Regina rushed up to their chambers after her lesson so she could tell Emma all about it. She found her wife was waiting for her as well.
"How did it go?" Emma asked.
"Good," she said, smiling. "I think it went well."
Emma indicated she should take a seat and so they both sat down on the couch. "Tell me all about it."
Regina gave her practically a minute-by-minute breakdown. "I don't know why, but I felt no pressure with her. It was nice to sit there and be able to listen and ask questions."
"So, you didn't do any actual magic?"
"No. But again, I felt no pressure to," Regina said. "Anita seems fine with taking it slow and I think maybe that's the pace I need to go at. Maybe that was the problem with trying to learn from my mom – that I knew there was only a limited amount of time with her."
Emma felt a bit of relief that Regina was ok with taking things slow. She too thought that would be for the best.
"What did it feel like, her magic I mean?"
Regina paused before speaking, seemingly to think about it.
"I'm not sure I can explain it," she said finally. "It was … I don't know like it had an almost silent rhythm to it. I'm explaining it poorly."
"That's ok. Maybe it is something I would have to experience on my own to know."
"I wonder if you can," Regina said. "I mean if a person doesn't have magic, can they feel another person's magic?"
Emma thought back to that day she had told Regina she loved her and how Regina had run up here in a panic over her magic. She had gotten her to calm down and had even touched her hand when she thought she felt something.
"Maybe you could add that to the list of questions to ask Anita," Emma said.
"I think I will," Regina smiled at her and then leaned in for a kiss. When she pulled back, she smiled at her. "Thank you again, for all of this, for just being understanding about all of it."
Emma gave her a smile in return, but she felt a twinge of guilt that she wasn't 100 percent on board with this because of what she knew about the seer's prophecy. She gave herself a mental reminder that she knew Regina would never be capable of using magic in a destructive way.
….
Maleficent felt her patience waning once again as she waited for Regina to perform the magic she had been instructed to do. Every time she felt like thrusting her hand through the young woman's chest and pulling out her heart, she reminded herself why she was doing this.
She had now been teaching Regina magic two days a week for the past two and half months, and while she had gotten better, she wasn't near the pace that Maleficent wanted. Pretending to be Anita, pretending that she gave a damn about this clueless girl before her was weighing more and more on her. She wanted her revenge and she wanted it now.
Cora had betrayed her and had taken Snow's place at the top of her list of enemies.
In many ways, Regina reminded her of Cora. Both women were strong in magic but unskilled in using it. When Cora had first come to her, Maleficent knew that here was someone she could forge into a weapon because the young woman was eager to learn and absorb everything she could. At first, it hadn't been easy, as Maleficent had to get the girl to overcome her insecurities about her magic before she was ready to learn.
It was the same with Regina. It had taken several lessons before she had gotten Regina to open up a little more about the fact that her mom never let her learn magic and how she felt about that.
What Cora had done had made Regina afraid of her magic, and getting her to break through that wasn't easy. The problem was Maleficent couldn't teach Regina like she had Cora. With Cora, she would push and push until the other woman was near exhaustion. As Anita, Maleficent couldn't do that with Regina. It was hard enough to get her to agree to two sessions a week. She wasn't sure if the hesitancy was more on Regina's part or Emma's.
She knew that Regina was telling her wife everything, which was another reason Maleficent needed to be careful with how she approached things – at least for now.
But her frustration level at this pace was getting the better of her.
If she had been able to teach Regina as she wanted to, there wouldn't be a day that went by where she wasn't learning, studying, or practicing her magic. And she would need to get Regina to that level eventually.
Everything was still a struggle for Regina and she needed to figure out why. With her power, the things Maleficent had her doing shouldn't be a struggle at all.
Regina suddenly stopped what she was doing. "Sorry," she said, "Do you mind if we take a break?"
"Not at all," Maleficent said, giving her best fake smile.
