The Darkness

(Daniella's POV)

Hook had been sent by the Charmings to talk to Emma and coax her into admitting what was holding her back from letting go of the darkness. Even though I wasn't sure what had occurred when mother went out to talk to her, I knew that it didn't go entirely as planned. Hook was taking longer than any of us anticipated, but there was nothing we could do except sit and wait. Soon, Rhys and I quietly slipped out of the tavern but we didn't notice anyone following us until Henry's voice exclaimed triumphantly once we were outside, "I knew it!"

Whilst Rhys seemed to be puzzled at Henry's words, I rolled my eyes at my brother and began, "If you're going to be annoying-"

With a cheeky grin on his face, he interrupted me and teased, "Aww stop being so serious all the time! I just wanted to say that I'm happy for you and also get to know the guy who likes my sister."

Rhys chuckled and reached out his hand, saying, "Pleased to meet you too, Prince Henry."

"Henry's fine," my brother replied as he shook his hand. Then, he turned to me and said, "Surely you've told him to drop these formalities?"

I reddened as I stammered, "Well...it's only been a couple of days." Seeing my embarrassment, Rhys added, "It's alright. Besides, your sister should only be treated like the Princess she is."

I resisted the urge to stick out my tongue at my brother but he replied with a knowing smile, "Indeed." I raised an eyebrow and in a desperate attempt to shift the subject from me, I asked, "Do you think Emma's ok?"

Henry nodded and said, "Talking with Hook should help her, but in any case, I believe she's strong enough to fight off the darkness. It might just take a bit of time. She's slow to believe in things right before her eyes."

"Says the person with the heart of the truest believer," I joked sarcastically with my arms crossed.

"The heart of the what?" Rhys questioned, which earned him an amused look from both Henry and I. Ultimately, I let my brother do the honour of explaining things. As the two boys launched into a easy-going conversation. In a break in their speech, I gestured towards the tavern and said, "I'm just going back in for a second. I trust you won't talk about me behind my back when I leave?"

Henry gave me a smirk and replied, "Oh, we promise." I narrowed my eyes at him in warning and headed back into the tavern. My eyes did a quick sweep of the area but as soon as I caught Aurelie's gaze, my chest felt heavy. I had no idea what was the cause of her sudden change of behaviour towards me but the looks that Lena and Hilda were both giving me told me enough. I knew better than to walk into that den of wolves so I headed past them where I bumped into my father who was just in a conversation with David. Seeing him had always brought conflicted thoughts to mind, but the events that occurred in Merlin's tower was some consolation.

He gave me a smile when he returned my greeting and motioned me to join him at the bar. After sitting down, he asked in a teasing tone, "So, where have you left him?"

"Who?"

"You know who I'm referring to," father replied with a knowing smirk.

I tried to keep a straight face as I replied, "My brother is interrogating him outside." Then, I tilted my head back and groaned, "You're not going to do the same right? Mother already spoke with him this morning before Arthur bound all of us to the trees."

Father chuckled and as he used his hand to ask Granny to bring us a drink, he said, "Well, I suppose I should at least meet him formally. Afterall, it is my responsibility to make sure you're alright."

"Daddy I'm fine," I replied as I dramatically put my hands up to my face to make a point. He laughed and said, "As a father, it's my duty, besides, at least let me make it up to you."

"For what?"

"Being there this time."

I frowned and looked down, crossing my arms on the benchtop as Granny brought us our drinks. After taking a sip at the same time, father lowered his voice and continued, "If you don't mind me asking, how are you holding up? I know the past few days have been chaotic, but you don't look too well."

I took a long sip of my drink to avoid answering his question but I quickly realised that he was waiting for me to reply. I shrugged and said simply, "I'm fine."

"But something is bothering you."

"It's not something that I can change," I murmured. To my surprise, father articulated what was in my mind after a moment of silence, "I'll have a talk with Aurelie. That's who you're concerned about, aren't you?"

I sighed before replying clumsily, "I don't know, sometimes we're ok but then sometimes we're not. I know it sounds silly, but I'm scared of approaching her especially when Lena and your sister is around."

