The wind howled against her glass window like a pack of wolves worshiping the glow of a full moon. Just outside, the evening was crawling deeper into the night, Christmas Day just lurking around the bend. Yet, still no cheerful snowflakes to help ring in the holiday. Even the air inside her mansion was laced with an icy bite that turned her blood cold.

Her barefeet pad across the plush carpet as she finishes applying the last of the silky lotion into her skin. Another banner Christmas to mark the books and if it weren't for her son, she would swear off the holiday altogether with a firm door slamming shut.

With a heavy heart and stressed filled limbs, she climbs into bed and sinks down into the cold sheets. She just wishes for once in her life, she could slide into a warm bed, with another tender body just waiting to hold her in their arms. That seems like a ridiculous fantasy that slips further and further away with each passing day.

Her body instantly curls into a tight ball, the pain of sheer loneliness finally breaking her down. A few hot tears slip passed her eyelashes and skew down her cheeks, soaking her silk pillowcase in the process. It isn't long before she cries herself to sleep.

XXXXXXX

A horrendous nightmare of Daniel tears through her sleep and jolts her wide awake. A cold sweat is drenching through her nightgown, leaving shivers to run up and down her back. Her muscles tremble violently while goosebumps erupt across her slick flesh.

She reaches down to pull the duvet over her shoulders, but she freezes instantly when she notices a shadowy figure perched regally at the edge of her bed. Her hand automatically produces a raging flame of orange and red that burns bright enough to light up her bedroom.

"Thanks, I couldn't see a thing in this room," the perky, mousy voice resonates in her ear and even though she would know that voice anywhere, she still doesn't extinguish her fireball.

"Snow? What the hell are you doing in my room?" She shrieks, even though her voice is hoarse from her sleep and wobbling dangerously from her nightmare still fresh in her mind.

The younger woman slowly turns around as Regina gulps back her trepidation. Her snow white complexion comes into view first, her face soft with a warm genuine smile. The jet black hair is what catches her eye, tumbling all the way down to her lower back. This is the Snow White, she knows and hates. A thin crown made up of fresh daisies rests elegantly upon her head and makes her appear so much younger. Brown eyes travel down to take in the long white flowing dress that makes the woman resemble an angel.

"How are you?" Snow kindly asks, leaning forward on one arm, her hand being swallowed up by the thick mattress in the process.

Regina blatantly ignores the obtuse question. "How the hell is your hair so long?" The woman smiles softly, innocently, and shifts onto the bed, crossing her legs as though she were still the small ten year old she met many years ago. "Are you going to answer my damn question? You never even answered the first! Why. Are. You. In. My. Home?"

"Oh, Regina, still an ill-tempered woman I see," Snow mindlessly replies, glancing down to fix her dress and ignoring all of Regina's questions. "I see why I was sent here," she comments, smoothing her palms over the nonexistent wrinkles.

"Are you drunk?" She narrows her eyes and leans forward to inspect those green orbs, checking for any signs of redness or a hazy gloss.

"Don't be silly," the former princess waves her hand dismissively before clasping her fingers perfectly in front of her lower abdomen, just like her mother taught her.

Regina tilts her head to the side as she assess the young woman one more time, really inspecting her posture and demeanor. She is all Snow White and not a hint of Mary Margaret.

"I'm obviously in the middle of some godawful nightmare," she huffs out her annoyance and evaporates the burning flame in her hand. "Now, if you'd excuse me, I would like to go back to sleep so I can wake up from this treacherous dream," she sarcastically quips, gliding back in between her damp sheets.

"I cannot allow that," Snow tsks loudly before she produces an old thick candle, complete with a golden tray, just like the ones they used in the Enchanted Forest. Regina blinks at the use of magic, knowing damn well she must be dreaming because Snow does not contain a magical bone in her body. "We have a long night ahead of us and we must be on our way."

"Snow, I had a trying night between you and your insufferable daughter. If you don't leave me alone right now, I swear I will light your ass on fire," she growls under her breath and jerks the duvet over her head.

"I have a flame as well, try me, Regina," Snow retorts, ripping the covers off Regina's body, but her tone is void of any bite and her stupid sappy grin just makes her look like a tiny purse dog, yapping away.

"Leave Snow, I'm going back to bed."

Why the hell am I fighting with a figment of my imagination? If I ignore her, she will go away.

"I highly doubt that, but you can try," Snow smugly replies, leaning back on her free hand and yawning dramatically like she has all the time in the world.

Regina bolts straight up out of bed and glares at the younger woman. "How the hell did you just hear my thoughts?"

"Do you want to know a secret?" She whispers, enticing Regina to lean forward just a hair.

"Spill, you were never good at keeping them anyway," she deadpans.

"I was ten Regina," the princess flatly replies and rolls her big green eyes. She shakes off the insult and leans forward to meet her halfway. "Tonight, you will be visited by three ghost. I am the ghost of Christmas Past," she proudly states, her eyes fluttering with smug gratification.

"Yes my dear, and I am Cinderella," she mocks, complete with an eye roll.

"No you are not, Cinderella is a very dear friend of mine," Snow vacantly replies before standing tall from her bed. "Now, are you ready? We haven't much time before midnight and Christmas Present doesn't possess patience, very eager that one," she cheerfully grins, still holding the candle near her face.