They each took seats as Maleficent continued to study the young woman. When she had first been awoken from where Cora and the others had trapped her, she had wanted to seek her vengeance immediately, but those who helped her from her eternal dragon sleep had cautioned her against such a rash move. Instead, they told her what she had missed during her imprisonment and how her one-time student Cora was now a queen with a daughter – a daughter whom a seer had predicted could wreck this world with her magic.
Now that was the part that interested Maleficent the most.
Not only could she ensure her enemies were destroyed, but she would also have the satisfaction of watching Cora as her daughter did it.
Only then would Maleficent take Cora's life.
Of course, she would also have to deal with her so-called allies in this endeavor. She was less worried about them, however. They were fools to have ever woken her up, fools to believe that she would work for them.
When they had told her about the seer's prediction she had listened with great interest and she was careful not to tip her hand either.
This curse that Regina was supposed to cast, Maleficent was certain she knew what it was – after all, she was the one who had designed it.
Regina was not ready to cast such a complicated spell either and wouldn't be for some time, but Maleficent saw no way to gain more time with her – at least not yet.
The part of the seer's prediction about Emma was also concerning. It would appear the other queen was the only one who could truly stop her plan. It was clear from her observations of the two women that they were indeed in love with each other – almost sickeningly so.
She would need to continue to observe both women to find some weakness in that relationship that she could exploit.
Getting back to the task at hand though, she needed to get Regina past whatever it was that was holding her back.
"Are you beginning to feel more comfortable with the use of your magic?" Maleficent inquired.
"Yes," Regina said. "And I owe that to you."
"You have been a good student," Maleficent replied. "But I still sense a hesitation on your part, or am I wrong?"
Regina averted her eyes a moment before again making eye contact with her.
"You aren't wrong."
"Then what is it?"
"I don't know. I guess this all isn't really what I was thinking it would be."
Maleficent resisted the urge to roll her eyes and tell this spoiled brat that life is never what you think it will be.
"How so? Is there something with the way I'm teaching you that needs to change to make you feel more comfortable?"
"No, it's not that," Regina said quickly. "It's me. I told you how my mother never wanted me to learn magic and even when she tried teaching me things, it was only with the idea of learning to control my magic so I didn't have any more accidental magic. And I do feel more in control now than I have ever felt before."
"But …"
"But these last couple of lessons, they have taken a slight turn from control to learning more magic and things to do with it. You have been hinting about things – about how if I learn this one thing then it will open other possibilities for me to do more and more," Regina said. "And I don't know, I guess I thought control would be enough."
Again, Maleficent had to keep herself from tearing into her pupil. She needed to tread delicately or else she would not be able to steer Regina onto the path she needed her to be on.
"Regina, you have come far in these past couple of months, but don't let what you have learned so far lull you into a false sense of security either," Maleficent said. "I studied magic for years and didn't come close to learning all my teacher knew as she was quite powerful. While yes, I learned more than just basic magic, control was always a part of it. The more you learn, the more you feel truly capable of handling any situation that arises. From what you told me about your unintentional magic, it could happen whenever and while you can now feel your magic better do you truly believe that you have mastered all the control you will need to prevent any further accidental discharges? Before you answer, consider this, this, what we are doing here, it can stop whenever you say the word. If a lesson is not something you want, again, you say the word and we will change course. You are the one in control here, not me."
Regina considered what she had to say, before responding. "You're right as usual. I guess, I just needed the reassurance that we're not going to take this too far if you understand my meaning."
"Of course," Maleficent said nodding slightly. "As you have said, you don't need the magic to be part of your life, but since it is part of you there are things you should learn."
Regina stood up. "We should probably get back to it then."
"Agreed."
"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, after next week I won't be available for a couple of weeks."
"Why?"
"I have my first official state visit to go on."
"Where to?"
"King Cole's kingdom to the southeast of here," she said. "He was unable to make it to our anniversary celebration, although his daughter and son-in-law represented the kingdom at it, so Emma and I thought it would be best to start there with our official visits."
"Is Emma going as well?"
"No, she will stay here and run everything while I am gone," Regina replied. "We thought it best that we don't both go on these visits and restrict going together to major official events. That is the way my parents and her parents have typically handled things so we saw no reason to break from tradition. Plus, she has been to the Cole kingdom many times as they are a major trading partner with the White kingdom, so this will give me the opportunity to get to know him better."
