Long Lost Sisters

(3rd POV)

As a handmaiden to Queen Guinevere, it didn't take very long for Hilda to find out that two of the new guests from the Enchanted Forest were none other than the famous Snow White and the Evil Queen. However, she was even more stunned to hear that the two have been on cordial terms for several years now. After all, when Hilda was still living in the Enchanted Forest, the two had been at each other's throats and their conflict only resulted in huge amounts of bloodshed both on the battlefield, and in the lives of many villagers.

Whilst that it had been many years since she experienced those things, they still lived in her mind like it was yesterday. She was worried about her elder brother when he moved out of their childhood home to work in the stables of a noble family's estate. She exchanged regular letters with him, until they mysteriously stopped. But by then, she was already far away from the Northern Kingdom because of her husband's occupation. Several years had passed, and Hilda begun hearing news of how the Evil Queen began to terrorise the land following the King's death. As a result, Hilda and her husband were forced to seek their fortune elsewhere, to escape the monarch's strict restrictions on trade. Not long after they arrived in Camelot, her husband died of an illness. Without her close companion by her side, nor any children to take of, Hilda looked for work, and she ultimately managed to secure a job as a handmaiden in Arthur's castle.

Hilda expected that the guests would cause a commotion, but she wasn't anticipating that a girl would be poisoned so soon. When she inquired about what happened, she was surprised to hear from the messenger that it wasn't the notorious evil monarch's daughter.

Holding a basket of healing herbs and moist towels, Hilda climbed the tower where the guests were residing. Though she was humming a tune quietly to herself, she immediately stopped in her tracks when she entered the room. Standing beside the bed was the familiar silhouette of a man who she hadn't seen in a long time. She put down the basket and murmured, "Daniel?"

The man turned around slowly and looked at Hilda in puzzlement for a second before his eyes lit up upon recognising her. "Hilda!"

The siblings ran towards each other and embraced tightly. Hilda then repeated in a shaky voice, "What, how? I thought...I thought you were dead! Your letters stopped coming so I thought the Queen had done something to you!"

When they parted, Daniel threw Lena a look but his wife tried to shake off the mention of Regina by stepping forth and prompting, "Hilda?"

Another wave of recognition rushed through the handmaiden and she gasped, "Lena!" Then, seeing the sick teenage girl on the bed, she said, "That's...that's your daughter?"

Lena nodded and lead Hilda over to Aurelie, who blinked weakly. She too, was intrigued with the interaction that had just occurred. Then, Hilda asked, "What happened? Surely the poison wasn't meant for your daughter." Her voice softened as she took Aurelie's hand in hers and asked gently, "What's your name?"

After Aurelie replied weakly, Lena cut in and said, "The Evil Queen did it."

Hilda looked worriedly at her brother, "Are you sure? Has somebody reported that? I thought the Queen and Snow White were on good terms now, but surely Snow would do something about it?"

Daniel quickly interrupted with a stern glance thrown towards his wife and confirmed, "You're not wrong, Hilda. But I don't think this was her doing-"

Lena scrunched up her forehead upon hearing Daniel's answer, but she didn't want to be the one to reveal to Hilda that her husband had been the Queen's lover. Not yet. Hilda swallowed uncomfortably but nonetheless crossed the room to retrieve the basket that she had carried up to the room. As she did so, Lena tried to steer the conversation away from Regina and changed the topic by asking, "How did you end up in Camelot?"

As the trio, with Aurelie lying weakly on the bed, was engaged with that story, they didn't notice the click of footsteps walk up towards the room, until the person who carried them entered. When they looked up, each sported a different expression in response to the intruder's appearance. Aurelie looked a little fearful and confused, whilst Lena pasted a glare onto her face. Meanwhile, Daniel couldn't have been more uncomfortable in his life. Hilda however, was startled as they had just been talking about the reasons why she had to leave Camelot. The conversation by that stage had taken a rather animated turn with Hilda's complaints towards the Evil Queen's trade policies.

Yet, standing not far from them was the notorious sorceress' daughter. Although Hilda promptly stood up to give the princess a curtsy as dictated by protocol, she couldn't help but slightly glare at the girl.

There were so many thoughts that swarmed her mind at the time. The first being how she wanted to harm that girl, for she had heard so many stories about the reign of the Evil Queen. After all, no one wanted to witness the continuation of a dynasty of power hungry witches. However, Hilda was caught staring at the princess in puzzlement. Although it was undeniable that the princess had inherited much of her mother's alluring looks, her eyes told a different story.

