My New Beginning

Chapter 3 Magical Outburst

After I dressed in my red velvet dress with the black lace, I walked down the stairs into the Council Chamber. Granny, Red, Charming, and Grumpy were in deep conversation. They were talking about what to do about the winged creatures. Emma walked in dressed in a lilac purple floor-length tailcoat with cream-colored pants and brown high heel boots. She also wore her hair down. I have to say that she looked lovely.

"Regina, I don't know if I can…"

I took Emma's hands in mine, "This is it, Emma. Let your mom know how you feel."

"What if she doesn't listen?"

"Use magic to keep her mouth shut."

She rolled her eyes at me, "Regina."

"Emma, it will be alright. Yes, Snow can be one-sided on many things, but she always makes sure that things become better for the one who is suffering. You never know; she may have an open mind. Just talk to her."

"Regina."

I excused myself from Emma, and I walked over to Charming and the others. I smiled and listened as Charming was getting an update on our current situation.

"Grumpy, can you explain to the Queen what you and the Dwarves found."

Grumpy gave David a pair of eyes, then he began, "Doc, Happy, Sneezy, and I was stationed at the towers. We each spotted a flying creature flying west, and then dear ole Sneezy had one of his sneezing fits, and each creature dove into the forest. We watched all night, and they never left the forest."

"Do you know exactly where in the forest they flew into?" Granny was trying to retrieve for more information.

Grumpy rolled his eyes, "I'm sorry if I don't have wolf eyes to see at night."

Granny and Grumpy broke out into an argument, and I overheard Emma talking to Snow. After I smiled at her, she took Snow upstairs for the talk. I had enough of these two!

"Alright," I raised my hands, attempting to keep the peace between the two hotheads, "someone had to have spotted one of these things during the evening."

"I did."

We turned to where the new voice was coming from, and it was from a fox followed by a bear! They were wearing clothes. This is different.

I gave him a nod, "Alright, Mr?"

The fox spoke, "Robin Hood and this is Little John. Yes, I do know the human Robin. We help each other out from time to time."

"Alright, Robin," I continued, "do you remember exactly where you've seen the creature?"

"It disappeared where the road forks into four different roads. I believe I can trap it…"

"I want it dead!" I interrupted, "These creatures are dangerous! I don't want any more people getting hurt by these pests!"

He bowed, "As you wish, my Queen. I will hunt it down and kill it."

I gave him a nod, and he and Little John left.

"Regina," I turned to face Charming, and he continued, "Are you sure you don't want the creature to be alive? We could see if it talks, and we can figure out…"

"I want it dead," I repeated, "That thing injured Emma very badly. If I didn't heal her, she could have lost her arm. I want to see the corpse! I don't want that vile creature flapping around the castle, destroying everything."

I felt Emma's emotions, and she was having enough of the conversation, so I decided it was time for me to rescue her from her annoying mother. I excused myself from the conversation and walked out of the room.

* * * * *MY NEW BEGINNING* * * * *

I opened the door to my bedroom, and I could hear the conversation on the balcony.

"Emma, I just want you to be happy."

"What made you think that I wasn't? I am happy that I have you, dad, Henry, and Regina. The last thing I need right now is romance. My top priority right now is to make sure my family and the kingdom are safe. These winged creatures will get taken care of as soon as we find out what they are and where they are coming from."

I strolled out to the balcony and made my presence known. "Pardon the intrusion," they both looked at me, and I continued, "Emma, you are needed in the council chamber."

She mouthed, "Thank you," to me, then walked toward me to leave through my room. I was just about to leave when I heard Snow call out to me.

"Regina, don't go. I want to talk to you."

I turned toward Emma with a 'what the hell' expression, and she smiled at me. She took my hand in hers, gave it a reassuring squeeze, and left. I turned my gaze to Snow, who was gazing out at the beautiful forest scenery.

"Regina, I want to say that I'm sorry for holding a grudge for so long. You have come a long way from how you were before to where you are now, and I never really told you how proud you make me. I thought that by trying to push you and that Robin Locksley fellow together would be my little thank you gift for saving us from Pan's curse."