Father nodded and said, "I understand and I'm sorry...I know this is all very messy for you."

Quietly, I asked, "How are things between you and mama?"

He looked around subtly before leaning over slightly and saying in my ear, "We'll make this work out, I promise."

Whilst I was grateful for this reassurance, I couldn't see how things will be smooth in the process. "What about Lena and Aurelie?" I questioned.

"You don't need to worry about that. I'll deal with whatever comes our way."

"Can you?" The words tumbled out before I could stop them. Seeing his expression, I shook my head and looked away, muttering a quiet, 'sorry'. After a moment of silence, he nudged me with his shoulder and with hopeful eyes, said, "Remember, true love always prevails right?"

I raised an eyebrow and before I knew it, sarcasm flowed from my lips, "Have the Charmings given you a pep talk? Is that why you're so optimistic?"

"As a matter of fact, yes; I was just talking with David."

"About this?!" I exclaimed.

Father chuckled, "Well not exactly, but he was perceptive enough to assume that it's been on my mind for some time. You might not believe it, but we have Snow's support. I know her relationship between you and your mother is very different from mine, but she still wants to help out, despite everything. Besides, she admits that she's dragged you and Regina out of your lives because of Emma's fight with the darkness."

I tilted my head from side to side and said quietly, "I know...We've all moved on from the past now, but I don't think Lena knows that."

"It's hard for her to see the change, but I have, and I will speak with her again. As for your sister..."

I held my breath and subconsciously clenched my fists together as father said, "Aurelie will come around when she realises that deep down, you're a good person. She's a very accepting girl, but I reckon all of this has been a great shock to her. Afterall, in New York, there is no such thing as magic, or queens and princesses." With his gaze, he forced me to look into his eyes as he continued, "I'm sorry that my actions have placed a tremendous amount of stress on your shoulders. I know things have gotten messy and I promise I will do my best to reconcile with them and make them understand. In the meantime, you are never to doubt yourself or the goodness in your heart, do you hear me?"

I looked away with a shy smile and I found myself asking timidly, "What are your thoughts on magic?"

Father puffed out his chest and joked, "Well, that is a difficult question, given that your grandmother killed me with magic..."

"Right," I replied as I took another sip of the drink my hands. I didn't expect him to talk further on the topic but his voice settled on a serious tone as he said, "I can't claim to know everything about it, but I understand more than I once did."

Without looking at him, I asked, "So you won't be mad at me if I use dark magic?"

Father squeezed my arm and said, "Depends on what it's for, but I'm sure that's the same response you'll get from your mother." I let stray pieces of my hair fall over my face as he moved his arm around me and said, "Actually I think it's awesome that you have both types of magic. You'll be a force to be reckoned with one day."

"You really don't mind the darkness?" I repeated slightly more blatantly in disbelief.

"Let's just say that I've come to realise that the darkness is in all of us because we're all human, are we not? I suppose coming to terms with it, and learning to control it will take time, but I believe it's possible."

I mulled over his words in silence. It was a little unsettling how he was telling me this, but at the same time, my heart yearned to accept his changed attitude. I felt a gentle squeeze on my arm. "Daniella, I've missed you."

I swallowed but felt a warmth slowly seep into my chest as I rested my head on his shoulder and replied softly, "I've missed you too, father."

For a while, we sat in silence and ignored everyone around us who no doubt, were in their own conversations save for the trio on the opposite side of the tavern. Despite knowing all too well that they were probably eying daggers into back, I didn't care.

I was about to speak up when the bell nailed to the door of the tavern delivered a faint ringing sound through the air. I turned around just in time to see Emma enter with Hook. It was evident from their expressions that the pirate had been successful and that she was ready to unite the two halves of the broken sword together.

In perfect timing, Henry and Rhys entered in sync with the sound of mother's footsteps behind me. At the corner of my eye, I spied that Sir Headley was accompanying her.

When Emma announced to everyone that she was ready, Merlin stepped out from the shadows and said, "Then it's time to destroy the darkness once and for all."

