Chapter 24

Pixie Flowers

(Regina's POV)

Somehow, I had managed to walk out of the dark forest and onto a path that lead to the cemetery. I had no idea what time it was, but judging by the complete quietness of the street, I assumed that it must be past midnight. I don't care. I need to wake up Daniella. Now.

I shivered and ignoring the heeled boots that I was wearing, I ran down the streets of Storybrooke. My breath was telling me that I needed a break but I pushed on. Gosh, I've never ran a marathon like this since my teenage years.

Soon, I arrived outside of the hospital. I composed myself and straightened my hair before I walked through the doors. The receptionist looked stunned when she saw me. "Madam Mayor, are you alright?"
I walked past her and answered, "I'm perfectly fine. I'm here to see Daniella."

"At one o'clock in the morning?"

I turned my head around and narrowed my eyes. Then, I lifted my head and said confidently, "Yes." After that, I strode down the hallway without another word. As I approached the ICU, my heart was thumping loudly against my chest. This could be it.

I pushed open the doors of the ICU and rushed towards Daniella. "Firefly, I'm gonna wake you up now. I don't exactly know how but um, your father gave me this flower...and it should work."

Nervously, I plucked the petals off the pink Pixie flower in my hand. Discarding the stem, I held the petals over Daniella. I remember reading about pixie flowers in a fairytale when I was young. Just like the Princess in the story, I put the petals into the palm of my hand. Then, I held my breath. My heart thumped uncontrollably until...

The pink petals dissolved into fine powder. It drifted out of my palm and into Daniella's nostrils. In anticipation, I hovered over my daughter, waiting for anything to happen. And it did.

The machine that stood on the side of the bed began to beep. I looked up and saw that there was signal on the screen. Quickly, I glanced back down and saw Daniella's chest heave upwards. Then, her eyes gently fluttered open. Oh my... "Mama?"

"Daniella? Daniella!" I threw my arms around my daughter with tears streaming down my face.

In a muffled voice, Daniella muttered again, "Mama..."

I held my daughter close to me, not wanting to let go. You're finally here in my arms, finally...little firefly.
Daniella gently shrugged away from my embrace to look at me. "Mama, don't cry..."

I smiled sheepishly and said between breaths, "I'm sorry, firefly. I just miss you so much." Then, I put my forehead against Daniella's. Before I could continue speaking, footsteps raced into the ICU. I looked up to see nurses approaching. One of them started speaking, "Oh, Daniella's awake...I, uh, Madam Mayor, we have to perform a series of health checks on your daughter right now since she woke up from her coma."

I turned to face Daniella, only to see that she had a fearful expression etched onto her face. I sighed and whispered to her, "It's going to be alright. Mama's here."

Daniella nodded and I let the medical staff approach her. Then, I heard the door open again. Dr Whale walked in. "Madam Mayor, may I ask that you stand outside just for a moment. I need to check your daughter's health without distraction."

I nodded and before leaving, gave Daniella's hand a tight squeeze. For the whole duration of the tests, I stood outside in the hallway. Through the glass wall that separated us, I gave Daniella a little smile whenever she turned her head to face my way. Soon, the doctor came out into the hallway. "Ms Mills, I'm glad to say that apart from being weak because of the long time she's been in a coma, Daniella is quite healthy. However, her memory still needs to recover. But don't worry...it'll come back to her very soon. She can be discharged from the hospital tomorrow in the afternoon. I just want her to get used to being awake again by resting for a couple of hours in here."

I grinned and nodded my head. "Thank you, Doctor. May I see her now?"

"Yes, you may."

When I walked into the ICU, the nurses attending to Daniella began to file out. After we've been left alone, I sat beside Daniella and whispered, "How are you feeling?"

Daniella mumbled back a reply, "Alright, but they asked me so many questions about this land and I didn't know how to reply."

I took Daniella's hand into my own as I answered, "Don't worry about that. I haven't given you false memories of this land so you'll just have to observe and learn." Winking, I added, "I'll help you with that." Then, I paused and frowned. "Wait, what do you know?"

Daniella quietly replied, "I heard some things."

"Some things?"

"Well, even when I was unconscious, I heard what was happening around me. I heard..." Daniella paused. Then, she continued, "I heard grandfather force you to sacrifice his heart to save me."

