Chapter 6

Trigger Warnings: Child abuse

— Line Break —

When the hour is nigh

And hopelessness is sinking in

And the wolves all cry

To fill the night with hollering

When your eyes are red

And emptiness is all you know

With the darkness fed

I will be your scarecrow

— Line Break —

Regina Mills.

That is her name.

But it isn't her full name.

Her full name is

Regina Ava Victoria Mills.

Queen of Beauty and Victory Mills,

That is what her name means.

Soon her last name will be Blanchard.

She doesn't want it to be.

But she has no choice.

She is trapped.

And she isn't breaking free.

She just has to remember,

Love is weakness.

— Line Break —

When Rose woke up on the morning of April the 13th,she was more determined than ever to help her friend break free from her shackles.Her mother, Ruby and the rest of their friends were going to help her.

Of course, Cal couldn't know. He would undoubtedly inform Cora and Leopold of what they were planning.

So, they needed someone to keep him busy while they were working on their little surprise for Regina. When she boarded the ship, Rose had never imagined that she would meet a friend aboard this ship that would take her back to America.

And then she realized that it could have been much worse for her. Despite Cal being a bit of a jerk, he didn't abuse her the way her friend got abused. Her mother was cold and indifferent, maybe, but she was no Cora Mills. Cora Mills who abused her daughter in the worst ways behind the back of Regina's father.

Once, she thought that Regina didn't understand her situation. It turned out that she was the one who didn't understand Regina's situation. And now she had to help Regina get out of this poisonous relationship, while they would still be stuck on this ship for at least a day or three.

But Rose had a perfect idea of what to do to help Regina. She would make sure that pretty much all of their friends were involved. Emma, Henry, Robin, Jack, Ruby, even 'Granny' Lucas the third class cook and Ruby's grandmother, her own mother of course, who would be in charge of keeping Cal occupied, Mr. Andrews, and even Captain Jones. They were all aware of what they were planning.

Rose had even gone so far as to tell some of the ladies that they would need to dress their best tonight, because a 'special event' was coming up. She was hoping to get the message to Regina somehow without anyone noticing that this 'special event' was to be held for Regina.

The first task on her list, was getting everyone to do what they were supposed to. So it would all be ready for Regina's big surprise. First was Henry.

"Good morning Henry," she smiled happily at him as she watched the young boy draw away. "Good morning, Miss Rose." he said in his most gentlemanly voice.

Rose smiled at his effort, "well Henry, if I didn't know any better I would say you are a real gentleman." He chuckled, "well, that's our goal, right? Fitting in with your crowd?"

Rose nodded, "That's right. Now, do you remember what I said about the surprise I am organizing for Regina?" He nodded slowly, "Yes of course. Why?"

Rose chuckled, "because I need your help, Mr. Swan. I am in need of a whole stack of invitations for Ms. Mills' surprise tonight."

He nodded eagerly, "oh, I am so glad you'll let me help! My mum said I'm too young to do anything meaningful because I am just a boy..."

Rose smiled softly, as she crouched down to his level, "Henry, you would be of very much help to me if you make me those invitations. After all, how will everyone know about the event tonight if they don't get an invitation? First class passengers never assume they need to come unless they are invited. Now, these invitations need to not only sound like they are made for first class passengers, they also need to look it. Do you think you can do that for me, Henry?"

Henry nodded eagerly. "Of course I can! Drawing and writing are my favorite things to do. Perhaps, one day, I will make my own motion picture film, or write a book. That is my dream. I don't know how I will get it done, but I believe in dreams coming true, so long as you hold on to your belief." Rose laughed, "you really do sound like a proper gentleman already."

She then walked away, and went onto her next target.

"So, Emma. Today I'll be giving you 'lady lessons', after all, we would not want anyone to notice that you aren't actually one of us. We must make sure that Cora does not find out, at any cost whatsoever. So, first we will be starting with the proper way to speak to a lady."

Emma grumbled, "Do I really have to?"

Rose nodded, "Well unless you want to let Henry go off with us alone, yes you have to. But it shouldn't be too hard, Henry already showed off his gentlemanly skills. He will fit in just nicely. If you put effort into it, then you should have no problem fitting in with our crowd."

Emma pouted like a child, but eventually nodded. "Okay then. So let's get this done."

Rose chuckled, "well, first off. Be polite. Always. You can never be too polite in front of the ladies and the gentlemen. Now, let's start off simple. Try to speak like a lady. Wording doesn't matter just yet. First you need to be able to sound rich."

