It was dark, cold. The only person in the palace that could even remotely be viewed as warm was the ten year old girl, the princess. From the balcony of her private suite, the Queen could see the girl wandering through the gardens. Night had fallen maybe an hour before. With it always came the cold. September was nearing its end, and it frightened her. The Queen felt one of her hands wrap tighter against the railing of the balcony, the other falling down and pressing gently against her belly. You are more of a royal than she is, the Queen smiled lightly when she felt a kick. No matter what Leopold says, you're going to inherit the throne, not her. Your father would have loved you so much….Daniel and I would have… The Queen closed her eyes, pushing the thought aside, He was gone, he wasn't coming back. Their baby only would have her, and, her hands shaking, the Queen vowed again that she would give the baby everything. No matter what her 'husband' said.

The Queen glanced back out at the gardens. The young girl was still happily without care.

"I wish I never had saved you," The Queen barely could hear her own voice. Her eyes narrowed, resentment forming in her chest when she saw her husband step outside to watch his daughter. Life will be so much better without you, too.

"Regina? You should come back inside, you're going to get too cold."

She turned around suddenly, swallowing hard when she saw her father standing in the doorway. His eyes were soft in worry. Hesitantly, the Queen stepped back inside, flinching when the doors slammed against each other, her magic having shut them too harshly. Her father's brow furrowed into deeper concern, and, not saying anything, the Queen tugged off her gloves and sat down on the edge of her bed, burying her face in her hands. Her entire body was shaking, and, though her eyes were too dry and she couldn't cry, she wanted to. Her father didn't come towards her, but he did move to light the candles and fireplace, trying to warm the room even a little for her. She reached up and pulled off the tiara from her head, throwing it across the room. I'm not the Queen, I'm Regina, she reminded herself. I have myself back, mother will never be able to harm me again. She's stuck wherever she ended up through that mirror, and she will never be able to come back.

It didn't help.

"Regina," Her father worriedly began. "How is the baby? Are you -"

"I'm terrified for the baby," She said softly, probing her forehead. "If Leopold takes the baby away from me, he might…"

"He won't take the baby away from you," He reassured her. "I'm sure he assumes it is his."

"He knows it's not," Regina mumbled. "I was pregnant before we were married….the baby is the only reason I've been able to avoid…..to avoid consummating with him."

"Are you afraid he'll force you to after the birth?"

Regina looked up but then shook her head.

"I forced his hand," She said quietly. "The baby will be officially an heir to the throne but I will let him...I will let him have me for the formal consummation of the marriage."

Her father watched her for a few minutes, unsure of how to respond.

"You love your child so much," He said, pride in his voice. "It will be okay, Regina. I know you will never let him hurt them."

Regina tiredly nodded. "They're going to have everything."

Her father came over and loosely embraced her. When he could see she needed time alone, he left the room, albeit not without telling a couple of servants to come in and press, iron, and put away some of her clothes. Regina barely noticed them, and she waved off the man who told her Leopold had requested her presence for supper. She was hungry, but had no desire to see him. The last night had been bad enough. Snow wouldn't stop going on and on about how 'thrilled' she was that her father had been able to give her another sibling, as she had always wanted. Leopold spent the entire time indulging her, playing into her false belief that she was having something other than a step sibling. It made her sick just to think about, that Leopold sought to replace Daniel with himself. Her hands shaking, she stood up and began to pace, everything feeling wrong. He would never be her child's father, no matter what he tried. It -

"Your majesty!"

Regina looked up, barely holding herself up against her bed. Water was pooling at her feet, pain stabbing through her.

"The baby…" She said, her voice shaking. "The baby's coming."


Leopold's eyes narrowed when his wife entered the opulent dining room, her baby in her arms, and her dress tightly around her, flattening the remaining baby weight she had been losing almost too quickly. She had been barely eating, only coming now after he had threatened to reveal the baby to be a 'bastard.' Even though Snow was so happy every time she saw her three month old sister, he could only feel resentment. For the woman who had saved his only child, he had thought she would be pure, happy to take on a child she seemed already to care for and give him more children. She had taken that away, with a mere stable boy. Leopold could barely hide his disgust. Seeing the way Regina looked at her daughter, and the way she held the baby girl so close, only raised that sentiment further. He softened, however, when he focused on Snow, who was more than happy to have a sister, and he could not deny her that. No matter how much he would prefer to tell the entire kingdom that Regina had lied to him and had been pregnant when they married, Snow's happiness was enough for him not to do it.

But the coolness towards her did not dissipate. It never would.

"Shh…." Regina murmured, shifting her daughter in her arms, worriedly holding her closer. "Lynn, it's okay…"

"She's so fussy," Leopold remarked, his eyes cold towards her. "Could you take her away while we're trying to have a pleasant supper?"

Regina snapped her head towards him, protectively holding her baby girl.

"Lynn is just fine," She told him. "She's an infant, and the doctor said she's perfectly healthy. I am not going to leave her alone, it will only scare her more."

Snow - not sensing the tenison and mutual disgust between her father and step mother - looked anxiously at her 'sister.' "Can I hold her?"

"No," Regina said, forcing herself not to smile when the girl's face fell. "She's already scared enough of the world without being separated from me."

Snow sighed and nodded. "She and I will be great friends when she's older!" She chirped.

Not if I have anything to say about it, Regina felt her hands growing clammy. You will never have anything to do with her. She is mine.

