Chapter 8
An Unwanted Visitor
(Daniella's POV)
It's been another two weeks since mother attempted to kill Snow. Despite this, I still feel as if I'm a foreigner to the palace and its ways. However, I'm very grateful that my presence in the castle as my mother's heir hasn't leaked out into the public. Only the guards, servants and some of my mother's advisers are aware of my identity. Whenever I thought about the kingdom and the throne, my heart drops in worry. I'm so weak and incapable; my literature and writing has barely even improved! How am I meant to be a Princess if I'm not educated?
I let out a sigh and pushed my food around my plate until I caught my mother's disapproving gaze. I sheepishly bit my lip and looked down. After taking the last bite of my breakfast, I put down the cutlery and watched as my mother ate in silence. I knew what today signified...the anniversary of my father's death. The castle seemed to have grown cooler in the past few days. My grandfather explained that it was because of my mother's pain. I think I agree. Whenever I stepped into her chambers, I felt as if I was burying myself in ice.
"Daniella, I know I promised you that I'll give you more lessons on magic today. However, I have to go somewhere and I'll probably return later in the afternoon. You can wait till the evening for your lessons right?"
"Of course. Where are you going?"
"Somewhere. I'll be back to help you with your magic."
I tried to hide the sceptical look on my face and nodded. I was looking forward to the lesson today. After the failure of killing Snow two weeks ago, mother had decided that I needed magic to defend myself just in case I was stuck in a similar situation. Although I highly doubted that I would be in a disguise as a peasant; trying to kill my enemy, I was excited to accept my mother's idea. Now, I have managed to not only create fireballs and throw them, I could teleport and make objects appear in my hand. I've just mastered the latter so I was going to learn something new today. Ugh, I have to wait till the evening now.
"Daniella you may leave the table. I do believe that you have some arithmetics to work on, am I correct?"
I groaned. "I've already finished today's portion of the homework yesterday. Do I have to learn maths today?" There is always a downside to something. Being the daughter of the Queen, I have to see my tutor every morning and the first subject that we would work on is my least favourite.
Mother looked at me and playfully said, "I could always cancel that magic lesson today..."
"Mama!"
She raised her eyebrow as I gave her a brief hug and whispered, "Fine..."
(Regina's POV)
As the carriage rolled along the road to my old home, I looked out of the window to distract myself from my troubling thoughts. In my hands, I fingered a single rose that I have brought to adorn Daniel's grave. Although my true love's body lay preserved in a glass coffin in the palace crypt, I still wanted to ensure that Daniel's tombstone was well tended to. We were nearing the abandoned estate, my childhood home, when a small huddle of people caught my eye. As I squinted, I realised that they were standing on a patch of land that was part of the royal grounds. I felt my cheeks redden. I wasn't sure if it was because of what day it is, or the lack of sleep but I huffed and called out to the driver to stop the carriage. I needed to get to the bottom of this.
The carriage slowed down to a stop just as I was shaking a dark red layer of dust off from the rose for Daniel's grave. After crushing that peasant's heart, I had accidentally touched the flower before making sure that the residue from the heart was gone from my hands. The carriage now halted completely and I felt my eyes prick at the sides as I got out and looked upon the hill that lead to Daniel's tombstone.
When I got to the tombstone, I gasped. On top of it, there was a yellow flower, sitting mockingly and looking right at me. Suddenly, I felt a cold emptiness engulf me. I grimaced as I recognised the magic that has caused this feeling.
Looking up, I seethed, "Mother."
Sure enough, there she was. Cora walked closer to me as I spat, "What are you doing here? You show up on the anniversary of killing the man that I loved? To what, rub salt in the wound?"
Cora didn't flinch as she replied calmly, "To apologize."
I wanted to burn her. Right there on the spot. She had somehow managed to escape from Wonderland! I still remember the night that I trapped her. It was my wedding and I had used magic for the first time, pushing my mother into the looking glass that served as a portal to Wonderland. I surpressed my surprise and said, "I see. How did you get out of the looking glass?"
"I borrowed a rabbit. Wonderland's amazing, I've learnt a lot. I understand now why you had to send me away. Without me, you've become independant, and... And I'm very proud of you."
I glared at my mother. When I was a teenager, Cora was never sympathetic to me! Although I yearned for this affection, I knew better than to trust my mother. She never does anything without a gain or a motive. "What do you want?"