Emma scrunched up her nose, and put on her best rich accent, "Hello, my name is Emma Swan." Rose burst out in giggles, "Okay, that really needs some work. But we'll get it done. By tonight, you will be a perfect lady and no one will be able to tell you're actually from third class."

— Line Break —

From the moment she woke up, everyone seemed to be stuck to her.

She was never alone in a room, her mother was always there, and if her mother wasn't, then Leopold was. And if it wasn't one of them, then it was both of them in the same room with her.

Never had she felt more caged than she felt this morning.

It was sunny out, but she didn't get to go out, like the day before, she could only watch through the windows of their private promenade deck.

She silently wondered why they were sticking so close to her this morning.

Of course, this time her 'imprisonment' was her own fault. But she hadn't had much of a choice. She had to make sure she never saw Robin or any of them ever again. Because if her mother ever found out, she would be very much doomed.

She had allowed them to get too close, and it had to stop. She had to play this game along, because it was the only game she had to play. So from today on, she decided to get as comfortable as possible with this new situation, because it wouldn't be going away. If anything, her little cage would only get smaller the more time passed.

So she allowed her mother to dress her in pretty and ordinate dresses, with way too much makeup masking her real personality, and wearing jewels that were much too heavy.

Of course, no dressing session with Cora went without a reprimand, or anything else coming close to a demand. "Now," her mother started, "I expect you to behave today. You are not to embarrass yourself. For if you do, I can tell you that you won't like the consequences. I won't accept your foolishness to go on any longer. Love is weakness, it will eventually fade away, and you will be left with nothing. True power, however, endures. Soon enough you'll have more power than you could possibly have imagined, and I want you to use it wisely. Am I in any way unclear?"

Regina shook her head, "No, Mother. I understand what you are saying. I shan't make a fool out of myself, and shall accept the repercussions if I do." Cora nodded, pleased with her daughter's submissive behavior. "That's my girl. Now, let's go have breakfast."

As the three of them were sat around the breakfast table, Regina sat silently sipping her tea. Only speaking when spoken to, as was required. Her mother and Leopold kept the conversation going, while Regina sat staring ahead.

She found herself wondering what her friends were doing at this very moment.

More than once she felt her thoughts drifting off to how much she wished she could be with them right now, instead of here with her mother and Leopold. But she had made her choice. She couldn't possibly leave now. It would only raise their suspicions, which she assumed they already had.

She was snapped back into the present when her mother suddenly waved her hand in front of her face. "Regina dear? Are you alright? You have been staring at the same point of the wall for the better part of ten minutes. One would think you are trying to burn a hole into it..."

Regina suddenly looked up, "oh, I apologize, but I am fine. I did not mean to make such a fool out of myself by staring. I just got lost in thought, really. But I am sorry, it won't happen again."

Her mother made a gesture that signalized the dismissal of the issue, "just be glad we're not out in public. I expect better behavior from you once we go for our morning tea." She nodded meekly, she had no other choice. From now on, no more straying thoughts, she told herself. Whether she could keep to it was another matter, but she was determined.

"So, Mother what is the schedule for today?"

— Line Break —

When she had set Emma up with some 'assignments' to practice being a proper lady, she moved on to Ruby.

"Okay so, I can lend one of my dresses to Emma, but we still need two tuxedos for Robin and Jack, and a child-sizes tux as well. How are we going to get that done?"

Ruby chuckled, "well, I still have some suits that belonged to my dad, so I guess Robin and Jack could each wear one. As for Henry, my grandma isn't only a cook. She used to work as a seamstress once. I am sure that if I give her some of the fabrics I have with me, she'll be able to fix something. It wouldn't be the best, like some suits, but it would fool them. Especially if he speaks with that little rich accent of him."

Rose couldn't help but laugh at that, "yes, he really got the rich accent down quickly, didn't he?" Ruby shook her head, "indeed he did. Now let's go find my grandma"

After they had bribed Ruby's granny into quickly making a small tax for Henry, Rose went on to help Emma some more. "So, Emma. How is your rich accent coming along?"

Emma took a deep breath, before speaking, "Miss DeWitt-Bukater it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Rose nodded in approval, "Excellent. You'll fit in just nicely. Now, show me how to walk like a lady. The way I have shown you." Emma nodded slowly, before getting up, and walking across the room, her back completely straight, and her head held high.

"Very well. It seems you have got that down now. I have to go run some more errands, but I shall give you a dress of mine you can borrow for tonight. You'll have to get used to the feel of it, and practice that walk some more while you're wearing it. But for now, you're good."

After they had gotten Ruby's granny to agree to make Henry a little tux, albeit reluctantly, they both went about making sure everything was set up for tonight. When they were content enough with their accomplishment, they both went to tea. Meeting up with Ruth in the reading room.

