(Flashback, Enchanted Forest, During the reign of King Leopold)
Regina stared at the frothy bubbles of the fountain as she tried to calm her breathing. Her chest heaved up and down dramatically in frantic attempts to hold back her tears. Her arms ached to hold her baby girl again. She yearned to feel the familiar weight of Daniella's tiny body against her own.
She tilted her head up towards the sky and closed her eyes. As the breeze blew through the wisps of her hair, she took a gulp, feeling an isolated tear drip down her cheeks. Her hands flew to her face as she sobbed, unable to control her emotions anymore.
Regina wasn't aware of the distraught noises she made, or that Snow had stopped playing with her nanny.
The young princess knew something was wrong when she heard strange noises behind the garden hedge. When she got up to investigate, Johanna quickly called her back.
"Snow, where are you going?"
The princess looked unsurely at the direction of the noise and replied, "I'll be back."
Before she could run off, Johanna grabbed Snow's arm and pulled her away, saying gently, "What is it? Please tell me."
Snow turned her head back towards the hedge and said, "I think someone's crying."
"No one is crying, your highness. Come, let's go back into the palace."
Snow shook her head defiantly, "No! I want to know what's going on if someone is crying."
"Your highness-"
At that moment, the king appeared in the gardens. He came up to the young princess and gave her a hug. Snow giggled with happiness as this was her father's free day that they always spent together.
Leopold kissed his daughter on the cheeks and teased, "How's my little princess?"
Snow replied, "Good! What will we do today?"
The king shrugged and suggested, "Maybe we can picnic near the River Oars. Remember how we used to go there with your mother?"
Snow nodded. Then, she asked innocently, "Where's stepmother?"
The king's expression changed but it didn't go unnoticed by Snow. He replied nonchalantly, "She's probably still feeling unwell due to her daughter's death."
"But I want to see her!" the princess whined.
The king sighed and said towards Johanna, "Take Snow back to her chambers, I'll be there soon."
Snow was confused at why her father avoided her request so she repeated, "Where's Regina? I want to see her! I want to see if she's alright-"
"Your stepmother is fine."
Under the unusually stern expression of the king, the princess took a step back towards Johanna's arms. Then, the nanny turned Snow around slowly and guided her away to the palace.
"Regina."
The queen jumped and hastily wiped away her tears. Her heart pounded as she stood up reluctantly to greet her husband. Regina took one glance at the look on Leopold's face before she crumbled again. This time, she managed to keep it internally hidden away. However, that did not stop the king from demanding, "Why haven't you been looking after Snow?"
Regina took a second to understand the question and what it meant. Then, she bit out in shaky voice, "Am I not allowed to grieve for my child?"
Leopold stepped up to Regina and replied firmly, "No, I do not find it appropriate that you grieve for the product of your sin."
Regina felt her eyes water so she looked away but the king stated, "Regina, look at me when I'm speaking to you."
The queen took a second to breathe. Then, she glared at Leopold and screamed, "MY sin?! For goodness sakes, Leopold. Daniella was conceived before our marriage! Her father is dead!" After shouting these words, Regina immediately regretted it. She waited Leopold to take his turn.
The king pointed a finger at her and roared, "I don't care that she was conceived before! You made me believe that you were a virgin. You are not what you seem-"
"I did no such thing!"
"Don't lie to your king. Yes you did! You deceived me by making me believe that Daniella was mine!"
Regina's glance darted between the king's bloodshot eyes.
Leopold continued, "Well? You know of your sin, don't you?"
Regina took a step back as her body shook with grievances and anger. Then, she replied in a hoarse tone, "I didn't know that Daniella wasn't yours! I only realised after she had been born! Believe me, Leopold. I didn't mean to trick you in any way! Remember our wedding night? Remember? You forced yourself onto me. I could have gotten pregnant from that night! And I thought I did!"
"Perhaps you could have, but you've disappointed me."
"I've disappointed you?! I've tried to please you! I thought that in having a child together, we'd make our marriage meaningful!"
"But you fooled the kingdom and I with a child of another man!"
"I didn't mean to! Why don't you listen? I never intended it to be this way!"
The king answered Regina with an angry glare. One that was returned with words of frustration as the queen argued in a broken voice, "Why did you kill her?! I asked you. I asked you to spare her life. None of this is her fault!"