"To help you. You've got beauty and strength and power. I just need to help you get that final piece...love."
I let my rage consume me as I shouted, "I had that piece. You took it and tore its heart out."
"Yes. I made a terrible mistake. I was fine with a loveless marriage. I thought you'd be the same. But I realised that you feel things more deeply than I do. You deserve more than I had."
I looked down and huffed. I didn't care that I was probably acting like a child to my mother. I wasn't falling for her traps again.
Cora tilted her head and asked, "How about we go back to the palace and talk?"
NO! That cannot happen, Daniella's in the palace and my mother cannot know that she exists. She cannot know that I have a weakness. "No! I'll talk to you when I want to, and today is not your day."
I was expecting my mother to say something regarding my rude outburst. However, she didn't reply and simply nodded her head.
(Daniella's POV)
After mother returned, I went to her chambers so that I could practise my magic. Although she smiled when I came to her, I could tell that something was bothering her mind. When I asked her to show me a spell again, she would always have a weird blank look on her face before she realised that I was speaking to her.
After this happened for the third time, I finally asked, "Mama, are you alright? Is it because of your little trip?"
"I'm fine."
My mother opened her mouth to speak again but she paused. There was an unfamiliar sound of a woman's footsteps coming close to the door of the chambers. It didn't sound like those of a maid, their footsteps were silent and barely audible. The noise however depicted confidence, as if the wearer was waltzing their way through the hall of mirrors. I watched mother's eyes widen in realisation. In a quick whisper she said to me, "Go to your room for now."
"What?"
I heard the footsteps literally stop outside the door. Before the door opened however, I felt a cloud of purple smoke engulf me. As it cleared, I was standing in the middle of my bedchambers. I looked around and grunted. What was that all about?
My curiosity told me that I had to find out what was happening. So, I silently made my way back into the hall and walked towards my mother's chambers. I was thankful that the pair of shoes I had chosen to wear today made little noise against the cool marble flooring. As I neared the closed doors, I listened carefully. There was a mature woman's voice speaking to my mother. When I got close to the door, I picked out some of the words of their conversation.
"You found him?" That's mama.
"Of course, and he's on his way...come"
There was a brief pause before a gasp. Then, my mother said rather softly, "You remembered. I loved this colour."
After a few mumbled phrases, I heard, "Oh, you're welcome, darling. Now turn around and meet him."
Suddenly, there was a deep male voice. "Your majesty"
The woman's voice echoed through the door as it approached me, "I think I'll leave the two of you alone. Enjoy your evening together."
Realising that this meant that the woman would come out any second, I used my magic and quickly teleported myself back to my bedroom.
As soon as I set foot back in my room, I ran to the mirror that hung above my vanity. "Genie? Are you there?"
After waiting for a few seconds, I was about to turn away when blue smoke filled the mirror. Yay! He heard me.
"Yes, Your Highness. What can I do for you?"
"Do you know where my mother went?"
"I'm not sure but I'll find out for you. Just wait for a second..." Then, the face in the mirror disappeared although the blue hue on my mirror remained. I wasn't waiting for long because the Genie's face made its appearance again. "The Queen is in the palace gardens. I think she's walking towards her apple tree by the looks of it."
"Thanks so much."
"Your highness?"
"Yes?"
"I think she's with someone."
I smiled at the Genie for his help before waving my hand over my mirror to make him disappear. Then, I quickly grabbed a warm cloak and draped it around me before making my way to the gardens.
When I got down there, I saw my mother with a tall man talking under the apple tree. The man reached out to touch Mama around her waist. I felt my heart drop as I glared at the pair. Umm, It's the anniversary of my father's death and my mother is hanging out with another man? I saw my mother smile as she took the arm of the man. However, her smile ceased suddenly and so did the movement of the man. Then, she shouted, "That's not a real tattoo. That's magic! Who put it there? Who?!"
I saw the man squirm, pleading for my mother to stop whatever she was doing to him. Finally the shouts of pain stopped when the man confessed, "It was your mother. She told me to pretend to be your soul mate, and that I could be King. Just take it off me!"
"No! How dare you use me! Now, What does she get out of it!?"
"She wants you to have a child."
There was a brief silence before my mother shouted for guards to take away the man and throw him into the dungeons. After the man was taken away, my mother used her magic to change her light blue dress into her usual dark attire. Then, she waved her hands around her and purple smoke took over her body.