"Well, I'm obviously suffering from some mental breakdown, so I think it would be best if I just went to bed and caught up on some much needed rest," she demands, knowing she shouldn't really be engaging with a pesky invisible woman. She's sure she's only further damaging her mental health.

Regina tugs the covers over her head and squeezes her eyes shut, silently praying that her mind will stop playing tricks on her. She actually holds her breath and strains her ears for any sounds coming from outside her cocoon of bedding.

The room is silent for a few minutes and she sighs in relief because her mind has finally settled down and maybe now she can fall back asleep. She hums her satisfaction of being free from Snow White, but then she hears a finger snap causing her eyes to bug out of her head.

She blinks, discovering herself standing upright, next to her bed with Snow beaming excitedly in front of her. "Mother f-" Snow snaps again and Regina's room vanishes before her very eyes.

"Cursing isn't very ladylike, Regina," Snow reprimands her, before her pale fingers stretch out in front of their faces, waving slowly into the blank space before them.

A pure white blanket of snow magically appears before their very eyes. Normally, Regina is quite accustomed to the element of surprise magic entails, but with Snow as the performer, she's finding herself bewildered. The white expanse travels for as long as the eye can see and immediately she knows exactly where she is.

"Why did you bring me here?" She growls in her lowest, most threatening tone, hoping she can scare this ghost into bringing her home.

"We have to start at the beginning, where it all began," the woman happily explains with a smile that informs Regina how ignorant she is to what they are about to witness.

Snow crisply snaps her fingers once again with a sharp click. Regina takes one last deep breath and watches as the world around her changes in a matter of seconds.

Massive grey stones are piled up around them, the cold damp air creeping into her skin and settling disturbingly in her bones. She remembers this feeling all too well and the realization washing over her, causes her body to shudder violently. She glances around the dimly lit room and spots a sea of raven locks in front of a rather large window.

"Regina!"

Her spine straightens instantly, matching the small child lingering in the windowsill. To this day, even as a grown woman, her mother's voice breaks down every part of her.

"Yes, mother?"

"Did you finish with your writing lesson?"

Her mother creeps up behind the younger version of herself and she knows right away which Christmas they have traveled back in time to. She's eight, if memory serves her correctly. She watches as her mother places a chilling hand upon her shoulder, and she herself cringes inwardly just like her younger self only inches away.

"Why would you bring me here?" Regina snaps at her kidnapper. "Like these memories don't haunt my dreams already," she sneers coldly, crossing her arms over her chest in defiance.

"Your father purchased Rocinante the year before for you, correct?" Snow questions as Regina watches nimble, boney fingers curl even further into that poor little girl's shoulder, inflicting a purple hue into her delicate flesh. "Regina?"

She blinks, turning her attention back toward the spirit beside her. "Yes, the last gift my father ever gave me that held any true value on Christmas morning."

"This is when you felt the first true disappointment of Christmas," and it isn't a question or a prompt, fishing for more information, it's a simple statement that speaks volumes.

"Why isn't this complete?" Her mother coldly inquires as she snatches the rolled out scroll before her.

"Mother, did you see the snowfall? It's Christmas and I was hoping I could maybe go out with the other children?"

"You stupid little girl, why would I ever allow you to converse with such peasants?" The cruel woman snatches her chin, pressing her fingers deeper and deeper into the tender skin. "You are to be queen one day, Regina, and do you think your future king will want some commoner?" She scoffs in disgust, shoving her face out of her sight. "You must be the best and that, my dear, requires brains, wits."

A small creek is heard in the doorway, grasping everyone's full attention in the room. Her timid father lingers in the doorway, watching helplessly as her mother scolds her yet again. Cora glances in his direction with the most wicked grin that makes her skin crawl to this very day.

"When you are queen, Regina, you will rule beside your king. Behind every man there's a queen who truly rules the land. You must be intelligent, ready to outsmart every person who enters a room, including your king. You are the true ruler and I will make certain that you are the best. Do I make myself clear?"

The small little girl, so lost in this great big world, glances back at her father, looking right through Regina. Her eyes are full of tears that have yet to fall, begging him to just please say something, anything, so she could spend Christmas outside with the other children, running and playing in the snow.

"Your father can't save you, my dear, he stands behind his Queen," she confidently insults him, knowing damn well he would never cross her dark magic.

Regina flinches knowing exactly what's to come.

"Mother, I-" the words are instantly smacked from her mouth from the back of her mother's firm hand.

"Next time when I instruct you to finish a lesson plan, I expect it to be accomplished on time," Cora bellows, her shrill voice ricochetting off the cold hard walls.

Tears instantly fill Regina's eyes from the vivid memory, the weight of her mother's hand still pressing against her cheek. She can still feel the burning sting that her mother so carelessly left behind when she swept out of the room with her chin held high. However, her eight year old self didn't cry, she would never allow Cora the satisfaction of ever seeing a single tear drop.

"Most Christmases she locked you in your room, forcing literature and other lesson plans down your throat," Snow whispers and the sympathy in her voice rattles every bone in Regina's body, forcing her tears to fall without her consent. "Did you promise yourself you would never neglect a Christmas the moment she was out of your life?"

Brown glossy eyes flick to the phantom beside her, who is smiling softly with a hint of pity. "H-how could you-" the former princess snaps her magical fingers once again, fading everything out into an oblivion.