"I already told you my answer-"
Regina screamed, "She didn't need to have any royal titles! She could have grown up completely oblivious to the knowledge that her mother is the queen, for all I care! She didn't deserve to die like that."
"She's gone, Regina. You need to move on-"
Regina glared at her husband and spat, "Not until I've made you realise what you've done to me!"
"You are in no position to change my mind. Besides, that bastard is already dead!"
Regina felt the spit on her lips. Not caring about her red painted , she wiped her white sleeve across her mouth. Then, she released all the pain in her body and yelled, "Would you have said that to Eva?"
Leopold's hand slapped hard across Regina's cheek. The queen fell at his feet as he roared, "Haven't I already told you? Don't mention her name in front of me!"
The king watched Regina's heavy breaths for a second before repeating, "Have you heard me?! Don't mention Eva ever again!"
It took all the courage in her soul for Regina to look up and question in a distraught voice, "Why"
"Why am I telling you not to-"
"NO! Why did you marry me?! Why did you take me to be your wife if you don't love me? If you don't appreciate my opinion? I've tried so hard to please you, but every time I thought we would be alright, you turn away. Is the image of your dead wife still haunting you to a point where you can't look at me?! Well believe me when I say that I've lost someone too!"
The king growled, "I married you because Snow needed a mother who could take care of her-"
"Doesn't she have a nanny?!"
"It's different-"
"How so?" Then, Regina paused as a realization hit her mind. Her chest heaved uncontrollably as she bit out in tears, "You never wanted me to be your wife. You wanted me to serve your daughter."
Leopold replied, "You're not my wife. My wife is dead, lying in the silent cold earth. You're my queen." Then, after one last glance at Regina, he turned away. As he left he added, "Pick yourself up. Snow's been asking where you were."
With her hands to her face and ragged uncontrollable breaths, Regina made a promise to herself that one day, she will either end the king and his daughter's lives or her own.
(Several days later)
"Excellent work, my apprentice!" The Dark One giggled as he observed the fireball in Regina's hands. It had only been a few days since they started and Regina was already able to confidently make fire in her hands. However, Rumple was no idiot. He knew that his student's magic was fuelled by a fleeting worry that was crowding her mind, not persistent anger.
When Regina snuffed out the fire, she looked up hopeful into Rumple's eyes but saw them stare back strangely at her instead. Trying to ignore her teacher's strong gaze, she questioned, "Well?"
The Dark One stalked forward and stated plainly, "Something is troubling you, what is it?"
Regina looked shocked as she felt as though he had read her mind. She hesitated but Rumple prompted, "I will know about it, even if you refuse to tell me, dearie."
Stammering, Regina replied, "Can you teach me to erase someone's memories?"
Rumple stopped in his tracks. Then, he giggled, "Erase them? Whose memories?"
"The king's."
The Dark One circled Regina and lowered his voice as he answered, "This is about the daughter you lost isn't it?"
There was a lump in Regina's throat. She swallowed it and nodded.
"Well...yes. I can teach you how to selectively erase someone's perceptions of their past. I can teach you to manipulate it but first tell me, what exactly do you want gone from the King's mind?"
Regina's voice shook as she quietly muttered, "I want him to forget Daniella. I never want to hear him mention her name in front of me again."
(Present day)
The King Leopold's first line of sight brought him to see Snow White. His overjoyed smile lit up as he replied to her equally delighted but surprised shout. He was so glad that his darling girl was alright and looking healthy. An image of Eva came up into his mind. Snow had grown up to look so much like her mother.
The King felt a multitude of emotions ever since he was brought out of the underworld and into Storybrooke. He's heard stories of what had been happening in the Enchanted Forest after he had been murdered.
Constantly, he was worrying for his little girl. He had also been receiving news about Regina. Actually, her new notorious name had stung as it was exchanged around the victims who appeared in the Underworld during her reign. Recently, they also spoke of the Queen's daughter but the King was puzzled. According to the news coming from above, she hadn't remarried. Unless of course, the child came from the many men that the Queen seduced into her chambers, as far as the rumours run. However, most people insisted that she was the 'missing' princess.
None of this made sense to the King. He hadn't produced any offspring with Regina. He had hoped to have a male heir of course, but no matter how many times he forced himself onto Regina, she'd never fall pregnant. The King was disappointed at her. Although he loved Snow, he wanted to see a son succeed his throne.
Now of course, it didn't matter. He only wanted to see his daughter again. And she was standing just a few metres away!