I pulled Daniella into a hug since tears started to run down her face. She muttered into me, "Sorry, it's just...I wasn't able to cry or anything. I was just stuck there, in the dark whilst listening to grandfather's last words."

I closed my eyes. "Daniella, I, I never knew...I'm so sorry. Just cry into me if it makes you feel better, alright?"

I felt Daniella nod. Then, I gently prodded, "Did you hear me talk to you everyday?"

Daniella pulled away from my embrace and nodded. Nervously, I continued softly, "So do you know about...Henry?"

"Yeah I do."

I looked down but Daniella put my hand into hers as she said slowly, "It's alright, Mama. Even I was lonely without you. I don't blame you for adopting him."

My eyes glistened. "Really? You don't?"

My daughter sighed before she answered, "Of course not. Do you remember what I said about you casting the curse? I just want us to be happy...and you were able to find happiness with Henry."

I took Daniella's face into my palms and whispered, "Thank you, firefly. You're too kind...just like your father. I don't deserve you, Daniella."

"Mama..."

I sniffled. "I'm glad I have you now."

"Me too." Then, Daniella shrugged my hands away as she began, "Wait, how did you wake me up?"

Slowly, I began, "I, uh, saw Accalia."

"You did?"

I nodded my head. "Yes. I was driving and suddenly she appeared in front of me on the road. I got out since she refused to move. After that, she lead me into the forest. The forest was full of fireflies so I became curious and confused at the same time." Then, I grinned as I continued, "And guess what happened next?"

Daniella shrugged. "I don't know..."

"I know this may sound a little bizarre but the fireflies were there because of true love. There was a voice, calling my name. I thought that I was just hearing things but the fireflies flew into the shape of Daniel and in their glowy reflection, I saw your father! He began to talk to me and just before the fireflies dispersed, making Daniel disappear, he gave me a pixie flower. Do you know what they do, pixie flowers?"

"Wake people up?"

"Well it certainly did. I'm surprised though, I didn't think that the flowers would work."

"Why?"

"Well for starters, pixie flowers only grow in the prescence of great evil and if I were the evil...they couldn't possibly have helped me right?"

Daniella sighed and reached her arms around me. Then, she whispered, "You're not evil, Mama. You know that! True love's magic is light magic...not dark."

"Well..."

"Well all that matters is that the flowers worked," Daniella cut in with a grin. I smiled back and nodded. Then, I kissed her on the forehead.

"Mama?"

"Hm?"

"What time is it?"

I checked the time on my watch and gasped. "Oh, my. It's later than I imagined. It's two in the morning."

Daniella widened her eyes before sheepishly saying, "You should probably sleep."

Sensing Daniella's unsure tone, I added, "But you want me to stay, is that right?"

I received a guilty smile as a reply. So, I hugged my daughter and whispered, "Don't worry, Mama will stay with you till the morning."

As Daniella fell back onto her pillow, she mumbled, "Thanks, Mama."

I smiled and squeezed Daniella's hand. "Alright, let's both get some sleep then, shall we?"

I was woken up by the chatter of noises around me. Frowning, I opened my eyes slowly to see that two nurses had walked into the room. They were attending to David, who, by the looks of it, had woken up recently. As they hustled around him, I stood up and stretched. Then, I glanced at the time before chuckling. Let's see how this day will play out...with only five hours of sleep!

After a yawn, I approached Daniella and rubbed her back. She was still sleeping as her back was rising and falling gently.

"Madam Mayor, you're awake!"

I looked up and gave a nod. The nurse who spoke to me came over. "Daniella can be discharged from the hospital this afternoon, perhaps around two o'clock. If you would like, you can return then."

I was about to reply before a realization hit me. Crap! I forgot about Henry! I should be helping him get ready for school right now.

"Madam Mayor are you alright?"

I shook away my guilt and hastily replied. "Yes. Um, when Daniella wakes up, tell her that I had to go and drop Henry off to school. I'll be back around noon."

The nurse nodded. Then, I bent down and kissed Daniella once more on the forehead before I stood up and walked out of the ICU.

(Daniella's POV)

Gentle footsteps woke me up from my sleep. The first thing I saw was the rustle of a crisp white uniform next to me. I mumbled and shifted on the bed.

"Oh, good morning Daniella, you're awake."