"So, how have your efforts paid off so far?" Ruth inquired.

Rose sighed, "well, since we are all only supposed to be the men's arm candy, a lot of people looked at us strangely when we tried to convince them to let us set something up. After all, what do we women understand of anything?

"Either way, Ruby here just put on her stern face and threatened never to travel with the White Star Line again if they were going to be degrading us like that. So I guess it went about as well as expected.

"Henry, he's the cutest little boy, and he can pull of the gentleman role perfectly, is working on the 'invitations'. I had to give him something to do, since he wanted to help so badly. Ruby's granny is making a little tux for him. Alternately I have been giving Emma Swan some 'lady lessons', and while she doesn't pull it off perfectly, she isn't entirely hopeless. Speaking of, I need to find her a dress she can borrow. And Mr. Jack Dawson and Mr. Robin of Locksley can both borrow a suit that used to belong to Ruby's late father. And how have you been keeping Cal distracted from what we were doing, Mother?"

Ruth scrunched up her nose, "Well, I have just kept him occupied by setting Mr. Andrews up with keeping him distracted, I have been following him around until it was time for tea. He did ask about you, though, so I told him that you were with some of the other ladies here in the reading room, where I would have tea with you. He seemed to buy it..."

Rose nodded, "Alright. So, how are we going to get Emma a dress for tonight?"

— Line Break —

She had followed her mother around like an obedient puppy, she was still doing that, actually as they went for their morning tea in the reading room. But still her mother had critique on everything she did. She didn't walk straight enough, her dress wasn't tight enough, she didn't smile like she should, she didn't keep her head high enough, and so on and so on. It reminded her of a time when she was younger, and even more naive than her mother found she was now.

A ten-year-old Regina heard the door slam shut behind her, and the key turning in the lock. Locking her in her bedroom. She hadn't been behaving properly, according to her mother.

When they had gone to the market that morning, and Regina had wanted to play with the local children, her mother had chastised her. "Why would you want to become friends with those lowlives?!"

Regina had hung her head, slumped her shoulders, and followed her mother back to the carriage. She had only wanted to be a little less lonely, to have a friend, but her mother would have none of it. Her whole life Cora had groomed Regina into becoming the epitome of perfection. It is what she expected of Regina.

She never cared that that wasn't what Regina wanted.

In Cora's world, what Regina wanted didn't matter. Cora's word was the law, and that was that.

When Regina was seven years old, she could perfectly lift a cup of tea like a lady, she could speak like a lady, ride horses like a lady. But the thing was, that Regina never wanted to be a lady. She wanted to ride horses without having to sit sidesaddle. She wanted to become a professional equestrian, but it wasn't in the cards for her. Regina's life revolved around Cora's will, and if Cora wanted to introduce her to her lady friends, be able to bust about her at cotillions and other events, then she had no choice but to do as her mother asked.

So when today she had asked if she could play with the local children, she could have known that punishment would come from it. She had always been lonely, and she was destined to be lonely, because you could never trust anyone other than yourself. And you should never get close to those below you. But for a moment, she had had hope, until her mother's eyes seemed to spew fire, so angry as she looked. So here she was, locked in her room, sitting on her rug, waiting for her mother to eventually come back and give her her actual punishment.

When her mother came back, an hour later, she got dragged to the adjoining room by Cora's firm hand, and she stumbled behind her. She wondered what her mother was going to do this time. That question was soon answered when she found herself being stripped bare by her mother's hands before getting bent over the table.

She soon felt the crackle of the whip against her bare back. Her mother's cold voice stated, "Tell me Regina. Why do you deserve this punishment?" Regina whimpered as the whip slapped against her bare back yet again, "t-to t-teach me a l-lesson, M-mama..." Her mother's voice softened a little, "That's right. And what lesson do I need to teach you today, Regina?" The whip crackled against her back yet again, "t-that I s-should n-never be f-friends with o-other children, M-mama."

Cora nodded, "Indeed. You should only rely on yourself, but I fear that if you keep behaving so childishly, that at one point you won't have just me that needs to punish you, but your future husband too. We wouldn't want to saddle him up with that responsibility, would we, Regina? After all, you are supposed to be a good lady, are you not? There is a reason that I named you 'Regina', my darling daughter. Live up to it. That's all I ask of you, and you can't even do that." Her mother's voice now sounded colder and more indifferent than ever.