However, the second he stepped down the stairs, he saw the girl who had run out so promptly after catching his gaze inside the diner. She looked so familiar but he couldn't place it to a name. That is, until he saw the woman she ran towards.
"You-" The King began as he glared at his wife. Regina's face paled as she looked up to see the old monarch surveying her. Then, she moved quickly between the girl and the King, shielding her from his view.
The King pieced together the girl's identity as Snow hurried over. "Father-"
The King addressed his daughter even though he didn't stop taking his glare off Regina. "Snow, tell me. Is it true?"
"Is what true?" Snow carefully tread.
"Everything I've heard about her," The King replied as he inclined towards his wife.
"Father it-"
"Is it true?"
Every person sitting in the tables outside of the diner were watching the scene intently. They immediately recognized the King but just like the royals involved with the situation, they had little idea of what was going on. However, seeing the Evil Queen getting confronted with her dead husband, who they all assumed she had killed, was not something to miss.
Snow's lack of reply was the exact answer that the King needed. Before anyone could react, there was a sharp crack of flesh meeting flesh that sliced through the air.
(Daniella's POV)
Mama staggered over as the King's hand swept across her face. I stood rooted to my spot, not knowing how to react.
Now, the king was looking at me. He had seen the way that mother shielded me with her body. He questioned dangerously, "Who is this, Regina?"
I was petrified. Why wasn't my mother responding with her magic? Back in the Enchanted Forest, anyone who touched her would be levitated and thrown across the air. Why didn't she do the same with the King?
My breath was knocked out from my body as the King continued to observe me. Then, with one hand on her cheek, my mother straightened herself and seethed, "You stay away from her."
"Now now, is that any way to speak to your husband?"
"You're not. Not anymore." Mother replied firmly. However, I could sense an underlying tone of fear in her voice. I took her hand when Snow intervened with a sullen voice, "Daddy? You told me that she had died from a fever. That wasn't true was it?"
The King turned around and frowned. "Who?"
Now, it was Snow's turn to look confused. "What? Daniella of course."
I tensed up but my mother put her arm around me, pulling me close to her body. The King searched my eyes. How-
In a low voice, my mother replied in a taunting manner, "You'd remember if you hadn't taken the glass of champagne I offered to you, the night you demanded that I ought to give you a son."
I observed the King's reaction carefully. I could tell that something crossed his mind. Mother continued, "But then again, you don't deserve to mention her name."
"Watch your tone-"
"And if I don't?" Mama laughed. I saw Henry and some others flinch. However, I knew that it wasn't a confident snigger. It was a laugh meant to hide fear. She continued, "You don't get to ever talk to her, considering what you did on the night of your daughter's 12th birthday."
The King crossed his arms and replied, "How am I to know what I did, if you've erased my memories, witch?"
The label stung. I felt my mother tense up at the King's words. However, she didn't tell the King what he wanted. "I'll leave you to realise that I've taken everything that was meant to be Snow's because of what you did to Daniella and I that night. You're unworthy to know what happened. You can ponder over that for the rest of your days, tormented by your mistake."
The King glared at mother. Then, he pointed a finger and spat, "You swine!"
Snow clasped her hand over her mouth for I doubt she had heard her father hurl an insult like that. Mother told me that her father had a completely different persona around his daughter.
Mama simply raised an eyebrow at the King's remark. Then, she took hold of my hand as magic surrounded us. In the blink of an eye, we were no longer standing outside Granny's diner. We were back home in the mansion.
My mother leaned against the closest wall with her hand on her forehead and eyes closed. I stood there, not knowing what to do as a tear trickled down her cheek. Then, she looked at me and whispered, "I'll make sure that he never bothers you, my darling. I promise."
The weekend passed quickly even though mother and I barely left the house. Surprisingly, we hadn't heard or seen any of the Charmings apart from Emma since she delivered my belongings I'd left at the apartment back to me. But its too good to be true isn't it? That they'd let us go...?
Mother hadn't mentioned the King either, but I didn't want to bring him up. I was worried since it became clear to me that she was hiding her angst. At one point, she briefly left the house to go to her vault. I asked her if I could come but she shook her head and said that it was nothing important.
It almost seemed funny, how everything went by in a blur. The curse broke, I lived with the Charmings, Henry and I got trapped in the past, and now we're back. With the addition of the man who had attempted to kill me.