I looked up at the nurse beside me as she continued, "Your mother has just left to drop your brother off to school. She said that she'll be back at noon. Meanwhile, your breakfast will be coming shortly." The nurse gave me a little smile. Then, I sat up slowly with her help. "Are you feeling well? Are you tired? Feeling weak?"

I shook my head. "I'm fine."

"That's good. I'll be back with you shortly then."
The nurse walked away, leaving me alone in the room. Actually, I wasn't alone. I looked opposite towards the other side of the room and saw Prince Charming on his bed. He was also awake since he was reading the newspaper. I scowled at him. If he hadn't sent that assassin to kill my mother, none of this would have happened! Technically the curse was his fault.

Suddenly, he put down his paper and looked in my direction. "Oh, hello."

I quickly wiped the angry expression off my face. Well, I tried to anyway... "Hi."

"I'm David. What's your name?"

"Daniella."

There was a pause before the prince continued, "I, um, didn't realise that you were awake."

"I wasn't. I woke up from my coma in the very early morning today."

"Right. I woke up recently too. What a coincidence. We seem to be the only patients in the ICU ward yet we both woke up at around the same time."

I nodded.

"You're a shy one aren't you?"

I opened my mouth to answer but nothing came out. Embarrassed, I simply shrugged. Thankfully, the nurse who woke me up broke the silence by entering the room. She carried a tray of food and as she approached, she spoke, "Here's your breakfast, Daniella. Just eat as much as you would like." The nurse spun a table out from my bed and set the tray gently in front of me. Then, she left.

I looked at the food and prodded at the strange flakes that sat in a bowl. There was a bottle of milk beside it, along with some fruit, a piece of bread and some meat. I began to eat the flakes and found that they were crunchy. Hmm, food from this land doesn't seem too bad...

"Aren't you going to put milk into your cereal?"

I looked up and frowned. I must have glared at David for he quickly added, "Oh, I was just suggesting..."

Before pouring some of the milk into the bowl of flakes, I raised my eyebrow and commented, "So you're gonna watch me now?"

"No, I'm not...sorry."

I smiled satisfied as the prince put his head into the newspaper again. Turns out, the flakes with milk did taste quite good. After I've finished my breakfast, I sat awkwardly on my bed and observed the ICU. For the first time, I noticed the flowers that stood on my bedside table. My cheeks flushed as I thought about what the nurses would have thought for they must have seen my mother visit me every day. Speaking of mother...I hope she comes soon.

I put my head back onto my pillow and closed my eyes. Whilst waiting for the time to tick by, I imagined what Storybrooke was like.

Just after the nurse had taken away my lunch tray, I heard familiar footsteps approach the ICU. I looked up to see mother walk into the room. "Mama! You're back."

Doctor Whale tagged behind my mother. "Daniella, I'm glad to say that you can go home with your mother now. I'll just help you with the tag on your arm..." The doctor came forward and starting taking off the yellow tag that hung around my wrist. After it came off, he smiled and turned to my mother saying, "Well that's it. I'll just ask that Daniella comes in for a checkup at the end of this week. We need to slowly monitor her health in case there are any side effects that need to be treated from her coma."

My mother nodded as the Doctor bade us a good day and left. "Ready to go home?"

I bit my lip and my cheeks raised up into a grin. "Mmm."

"Alright, I've brought you some clothes to get changed into. I know they're a little different from the dresses you wore in Enchanted Forest but I'm sure you'll feel just fine. I bought several outfits from the store, but we'll go back and get some more since I wasn't quite sure of your size."

Then, mother helped me out of the bed. Then, I took one last glance at the space that I had laid upon for twenty eight years. Twenty eight! And yet I haven't aged a bit...

After getting changed in the restroom, I nervously stepped out into the corridor where mother waited. She glanced up and down and smiled. "You look beautiful, firefly."

I held up the short skirt in my hands and tilted my head. "It feels so different from the clothes we wore in the Enchanted Forest..."

"I know it does, but don't you like it?"

I looked up at my mother and answered truthfully, "I do; it's design is simpler...but easier to move in."

Chuckling, mother took my hand into hers and as we began to walk, she replied softly, "I agree."

As soon as we exited the hospital, I gazed at the world around me in awe. Mother bent down and whispered in my ear, "Welcome to Storybrooke."

"So this is Storybrooke?"