"Have you been there before?"
"Only once, I think it was when I was about 15 or so. And Cole had been to my father's kingdom a couple of times when I was growing up, but I admit at that young of an age, I cared little for affairs of state," she said.
"Thank you for letting me know in advance," she said. "I look forward to hearing about the trip when you return. Now let's pick up where you left off."
Already Maleficent was giving this some thought. She didn't want to lose a couple of weeks of training when they were already far behind but trying to stop this trip could prove just as costly. She was already in hiding as it was so she couldn't afford to stick her head up too much, although it wouldn't be hard to get to the Cole kingdom in her dragon form if she flew under the cover of night. Once there she could arrange for an accident of some sort to cause Cole to cancel the upcoming visit.
It was a big risk though and not one she was 100 percent sure she should make at this juncture. She could enlist the help of one of her new allies, but even that she was loathed to do.
Then another thought entered her mind – with Regina away, it might give Maleficent a better chance to observe Emma and perhaps get the answer to the question of Emma's magic and how to cause a rift between the two women to ensure that Regina would cast the curse.
…
Emma knew it was important for her and Regina to visit the other kingdoms. It was something her parents had done. When she was a kid she would eagerly await when one of them was returning from these trips because they usually brought something back for her.
But while she missed whichever parent was gone, her other parent was usually home with her (except on those trips that necessitated them both being gone).
Now that she and Regina were the rulers it would be the same – separate trips unless there was a major occasion that required both of them to be present.
The result was Emma missing her wife.
Regina had now been gone 10 days and while Emma had been busy handling everything on her own back here, she found the mornings and nighttime were the worst.
She had eaten dinner with members of the craftsman guild who were giving her a quarterly update on their views on the economy. While most of what they said was positive she was surprised when one of them brought up Anita and her apothecary shop.
It appeared that they had approached her about being a member of the guild and she had told them she would think about it but had not joined. Emma wasn't sure why this was an issue. Honestly, she wasn't sure that she would consider an apothecary shop something that would fall under "craftsman," and she asked them as much. It was explained to her that the shop was unique and didn't fall under any of the other guilds, which is why they had approached her.
They had heard that Anita had dined with her and Regina to which she quickly explained that was due to the uniqueness of her business and her interest in learning about it. She didn't want anyone making a connection between Anita and Regina.
Still, they had asked her if she would intervene on their behalf to see if there was a reason she would be reluctant to join the guild.
"Have you not asked her on your own?" she asked.
"Of course, we have your majesty, but everyone who has brought the subject up to her has been rebuffed – politely, but still, she had said she is continuing to think about it," the guild master, a man named Olen, said.
Emma still didn't see any reason why she should get involved and they must have sensed her hesitancy.
"The guilds aren't just to represent our members to the crown, we are first and foremost here to ensure that the customers are being served fairly," Olen said. "This is not to say she is not being fair to her customers, only that with the guild behind her and her business the customers will have more of a peace of mind."
Emma knew the guilds were important and could be a powerful force as well, so it was always important to try and keep them happy.
"I will speak with her," Emma said.
By the looks of their smiles, she knew that they at least thought she had chosen correctly.
…
Maleficent could hardly believe her luck when Emma sent a message to her shop asking her to come to see her at the castle. Of course, she knew why as she had been spying on Emma since Regina had left on her trip. But she had yet to figure out an opening to do anything about finding out more about the other queen.
Now she not only would she have an opportunity to speak with Emma, but she could finally get the answer to the question of Emma's possible magic.
But she hadn't wanted to seem too eager so when Emma sent the message, she had sent a message back saying that she could come up in two days.
That time had now arrived. Unlike when she was normally up there to teach Regina magic, she had come up early in the day. She had been escorted to the library where she had been waiting for nearly 30 minutes at this point.
"Thank you for coming to see me," Emma greeted her as she entered. "Sorry to keep you waiting. With Regina gone, I have been quite busy."
