Chapter 3

The Queen's Visit

(Daniella's POV)

The first shout I heard came from outside our cabin. Rasp and distant, the voice shouted again, "The Queen! She's coming!" As the voice came closer to the village, I heard commotion increase outside. We all knew what this meant. I glanced at Snow who was helping Teagan prepare the rabbit stew for our dinner. Snow widened her eyes at the noise that accumulated as result of the messenger's words. I saw Teagan in a slight moment of contemplation but then, she got up abruptly and ushered Snow to her bedroom. Like the other orphans, I listened intently to Teagan's rushed tone of voice.

"Hide behind this cabinet. Quick! I'll put a blanket over you so that you can be hidden; just in case anything happens."

I heard the princess' voice reply in a harsh whisper, "No, Teagan! I must run, she'll find me if the guards inspect the village in detail."

"No, they won't. She won't. Trust me. Remember what we said, they aren't likely to go into an orphanage. Even if they do, you'll be hidden beneath the pile of clothes. I don't think the black knights will bother to raze the village and search everything despite what the Queen commands."

There was a sigh. "Alright, just promise me that you'll try and keep the children away from this; IF the guards find me and and also discover that you're responsible."

I heard no reply from Teagan but in a few seconds, she came out. "Children, don't mention this to anyone, understood? Come, we must go out. The Evil Queen will probably expect the villagers' to come out and pay our respects. Don't dawdle. Leyton! That includes you. Come on...all of you!" The orphans began to file out of the the cabin silently. They had seen the Queen before when she visited the village a little over a year ago. Although I haven't had the experience, the orphans told me what it was like. The whole community had been silent for the duration of the visit, afraid that the monarch will enact any signs of magic or worse, murder a villager. Luckily, I was told that the Queen's previous visit had not resulted in any deaths as she was simply passing the region. This time however, it was clear that none of us knew of the Queen's intentions. Surprisingly, the black knights had ceased the search for Snow White in our region for a rather long period of time. I suppose it was due to the news that Snow had travelled into other kingdoms instead of staying refuge in this one. Oh, great. Snow is hiding amongst us right now.

I was the last person to make my way to the entrance of the cabin. Just before I went out however, Teagan stopped me. "Daniella, I need you to stay in here with Snow. Get into my bed and pretend that you're sick with a contagious fever. If the guards come into the cabin, cough and make a large fuss. Hopefully, they will fall for it and leave you alone. I've heard that there is a sickness circulating the village right now. You won't be too suspicious, just make sure that you act it out to the best of your abilities, alright? I can count on you to do, Daniella. I know you won't mess this up. The kingdom needs Snow so please, help her."

I nodded slowly and shakily turned around to head towards Teagan's bedroom. As I made my way to the bed, I heard a soft ruffling sound coming from the bundle of blankets and clothes that was piled in the corner, beside the Teagan's cabinet. I got into Teagan's bed and whilst I arranged the thin blanket around my body, I heard a quiet voice whisper, "What are you doing here, Daniella?"

"Teagan asked me to pretend that I'm very sick. She says that if the guards come in, they will hopefully turn away because a deadly fever has been circulating the village. They might believe that I'm suffering from the fever."

"That's clever of Teagan I suppose, but Daniella, are you alright about doing this?"

I slid under the covers of the bed and replied, "Well I don't really have a choice as Teagan had asked me. But I guess I don't mind. I wanted to go out to see the Queen though."

I looked up and saw Snow's surprised expression as her face peeked through the blankets in the corner.

"No! Don't get me wrong, I've heard of the fear that she creates amongst the village. Its just...Its just that I want to see it for myself. Does this sound weird? Its like I want to find out who she is. Everyone talks about her and I want to make a judgement of her myself."

Snow stayed silent for a second before uttering in a barely audible tone, "you say that as if you're 16 years old, not 10. Where have you heard these words?"

My mouth didn't move as I felt my mind fall into a whirlpool of thoughts. I am technically 16...I was born around the same time the Queen became a royal. So I guess I'm not that much younger than you.

I stuttered, still in shock from Snow's words, "I must have...I must have heard it sometime I guess". Deciding to change the topic, I asked, "Why does the Queen want to kill you anyway? People have told me its because she wants the kingdom to herself...is this true?"

Snow seemed to be lost in thought for a second as well. Then, she snapped back to my question, "I don't think that's true...I don't really know the exact reason but I've had some thoughts. Some things just don't add up though. At least, I don't want them to. If what I think is true, then I'm afraid, she has reason to go after me."

"Reason? What reason?"

"Nevermind...if you want an answer from me though, I can perhaps give you a thought." Snow paused and waited for my reply. I nodded slowly as she continued, "I guess she was never really happy with my father and I. The only time Regina didn't seem depressed was the year after she had married father. That happiness only lasted for a short time though...you haven't heard of my younger sister have you?"