"Yes. I'll take you on a little tour around town later but let's go home first."

I nodded and my mother lead me to her car. I felt unnerved inside the weird metal contraption but mother reassured me that I was safe. Then, she explained how transportation worked in this realm. To be honest, I'm a little sad that horses aren't needed anymore but at least, horse riding still exists as a sport in this world.

When we entered a wide street, mother spoke up, "This is Main Street. See the clock tower over there? The hands on the clock hadn't moved for twenty eight years since time was stopped as a result of the curse. Unfortunately, it's moving again. Emma, the saviour came into town. She's weakening the curse...and a pain in the neck."

Quietly, I asked, "She's Henry's birth mother isn't she?"

Mother exhaled and answered simply, "Yes." Then, she continued, "But let's not talk about that for now. Anyway, underneath the clock tower there's a library but I've kept it locked from the public."

"Why?"

Sighing, mother explained, "Do you remember our friend Maleficent?"

"Of course I do. We got the curse from the orb on her staff."

"She's trapped in her dragon form beneath the library."

I gasped. "What? But I thought that this land was a land without magic...how can a magical creature such as a dragon survive in this realm?"

Chuckling, mother replied, "There's always a little bit of magic in every realm. There's only none if one fails to see it."

The car slowed down slightly as we passed a series of shops that lined the street. Mother continued, "Can you see that green shop over there with the red door?"

I glanced out of the window and answered, "What about it?"

"That's Mr Gold's...or Rumpelstiltskin's...shop. He has managed to collect and bring many items from the Enchanted Forest into this realm."

I frowned, "What does he do with them?"

"Nothing. Well, I guess he sells some of it but no one really walks into his shop unless they're in desperate need of anything."

"Oh."

Then, we fell back into silence as we entered suburban streets. I glanced at the houses as they wizzed by and noted that they were all quite large. "Mama?"

"Hmm?"

"Who lives in these houses?"

"The citizens of Storybrooke of course."

I reworded my sentence and hoped that mother understood what I meant, "It's just, there's so many houses and everyone seems to be kinda wealthy..."

"Oh, I understand what you mean. Yes, there's something else very different about Storybrooke. Unlike the Enchanted Forest, there's a very small social divide here. No one's classified as a royal, noble, knight, merchant or peasant. Everyone's just a citizen." After a little pause, mother added with a smirk, "But as the mayor of this town, I still get some privileges."

We turned into a street where the houses seemed to have gotten even larger. Suddenly, the car turned and drove into a gravel driveway. I looked up at the mansion before the car disappeared into the garage. The mansion is beautiful, perhaps the best house I've seen in the neighbourhood so far.

When I entered the interior however, I was even more stunned. The homes of this realm is definitely much brighter and cosier than any castle from the Enchanted Forest.

Mother walked up behind me and put her hand on my shoulder. "Welcome home, firefly."

I grinned. "Can you show me around?"

Mother smiled and lead me through all the rooms on the first floor. Then, we went upstairs. I dug my feet into the plush grey carpet as we walked along the corridor.

Mother opened one of the doors and ushered me in. "This is my bedroom. You'll probably be sleeping with me for the next few days, unless you wish to sleep in the guest bedroom for the time being. It'll just be temporary though. I'll prepare your room for you soon."

I looked up and mumbled contently, "It's fine. I wanna sleep with you."

"Alright...well then, let's take a look at your brother's room shall we?"

Henry's room is quite small compared to my mother's room but it's very cosy. I looked around at the things he owned. Then, I picked up a booklet and flicked through.

"Oh, that's one of Henry's superhero magazines. He used to read them a lot until Snow White gave him the book of our stories."

I set the magazine back onto Henry's desk and turned around. "Where did the book come? Did Snow purchase it?"

Mother crossed her arms and frowned. "I'm not sure." Then, she huffed and continued, "All of this messiness in town right now wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for that book!" Then, she lowered her voice and added quietly, "But then again, you're now awake."

I smiled and hugged my mother around her waist. She returned the embrace and said softly, "I wish your brother did this to me more often."

At the mention of Henry, I looked up and inquired, "When do I get to meet him?"

Mother glanced at the clock on the wall and replied, "Soon. School ends at three and right now it's two. Oh, perhaps we should go and get some clothes for you in this hour whilst we wait."

I nodded with excitement bubbling inside of me.