This room is kept in light colors, delicate shades of purple. There are soft, white curtains for the windows, in the corner of the room stands an old chest, and Regina can see pink fabric peek up from it, in another corner stands what looks this worlds version of a changing table. And in the middle of the room stands an exquisite bassinet, made of the finest walnut wood. Above it hangs a light purple canopy, and two dragon mobiles are fastened to the bassinet itself. The bedding is purple too, almost the same shade as the sheets in Maleficent's bedroom.
The walls in the room are painted with colorful motives of green forest and dragons flying above on a clear blue sky. The room is so far from the rest of the Forbidden Fortress. It's vibrant, colorful and alive.
A completely prepared nursery for a much an eagerly expected baby. A baby that never came.
Regina's blood runs cold in her veins, and for a moment she just wants to curl up and sob in a corner, but Maleficent looks like she's upset enough to do that herself, so instead Regina straightens her posture and walks over to Snow.
"Give me that," she says quietly to Snow and nods toward the little silver music box in the princess' hand.
Snow instantly hands the music box over. "I-I'm sorry," she stutters. "I truly meant no..."
"Then perhaps you shouldn't have gone inside a room where the door is closed," Regina says emotionless. "All the other doors in this castle are wide open, and yet you choose the one room where the door is closed."
Snow bows her head at Regina's words. "I'm so deeply sorry. I should have known, I should have realized..."
"Snow, I value our friendship, I truly do," Regina says and pinches the bridge of her nose. "But I can't have you walk into rooms you have no business being in. And I certainly can't have you upset the woman I love..."
"The woman you what?" Maleficent croaks and speaks up for the first time since Regina entered the room.
Regina immediately realizes what she just said, and she gapes slightly. She hadn't meant to say it. The words quite literally tumbled out of her mouth.
"Please leave us," she says to Snow.
Snow immediately does as requested. And she closes the door on her way out.
"The woman you what?" Maleficent repeats and she sounds surprisingly quiet for someone who was shouting only moments ago.
Regina hesitates. This wasn't how she had planned on declaring her feelings. Not like this, not in front of Snow White, not in the middle of sticking up for Maleficent, and she's surprised that Maleficent is surprised. Because Regina thought that she knew. She thought that the dragon knew what Regina is feeling. Even though she has never spoken loudly of her feelings.
"The woman you what?" Maleficent asks for the third time.
"I... I thought you knew," Regina stutters.
Maleficent comes closer. "The woman you what, Regina?"
"The... The w-woman I love," Regina whispers. It sounds like she doesn't mean it, like it's not genuine. She quickly clears her throat and tries again: "The woman I love." It's still a whisper, but this time it sounds truthful. "I thought you already knew how I felt about you. But now that I know you didn't, I wish that I had told you differently. Not in front of anyone, and in a different context. Certainly not in this situation, because that's- mmph!"
Maleficent interrupts her frantic rambling by closing the gap between them, cup Regina's face and kiss her deeply.
Regina wobbles slightly under Maleficent's fierce affection. It feels a little as if the dragon is trying to prevent her from breathing. Permanently.
"A-air," she squeaks.
And Maleficent gives her air. But her warm hands doesn't leave Regina's cheeks as she peppers her face with kisses.
"You truly didn't...?" Regina mumbles.
"No, little queen. How could I, when you never told me?" Maleficent replies.
"Well, now you know."
"Yes, now I know."
Regina reaches up and puts her hand over Mal's hand that's still resting on the brunette's cheek. "And do you..."
Maleficent doesn't let her finish this time either. "Yes, little queen. I love you too."
And for a moment, that terrifies Regina. Because loving her is dangerous. Nothing good ever comes from loving her.
But then she thinks of Henry. He loves her, and he's right here. Despite everything, she didn't drove him away.
And despite everything, Maleficent is right here too. Despite their fights and harsh words, despite the terrible fate Regina condemned the dragon to in an underground prison for thirty years, Maleficent is still right here.
Despite everything that made Regina cut ties with Maleficent in the past, they still found their way back to each other.
Regina feels unworthy of it. Unworthy of it all. She made sure Maleficent couldn't search for their daughter. She's one of the reasons this nursery is empty.
Maybe she'll end up crying after all. It prickles dangerously behind her eyes. And that's selfish.
Maleficent is the one who carried Lily. Maleficent is the one who has known about Lily's existence for thirty years. She's far more entitled to being upset than Regina.
It should be Regina comforting Mal. Not the other way around.
But Mal does comfort Regina. And Regina is truly upset. Because this room screams at her what she lost. What they lost. Another "what if".
Their daughter is right here, in this castle. And she's a strong, beautiful young woman Regina couldn't be prouder of.
But they will never put baby Lily down for the night in the beautiful bassinet.
They'll never witness her first smile, hear her first laugh or cheer for her as she takes her first steps. There will never be a first word.
There will never be a baby Lily. The nursery will always be empty.
And Regina knows that she can't be angry at Snow and Charming. Because this is exactly what she did to them. She made sure Emma would grow up without her parents.
It's only fitting that she gets to experience their pain, but her heart breaks for Maleficent. She doesn't deserve any of this.
Regina sniffles slightly into the handkerchief Mal just handed her.
"I should have told you about this room's existence," Maleficent says gently and rubs Regina's shoulders slightly.
But Regina shakes her head. "I deserve this."
"No, you don't. Placing the blame on anyone won't get us anywhere. You said so yourself." Maleficent reminds her.
"Why do you even bother with me?" Regina hiccups. "I'm just a heartless..."
"Would you be crying for our daughter if you were?" Maleficent interrupts. "You're not heartless, Regina. And you never have been. You and I both know that."
Regina hiccups again. "I should be the one comforting you. Not the other way around."
"I'll hold you to that," Maleficent teases gently.
Regina chuckles wetly at that and finally removes the handkerchief from her nose and mouth.
"It wasn't my intention to scare anyone," Maleficent mutters. "But when I saw her in this room..."
"You're entitled to be angry," Regina says. "No one expects you to forgive and forget within a couple of weeks."
"You'll help me through it."
"If you'll help me."
"Always." Maleficent says firmly and brings Regina's hand up to her lips. "We'll help each other."
"Deal." Regina replies and wipes her cheeks. "I'm really sorry for breaking down like this."
"Apologizing is not a part of the healing process," Maleficent says gently. "You are entitled to break down once in a while."
Regina laugh-hiccups at that. "Should we leave this room?"
"I'd like that," Maleficent says and then smiles a little. "Perhaps we could go back to our room and take a hot bath?"
"That sounds nice," Regina smiles.
They leave the empty nursery and Regina seals it off completely with magic so she and Mal are the only one who can get in.
"Thank you... my love," Maleficent murmurs.
Regina smiles as she squeezes Mal's hand. Maybe there would be more break downs in the future, but they were gonna get through this. Regina was certain of that.
To Be Continued...