I smiled and stepped away from the bar to join Rhys' side. When Merlin opened the box that contained the flame, Emma raised her hands and willed it out of its container, hoisting it in the air. Then, she picked up the two broken fragments of the sword and held it over the flame. I squinted at the light in an attempt to see the two ends merge together but the pirate's voice distracted me. "Bloody hell-"

Everybody turned around in alarm but before we could ask him what what wrong, he fell to the floor with his hand over his neck. Emma immediately stopped what she was doing and crouched down with her hand over the spot where rivers of blood was gushing from his wound.

I heard Mother question in surprise, "When did that happen?"

Emma replied shakily, "It was Excalibur. It was just a small wound, but I healed it."

As he stepped around, Merlin explained with a grave voice, "I'm afraid it only seems that way. Excalibur was forged to cut immortal ties. A wound from that cannot be healed."

Snow breathed, "What?" Then, she uttered hastily, "There has to be something we can do, that she can do!"

As Merlin shook his head, I felt Rhys' hand land on my shoulder. I looked back down and through Emma's desperate murmurings, the pirate reassured, "Emma, it's alright. I'll be alright." Though Emma was speaking softly, I could hear her plead, "No, Killian you have to hold on. I can't lose you. No, please no. Don't leave me, you have to stay. You have to stay. Come on Killian, what about our future together?"

The pirate replied in a breathless struggle as his face reddened, "The future is now. Unite the blades so I can see before I go."

Emma suddenly drew back and declared strongly, "No."

Mother questioned, "No?"

"I'm not going to let him go when I can still save him."

I held my breath as mother tried to explain to her in a soft voice, "Emma, Merlin said there's nothing you can do."

Suddenly, Emma whipped around and said to Merlin aggressively, "That's what you said, but it isn't true is it? You told me how powerful I am; let's use that power. I can use the Promethean flame to release you from Excalibur, and then I can use it to tether Hook's life to it instead."

The wizard merely murmured, "Emma, you know what it can do."

To nobody in particular, mother articulated aloud, "Create another Dark One." Merlin nodded and explained, "It will multiply the darkness so that it cannot be destroyed unless you paid the steepest of prices. This will be your final step into the dark."

Immediately, Snow and David knelt down and pleaded Emma to discard her plans but when mother too, bent over to convince her to listen to her parents, Emma turned around and shouted, "If you could've saved Daniel all those years ago...look how far you were willing to go, how far you pushed me to save him the second time!"

Beside me, I heard a sharp intake of breath from father's direction. Though Emma turned back and declared, "I'm not going to lose Killian," my eyes were fixed upon mother. She stepped back and swallowed with her head held down but when my gaze swept across the room, I saw a flush of discomfort colour Lena's cheeks.

When my line of sight fell back onto Emma, she breathed, "I won't let anyone stop me." Then, in the blink of an eye, she disappeared in a cloud of dark grey smoke. The room was silent for a moment. Then, everyone started talking at once, which left Rhys and I in a little bubble. "Do you think she'll go through with it?" he asked me.

I nodded and said, "There's no doubt of it. We just have to find her before we do." That seemed to be the consensus of everyone in the room but in the midst of arguments about how we should begin looking for the pair, Aurelie exclaimed loudly, "Merlin!"

We all turned around to face the wizard who was now standing very still. Mother moved herself in front of Henry as dark jet-black tendrils sprouted from his body and crept up into the air. "What's happening?" someone questioned.

Merlin replied in an unfocused tone as his head tilted back, "It's too late." Suddenly, he collapsed and whilst Snow and David went to his side to help, I breathed, "Emma already made Hook the Dark One, didn't she?"

There was a deafening silence in the room but Merlin seemed to gain consciousness after a series of laboured breaths. Then, he got up slowly with the help of the Charmings and said definitively, "We must get to the vault where all Dark One's are made. Now."

After that, plans were made to go, but just before Rhys, Henry or myself could head out the door, mother looked at all of us sternly and said, "No, it's too dangerous."

