Cora stared out the window of the carriage she was riding in. While she had been fine with traveling to Midas' kingdom on horseback, Charming insisted that they didn't look like they were being aggressive.
Frankly, Cora didn't care if Midas saw them as aggressive or not. She was going to get answers from him and at this point, she didn't care if she did start a war.
The only thing that mattered was getting her daughter back safely.
Inside the carriage with her was Charming, who looked anything but comfortable riding in it. She could tell he wanted to be out there with the guards on horseback, but since this was his idea, she insisted he join her. Still, the man kept an almost constant hand near his sword.
She once thought Charming would be an ally to her – as he too had always taken issue with lying to Emma, as she had with Regina.
But in the end, they had both capitulated to the rulers of the other kingdoms.
"Can I ask you a question?" she asked, turning toward him.
"Of course."
"I understand why you were always against lying to Emma, but you extended that to Regina as well – why?"
"It never felt right," he said simply. "If our children were to love each other – to build a life together, I never believed that could happen with one of them lying to the other."
"Turned out you were right then," Cora said bitterly.
"Regina and Emma love each other – this is far from over," Charming said. "The thing about what the seer said, she did it to give us hope and that is what I have chosen to believe in. She said Regina would not do this thing if Emma loved her and Emma does love her."
Cora knew that wasn't exactly what the seer said and what seers say was important because their words could have different meanings. She said Emma was the hope, only Emma could turn Regina from the path that would lead her to cast this curse. But it wasn't until Regina chose to go with Maleficent that Cora began to consider that Emma's actions could also push Regina toward casting the curse – and it was the decisions that the rest of them had made that may have pushed Emma toward it.
Cora wished she could embrace hope as Charming did, but with Maleficent now awake Cora could only feel dread.
"How do you think we should play this with Midas?" Cora changed the subject.
"Directly," he said. "I at least am beyond dealing with him in any way but directly. He has played his hand in this and there is no hiding that at this point. I don't believe it was a coincidence that he decided to come to Emma and Regina's anniversary festival. The storyteller, his grandson, he did this deliberately knowing that Maleficent was out there of that I have no doubt."
"Yes, but we do not have any proof of that," Cora pointed out. "He can deny it, which means we may have to force the issue in some way. I know you aren't the most comfortable with being undiplomatic."
"I do not think it will come to that," Charming said. "Midas came to the festival which meant he felt comfortable doing so despite how the rest of us feel about him. He wanted a front-row seat, which tells me he isn't interested in hiding."
"Perhaps," Cora responded. "Or perhaps he feels confident enough to do so, which means he could have other moves to make. I don't trust him, but I fear Maleficent's hand in all of this. She will not stop until she gets her revenge."
"We stopped her once before, we can do it again."
Once they arrived at Midas' castle – they had sent one of the guards to give notice only by about an hour before arrival – they were greeted by one of Midas' advisors.
"Forgive us your majesties," he said. "We were not notified of your coming or we would have prepared a more suitable arrangement for your arrival."
"We are on urgent business," Charming said. "We request an audience with the king as soon as possible."
"Oh, yes, of course," the advisor said. "Our king is currently occupied, but we can get you settled up in rooms and I will send word of your arrival to him."
"Rooms will not be necessary," Cora said. "We will not be staying. Tell Midas that Cora is here to speak to him. Now."
The man looked at her as if he was quite uncertain as to how he should react to such a pronouncement.
"Well um … yes, he will be informed immediately. Please at least let us escort you to a suitable place to wait."
Cora nodded and the advisor gave some instructions to a page on where to escort them to while he rushed off in another direction. They were shown to a room that appeared to be used for smaller meetings.
"How long do you think he will leave us waiting?" Charming asked.
