It was cold, colder than she had ever felt, for just a moment. Then, everything felt normal. Her eyes snapped open. Something strange came into focus above her head, something she swore she had never seen before but - her mind corrected it. Ceiling fan. It must have been on top speed, no wonder it had felt so cold when she first woke up. That was when she felt her surroundings. The bed, blankets, pillows. They almost seemed unusual until her mind corrected her they were hers, that this was her life. Then, she realised she was very much not in the clothes she last remembered wearing. Instead, she was in soft, fitted silk pyjamas, with the shirt slightly undone at the top, and the pants just a little long at her feet. She reached up at her hair, expecting it to be a tangled mess all down her back. Her hands, briefly, grasped only air. Suddenly, she realised her hair was cut in a neat, sleek bob, only a few mere inches above her shoulders. Slowly, she stepped towards the window. That was when she saw the world outside. It was, to her shock, the world she had seen in those dreams. This was not a dream. Without even realising it, she smiled, laughing a little.

"I did it," She could hardly believe herself. "I won."

That was when she turned back towards the bed, expecting to see Lynn curled up, still asleep. She wasn't there. Panic set in even faster than the short lived elation had. She all but tore open the bedroom door. Paused, startled by the unfamiliar layout of the house. Shaking, she ran down the hall to the back bedroom. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the closed door had a hand drawn sign on it, in paper. Lynetta's Room. Little flowers, butterflies, and crowns were drawn around it, clearly by her daughter, in she wasn't sure what. Crayon, her mind told her. She closed her eyes. Everything would seem strange for a few days, wouldn't it? It didn't matter. She won. Her hand wrapped around the doorknob, slowly turning it, and quietly opened it, peeking into the room. There she was, curled up with her favourite stuffie, an oddly shaped toy meant to resemble a bunny that her grandfather had made her. Her grandfather. Regina dropped her hand from around the doorknob, shaking. She leaned against the door frame, and pressed her hands against it, hoping to stop the shaking.

She had been right. She loved her daughter more than anything. But she had loved the absolute…almost pedestal her father had always put her on, never questioning her, never getting in her way. She swallowed hard. Did Lynn know about that? Would she figure it out? Regina forced herself to put the thought out of her head so much as possible. She had won. This was for the best, and he had understood. She and Lynn could finally be happy. Snow would forever suffer. It was as things were supposed to be. She took in her daughter's room. It was pale green, with drawings like the one on her door put up on the walls. Taped, her mind told her. All of the things Regina had expected were there, too, most of which were things she had always had. Lynn also had a couple of other things "taped up" on her wall. Posters, her mind told her. Avril Lavigne. Who was - a singer. Barbie The Princess And The Pauper. What - a movie.

Regina found that she could not help but smile.

Knowing Lynn was safe, the queen - mayor, her mind immediately corrected - slowly made her way downstairs. She stood at the landing, looking up the stairs for a moment, then looking around her. There was a large, round mirror near the front door, above a set of drawers in a sleek, dark wood. On top of it were - photographs, her mind told her. She stepped towards them, gingerly taking one of the - picture frames - in hand. Her father. Lynn. So far as she could tell, Lynn was no more than a few months old. Still, she looked happy to be held by her grandfather. Another one, beside it, appeared more recent, showing her, her grandfather, and her mother. He had died recently, he - a heart attack, her mind told her. He died of a sudden heart attack. She set the photograph back down, in almost exactly the same place. That was much more comfortable. Life as the queen, in Misthaven, was just as clear as these memories. The memories created by the curse. This one, of her father's passing being sudden, a simple tragedy was more comfortable, almost comforting. She pushed that aside, too.

Regina found herself staring at all seven of the photographs on top of the set of drawers and below the mirror for what she could have sworn was hours. There was one of her holding Lynn, a newborn, and - in hospital, her mind told her. Lynn had been born in hospital, her mother a single parent, never having married since Lynn's father had passed before she was born. There was one of Lynn - most likely as a toddler - playing in the snow with Caity. Regina giggled a little at it. Her friend had bright pink and green hair split down the middle including her bangs. Her hair that was much longer than it had been in Misthaven, but she had the same pale skin, bony, petite body, and glasses and eyes as always. There was one of herself and Sherry - Sherrilyn, her mind told her, though she did prefer Sherry - in a large room, Sherry tightly embracing her. Town hall. She had just been elected mayor. Sherry looked different, too, her black hair almost completely straight and in a very high ponytail - her favourite styling, the mayor's mind told her - that reached down a little bit past her shoulders.

They all looked so different, yet the same. It was remarkable. The curse had worked. It had worked, and then some. Life really had become what it was meant to be. Her eyes fell on another picture. Lynn. Her most recent school picture. She had just lost a couple of her baby teeth, so her smile was a bit crooked, but she was just as adorable as ever. She looked about the same as she always had, expect for her hair being cut in the same style as her mother, and having a single pink streak in it. She had begged her mother to let her get one after she got her ears pierced. Where had that memory - Regina pushed her mind's interjections away. This was life. This was their life. Then, her eyes fell on another one of the photographs. Herself and Lynn. In a mostly monochrome room with expert decor. In front of them were two strange - her computer and mobile. That was when she noticed her mobile. It was sleek, and had a - the charging cable, it was plugged into the wall just beside the set of drawers. Delicately, she opened the case of her mobile. Pushed on the right edge. It turned on, showed - the data connexion.