Henry was the first to protest. "Mom! Emma's my mom too, and what if she needs out help? What if-"

"Right now, there are two Dark Ones running around and I have a feeling that their first rendezvous did not go smoothly. Henry, I've dealt with a Dark One all my life; I know how they are and what they're like. It's best if you three remain here and protect the people who do need your help."

I also wanted to protest, but I bit my lip down as I agreed that it was stupid to leave those without magic inside the tavern by themselves. Henry looked like he wanted to insist on joining the others but Rhys spoke up first and said, "I could use with some help from someone who knows how to use a sword."

Finally, Henry gave in and with a nod to thank Rhys, mother turned and left. When we headed back into the tavern, father disappeared with Hilda and Lena up the stairs, leaving a very uncomfortable-looking Aurelie alone in the corner.

With a stressed expression, Henry exhaled loudly so I put my hand on his shoulder and said, "Don't worry, it'll be ok. We'll find a way around this."

"Will we? Because Emma's-"

Sternly, I interrupted him and said, "You're the one who possesses a heart of the truest believer...it's time to believe that she'll overcome this." I smiled upon seeing his expression soften a little and he mouthed a quick thanks before saying, "I'll go outside to survey the area."

"Go ahead," I replied. After he left, Rhys said my name but as I was turning around to face him, a loud scream of my father's name made me jump. I froze when I realised that the screams were mutual and that it was coming from an argument that was occurring upstairs. Silence enveloped the three of us, and there were several times when I tried speaking to Aurelie but I couldn't bring myself to do so. I flinched when Rhys nudged me gently. I fell out of my daze and questioned, "Hmm?"

He didn't reply so I was forced to turn to him. He then pointed to the mirror that hung on the wall of the tavern behind the bar. I looked up in alarm, as cracks were starting to appear on the glass surface which was displaying an image of Lena with tears running down her red face. Father attempted to step up to her but Hilda rounded on him and said something inaudible. "Daniella, what are you doing?"

I frowned and held my hand out towards the image in an attempt to make it go away but no matter what I did, I was unable to prevent new cracks from making an appearance. "No...no..."I breathed. Rhys opened his mouth to speak but I reassured him shakily, "It wasn't intentional...its just...things like this appear when the darkness wants to see how I respond."

I whimpered when my magic only made it worse and in defeat, I turned away only for Aurelie to suddenly accuse, "I know what you're hiding. What you did to my memories and how you treated him."

I winced and stammered, "What do you mean?"

"Did you take away his memories too?"

That's when I realised that she was talking about Rhys. "How did you see what happened?" I asked in a low voice.

"I stumbled across it. You ripped his heart out," she stated heatedly.

When Rhys realised what Aurelie was talking about, he said calmly with his hand out, "It's ok, I'm fine. Daniella didn't take away my memories or harm me. She's not manipulating me if that's what you think."

There was a moment of surprise and hesitation in my sister's face but I cut in before she could think of a reply, "What do you mean you stumbled across the scene? I made sure I took him to a quiet and secluded part of the castle."

Aurelie seemed to be lost for words but finally she settled with the reply, "Does it matter how I was there?"

I paused to think, but when my thoughts weaved together, it suddenly all made sense. Unintentionally, my voice settled into a snarl as I articulated my thoughts, "It was Lena."

"What? What about my mom?"

I got up from where I was leaning and stated simply, "Lena was the one who put the poison in my mother's drink."

"What the hell?! That's impossible, she-"

I strode over to Aurelie and declared with conviction, "Can't you see? Your mother is using me! I bet our Aunt is in this too. There is no way that a poison, a commoner's poison would have found it's way into my mother's drink unless that person wanted a death sentence. I bet Lena was willing to take her chances because she knows that my mother wouldn't do anything to her because of you and our father. Think about it; is it really a coincidence that Rhys is the one who gets blamed for the poison?"

Rhys' eyes widened in realisation and he added with growing heat in his voice, "Somehow, Hilda must have suspected that we were together and Lena probably knew that you wouldn't hesitate to use magic on me because of the circumstances."

I nodded and questioned Aurelie, "And you just happened to be at the right place at the right time to see me overreact?"