I was left alone in the gardens. So the woman was Cora, my grandmother. And for some reason, she wants my mother to have a child. Does Cora even know that I exist?
(Regina's POV)
"You'll never be happy. You don't know how. But you do understand power and you're about to lose it. Unless you start a dynasty, Snow will take back the kingdom and you'll lose it all"
I glared at my mother when she said these words. Clearly, despite what my mother thinks about her own intelligence, she doesn't realise that I already have an heir. Anyway, I felt my fury surge through me. Why does my mother have to meddle with everything?!
"I know what you think. Once I die of a mysterious illness, you'll be the power behind the child-sized throne right? Well guess what? That's not going to happen," I said as I held up a goblet containing a dark purple substance. "This, is going to take away your future claim to the royal line." I knew what I was doing. Even though Daniella was to take my throne after I die, my mother cannot influence Daniella. She must believe that the throne will remain empty until I get rid of her annoying presence again. I watched my mother sniff the potion and realise what effect it would bring.
"But you're not pregnant."
"And now I never will be. I won't be a baby mill for you. You made it clear that you don't think anyone's going to love me. So why don't I make it official...or do you not think I'm strong enough to take this potion?"
"Stupid girl. Put that down. You think it'll make you strong to hurt yourself?"
My mind reeled. I already have Daniella. And I will never ever love another man as much as I loved Daniel. I glared at my mother before raising the goblet to my mouth and drinking the liquid in a quick gulp. I smirked triumphantly at Cora until I felt a sudden kick in my stomach. Then, I felt as if a burning fire had been lit in my womb. I collapsed onto the couch and bit down a whimper. The pain surged through my body as my mother spoke to me.
"Oh, Regina, I really did come here to help you. I love you. I wanted you to have a child for your own sake. If I wanted to take your power, I'd already found a way to do so. Now, take one more piece of advice. The only one standing in the way of your happiness is yourself."
The pain and anger in me was blinding my thoughts as I spat onto my mother, "No! I've already found part of my happiness. And you. You always come in to meddle when I'm content for once."
"What are you talking about?"
I smirked at my mother. "You'll have to find out yourself."
My mother eyed me with suspicion before turning away to walk out of my chambers. Although my mother was gone from my sight right now, I still have no idea whether or not she would returned to wonderland. Despite the pain in my stomach, I slowly forced myself to get up. I needed to make sure that Daniella was out of sight from my mother.
(Daniella's POV)
My mother explained the whole situation to me, regarding my grandmother and the fact that she musn't know that I existed. Turns out, Cora did leave the palace and return to wonderland after mother drank the potion that made her unable to have children. I guess I'll be her only child then.
Ever since then, weeks of the cold winter passed and there hasn't been any progress in terms of finding Snow White. However, there is a more important event upcoming; my mother's birthday. Mama decided that she would officially announce me as her daughter and heir tomorrow in the birthday celebrations. The ball would be the first that I attended so in preparation, I've received dance lessons every day. Surprisingly, I've enjoyed them more than I anticipated. The only catch was that I would have to dance with princes from our alliance kingdoms.
On a more positive note, mother commissioned three new dresses to be made for me. Just this morning, I've received my final fitting to see which one I would like to wear for tomorrow's ball. I've also managed to gain a little sneak peak into the dress that Mama would wear. Her dress is a very beautiful crimson red gown, draped with a layer of sparkling black lace. There were no sleeves but rather, the dress would sculpt itself over one shoulder and blossom into an array of feathers. Considering that Mama would be wearing red and black, I've decided to wear a midnight blue dress instead. The dress has a sparkly ice blue bodice with mesh sleeves that hung from around my elbows. I really love this gown so I cannot wait to wear it tomorrow.
Throughout the day, I've walked around the palace to see the servants put up decorations for the ball. Despite my enthusiasm for the celebrations, I've noticed that my mother was particularly quiet. She kept on frowning, even during the funny remarks that grandfather had managed to make at the dinner table. I hope that my birthday gift will cheer her up tomorrow. I've commissioned the royal jeweller to create a tiara that depicted fireflies in the night sky. The tiara is composed out of small diamonds in the colours of dark blue, white and gold. The dainty jewels are all strung on an intricately woven metal frame that creates the curve of the crown's base. Right now, this tiara is sitting in a wrapped box, in the drawer of my dresser. I was surprised that it had managed to fit given the shallow space. I've kept the drawer locked, just in case my mother opened it for whatever reason. I'll have to wait for tomorrow, to see her reaction to my gift.