"Snow, please," I took a deep breath, "Thank you for being honest and for your kind words. I would appreciate it if you stayed out of my love life. Just because I don't have one at the moment doesn't mean I am feeling miserable. Snow, I had my mother set me up with numerous men for years. I didn't like it then, and I surely wouldn't like it if you decided to play matchmaker on me. I am waiting for true love to come to me. If it does, perfect. If it doesn't, oh well, I will be alone for the rest of my life."

She turned to me with a smile, "You will find true love one day, Regina. I'm sure of it," then she changed the subject on me. "You and Emma have gotten close."

Um…very odd that she was just speaking about true love, then she brought up Emma and I's relationship. What in the hell is she implying?"

"Emma and I have gotten closer because we share a son. While we were repairing the wall outside the castle, our magical cores bonded, and we can tell each other's emotions and reading thoughts. We don't understand what is happening, but we are working together to figure this out. So, yes, Emma and I have become terrific friends."

"You two need to come to the Council Chamber, now."

Snow and I looked at Emma with shocked questionable expressions, then followed her off the balcony, into my room, and out the door.

* * * * *MY NEW BEGINNING* * * * *

Emma, Snow, and I entered the Council Chamber to see Robin and Hook joined the meeting. Emma and I glanced at each other and rolled our eyes at the situation at hand. It was evident that Emma didn't want to see Guyliner, and I didn't want to see Mr. I Rob from the Rich and Live in the Forest quack! Thank goodness, Snow decided to acknowledge them.

"Mr. Locksley, Captain Hook, what do we owe the pleasure?"

Robin quickly responded, "My fox friend, Robin, shot one of those creatures, and I thought you might want to see it."

We all exchanged anxious looks, then Emma replied, "Let's see it."

Robin walked out into the hall then returned with Robin (the fox) and Little John (the bear) carrying the large creature, and dropped it on the table. We all looked at this thing with dark feathery wings and looked an awful lot like a chimp.

"A monkey?" Charming questioned, then I began thinking aloud, "A monkey with wings that can fly…" then I looked at Little John and both Robins, "Did you see how many more there were of those winged monkeys?"

Little John shook his massive head, and the human Robin replied, "No other ones have been found. I'm sorry, your majesties, I didn't get to see exactly where it came from."

"Thank you, Mr. Locksley…" I began to thank him but was interrupted by him, "Call me, Robin."

I nodded without changing my expression, "Thank you, Robin, for all your help."

Suddenly, I felt strange like I wasn't in control of myself. I looked down at my hands, and white electric sparks were shooting out of my fingers. I glanced toward Emma's direction, and she was experiencing the same thing. The sparks shot out of our fingers at the same time, and when they met, it created a beautiful light show like the lightning that flashes behind the clouds. It zapped the creature away, and the magic made its way out the window then broke into six lightning bolts. We all watched as the lightning dived down into six different places in the forest. Loud screeches filled the air, and I felt like myself again. I looked at Emma, and she gave me a reassuring nod that she was alright. Everyone looked at Emma and me after what just happened.

"Excuse me."

Emma left the room before I could call out to her. I watched her go; then I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see it was Snow.

"Regina."

I nodded, "I'll go talk to her."

As I was walking out of the room, Charming called out to me, "Regina."

I turned around to look at him, and he smiled at me, "Thank you, you and Emma saved the kingdom from these…flying monkeys."

I returned the smile. "Anything for the safety of the kingdom."

I turned around and walked out of the room.

* * * * *MY NEW BEGINNING* * * * *

I made it into my room and walked out onto the balcony. Emma was leaning on the railing, looking out at the forestry scenery then at her hands. She hung her head and closed her eyes. I walked toward her.

"Emma?"

She opened her eyes and turned to see me lean on the balcony railing next to her.

"Are you alright?"

She shook her head. "What just happened?"

"I don't know. All I know is that our magic has bonded, and we are now starting to see how it affects us."

"I hope it doesn't go cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs when one of us gets extremely angry at something."

I couldn't help but laugh; then I took her hand in mine. "We got rid of those flying monkeys. I like our new joined power."

"Me too," Emma smiled then looked at our joined hands, "I wonder what other joined power we have."

I gazed out at the forest. "I don't know, but it will be quite an adventure."

We shared a smile then gazed at the beautiful sunset.

"Regina?"

I turned to look at her, and she asked, "There are two Robin Hoods?"

I couldn't help but laugh. "Let me explain."