"I understand," Anita said.
"Well, I will try not to take up more of your time," Emma said. "I asked you here because I met with the craftsman's guild recently and they mentioned that you had been approached about joining but had some reservations. I was wondering if there was an issue there that I should know about."
She had been considering how to approach Anita about this and decided to take the tact that there might be something about the guild she should know about as opposed to putting any sort of onus on Anita.
"No, nothing that I can think of," Anita responded. "They seem to have things very well organized here."
"Then might I ask why you have reservations?"
"My reasons are purely financial," Anita said. "To be a member of a guild it requires paying a fee to them. I have merely been putting them off until I was sure that the shop would be able to support me and an annual guild fee."
"That is sensible," Emma said.
"I thought so," Anita replied. "But things have been going well at the shop so I expect I will be approaching the guild sooner rather than later."
"Glad to hear it."
"If that is all, I should probably be getting back to my shop," Anita said.
"Yes, of course," Emma said. "I guess I'll see you again when Regina returns. How are things going do you think with the lessons?"
"I think they are going well," Anita said. "Her control has gotten better. You know if you wanted to sit in on one of our lessons, I'm sure Regina wouldn't mind."
Emma paused a moment before speaking as she felt something – almost like a cold chill pass through her. She shook it off before, saying, "Thanks, but one of us needs to remain available in case anything should happen."
"I guess that is the sensible thing to do," Anita smiled at her. "Have a good rest of your day your majesty."
Anita left the room, her thoughts already on what she had discovered – Emma did indeed have magic, not only magic but pure light magic. As the product of true love, it was to be expected but to have it confirmed was important.
That kind of magic could be very powerful, but she had little to fear as Emma didn't know anything about the magic. Still, she couldn't discount it entirely.
It was latent magic which is why she had to employ magic of her own to determine if she had it or not. It meant that Regina would have no way of knowing her wife had magic – unless of course, someone taught her how to detect it.
She wondered what Regina would think of her wife having magic. And she wondered if this is what she needed to drive a wedge into their marriage.
….
When Regina woke that morning she wasn't surprised that she was alone. Having returned from her trip she hadn't gotten back until well after midnight. Emma was fast asleep when she returned but Regina woke her briefly if only to let her know she had returned and to get a small kiss.
While the trip went well and was beneficial, she realized pretty quickly that with each of these trips she and Emma would be apart. Not that she didn't know that, but still, she missed her wife.
She continued to lay there for a while, even though she knew she should probably get up.
Getting up finally, she ordered a bath and found she was again in no hurry to do anything. By the time she was up and dressed it was after noon.
The first thing she did was seek out Emma.
"Hi," she said, smiling at Emma, as she sat down next to her.
"Welcome back," Emma said.
Emma was in the middle of the weekly meeting with the guard captains. It wasn't normally one that Regina would sit in on, although she had on occasion, for now, she just wanted to be near her wife.
When the meeting was over, Emma asked her if she wanted some lunch and they retired to the small dining room to eat in private and Regina told her all about the trip while Emma filled her in on all that happened there.
"I missed you," Regina said.
"You did?" Emma said. "Well, I have it on good authority that I missed you too."
"Is that so?"
"It is," Emma said, leaning over and kissing her.
Regina continued to eat her food as Emma brought up the situation with the craftsman guild.
"She really should be a member," Regina said.
"She seemed to agree," Emma said.
"Well if she hasn't done it in a few weeks I will bring it up during one of our lessons."
"Speaking of lessons, I asked her how she thought it was going. I hope you don't mind."
"Of course I don't mind. What did she say."
"She said they were going well and your control was much better."
"That's all?"
"Well, we didn't have an in-depth conversation about it. She did come up during the day so I think she was eager to get back to her shop," Emma responded. "She basically said the same thing you have said about the lessons. She even invited me to sit it on one if I wanted, but I told her that one of us needs to be here in case anything should happen."
"Have I told you how much I appreciate that you are willing to do that for me?"
"You may have, but I don't mind hearing you sing my praise."
