Huge thank you to hopefulfeathers for her help with this story! This story was inspired by sbstevenson2's moodboard, which can be found here: /sbstevenson2/status/1109792396517228544?s=21.
Pink, purple and blue filled the sky in a dazzling display of color as the sun set over the Enchanted Forest. In various parts of the kingdom, dwarves were coming home from their mines, and princesses were sitting down to dine with their princes. As the full moon rose, other families closed their shutters and bolted their doors, knowing what this phase of the moon could mean for them and their loved ones.
The one known as the Evil Queen, however, was doing none of these things. Day and night, she prowled through the corridors of her castle, wondering how her life had gone so awry. She had once wanted much simpler things out of life: love, to be outside of her mother's sphere of influence. But all of that had been ripped away from her- and she knew that despite one meddling fairy's beliefs, she never would find a chance at happiness again.
Now her choices and the decisions made for her had led to this. She was nothing but a shell of her former self, ripping out hearts trying to cover the fact that she was lost in her despair. Few knew her story, or cared. All anyone in the kingdom cared about was that she was perceived as evil, when the one who had taught her everything she knew about magic ultimately was far more diabolical than she.
On that night, he was likely hatching some clever scheme to tear a child away from its mother, an activity the Queen knew he would encourage her to practice as well.
But Regina's goals had never been Rumplestiltskin's, and never would be.
Instead of threatening the lives of children, on that particular evening she was sitting in front of a quivering huntsman, who was the key to acquiring what she always wanted: Snow White's heart brought to her in one of her many enchanted boxes that were capable of holding such precious cargo. The huntsman, Graham, seemed tenderhearted enough that she didn't know how he managed to kill anything, let alone be the most skilled hunter in all the land.
She was unsure of him enough that she demanded answers. "How are you known for being the most adept hunter in all the realms, and yet it seems that given the choice, you wouldn't even kill a pathetic little fly?"
"Please, Your Majesty," he implored. "I was raised by wolves, I am thankful for every life that is ended at my hands-"
"Save your wallowing," she snapped, finding no patience in her to tolerate his ramblings. "I don't need a hunter who shrinks away at the mere sight of blood, I need a trained killer. Are you that man or not?"
"While I may be that man, I have no desire to be. All I want is to be free of you," he responded, a horrified look on his face, but a steely note in his tone, letting her know that given his choice, there would be no convincing him otherwise.
Although every particle in her body longed to outwardly show her frustration at this turn of events, she fought to keep her expression neutral. "Well then, I guess there's only one thing left for me to do."
She strode forward, and he tried to back away, but her black knights quickly grabbed his arms, holding them behind his back and pushing him to his knees.
The Evil Queen showed him a large part of how she had earned her moniker as she reached into his chest, her magic pushing bones, veins, and arteries aside as she tore his heart from its rightful place.
He gasped as the glowing red organ was extracted, and as she held his heart in her hand, a rush of power surged in her, and she remembered why she had chosen to get Rumple to teach her everything he knew. Despite how much she had once despised her mother for doing the very thing she had just done, she had to admit that the power that possessing a heart gave her was far more satisfying than being weak, powerless to change anything around her. This way of living ensured that not only her life, but the lives of countless others, were under her control.
The huntsman stared at her, his eyes wide with fear, and she held his heart to her lips, eager to use her power to bend his will to match her own, to do what needed to be done to achieve her goals. "You are not to leave my side until you choose to bring me Snow White's heart. Apart from the necessities of daily life, you may not leave my side unless I command it."
The magic that she was using to bind him to her set into place as soon as she had spoken. He was now her constant shadow, until he chose to obey her orders.
As he followed her that night, she sensed a third presence following them. She surveyed the area with her magic, but every time she did, she knew that whoever it was had retreated beyond her reach.
As she walked toward her chambers that night, the huntsman at her side as an extra guard for her quarters, she thought she heard a maddeningly annoying cackle that sounded all too familiar before she felt the pull of magic so strong it was impossible to resist its power. She saw a gaping black hole suddenly open in front of her, swirling in a vortex that seemed to be of its own making.
An unknown force hit her from behind, making her lose her balance and fall into the abyss, leaving everything she knew behind.
Meanwhile, a blue-eyed man hidden in the shadows watched as his friend and the Evil Queen disappeared from sight. He quickly ran to the portal and followed them wherever it led, determined to save his friend from the clutches of the one feared by all in the kingdom.
He let out a yell before the portal closed, carrying its occupants to a realm unlike any they had ever known before.