My sister bit her lip as a flash of betrayal crossed her face, but when she glanced at the cracked mirror, she turned to Rhys and insisted, "She's controlling you! Can't you see? When she ripped your heart out, she must have placed some kind of curse on you to make you love her. It's the same kind of curse that is currently on my dad!"

Before Rhys could respond, I stated loudly, "I am NOT controlling Rhys, and my mother is NOT controlling our father! Don't listen to Lena, she's feeding you these...these lies to tamper with our relationship!"

"Or perhaps she's making me see the truth."

That comment stung, but just as I opened my mouth to reply, my sister spat, "Who the hell rips out hearts, tortures someone to the brink of death, and then pretends that it's all just fine?"

In all honesty, I would have probably let magic take care of my anger if it had been someone else in place of my sister who said those words. Luckily, Rhys took care of the matter and responded by taking a step forward towards my sister to warn, "Don't talk to her like that."

My sister spat, "You're only protecting her because she cursed you."

I was about to state the negative when Rhys suddenly turned around and instructed, "Tear my heart out."

"What?" I blinked in bewilderment.

"Show your sister that I'm not cursed. Didn't you tell me that cursed hearts would emit a different glow?"

I shook my head and decided, "I'm not going to tear your heart out for the third time in the past two days!"

Rhys ignored my words and insisted, "Do it. Show her that you're not manipulating me."

I gave Aurelie a glance and though we both swallowed, I nodded in Rhys' direction as a warning for him to prepare himself. As gently as I could, I tore out his heart and held it towards Aurelie. "See? It's glowing red, not any other colour."

"Well how does that prove anything?"

A silence fell between us. Then, I lifted my chin up slightly before tearing out my own heart. I could tell that my sister was alarmed, but she and Rhys both managed to keep their mouths shut as I placed our hearts together. I showed it to Aurelie and said, "See? Both of our hearts look the same. I'm not cursing or manipulating him. Trust me."

She got up and slowly leaned forward to observe the organs in my hand. She grimaced and remarked, "Why does yours look darker?"

I bit the insides of my cheeks in hesitation but she pressed, "Why is it darker? Answer me!"

I returned Rhys' heart to his chest before putting mine back in place in silence. Yet, the question still hung in the air. I knew Rhys was aware of the answer, but admitting it to my sister would only make things worse. If Aurelie suspected the reason, she didn't mention it, but she did round up to me and said in a broken snarl combined with tears, "You and your mum are trying to tear my family apart!"

Without thinking, I blurted, "Lena did exactly the same to us five, or in your case, fourteen years ago! Yet you don't see me coming after you or her!"

"Yes, that's exactly what you're doing!" Aurelie shouted. Then, looking between the mirror and me, she added, "That's what you're doing with your dark magic."

Rolling my eyes, I pointed to the mirror and defended, "I didn't willingly put an image of their argument there. If you think that's what dark magic is about-"

"But it comes from you, doesn't it?"

"So?" Then, I paused and said desperately, "I promise you, I'm not trying to ruin anything here!"

"You already did!" Aurelie seethed.

Before I could respond, Rhys stepped out in front of me and said, "Hey, watch it. Your sister is doing her best here and there are things beyond your control."

Aurelie paid no heed to his words and continued, "Perhaps the best thing to do is to leave things as they were instead of meddling with it!"

I exhaled and stepped around Rhys to shout, "I haven't meddled with anything!"

"Yes you have. Why would dad suddenly pay so much attention to you two all of a sudden? You placed a charm on him or something-"

I kept the fury at bay and replied, "I thought you understood things, that your understood me. What changed?"

"Seeing the way you lied and pretended that nothing was wrong. Seeing the way you torture Rhys-"

"For goodness sakes, he's fine right now!" I exclaimed.

"But how many before him have not been fine?"

"Aurelie-"

"How many people have you killed? That's why your heart is dark isn't it?"

I squared my jaw and swallowed. To my surprise, Rhys tried to calm the storm between us and said to Aurelie, "I know this is overwhelming for you, but the world where we're from is very different to yours. You must understand that the Enchanted Forest can be a very dangerous place with or without magic. I'm not saying that the taking of a life is forgivable, but you have to realise that there are many factors at play when it happens. You have to give your sister a chance."