Now that it was Monday, there was school. I was relieved that I had my magic again, but knowing that I had to face all the people in my class made me nervous.
Silence hung in the air as mother prepared breakfast for me. I sat at the kitchen counter, watching as she scrambled the eggs. Then, I remembered something from class last week. "Mama?"
"Hmm?"
"We have our science fair coming up on Wednesday." Then, my voice trailed off quietly, "We were told to tell our parents that they're welcome to come. Are you coming?"
Mother turned around and placed the eggs on my plate. "Of course I will, if you want me to."
I stabbed the egg with my fork and commented, "But there will be other people there..."
She sighed and sat down next to me, after placing the pan in the sink. "You're worried about what they might do."
I nodded.
"Firefly, we've got our magic, we're safe. Besides, they couldn't hurt us here in this land. It's technically against the law-"
"But when I was living with the Charmings, they said...well, they said that they had to calm people down from enacting their anger."
Mother laughed, "And yet, they're frightened. No one will hurt us, darling. I promise. I'm sure memories of what I could do to my enemy's hearts still give them fear."
"Even after the king is back? Who knows what he's said to the people! I mean..."
Mother stiffened. She took a sip of her coffee and replied, "He won't be an issue much longer. I will find a way to get rid of him."
"But everyone will know that it was you!"
"Not necessarily. The first time I did it, it wasn't at my hand now was it?"
I shook my head but added, "Yeah, but everyone would still question-"
"Perhaps I'd let his own family do it to him."
"What?"
Mother grinned and stroked my hair replying, "Do you remember what I told you about one of the best ways to enact pain or vengeance on someone?"
I shook my head.
"You have to take the thing they love most, and use it against them. It'd destroy the person in ways worst than you could enact yourself."
I frowned, "What do you mean?"
"Say we get Snowflake and her dear family to turn against Leopold. If they were willing to get rid of him, we wouldn't have to lay a single hand on that evil man right?"
"Right. But how? You told me that Snow loved her father...and the feelings between them seem pretty mutual to me."
I watched as my mother's expression changed from being happy about the idea she'd suggested to something else.
"Mama?"
She shook her head and replied, "Leave that part to me. I know how to break their family apart." Then, her tone of voice changed as she said, "Hurry up, or you'll be late for school dear."
I rolled my eyes and responded quietly, "I don't wanna go."
"We can't hide away forever. The best way to overcome something is to face it-"
"I know," I groaned as I spread butter onto my toast.
I watched with a heavy heart as the car drove away from the school gates. I bit my lip and turned around, letting out a small shout as I crashed into someone. As the girl stumbled to the side, I held my breath nervously until I realised who it was. "Maria!"
"Daniella? Oh it's you," she replied as she hugged me.
I laughed uneasily, "Yeah, but aren't you mad at me?"
"Mad at you? For what? The curse? Don't worry about that, my parents weren't angry or anything..."
"But the rest of the town is," I cut in as my shoulders slumped.
Maria sighed, "Come on, let's not think about it."
As we started to walk off, I began slowly, "Maria, seriously though...why are you talking to me?"
She stopped and looked back. "What do you mean?"
"I'm not blaming you for doing so but...you sat with your friends last week during lunch. I was going to approach but they gave me looks."
"I-" She paused uncomfortably and sighed. Then, she explained, "When you were gone, I was worried and..." She quickly finished, "I'm sorry. It's just everything was so confusing when the curse broke. Like, some people recognised me and well, since my parents supported your mom, people started treating me differently."
I looked down. "So it's my fault-"
"No it isn't!"
I waved my arms in the air as I reasoned, "It is. They'd think even worse things about you because you're my friend!"
Maria laughed, "Well I'd rather be friends with you than them."
"Why?" I bit out, without realizing how harsh it sounded. Maria recoiled slightly so my heart guiltily pumped against my chest as I said quietly, "I meant that...haven't you known them for so long? We've only met each other once in the Enchanted Forest and you didn't even know who I was. Here, you were under the curse. How do you know that I'm not going to throw a fireball your way or something...?"
Maria gave me a half smile. "Daniella, people are only scared because they don't know that you're nice." I huffed as she continued, "They've only heard stories...but I've seen you be yourself in the Enchanted Forest."
"Technically I wasn't though. I was afraid that you'd find out who I was."
"And then I did..."