"Always so modest."
Regina didn't do much the rest of the day. She met with some advisors, got some more details on things that occurred while she was gone. That evening, she was happy to retire early – not that she went to sleep immediately, not after being apart from Emma for so long.
They fell back into routine the next morning and Regina sent a message to Anita to let her know she was busy and wouldn't be able to meet for a lesson that week.
So, by the time she got to her next lesson with Anita, it had been three weeks.
"Sorry for the delay," Regina said once they got down in the secret room.
"It's ok," Maleficent said, giving her best fake smile. "I hope your trip went well."
"It did, thank you," Regina said. "Where should we begin tonight's lesson?"
"I've been thinking about a few things since you have been gone, thinking a lot about your concerns that you expressed. Your control has been improving but in addition to control, I was wondering what your interest might be in being able to detect other forms of magic?"
"Other forms of magic?"
"Yes. I was thinking of it in terms of safety. Not that you need protection or anything like that, but I think it would be helpful if you did know how to see if someone had magic."
"You mean like how you could tell I had magic?"
"Like that but that is not that difficult. There are other forms of magic that you would need your magic to detect. For instance, do you remember when I mentioned Rumpelstiltskin?"
Regina nodded.
"He has magic but it comes from a talisman, it's not inborn like ours. So if you encounter someone like him, you're not going to know if they have magic or not unless you test them. This is a lesson I can teach that is useful but it's not active magic. You wouldn't be using magic unless you had to. It's also a good skill to know," Maleficent said. "But as I said before it's entirely up to you. And don't think that you have to decide right now, take your time to think it over, discuss it with Emma. For today, let's just review some past lessons."
After the lesson, Maleficent returned to the shop, not bothering with lighting a lamp as she headed into the back.
"I know you are there," she called out.
A lamp behind her came on.
"I figured you did," said Rumpelstiltskin. "I wasn't exactly trying to hide."
"What are you doing here?" she asked, turning to face him. "We aren't supposed to be meeting."
"Well, you haven't reported in lately so I'm checking on my investment."
"Nothing to report. Regina was gone on an official visit for a couple of weeks. Today was the first time I had contact with her for several weeks."
"Things are already moving slow enough," he said.
"Don't talk to me about time moving slowly," she said. "Time was non-existent for me for how many years?"
"And you got your life back due to me," Rumpelstiltskin said. "So show some respect."
Maleficent would like nothing more than to deal with this imp now but she knew she couldn't. She still needed him to execute her plan – not the plan he thought she was executing. It didn't matter that he had woken her from her prison. He had helped put her there so she was damned sure going to make him pay as well.
"I can't force Regina to meet with me whenever I wish," she said. "But we are making progress and that is what matters. You coming here isn't helpful."
"I am not the only one worried about where things stand," he said.
"Tell me," she said. "Do you trust Midas?"
He smiled at her. "Do you?"
"No. I think he will strike at us the moment he believes what he wants is in his grasp."
"I agree."
"Then what should we do about that?"
"Nothing," he said. "At least not yet. We have the advantage here. He can't get what he wants without us. You will get your revenge, I will get Regina's magic, and Midas … well, he needs us but there will be a time when we don't need him."
And a time, I won't need you, Maleficent thought.
"By the way, you never answered the question I posed the last time we communicated," she said.
"Because it's inconsequential."
"I disagree. Emma specifically said your name, so how is it that she knows you?"
"She doesn't," he replied. "The one time I was ever near her, we weren't exactly introduced and she was but a child. Plus, I believe that her memory of that night was modified so she wouldn't remember."
"What night? What aren't you telling me? I need every bit of information I can get, especially if it helps me isolate Regina from Emma."
Rumpelstiltskin made a production of sighing and then launched into the story of the night he convinced the kingdoms to allow him to take Regina's magic and how Emma had burst in on them.
Maleficent listened with great interest, even smiling a bit as he ended.
"I agree, Cora probably concealed that memory with magic," she said. "But, if Emma knows your name, there is a chance that she does remember. This may be exactly what I need."