Aurelie looked like she understood what Rhys' words meant, but despite that, she walked around us and headed towards the exit. Before she stormed out, she spat, "If you'll give my family a chance, we'll talk!"

When she left, I went over to one of the tables and put my hands to my face. The stool beside me scraped against the stone floor. Then, Rhys said as he sat down, "Don't listen to her. You've done nothing wrong here."

I shook my head. "It's not that. It's..."

I sighed and folded my arms on top of the table so that I could place my head on it. I felt Rhys put his hand on my back as I muttered angrily, "How long will this last? How long will Lena keep feeding her these things?"

"As long as she lives and breathes."

I froze before looking up and chuckling, "Saying that doesn't help."

With a smirk, he replied, "I realised that much but the words came out of my mouth before I could censor them. Though I trust you won't actually..."

I rolled my eyes. "My mother would beat me to it. Besides, she won't." Then, I added quietly, "Regardless of what everybody thinks, her goal in the past wasn't to kill Snow. It was more or less to inflict the same kind of pain she caused." I grimaced when I realised how I sounded and hastily added, "Oh dear, the spawn of the demon is being the devil's advocate, isn't she?"

Rhys straightened up and asked with a frown, "The what now?"

I looked away and explained quietly with a shrug, "You know...it's one of the ways the peasantry used to refer to me."

"Pricks."

"Rhys-"

With gritted teeth, Rhys continued, "Next time you hear someone call you names like that, make sure to tell me so that I can run my sword through their chest."

I held back a snigger and murmured, "I appreciate that, but it's alright now. Those kind of names circulated more frequently prior to the curse and for a few months after it broke. Things were really different back then."

Rhys looked at me with concern. "You couldn't have been older than ten at the time, right?"

"Age doesn't prevent people from attributing the cause of their miseries to you. I'm pretty sure everyone was quite displeased to find that the heir to the throne wasn't Snow."

Rhys looked like he was caught up in his thoughts so I took my gaze off him and glanced around the room. When I caught sight of the mirror again, I cringed as Lena's image was still dominating the cracking glass surface. Seeing my line of sight, Rhys got up and headed to the mirror. "What are you doing?" I asked with a frown. I watched in silence as he bent over behind the counter. He pulled out a large piece of cloth and after waving it out, draped it over the mirror. "Better?"

I nodded and murmured, "Yes, thank you." Before he could speak, the sound of angry footsteps thundered down the stairs. We looked up in alarm to see father storming across the room. Without looking at either of us, he flung open the door and let it slam against the wall. I stood up and shared a confused glance with Rhys. I had never seen father like this before. I started towards the door but Rhys called me back and said, "Leave him. I think he needs some time to himself."

(Regina's POV)

A rustle of leaves alerted me that I was not alone. I whipped around with a fireball in hand and was taken aback when I saw Daniel emerge from the foliage. His brows were furrowed and his mouth slightly parted. Either from panting, or from anger I had no idea, but he looked at me with such ferocity that I took a step back. I extinguished the fire in my hand immediately. I felt my heart harden with fear as his expression visibly changed to show a circulating display of anger, regret and frustration.

"Daniel?" I croaked with fast, palpitating heartbeats. He didn't reply so I gathered myself and asked, "Daniel, what happened?"

He merely answered me by taking several steps forward. I stood my ground and stiffened when his hand gripped the back of my head and brought my lips to his. When our lips first met, he was rough, but after a few seconds, he softened his touch. Although I found myself leaning into him, something wasn't right. Gently, I pulled away and whispered, "Tell me what happened."

His mouth remained shut so after a shuddering breath, I asked, "Was it her? Did she say something to you?"

His sigh confirmed the affirmative. With tears in his eyes and a slight grin, he murmured, "At least one thing is clear now, to the both of us."

My voice ascended an octave as I breathed, "What is?"