(Daniella's POV)

I had hoped that I would catch Aurelie alone so that I could talk about what happened. I knew that she would probably be angry at me, but I couldn't risk damaging our relationship now. However, my plans were crushed when I walked into the room to find father, Lena and a handmaiden all looking at me like I was a cat holding a dead mouse in my mouth. The handmaiden bowed, but it wasn't that gesture which brought unease to me. It was the way in which she looked at me.

Though I recoiled inwardly, I pushed away any thoughts relating to her expression and began, "I didn't know they sent a healer."

She clarified in a rather protective tone, "I'm a handmaiden of the Queen Guinevere's court and I'm also Aurelie's aunt." I did a double take. I glanced at father for an explanation so he nodded and said, "Hilda is my sister."

The way that she looked at me told me that she doesn't know I was her niece. I attempted to ease the situation by replying a little awkwardly, "I was just checking if Aurelie's ok."

I watched Hilda's expression transition from confusion to shock which only confirmed that she really didn't know who I was. Feeling like a lost lamb in a den of wolves, I used my magic and teleported out of the situation. I knew mother was up in Merlin's work place, still trying to figure out a way to free the wizard from his trapped form so I re-appeared there. As the purple smoke from my magic dispersed into the air, she put down a book and looked up at me for a moment before knitting her eyebrows together to ask, "Firefly? What happened?"

I blurted out without thinking, "Father has a sister?!"

Mama certainly didn't expect me to mention that piece of information for she responded with a slow nod and began, "Yes, Hilda is her name I believe. Did he tell you that?"

"No, but she's here!" I exclaimed.

"In Camelot?"

"Yes, she's with Aurelie right now." After a momentary pause, I added quietly, "I don't think she knows who I am, yet. As in, I don't think she realises that I'm her niece. Did you ever meet her?"

Mother shook her head and put the spell book back on its shelf as she replied, "No, Daniel had written to her in a letter asking if she wanted to meet me but she was in a far off kingdom at the time, so it wasn't possible."

"Do you think they will tell her?"

"Who? If you're referring to that creature, then no. I imagine she would want to rid herself of you and I. But your father, I'm not quite sure." Upon turning back to the huge tome in her hand, she continued, "In any case, the sooner I make this potion, the sooner they can go back to New York."

I raised my eyebrow which only made mother sigh and say without looking at me, "I know what you're thinking Firefly, and no, it's not going to happen."

Nonetheless, I pushed, "He still loves you. And...I just feel like whatever is going on between him and Lena doesn't look quite-"

"Daniella, they're married and they have a daughter. I am NOT going to get pulled into a relationship again. This is why you agreed to give your sister that potion, isn't it? So that she wouldn't remember the conversation between your father and I about true love."

I wasn't about to give up, not when it was clear that whenever father was with Lena, the pair seemed to look miserable. Even though I was afraid to spend extended periods of time with him, my heart still burned whenever I saw him with Lena. I continued to argue in a slightly quieter yet desperate tone, "But mama...true love always wins. That's what you've recently accepted, right? That would mean that you and father should be together."

"Daniella..." she began before sitting down and saying, "You're sixteen now, you should be able to understand that some relationships aren't all that it's cracked up to be. You father chose his path, and there is nothing I will do to force him to love me-"

"But he does love you!"

"Daniella Mills! Will you cut it?" mother's voice roared a little too sternly. Several vials on the workbench before us cracked under her magic. I looked down. Well, at least I'm not fried to the crisp. I flinched a little when mother took my hand in hers but her voice contrasted her outburst when she apologized and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lash out."

I smiled a little for I was used to mother's rash reactions and I knew that despite what she said, she knew that I wasn't entirely wrong.

Mother and I were the last to arrive at the dining hall as we had been caught up with incantations and spells that would lead us to free Merlin. When we took our place at the table, I noticed that Hilda had been invited to dine with us. From her unsmiling expression, I guessed that father still haven't told her about me. David was the first to greet us, "Regina, how is your research coming along?"

As mother sat down, she replied, "I believe I've found the right spell, but it requires a complicated ingredient."