"At least long enough to show that he is in control here," she said taking a seat as she didn't expect Midas to drop everything to meet them. When she first became queen it took her a while to understand the nuances of royal life – the seemingly endless silent maneuvers that went on to get things done. She left it to Henry to deal with most matters when it came to dealing with the other kingdoms – in part because of how they had all stood with Midas when she was begging them not to harm her daughter. The other part was she simply didn't feel well-equipped to handle dealings with the others. She was born in a lower class and she didn't expect that because she was queen now that it would stop some of them from ever seeing her as a true equal.
Still, she learned about the games they call played with each other to get the deals done that made their economies work. She learned who was who and what their strength and weaknesses were – all from behind the scenes. She knew to listen not necessarily to the rulers, but to those who worked for them – the handmaidens, the cooks, the guards – all those who heard and saw the day-to-day operations. She gave what information she found useful to Henry and he had never once failed to take her opinion or insight into consideration.
He always treated her as an equal and it was one of the many things she loved about him.
Due to her contentious relationship with Midas however, she was not as knowledgeable about his kingdom and dealings. She wished now she had not chosen to ignore the man for all these years. Maleficent had always said it was important to know your enemies and she knew that was what Maleficent had done by adopting the Anita persona. She was looking for weaknesses she could exploit and exploit them she did.
The thought of Maleficent being that close to Regina all that time made Cora cringe. After Regina left though she had made Emma tell her everything she knew about what Maleficent had been teaching Regina. She was most surprised that Maleficent appeared to have been taking things slow with her daughter – a stark contrast to the way Maleficent had taught her. She didn't believe that Maleficent had changed, however. No, she knew that for Maleficent it was about playing a role to get what she wanted.
True to form, Midas kept them waiting nearly two hours. But finally, they were escorted to meet with him and Midas chose his battleground well – it was the same room that all those years ago he had used to try and steal Regina's powers. No one else was in the room but the three of them.
"Greetings," Midas said with a smile to both of them. "I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting. I wish you had let me know you were coming sooner, I could have served up quite the meal for you."
"Pleasantries are not needed," Charming said. "We know about Maleficent awakening."
Midas kept the smile on his face. "Why don't we all take our seats."
The table was much too big for just three of them, but Cora sat several seats down from Midas not wishing to be that close to him. She noticed a sealed messenger tube was sitting in front of him.
"Are you not even going to try and deny your part in this?" Cora asked.
"My part in what exactly?" Midas said. "Maleficent has escaped, but you of all people should know that I nor any of us rulers beyond you had any knowledge of where she was being held. Plus, you and the others assured us that magic was keeping Maleficent at bay, and as the only ruler who knows magic – you know that the rest of us would be incapable of freeing her."
"Yet you do not seem surprised to learn she escaped," Charming said.
"Come now, let's not pretend that we all don't keep tabs on each other's kingdoms," Midas said. "Especially, a new one like the one ruled by your daughters. I just sent messages to the other rulers to ask if they had any knowledge of Maleficent's escape. It would seem that those that did have this knowledge would be responsible for letting the rest of us know this information. I felt it prudent to reach out to see if others had been informed – after all, it seems as if some of the ruling class have treated me with a lack of respect over the years."
"Respect is earned, and you haven't earned it," Charming said.
"Despite your opinion of me, I'm sure the other rulers will have questions for you about this threat to all of us that has been unleashed. Unless I am wrong and you did inform the others or did you rush here thinking you should deliver the news in person?" Midas said. "After all, as the only one of us with access to Maleficent, a past with Maleficent and magic, I'm sure the others will have a lot of questions for you Cora."
He had thought all this through, Cora realized, but what he should have done was given second thought into any dealings with Maleficent.
"I can answer any question," Cora said. "As I had nothing to do with this. Something I'm sure you are aware of, but if you want to go down that route I'm sure the other rulers will have just as many questions for you. You managed to unite them once before against me, I don't think you will find it as easy this time around."
"The White kingdom stands with the Mills kingdom in this," Charming said. "As will others."
"Are you so certain of that?" Midas said. "After all, you both seem to be forgetting the seer and her prediction. We all had a right to fear your daughter Cora, and now that she has aligned herself with Maleficent, the others will see who the true enemy is in this."