Daniel's hands slid down my backside. Then, he leaned his forehead against the top of my head and said, "That you're mine, Regina. If you'll have me, that is."

"Oh, Daniel-"

He silenced me by placing his lips back onto mine. I closed my eyes and took several steps back, gasping when I collided against a tree. In hindsight, I would have used magic to take us someplace else but all I could think of was Daniel's hands on body. After touching every curve that my tightly fitted dress had to offer, they came to rest on the sides of my breasts. My lips parted and in a voice I haven't used in a long time, I said his name. He answered my plea and threw his tongue into my mouth, exploring unapologetically.

With my head tilted up and my eyes closed, I savoured his grip around my waist. A shudder shivered down my spine when I realised that the space between my legs started to pulse. I heard a soft clink of metal and looked down just in time to see my skirts lift, before something hard pressed against me. Suddenly, heat coursed through my body and forced a satisfied moan to escape my lips.

With every thrust, my breaths quickened. I clasped my hands onto his back, pulling him closer to me and urging him to continue. He merely obeyed my command and thrust harder to accompany my breathless calls. I felt myself tighten around him as something wet moved against my thigh.

Just after he murmured my name however, a loud snap echoed through the air. A wave of panic coursed through my chest and I opened my eyes, only for it to widen when I spotted her.

Immediately, I pushed my dress back down aggressively and used magic to fix Daniel's clothing. He put himself in front of me and I looked away to one side in a futile attempt to conceal the redness that had flushed up my cheeks. Daniel stuttered, "Hilda, what..."

I peeked around Daniel's shoulder as his sister coughed once and swallowed. Without looking at either of us, she stammered, "I'll uh...Daniel I-I can wait."

Daniel gave me a glance before walking over to his sister. I bit my lip and hugged myself as low whispers consumed the space between them. Daniel then put his hands through his hair in response to something that Hilda said. I was about to turn around to leave them when he called out, "Regina, can you come over?"

So much for the Evil Queen persona. With my arms crossed, I walked over gingerly to the siblings, feeling my confidence disappear with every step closer to them. The expression on Hilda's face confused me. She glanced between her brother and myself before saying quietly, "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

Hilda's eyes met mine. "You do love him, don't you?"

My mouth parted but no response came out. I frowned as Daniel gently took my hand and said softly, "It's alright, Hilda. You can tell her."

Baffled, I looked to my fiancé for an explanation. I knew full well from the looks I had received from his sister in the previous days that she both despised and feared me. Understandably, her mouth remained shut for a while, but the suspense was tearing into my abdomen. Finally, the woman admitted with her eyes unable to meet my gaze, "It was me. I put the poison in your tea."

At first, anger rushed through my blood but a feeling of disappointment washed it away as I took several breaths. I shifted on my feet and replied flatly, "Many have tried to poison me in the past. You're not the first and probably won't be the last."

I observed Hilda's reaction carefully and noticed something peculiar. After looking between the siblings, I remarked in a low voice as I narrowed my eyes, "No...you didn't come up with it did you?"

She looked up at me in alarm, no doubt surprised that I would say such a thing. In fact, I didn't need her confirmation to know who exactly orchestrated this. I put my hand on Daniel's arm to anchor myself and not fall into hysterics as I began articulating my train of thought. "By slipping the poison in my tea, and by suggesting that the boy was responsible, you created the perfect trigger for Daniella to react."

I paced around the two as I murmured more or less to myself, "That's why she looked so hesitant to take the boy's heart out at the inquisition. She must have already done so." Then, I looked up at Daniel and said, "Aurelie must have seen her sister perform dark magic, which explains why Daniella is feeling distant from her sister all of a sudden." Coming back to Daniel's side, I finished, "And the only person to profit out of this is...well, I don't exactly wish to say her name."

If not for the anger on his face, I would say that Daniel's expression sported the slightest of pride that I had managed to figure all of this out. However, Hilda's face was one of surprise combined with dread. She opened her mouth as if she wanted to speak, but chose against it. A heavy silence fell between the three of us. I blew out a puff of air and assured, "Relax, I won't do anything to her or you, but if she decides to come at me again, that's a different story."