So many things seemed strange but then suddenly were perfectly normal.

Verizon.

5G network status.

Samsung Galaxy - that was her…"model" of mobile.

Lock screen.

09:37.

1 January.

She tapped on the lock screen to keep it from "putting the mobile to sleep." It was her and Lynn. Recent, her mind told her. Taken in October, shortly after their birthday. Briefly, she laughed. It never failed to make her smile that, by sheer coincidence, herself, Lynn, and Caity had the same birthday: September 26th. Twenty nine. She would be turning twenty nine that year. Technically. Age was stopped. Everything seemed to be set on hold. Time was on hold, apart from day to day life. Lynn. She did not consciously know what happened. Regina let out a soft sigh of relief. When the time was right, she would be able to tell Lynn everything. For now, she didn't have to. She stared at her lock screen. She was holding Lynn, both of them smiling, looking as if they had been laughing when the photograph was taken. The qu - mayor - found herself taken aback every time she took in their clothes. Like everything else, they simultaneously felt completely strange but completely typical. Things would take a bit of time to get used to, she reminded herself. Only she - no. Only she, her two closest friends, and Lynn, though in the case of Lynn only unconsciously, knew the truth. Knew the past. Knew their lives before this…

Storybrooke.

A quiet mountain town in Maine.

Maine.

One of the fifty states.

States.

Parts which made up the entire country.

United States.

The world's strongest military power.

The land of the free, home of the brave.

She smirked to herself a little.

She was free.

The people she cared about were free.

The others? Not so much.

Things were as they should be.

Things were as they were always meant to be,

Fate.

Destiny.

Whatever the word was, it only augmented that this was how the world was truly supposed to - needed - to be.

Her eyes fell on the last photograph on the top of the set of drawers. Lynn, of course, but in a dress…what was - it was just like Blaire's. Blaire. The main character from one of Lynn's favourite - films. DVDs. Barbie Princess Charm School. Regina's fingers brushed against the glass of the picture frame. It was a very recent photograph, from just a month prior, and Lynn was wearing her tiara. The tiara. One of the tiaras that was always meant to be hers, only being a bit larger for as she grew. That wouldn't matter, and certainly not for, at least, a long time. Lynn was finally getting her chance to be happy, to be a kid. Maybe that was why time was stopped. Maybe time would start again for them in the physical once Lynn had made up for all that had been taken away from her. The tiaras. They were upstairs, in a box on the top rack of her mother's closet. Regina looked up at the mirror. Took herself in. This was a new reality, yes, but it was very much one she could get used to. After a moment, she turned away. Started walking again, though this time into the kitchen. It was just as sleek as the rest of the house. She almost couldn't believe it, her thoughts wandering like mad while she made breakfast.

"What time is it?"

Regina startled, almost dropping the pancake she was slipping on top of the others on the plate by the stove. She relaxed, however, smiling when she saw it was just Lynn. Her baby girl. Lynn yawned, and the seven year old stumbled into the kitchen, stretching out her arms. She pulled one of the chairs - barstool chairs, her mother's mind told her - out, sitting up against the marble countertop of the kitchen island. She grinned when she saw her mother was almost done making pancakes for the both of them. With a hint of a devious smile, she reached out for one of them, but her hand was gently caught by her mother's free one, the other setting down the now-empty pan on the stovetop before shutting off the fire. Mother and daughter shared a knowing look, and laughed when Regina let her hand go, flipping half of the pancakes onto the other plate, pushing it towards her daughter. Lynn happily started to eat, having half of one of her three pancakes before reaching for the glass of water beside her. Then, setting everything down and having finished most of her water, she looked at her mother across from her.

"Are you sure I can't go to work with you today?" Lynn said, eyeing her mother closely. "It's just some 'nature hike' thing in the woods in town.. Caity won't have to drive me there, too, and -"

"You know what?" Regina cut in, reaching over and patting her daughter's hands. "How about you don't go to school, and I go to work a little later than usual so we can spend some time together? Does that sound fun to you?"

Lynn perked up, nodding excitedly.

"Good," Regina squeezed her hands. "I know we don't spend enough time together, and it's probably for the best for us both to take some time off."

"Yep!" Lynn cheerfully agreed. "Plus, I don't have to go to school!"

"True," Regina sent her a pointed look. "But you do have to tomorrow. Okay?"

Lynn shrugged. "I get free time! Fun time!"

"You do," Regina paused, closing her eyes for a few seconds before looking at her daughter again. "Let's finish breakfast, get dressed, and then go for a walk. It's finally not snowing, for once."

For once. Damn. This life is…two lives. One there, and one here. Both of them. In me. Real. This one…it's better. So much better. I won. Snow can never claim any semblance of an upper hand against me again. And her child disappeared through that wardrobe. Wherever the child is, it's not here. She's lost everything. I've finally won.

Replies To Reviews:

jasouatfan: well, i hope this first chapter of Storybrooke met your expectations! it was super fun to write, and i'm really happy with how it (and the previous one) came out!

Sammii16: Regina definitely could have found another way if she hadn't been emotional and impatient. hope you enjoyed this chapter, thank you so much for the support!