"You did." I explored Maria's eyes. We started walking again when she spoke up, "What did your mom say when you went home that day?"
I chuckled half-heartedly, "Oh, I was in trouble."
"I could imagine. My mother and father confronted me about it actually. I secretly hoped that I'd be able to see you again since they wouldn't say no if you were to request a visit from me I guess..."
I created a fist at my side as I replied, "I wanted to see you again, but then the war happened, remember?"
Maria nodded, "What did it mean for you? Sorry...my parents refused to tell me much about it."
I created quotation marks in the air as I replied, "Well, for starters, Snow and her prince 'banished' my mother and I which meant that we kinda kept to the palace most of the time. We weren't supposed to traverse into other kingdoms-"
"But our village was in your kingdom!"
"I know-but mother had no control over it remember? Didn't your father say anything about this to you? He would have known. His alliance had to shift-"
"Yeah, he said that the town was under Queen Snow's rule. That was it. I knew that it was because of the battle and..." Maria lowered her voice as she asked, "I know I must be horrible to ask but is it true that you were at the..."
I raised my eyebrow. "Huh?"
"The umm, the execution."
I nodded with my eyes closed.
"That's horrible! I can't believe they-"
I scoffed, "Yeah, and after that they banished us. To be honest, nothing much really changed since mother still tried to kill Snow."
Maria gave me a smile. That's when I was confused and asked bluntly, "I don't get it. Why aren't you hating me? I know that my mother had favoured your family but aren't you-"
"You're the only friend I can have. Everyone sees me as an enemy since my father has helped your mom back in the Enchanted Forest."
"But don't you believe what everyone says? They're not all wrong you know..."
We had entered the school building and had to weave through other students as they scrambled to their lockers or friends in deep conversation. Maria replied, "What do you mean specifically?"
As we reached our lockers, I replied whilst tugging on the lock, "You're choosing to be the friend of a villain."
"Who said you were a villain?"
I pulled the lock strongly and as I opened the locker door, I answered under my breath, "Even my brother says I am."
"Henry?"
I rolled my eyes before looking around. "Where is he anyway? Shouldn't he be here by now? His grandma's a teacher."
"His-oh!" Then, Maria giggled. "It's funny how Queen Snow's already a grandma."
I joined in her laughter, "Yeah."
Then, she added seriously, "But back to what I was saying before, you're not a villain. You haven't done anything wrong-"
"But my mother has!"
"Has she?"
I raised my eyebrows. "Seriously?! You wouldn't call ripping out hearts something wrong? How about 'terrorising villagers' and 'burning peasants' homes'."
"Ok what I meant was, is she a villain to you?"
I nearly shouted out my reply but lowered it to a medium volume so that I wouldn't attract attention. "Of course not! She's just trying to get back at Snow for what she did."
Maria put away her backpack and turned around to face me with her books. "So she did have a reason to do whatever she did. I don't want to sound critical, but yeah, I agree with most people that it wasn't exactly the prettiest of things but if she had a reason...well..."
I stared at my friend for a second. She couldn't really be wanting to know about it could she? Besides, could I even tell her? Wait... "Your father told you something. That's why you're sympathising with us, with me."
Maria's cheeks blushed red.
"I'm right, aren't I? What did he tell you?" I pressed.
The bell rang so we lined up outside of the classroom. Maria said quietly in my ear, "Don't worry, I haven't told anyone this but father explained the rumours about the missing orphan in our village."
"Yeah, me," I breathed.
Maria nodded. "Your mom told him that he mustn't tell anyone other than his family. Anyway, she told us the truth about you."
"So you know about the king and..."
"Yeah, I do. We believed her. Father told me that he remembered when you were born. Obviously, it was when the King was still alive. I think your mom wanted someone to know that you were really hers, and not just some random girl from the orphanage. She explained how Wonderland changed your age. If not, you'd be nearly an adult now."
I was shocked that Maria knew so much since mother never told me that she had informed anyone of my past. Quietly, I said in realisation, "That's why your family helped us-"
Maria chuckled, "I mean, your mom is the Queen. We had to do whatever she commanded. But it makes so much more sense after we knew the truth. Before that, I have to admit, I was kinda agreeing with everyone else about Snow White. Anyway, I can't believe what she and her father put you through. It's so unfair. I wish more people would know about it. They'd probably be nicer to you!"