"P-please Mama... I-I'll be good..." she whimpered, when the whip slapped across her back yet again. She had trouble holding back tears. After ten more cracks with the whip, she got dressed again. Her mother told her one more thing, "Don't you ever do that again, Regina. I shan't be so forgiving next time." She nodded slowly, as the tears streamed down her face, "I'll be good, Mama..." the only response she got was, "That's all I ask, Regina."

She quickly got snapped back into the present. "Regina dear, what has you so distracted today? You seem to be getting distracted by something every single time I talk to you. Should I teach you a lesson?"

Regina winced automatically, "no Mother, that shan't be necessary. I merely got reminded of a memory from a few years ago. It won't happen again." Cora narrowed her eyes suspiciously, "You have said that before today, and yet you got lost in thought. Again. How am I supposed to believe you now?"

Regina hung her head, "I'm sorry, Mother." Cora immediately hissed back, "don't you dare hang your head in public, you foolish girl." She immediately straightened her back, "I'm sorry, Mother."

"Is that your sentence of the day?"

"No, of course not Mother."

Then she realized that they had reached the reading room. And if she wasn't wrong, she saw there at one table, Rose, her mother and Ruby.

Oh, how much she wanted to join them, but she had a suspicion that Cora would be none to pleased with that. So she kept silent.

Nevertheless, Cora noticed at which table her daughter was staring.

"Regina dear, would you like to join your... acquaintances at their table? And don't you date try and lie to me." At Regina's slow nod, her mother's features softened, and for a moment it seemed like she was going to encourage Regina to go over to her friends, "You have no idea how much that..." she paused, "disappoints me. Now come along."

Regina obediently followed her mother to another table, where they were sat with just the two of them. Regina already knew she didn't want to be here, she longingly stared at the table where her friends were sat. If only she could be with them without 'disappointing' her mother...

— Line Break —

"Well, perhaps Ruby could lend this... Emma... one of her dresses? After all, if you were to share your own or if I share one of mine, Cal would most surely notice it was one of ours. He would never believe in her cover, and he would not hesitate to bring it to anyone's attention. You know that."

Rose nodded, "Yes, I had thought about that too. I was on my way back up here when I realized it." Then she saw a familiar face coming into view, it was Regina.

She hadn't seen her at all today, and she worried for Regina. Now more than ever. But she also saw how Regina clung to Cora, and how they seemed to be buried deep into conversation. From what Rose could discern, Cora seemed to be a bit angry with Regina.

She also saw how Regina at some point looked straight at their table, very longingly, even. But one mere sentence from Cora had Regina following her mother. What had changed to her so free-spirited friend? Why did she seem so sad, so trapped, like a caged bird?

Ruby caught Rose staring at the two. "It's sad, ain't it Rosie? How Cora seems to have her so trapped... Hopefully we can help her break free, or at least help her loosen up a little tonight..."

Rose sighed, "My thoughts exactly, Ruby. But we can only give her the means to break free. The rest is up to her. But how can we convince her that breaking free is her best option? I mean, I know we've got Robin, but she's shutting everyone out. And I think she knows that she's in love with Robin, but she doesn't know that he reciprocates her feelings, and now she is so trapped...

"I think she is on the verge of giving up, Ruby. She is losing her fire. If we don't stop herself from shutting herself off even more, I have a feeling she won't ever be the same again. She won't be happy. She'll turn even more cold and distant. And before we know it, we will have a Cora 2.0 on our hands. Cora is dangerous, because she is practically heartless. But Regina is even more dangerous, because she is anything but.

"She is so passionate about everything. No matter what she does, we need to be there for her. If she's angry, we need to let her rage, if she wants to talk to us, then we should allow her to. We are her safety net, and she needs to know that. That no matter what, we will always have her back. She has become my best friend over these past few days, and I realized that while at first I thought that she didn't understand me, it was in fact the other way around."

Ruby smiled, "you are very right, Rosie. Now how about we go over there and see if we can steal her away from her mother for a while? I know that it's up to us to help her get out of there. Cora clearly doesn't want to have her around us, and Regina herself is not strong enough to stand up to her. I don't know about her childhood, but clearly Cora has quite made sure that Regina was trapped under her thumb. That she wouldn't turn against her."

Rose smiled sadly, "I know, Ruby. I know. Looks like Cora has her dog firmly on her leash. So how about we go free the dog, hm? After all, the dog doesn't seem to be happy in her boss' company."

Ruby snickered, "you're a fun one, Rosie. Now come on."

— Line Break —

Author's Note:

So, that's it for Chapter 6, folks. It's not much, more of a filler chapter, really. But I hope you liked it nonetheless. Please share your thoughts, and any input is welcome!

Hugs,

Your Author