"Your mother is coming to visit," Leopold said mildly. Regina dropped her spoon, suddenly feeling too ill to finish her soup. "She wants to meet the baby as she was….unfortunately unable to attend the christening."

Regina stared down at her daughter, who was falling asleep, one of her tiny fists wrapped around her mother's necklace.

I cannot believe she escaped. I'll have to send her somewhere….harder to escape. Perhaps Wonderland will be far enough.

"Cora!" Snow exclaimed. "It's been so long, I hope she hasn't forgotten about me,"

"I'm sure she hasn't," Leopold affectionately replied. "No one could forget about such a lovely and charming young woman. You're going to be a good ruler when the time comes for you to inherit the throne."

No. Regina looked between her daughter and Snow. Lynn Mary Anne, you're too young to know it yet, but you're going to become the next queen.

"I'm sure your mother will be more than happy to prepare you to be Queen," Leopold went on, smiling at his daughter. "As will I."

Regina said nothing, refusing to meet his gaze.

"Your majesties!" A guard breathlessly ran into the room. "Some vipers were caught on the palace ground, we've captured and locked them up, but -"

Regina raised a hand to silence him. "Have you?"

Leopold looked at her in horror. "No," He said. "You are not going to hurt yourself or the baby."

"I never would," Regina snapped, then turning back to the guard with a smile. "If you would accompany me," She said, standing up, scowling at Leopold and holding her daughter as far away from him as possible. "I happen to be quite fond of exotic animals."


"He'll never harm you," Regina whispered to her baby girl, two of the vipers tied up and in a silk bag in one of her hands. "He'll never harm us."

Her heart pounded against her chest while she walked closer to her husband's bedchamber. It was the perfect opportunity, maybe the only opportunity, and she had to take it. I deserve to be happy. My daughter deserves to be happy. She tightened her hand around the strings of the bag, the vipers restrained inside by magic. Her heels clicked against the cold tile floor, and she felt sick just thinking about what she was about to do. She shoved it down as far as she could. It was for her sake, for the safety of her daughter. Snow would get over it, and she would only be around the palace for another few years. Just as long as it would take for her to find a way to destroy her reputation, pushing her out of the way of the throne. She would be away from Lynn, too, and in some ways that meant more to Regina than simply getting revenge. She hadn't just lost the man she loved. Her daughter had lost her father because of Snow too.

"Leopold?" Regina spoke softly, lingering in the doorway to his bedchamber. She had kept Lynn gently and peacefully asleep with the aid of a bit of magic. "I'm sorry about my behaviour earlier. She's been asleep for a little while and I will put her down…" She stepped over to a chaise lounge on the other side of the room, laying her daughter down on it and pulling the fur blanket loosely over her. "I believe I can make it up to you."

Leopold raised an eyebrow when she stepped over to shut the doors, then slowly beginning to shrug off her dress.

"Are you willing to try to give me a child?"

Regina smiled. "I think it would be a nice way to bring us closer."

Leopold's countenance immediately brightened. "It's wonderful to see you finally recognising that our duty is one worthy of fulfilling."

Regina nodded, stepping out of her dress when it fell to the floor, standing only in her corset and her soft garters.

"I have something special to help, too," She said, sliding into the bed and moving to be on top of him. Her heart was beating even faster, now, her stomach churning. It's for the best. My baby girl and I are going to be so happy. "A little bit of magic," Regina went on, slowly tugging on the golden strings to open the dark silk bag. "To help...conceive sooner."

Leopold began to laugh. "I have to say, I'm quite happy to see this side of you. Quite a wonderful turn, especially after your infidelity."

"We weren't married then," Regina reminded him, bitterness entering her voice. Then, with her magic, she let the vipers out, making the two of them bite into both sides of his neck. "And we won't be for much longer."

Leopold began to choke, unable to even protest.

"You're the reason my mother took everything away from me," She told him, watching him die and casting the bag aside. "But I do have to thank you for making me the Queen. Consider this a peaceful end...I could have pulled out and crushed your heart to dust in my hands."

His mouth started to foam, blood pooling out of his neck and coming out in small beads from his mouth too. Regina turned away, stepping back into her dress quickly with magic, and then stepped over to sit down beside her still sleeping daughter, pressing a soft kiss to her baby girl's forehead. It didn't take much longer for Leopold to die, his body going stiff before falling completely loose, unmoving against the bed. The vipers then turned and started towards Regina. Without wasting a second, the Queen snapped her fingers, killing them instantly. They remained on the bed beside Leopold, a perfect scene. Standing up again, her daughter in her arms and swaddled loosely in the fur, much of the blanket falling down like a waterfall against her mother's gown. Regina picked up the bag and put in a small pocket hidden in her gown. Then, she forced her face to fall in horror and let out a terrible cry. Within seconds several guards ran into the room.

"My….he…" Regina whimpered, trying not to smile when she saw how convinced they were by her feigned grief. She only began to cry when her daughter woke up and began crying. Holding her, trying to warm her with the blanket and her body, Regina stared at the guards while they approached their king. "He's been killed."

A couple of guards quickly ushered her out of the room, her crying and then requesting to be left alone in her bedchamber. The second the doors closed behind her, she began to nurse her daughter, smiling when her baby girl calmed down.

"You're perfect," Regina softly smiled, wiping her tears aside and cradling her baby girl. "I'll do anything for you….anything for your happiness."