I sighed. "Yeah, but...if they found out that I don't share the same blood as Snow, they'd probably be even more eager to burn me at the stake."
"They won't do that!"
Several heads turned our way. Even though we stood at the back of the line outside of the classroom, I suddenly felt as if everyone was focusing on us. I shut my mouth and didn't say anything, simply clutching my books. Then, the class started to file into the classroom so Maria and I stopped talking anyway. At the doorway, I saw Henry running towards us from the end of the corridor.
"There's your brother."
"Yeah. You go in, I'll hold the door open for him."
Maria nodded as I stuck my foot in front of the door. Henry panted as he came closer to me. "Thanks."
"How are you late? Snow's our teacher, wouldn't you have come at the same time?"
Henry frowned and walked into the classroom, answering, "She's not. Not anymore."
"What?!" Indeed, as I came into the room, I realised that a different teacher was standing in front of the whiteboard. Henry whispered to me, "Grandma's the mayor of Storybrooke now, don't you know?"
I opened my mouth in surprise. "Mama didn't say anything about that-"
"That's because Snow is going to tell her now."
As I walked to my desk at the back of the classroom, I crossed my arms and replied, "They can't just fire her! She's in charge of the town-"
"The curse is broken, they can. But anyway, the system here runs democratically and we had an election over the weekend. Mum got voted out the first round."
My cheeks burned. Then, I came up to Henry and said between gritted teeth, "She's our mother! Why are you being so rude now?"
"I'm not! I'm just stating the facts! Calm down!"
I was about to reply when the teacher shouted from the front of the classroom, "Alright everyone, quieten down and take your seats."
I glared at Henry and flumped down in front of my desk. They had rearranged the desks so now, I sat right next to Maria. She bent her head over and whispered, "What happened?"
I was grateful that Henry was now sitting at another group of desks. After making sure that he was not looking in my direction, I replied, "My brother's being annoying as usual."
Maria gave me a sympathetic smile. Then, we both looked up as the teacher had begun to speak. "Hi, I'm Ms Rogers. You might have seen me around the school before as I used to be a casual teacher. Now since the curse has broken, your previous teacher, as I'm sure you're all aware, has become the new mayor so she cannot teach here. However, I'm sure she'd love to pay us a visit."
The class began to whisper. Of course they will. After realising that they were taught by the famous Snow White.
"Now, I've received a list of names from Ms Blanchard but I still need to get to know you. Would you like to stand up, one by one, and tell me who you are? Umm, starting from you, my boy."
The boy sitting at the front of the class stood up and introduced himself to Ms Rogers. "Hi, I'm Victor."
"Nice to meet you. How about you tell me one thing about yourself? Hmm, what do you like to do in your spare time?"
"I used to go fishing with my dad in the Enchanted Forest. We stopped now but it was fun."
I sucked in my breath at the mention of the Enchanted Forest. Was Ms Rogers really going to ask everyone about their life in the Enchanted Forest? I looked worriedly at Maria but she didn't seem to notice my gaze.
The teacher went around asking everyone a question and somehow everyone related it to the Enchanted Forest. Everyone except Henry of course.
"You must be Henry Mills."
Someone on his table called out, "Wouldn't Henry have a different surname now, miss?"
The air in the room suddenly turned thick. My brother looked uneasily at me as the teacher replied, "On my roll, it reads Henry Mills. I suppose if the saviour wants to alter that, she can inform the school..."
I leaned over to Maria and whispered, "But she can't! Mama said that she still had legal custody over Henry."
The other students on my table looked in my direction so I quickly stopped talking and focused back on Henry. However, my annoyance at the teacher grew. She seemed to be completely entranced by the illusion that Snow's family are heroes. Instead of asking my brother a question relating to the Enchanted Forest, she told him to talk about how he found Emma and took her to Storybrooke. I almost wanted to run from the room. Everyone was so interested in what he had to say, it almost made me feel sick.
I already hated being in class. I glared at everyone as they appeared engaged in Henry's story.
"Dani!" Maria whispered. It diverted my attention. I faced her and gave her a look. What?
"Hey, are you ok?" Maria asked in a low voice.
I looked down at my hands. They were glowing purple. I quickly shoved them under my desk. Maria shuffled over a little and grabbed hold of them. She brought them out a little and gasped. Her eyes darted over mine as she tried to find something to say. "Daniella, do you...do you need to go to the bathroom?"