My mouth gaped open. "You have a sister?"

Snow chuckled, "Well, I used to. She died during the night of my 12th birthday. My sister was around a year old at that time. No one knew why she died. My father told me that it was due to a contagious sickness that kills the individual almost instantly. Come to think of it, it's a wonder that none of my sister's maids got the sickness as well...but anyway. I never got to say goodbye to her as my father told me that I might catch the germs from my sister's dead body."

"So the child was the Queen's?"

"Yes. She was Regina's child."

"How has nobody mentioned your sister? I never knew that the Queen had a child."

"Everyone forgot about the princess I suppose. It was so long ago and to be honest, the death of young children isn't surprising. Not to scare you but its true. Many young infants don't even survive the night after their birth."

I nodded but didn't reply. Attentively, I listened to the distant clop of horse hooves slow down. The suddenly silent atmosphere allowed me to hear and imagine the scene that was occurring outside the cabin. I heard the swing of a carriage door and then a soft thud on the forest floor as a pair of boots hit the ground. Soon, I heard a second pair of shoes but the sounds of the soft thuds were soon disguised under the rattling armour that probably belonged to a group of black knights. Snow and I listened for any voices. A command perhaps, from the Queen.

I strained my ears to hear what was going on but the eerie silence continued. Why wasn't the Queen saying anything? The orphans told me that she always made a dramatic and loud entrance. My heart thumped hard against my chest and as annoying as it was, it was the only sound that I heard. Snow, not daring to utter a sound either also displayed a confused expression on her face.

Then, I heard some voices mingle together. I tried to clear my mind of my beating heart; I need to know what was going on! After a minute of futile attempts, I gave up and rested my head back onto Teagan's pillow. I saw Snow do the same as she covered her face with the folds of the blanket that hid her body.

I don't remember how long the silence lasted until the slam of the carriage door alerted me back into the present. As the clop of horse hooves grew distant, I got up from the bed and saw the door of the Cabin opening. Teagan came through the threshold and ran towards Snow and I.

"Daniella! Thank goodness you stayed inside the cabin."

...

Regina's POV

I looked out of the window as the carriage rolled along the forest. I could feel father's eyes glancing nervously at me. I huffed and chose to ignore him. I didn't want to feel angry towards Wilma and my father; but they both gave me false hopes... Wilma told me that my little firefly lived there; in the orphanage. However, I was positive that none of the girls I saw just then was Daniella. I even asked my father to find out whether or not a girl named Daniella lived at the orphanage. The orphans' mother told Daddy that she hasn't had a child with that name in her care. Wilma told me that my daughter referred to herself with her given name; so its impossible that anyone would have known her with another name.

I could feel my cheeks flush red as I thought about the awkwardness of the situation back in the village amongst the peasants. I originally wanted to disguise this visit as a search for Snow White but I felt uncomfortable to stand in the village any longer. I was so close to seeing my daughter again after so many years but I felt betrayed by her absence. I'm pretty sure father could see that etched in my face as I turned around and walked back to the carriage. I didn't care that the peasants were confused and muttering in low whispers about my unusual actions. They needn't know about Daniella; not yet at least.

After a few more concerned glances at my direction, father spoke up. "Regina, this isn't over. I believe that Daniella is still out there somewhere. Today just wasn't your day to be reunited with her again."

I was about to snap back but I took a breath and still facing the window, I answered, "how can you be sure that I'll find her?"

"Love always finds it's way. Come on, Regina! Don't tell me that you've forgotten all that I have taught you when you were a child. You asked me to tell you stories of happy endings. Remember them? The unicorns, the fairies, the romantic lovers?" I felt father smile at me. Reluctantly, I turned around and faced him.

Then, I looked down at myself and mumbled, "Happy endings is something for children. It doesn't exist. As for fairies, they're twisted vile creatures. If the stories are true, they would have come and saved me from mother's punishments. But alas, they didn't. They probably didn't even glance in my direction". I spat out these last words, feeling the warmth crept into my fingertips again.

"Love doesn't exist either...or otherwise I'll be with Daniel right now instead of ruling this pathetic kingdom."

Father sighed and spoke no more as he sat back into his seat. The rest of the trip was silent yet again. Soon, I could see the dark castle loom into view. I haven't changed my feelings about that place from when I first arrived. It's still warmly uninviting. Cold and foreign perhaps; even though I had redecorated it to my taste. Now, it's my home, but a prison nonetheless. When the carriage came to a halt, I looked at father and despite the failure of this search, I leaned forward and gave him a kiss on his cheek. "See you at supper."

Then, I quickly got out and used magic to return to my chambers before my tears started to fall.