Hilda seemed to let out a sigh of relief but Daniel said aggressively beside me, "No, it isn't right. And now I have to explain to Aurelie that...that..."

"You don't have to say anything, I replied. Daniel looked at me with a tired, confused expression. "But the broken relationship between the sisters is my fault-"

"Daniel, it isn't your fault. You did nothing wrong," I insisted as I placed my hand on his shoulder.

To my surprise, he suggested, "Regina, you have to wipe out her memory."

I sighed and said, "This isn't the way, you know that."

"But she'll remember this mess. Then-"

Calmly, I cut into his thoughts and said, "She'll have to come to terms with what she has seen. And whatever occurs between Aurelie and our daughter is theirs to reckon with. We shouldn't interfere with their relationship unless we fix the immediate mess affecting ourselves first."

"But can't your magic-"

I frowned and insisted, "Daniel, you know magic is not the answer to everything." I knew that Hilda was definitely surprised to hear these words fall from my lips so I decided to take advantage of the situation. I murmured quietly, "Don't you think that if things had been so simple, I would have placed a charm on you five years ago? Or I mean, fourteen in your case."

Before Daniel could reply, Hilda asked timidly, "So love spells really do exist?"

"They do, but they sit on the borderline of the laws of magic; one of which is that you can't make someone love you. So yes, you can charm someone into thinking they love you but it won't be real and," I thought about the time I used one on the Huntsman out of desperation so many years ago and finished, "...and it only hurts you in the end. The effect wears off when the magic starts to drain your energy. Then, you're left to wonder why you ever bothered to tamper with a fantasy that could never exist."

There was silence. Quietly, Daniel asked, "So we just leave them to deal with this by themselves?" I nodded and to my surprise, Hilda added, "You should listen to her."

I raised my eyebrow in Hilda's direction and with a sigh, she finally looked at me in the eye and said, "Please take good care of my little brother."

I didn't need to reply as Daniel took my hand and reassured his sister, "She already has. Countless times. I've just been too stubborn to see it."

She nodded and awkwardly said, "Well, I'll umm, you two can-"

I cleared my throat and decided, "We should stay on task and look for the Dark Ones. I have a feeling that they're already lurking in this forest."

Daniel dipped his head in a snigger and I had to bite my lip to stop myself from thinking about what Hilda's appearance had interrupted. Just as we started walking off however, I felt a strange sting of magic on my skin and before I knew it, darkness descended upon me.

(Daniella's POV)

"Daniella! Daniella!"

I jolted upwards and nearly hit mother who was crouching over me. "Wha..what happened," I breathed in confusion. When I looked around me, I noticed that it wasn't just myself who had been affected by the sudden appearance of magic. I gasped when I saw wisps of purple smoke coming from the kitchens. "That's-"

"The Dark Curse. One of the Dark Ones enacted it," mother explained in a grave tone.

I got up immediately and all it took was a glance at everyone's defeated faces to know that we were too late. I swallowed and asked, "What's the curse going to do to us this time?"

Mother looked to my left where Rhys was sitting on a stool next to his stepfather. Finally, she replied quietly, "A memory component has been added to it. We won't remember anything that occurred in Camelot."

"What?!"

"Which means you won't remember..."mother's voice trailed off dismally.

Rhys' expression told me that mother's words were true. However, something else was on my mind. Behind her, father was giving me a sad smile. "Mama, doesn't that mean you'll also-"

"Forget about the progress I made with your father?"

I nodded. She dipped her head and answered, "Yes."

Before I could respond, the ground suddenly shook, and the clouds of smoke grew thicker each passing second. The piercing sound of shattering glass echoed through the air and above screams, I could hear David's voice shout, "Take cover! Everybody!"

Smoke was starting to blur my vision, making me trip before I could seek shelter behind a table. I winced as my head hit the wood violently, but I felt someone's arms around me. Although I didn't have time to turn around, I knew it was Rhys as he murmured in my ear, "It's ok, Princess. We'll figure it out."

The last thing I saw before I blacked out was father holding my mother close to him.