"Regina has done no such thing," Cora said.
"Oh really? Well, then have I been misinformed that Regina left with Maleficent?"
"You have been misinformed."
"Then tell me, where is Regina at this moment?"
Charming glanced over at Cora. No one but those in that room and Charming and Snow knew that Regina had left with Maleficent. The kingdom knew that Regina was missing but not the particulars – only that she had been taken against her will and they were doing all they could to find her. They had to tell the people something to explain why Regina wasn't there and why Snow would be assisting with ruling the kingdom in her absence. Charming and Cora had left just as the announcement was being prepared to go out so they had no idea how the residents of the kingdom had handled the news.
"My daughter has been taken against her will," Cora said. "And we will do everything in our power to find her and bring her home safely."
"Do not believe for a second that we won't be finding all those responsible for this and seeing that they face justice no matter their station in life," Charming added.
Midas clapped at this pronouncement. "Such strong words from two people who have absolutely no leverage."
"I only want my daughter back. And I'm willing to do anything to see that done. So why don't you tell me this – have your misinformed sources told you that my magic is back. If they haven't, witness it for yourself," Cora said and she produced a fireball – not her natural go-to magic, but one which she knew could be effective for show. "Then talk to me about leverage."
"You can cut out the theatrics. You don't frighten me, you never have," Midas said. "If it weren't for your daughter I would find you to be completely inconsequential. I only wish my dear friend Henry had seen it that way when I warned him against mixing your bloodlines. But let's get back to that daughter of yours. I can honestly say, I have no idea where she is at – truly I don't. As I do have good sources though, I'm sure I could put some feelers out there – perhaps assist you in locating her. I'm quite confident that I could find her. Given your obvious disdain for me, however, I'm not sure I should be so magnanimous nor do I think I should speak with you two on this matter at all. Perhaps I should be speaking directly with Queen Emma."
"You will not get anywhere close to my daughter again," Charming said.
"Clearly, neither of you will be reasoned with," Midas said. "But hopefully Emma will be more amenable to hearing what I have to say. She does after all want her wife back, doesn't she? And you did say you were willing to do anything to get Regina back, so I have a message for you to take back to Emma."
He rolled the tube that had been sitting in front of him over to Charming.
"That is for Emma. Tell her I look forward to her answer," Midas said.
"What is this?" Charming asked.
"It's for Emma to decide," he responded. "Now I think the three of us are done here. Get out of my kingdom. Neither of you is ever welcomed here ever again. You want to stay and chat – I will be more than happy to have my guards escort out of here."
Cora also got up from her seat. "You say you don't fear me, good, I don't want to be feared, I never did. But let me leave you with this piece of advice, Maleficent is to be feared and she will betray you. The day she does, you are welcome to ask for my assistance and it will be freely given. Because no matter what I think of you, I know the danger that Maleficent represents and I will not stand by and do nothing – even for you."
She didn't wait for a response and turned to leave – Charming quickly came to her side. They walked out and found their carriage was waiting for them – something Midas had clearly arranged.
Once they were outside the castle walls and on their way, Cora looked at Charming.
"Open it," she said.
Charming didn't hesitate to pop the seal on the tubing even though it shouldn't be opened by anyone but Emma. He pulled out a thick set of parchment and began to read. Cora watched as the Charming's eyes narrowed and she wasn't sure she had ever seen such an expression on his face as she was seeing now – one of pure hatred.
"What is it?" she asked after he was done reading the first couple of pages. The rest of the parchment – the thicker part – appeared to be bound separately from the other pages. He put the other aside and looked into the thicker part, looking at a particular page, and then he handed that bundle to her and she looked at the first couple of lines on it.
"Why is he sending Emma a copy of her own marriage contract?" Cora asked.
"That bastard has been planning this for a long time," Charming said, handing her the other sheets of paper. "And it's worse than we could imagine."