"Which is?" Snow prompted. Mother looked unwilling to answer but when she told everyone what it was, I knew why. She picked up her cutlery and replied softly without looking at anyone in the eye, "Tears of the broken hearted."

"Oh, well I hope we don't have to reduce anybody to tears to free Merlin," Snow joked.

When we were all consumed by animated talk, I gradually felt the eyes of Hilda drift away from mother and myself. It was when Emma arrived did things take a sour turn. When she sat down, it was clear that she had been hiding from everyone for the whole day for she looked at Hilda and remarked politely, "Oh, we have a new addition to the table."

Father replied, "This is Hilda, my sister."

I watched as Emma's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Then, she said, "Nice to meet you, I'm Emma."

Hilda gave Snow and David a look before asking, "Your majesties, Emma is your daughter is she not?"

"Yes, she is. And please, it's Snow and David. We're all very casual around here," Snow said. Then, Hilda cleared her throat and began, "I haven't seen Daniel for so long, but I suppose I have to thank you all for coming here on this quest of yours. If it wasn't for your mission, I wouldn't have seen him again."

"You're aware of our quest?" Emma asked in a nervous voice. Snow quickly interjected before anyone could speak, "Only the basics. But considering that Hilda is with us now, I believe she should know about certain things. Afterall, we need as many allies as we could."

Emma then laughed and said, "True. I can imagine just how many things you would need to catch up on."

Hilda chuckled and replied, "You're not wrong. I mean, the last time Daniel and I corresponded with each other was in a letter. I believe I was only sixteen at the time, but I had been so happy that he had found love."

I looked down at that moment, and at the corner of my eyes, I could see mother refrain from putting the piece of meat on her fork into her mouth. Instead, she kept cutting up her steak neatly when Daniel replied quickly in a joking voice, "Was it really necessary to mention that to everyone?"

Hilda smirked and nudged him before saying, "You were pretty love sick back then." Perhaps Snow was trying to ease the situation, but as expected she only made it worse by saying, "Well I'm happy that you have found each other now."

I watched cautiously as Hilda gestured to Lena and said, "Yes, and to think that now I get to meet the woman who he described in his letters. Honestly, I wouldn't have laughed at you Daniel, you could have just told me that those beautiful adoring eyes were Lena's!"

Upon making that comment, the room seemed to have been sucked into a cold vortex of silence. Indeed, there were three very uncomfortable people sitting on the table right now. However, I believe Hilda was too distracted by her brother and Lena to realise that mother had reached for her glass of wine and pretended to sip on it whilst refusing to meet anyone else's gaze. Internally, I was smiling for this was a part of my parents' love story that I hadn't known. When I put my hand on mother's arm in assurance however, she flinched a little. I knew she was thinking about the conversation that I had with her earlier. Indeed, I could see her knuckles whiten as she gripped harder onto her cutlery.

Though Lena knew perfectly well that Hilda's words did not pertain to her, she plastered on an oblivious attitude and gushed, "Daniel, I didn't know you were writing about me to your sister!"

Wrong move, woman. When my eyes swept across the dining table, I noticed how it wasn't just my expression that turned sour upon hearing that remark. Father gave her a strained smile but it was clear that Hilda was to preoccupied to notice the false tones. Hilda told everyone, "I wanted to come back and see them, but I was already in a distant land. I would have liked to be at my brother's side when he married, but you stopped sending those letters, Daniel."

Quietly, father replied, "I think they must have gotten lost for I didn't hear from you either."

"Oh, well that's a shame. Anyway, I'm glad you have found happiness with Lena now."

As soon as Hilda said that, the sharp clang of cutlery hitting porcelain beside me made everyone turn in mother's direction. She knew everyone was paying attention to her so she cleared her throat and suggested in a flat tone, "Shall we talk about more pressing matters? Namely, our quest to free Merlin so that he may help us to defeat the darkness threatening Emma?"

Besides Hilda and Lena, everyone seemed to be glad that mother put an end to Lena's gloats.

After dinner, I promptly returned to my room and sat down at the vanity where I could see a mirrored surface. Then, I used my magic to connect to its reflective twin in the room where Aurelie was resting. When the blurred image sharpened, I saw my sister in her bed, staring at the ceiling. She was obviously bored as she was not allowed to leave her room. Softly, I faced the mirror and called out, "Aurelie?"

She sat up immediately and glanced around in fear so I gave her a small smile from the mirror. When she finally caught sight of me, she crawled back a little and asked, "What do you want?"