I shook my head. No, I needed to stay. I can't just escape out of the room. Mother's words replayed in my mind. The best way to overcome something is to face it.
I took a deep breath and gently shook Maria's hands off mine. Soon, Ms Rogers came swept through every person in the room except her and I. She addressed Maria first, of course. "And you'll be Maria Durbonne."
My friend nodded.
"Do you have any hobbies?"
"Umm, I like ice skating." She glanced around the room and said, "Veronica, Elizabeth and I used to go to the lake near the village in winter to ice skate. It froze for several months."
The boy who spoke first, Victor added, "I used to go to that river too! To fish during the summer."
Maria turned to him and exclaimed, "We were from the same village?"
"Well, you wouldn't have noticed me but you're the mayor's daughter aren't you?"
Someone else added, "Oh yeah, you were!"
I knew it made Maria uncomfortable that people were identifying her with the past. However, they didn't seem to say it with hatred. So does that mean that Maria was lying when she said that people started hating her because of me? What if she'd simply chosen to be my friend because she pitied me? What if she could have had more friends...
My thoughts were cut short as the teacher finally called out my name. "Daniella Mills. You're last."
I stood up, on the spotlight again.
"Well, we all know who you are," Ms Rogers chuckled. I didn't know if I should take that as a threat or not. However, she continued lightly, "Relax, I'm not here to make you embarrassed. Let me see...I've practically asked every question that I could think of." Then, she turned to the class and asked, "Does anyone have a question they would like to ask Daniella?"
I held my breath. What wouldn't they want to ask?
Elizabeth's hand levitated. My chest started to hurt. She was my friend from the orphanage. However, we hadn't spoken for so long. Besides, my last time seeing her in the Enchanted Forest was when she had been choking under my mother's hand. After that, she'd seen me use my magic on one of Snow's dwarf friends.
The teacher turned around. "Yes, Elizabeth?"
"What's the proudest thing that you've done with your magic?"
My breath hitched. "Umm..."
"Only answer if you feel comfortable, Daniella," Ms Rogers added quickly.
I looked around the room. Everyone was desperate for an answer. Well, this might be the time to change the views on me.
"I...I don't know." My cheeks burned as I said these words. Have I really not done anything good with my magic? Tears threatened to burn my eyes but I pushed them away. Luckily, they never formed. For now, at least. I murmured, "I'm really not that good with magic."
Someone called out, "But you know how to make a fireball don't you?" I didn't like the tone in his voice.
Before the teacher could invervene, someone else asked, "Is it true that the Candy Witch is dead because of you?" This time, the tone was better. I decided to answer him.
"Yes. And I don't know if you've met her, but she's a monster! Literally. She eats children, I'm not kidding!"
A girl by the name of Merida replied, "I know! There were kids missing from my village and we investigated and found bread crumbs trailing to the house. Luckily my parents were there, or otherwise I would have gone in and gotten eaten!"
The person who originally asked the question about the witch spoke again, "How did you get rid of her? Why were you in the house in the first place?"
I was thankful that neither Hansel nor Gretel were in my class. So, I lied a little and responded, "My mother said that she had received complaints about the witch and since she couldn't enter the house, I had to be the one to umm, to..."
"To kill her," Henry finished. Everyone looked at him. He narrowed his eyes at me. Damn. The real story is probably in his book of fairytales. My hands shook as I held my breath, hoping that my brother wouldn't betray me.
Luckily, someone cut in, "Why couldn't the Queen enter? She has magic doesn't she? Who's the more powerful witch?"
I tensed a little but replied swiftly, "My mom of course. But the house has enchantments around it. Only children can enter."
"So you went in there by yourself?"
I opened my mouth to speak but Henry beat me to it. "No she didn't. She went with Hansel and Gretel. Their names here are Ava and Nicolas."
Suddenly, everyone started speaking. I sat down slowly. Ms Rogers had to tell everyone to quieten down. For the rest of the lesson, I glared at Henry. I could have fixed my image. I could have made the others believe that I did something good for the kingdom. But now, they'll probably go to Hansel and Gretel, demanding them to confirm what I've told the class.
I was afraid that they'd tell them the truth. That the main purpose of entering the house was to retrieve the poison apple that my mother used to put the beloved Snow White into a sleeping curse. However, that wasn't the part that I feared most. I didn't want the others to know that I was capable of crushing a heart. Just like mother.