*Early the next morning
After the maids had finished plaiting my hair into a single loose braid, I rushed to my mother's room with the present in my hand. It was still very early in the morning since the sky was still a hue of orange, pink and blue. I didn't want to wake my mother up by the creak of the door so I teleported myself into her bed chambers. Then, I crept across the soft fuzzy rug to the edge of her large bed. Underneath the thick blankets of silk and wool, my mother's sleeping form moved up and down. I hope Mama won't get mad at me if I wake her up now. Anyway, she normally wakes up at this time...right?
Taking a deep breath, I jumped on top of my mother as I whispered rather loudly, "Happy birthday Mama!"
There was a little moan and a grunt before my mother opened her eyes slightly and looked at me. Then, she smiled and muttered, "Thank you, dear. What are you doing here so early?"
"I wanna give you your present..." I said as I grinned.
Mother turned her body towards me as she uttered, "present?"
"Of course!" Then, I reached over to grab the box that contained the tiara, "Here! I hope you like it...I didn't make it of course but I came up with the idea and theme."
Slowly, my mother sat up and moved over a little on her bed. She lifted up the linens and gestured for me to get in beside her. As I hopped into the warm bed, I gave her the box.
Then, she took off the ribbon and slowly took off the lid of the box. After she lifted the cloth and tissue paper that protected the top of the crown, she gasped and said, "Oh, its beautiful. Thank you, Daniella."
When she managed to get the tiara out of its box, she observed the tiny little 'fireflies' that adorned the ensemble. "Do you like it? The yellow dots...they're fireflies. I wanted to give you something that reminded you of the night when we found each other again."
Mother smiled as she said, "That's so sweet. Thank you Daniella." Then, she put down the tiara and reached around to hug me. "I love you, my little firefly."
"Love you too, mama."
The ballroom celebrations had started about an hour ago yet I've just begun to feel less awkward. My mother hasn't announced me yet as she wanted me to experience the initial moments of my first ball without receiving judgement from the guests. Thankfully, there were some young royals around the same age as me in the ballroom. I've been observing them for the past hour and they seem to be alright. I wanted to ask my mother how I would approach them but decided against it for she was sitting on the throne at the front of the hall right now. If I went up to speak with her, people would probably pay attention to me and try to figure out who I was...even though they would find out soon enough.
Finally, I picked up the courage to talk to the group of young royals. They stood near the refreshments table, one boy and two girls behind a tower of sweets. As I came closer, they turned their heads to look at me. Thankfully, they offered a little smile of welcome. The boy was the first to speak. "I don't believe we've met before. I'm Prince Nathan and these are my two sisters, Adriana and Irene."
Smiling, I replied, "Well, its nice to meet you all. I'm Daniella."
The taller princess out of the two, Adriana, spoke up, "Forgive me for asking but which kingdom do you come from? I'm terribly forgetful in political studies."
I dreaded this question but I playfully answered with a grin, "You'll find out..."
Prince Nathan chuckled and said, "playing the mysterious card aren't we?"
"Well I guess..."
Adriana spoke again, "I like your dress, Daniella. Its very beautiful...was it specially made for this ball?"
"It was. My mother gave her ideas to the seamstress and they came up with this I guess."
"I like it."
I smiled awkwardly and said, "Anyway, how are you all finding the party?"
This time, Irene answered, "Alright. Actually, this year's celebrations seems a little more cheerful than the last."
I frowned. "Really? Is there much of a difference?"
"I mean...the flowers and decorations are a little more colourful. Last year's flowers were all dark blue and black. The white and red roses add a little more colour into the scene. I'm glad that they lightened the colour scheme a little. The gold ribbons look pretty nice as well. To be honest, the celebration last year was a little scary;it was too gloomy."
Well, you couldn't expect less from my mother. "You think so?"
Irene nodded before moving sheepishly towards the display of macarons that sat on the refreshments table. Nathan quickly said to his sister, "Come on Irene. That's your fifth macaron! What will Mama say if she finds out that you've had that much sugar?"