"I want to talk to you."

"You poisoned me."

I shook my head instantly, "No, I didn't! Please trust me..."

"But my mum said a servant saw you do something to me! That's why I don't remember anything that happened recently! How can I trust you when both my parents are sure that you've done something to me?! Just go away! I didn't even mean any harm-"

"Neither did I!" I cut in. Aurelie's eyes concentrated on mine and for a moment, I actually did contemplate telling her what really happened. But I couldn't...it was something father and mother agreed on. Though, the promise only raised questions that pounded in my head incessantly. Is this how my relationship with my sister would play out? I sighed and repeated carefully, "I did not poison you. You can get someone to slip a truth telling potion down my throat and I would still respond with the same words." After a sigh, I murmured, "No matter, I know you won't believe me, I just want you to know that I'm trying to make myself clear here."

After a long silence, my sister looked down and said, "I'm sorry, I just don't know what to believe at the moment."

I nodded and replied, "That's alright. I understand all of this is very overwhelming." Pausing for a second, I contemplated my next words, "Is it alright if I come over to you?" After she had given me a nod of confirmation, I teleported to her chambers and reappeared on her bed. She gave me a smile and I easily returned it, feeling the warmth flow back into my nervous icy chest. It didn't take long before we began to talk about life in our different worlds; Enchanted Forest and New York. We were both too consumed by laughter to realise that someone had entered the room.

"Aurelie?"

I whipped around and saw Hilda stand at the foot of the bed. She seemed to take a moment to visibly pluck up her courage to speak. When she did, the harsh tone of her voice and the stern gaze in her eyes surprised me. "What did you do to her?"

Before I could reply, my sister blurted out in exacerbation, "Daniella did nothing! Can all of you just calm down? Maybe I just got food poisoning from eating food that I'm not accustomed to. Please stop blaming my sister!" As soon as she said that, she realised she had dropped the secret for her hand quickly flew to her mouth. Hilda's eyes instantaneously snapped to me in bewilderment. "Your what?"

Under Hilda's conflicted gaze, I didn't know what to say either. Finally, she finally breathed, "What...I, I don't understand." Before I could respond, Hilda took several steps back and exited the room.

(3rd POV)

Hilda ran down the corridors in a mad attempt to look for her brother. Thoughts clouded her mind like a grey storm. How was this possible? How could he, such a gentle soul, ever fall in love with her? Then again, the Queen was known to use her beauty to seduce kings and lords from other lands to do her bidding. But...surely there was nothing she could have wanted from a mere stable boy. Besides, there was no way she could have let herself get pregnant, let alone keep the child.

Hilda's head was spinning and more confused than ever. She knew the Princess was telling the truth as everything finally clicked into place; the Queen's inability to meet Daniel in the eye, the way she interrupted the conversation about him and Lena. Even the appearance of Daniella made perfect sense. Although she was a mini copy of the Queen, she shared some of her father's features too.

Hilda was too lost in her thoughts that when she rounded a corner, she crashed into none other than the Evil Queen herself. Hilda stumbled over clumsily, but the Queen merely took a step back with her mouth open in shock. Hilda looked up in fear and hoped that she wouldn't be burnt to a crisp, but the older woman simply glared and said sternly, "Watch where you're going next time." Hilda nodded instantaneously and muttered an apology, but before she could stop herself, she added, "Your majesty, have you seen my brother?"

There was a flicker of annoyance in the Queen's expression but it was replaced with her silky reply, "I believe he's out with David and Snow. It appears that Emma has gone missing." During the short pause that followed, she looked around to ensure no one was around to eavesdrop on their conversation. Then, she added, "Is Aurelie well? That's why you wish to speak to him, isn't it?"

Hilda was surprised at the concern in the Queen's voice so she stammered, "Uh, yes, Aurelie's fine. I just wanted to talk to my brother about something."

"Well you'll have to wait till he comes back if its not urgent. Though I'm sure he will put whatever he's doing aside to talk to you."

Hilda noticed that the Queen's voice trailed off a little at the end as if she was lost in thought. Before she could linger on that observation for much longer though, the monarch started walking away, which prompted Hilda to do the same. Although the rumours regarding the Queen's beauty weren't wrong, Hilda still couldn't fathom how her brother could have crossed paths with this woman.

What else was Daniel hiding from her?