I opened my mouth to speak, "I can't wait for the dinner feast and the Prince is right, maybe you should save space in your stomach for later."
"But the macarons are soooo good. The cook at our palace doesn't make desserts as delicious as these."
Inside, I was beaming a little at the praise. I mean, they were talking about the kingdom's best chef after all. When Irene had decided to resist the snack, Adriana suggested, "Do you want to dance? We seem to be the only ones huddling around the food."
Nathan smiled and did a little bow in front of me, "Would you care to dance with me, mi'lady?" My face flushed a little as I answered, "Why of course, your highness."
As Nathan dragged me out onto the dance floor, I heard Adriana and Irene whisper to each other. Nathan shot them a look and they turned away to giggle. "Don't mind them. Whenever I dance with another girl, they always tease me about it."
"Another?"
"Well I mean, I've been to dozens of balls and met many girls from all kingdoms. Everyone ends up inviting my grandfather; given the gold that our kingdom trades."
A realisation came to my mind. Nathan must be the grandson of King Midas! Trying to keep the conversation going, I said cautiously, "So, I heard that King George's son pulled out from his marriage with Princess Abigail."
"I guess." Nathan put one hand around my waist as he continued, "There's something strange about Prince James. He seems a little less...how should I put it? Um, he seems a little less confident the last time he visited our Kingdom. He seems so uncomfortable around my aunt. It's strange though, considering that he's now disappeared! There's no sign of him. King George's men have looked everywhere for him...wait." Nathan's cheeks blushed red as he continued quietly, "You can keep this conversation a secret right?"
"Of course. But why?"
"Well, the public isn't supposed to know about Prince James' disappearance yet. My grandfather wants to get to the bottom of this situation first. Please don't tell anyone. I'll get into trouble."
I was curious. I wanted to know more. As we danced, I watched his eyes roam over me. I imagined that smile that my mother would use to charm people and in seconds, Nathan's eyes were fixed on my lips. Yes! "Your Highness?"
"Yes, Daniella?"
"You must have some idea about where Prince James disappeared off to."
Nathan looked at me and his juvenile face cracked into a grin. "You wanna hear the goss don't you?"
"Just curious."
Nathan sighed and as he twirled me around, he said, "There has been reports. They say that he is aiding a bandit..."
I stopped dancing, nearly causing Nathan to trip over my foot. Embarrassed, I looked up at him and apologised. "Sorry...but um, you said that he was aiding a bandit. Do you who the bandit is?"
Nathan quickly glanced in the direction of the Queen and looking back at me, he said in a low voice, "I think he's helping Snow White."
I widened my eyes. I have to tell mother!
Nathan continued, "So yes. That's the issue. If word got out that the Prince my aunt was to marry is helping a wanted woman, our kingdom's reputation would be doubted."
In a soft voice, I answered, "But they'll eventually find out..."
"I know. To be honest, I'm not that worried about this issue. Its my grandfather. King Midas just doesn't want people to think that his daughter nearly married a non-reputable man."
"I understand."
"Do you?"
"Well, this is all about reputation isn't it?"
"I guess."
"I hope I don't sound like a mother when I say this but we shouldn't let the actions of others influence who we are. I've come to learn this myself in the last month or so."
Nathan chuckled and said, "Wise words from a wise girl."
I blushed but Nathan continued, "No, don't be embarrassed. I've met a lot of girls the same age as you but all they do is gossip about each other. You, you're different; smart and pretty too. And I like it."
I felt my cheeks become the same colour as my mother's red crimson gown. I looked away to avoid Nathan's glance.
Thankfully, the awkward silence that followed was broken when the announcer declared that the feast would soon begin in the banquet hall. However, he also mentioned something else. Something that made my heart beat rapidly against my chest. "Before the grand feast however, Her Majesty, Queen Regina would like to say a few words. Would all guests please gather at the throne."
Nathan began to walk with me to the throne but I felt a tap on my back. I turned around and saw my maid, Yvette curtsy before she whispered in my ear, "Follow me, I'll take you out so that when the Queen announces you, you can enter from the side doors just as arranged."
Turning back to Nathan I saw his confused face smile as I said, "I'll see you later."
"Alright, mi'lady. I'll see you soon then."
Then, I let Yvette drag me away. Just before we exited the room, I heard my mother begin her speech. In a few moments, I will come in not as a random girl at the ball, but as the Princess.
