Chapter 27

A Forgotten Past

(Daniella's POV)

I held on to my mother until she gently lifted my arms and shrugged away. Then, she held my chin with her fingers and whispered, "You won't leave me...will you?"

I frowned. "No, Mama. Of course not."

"Even though I'm the Evil Queen?"

"You're not evil to me. You're my mother- the only person who has shown love to me, without fearing me."

I saw the sides of my mother's eyes glisten. Then, a tear rolled down her cheek as she breathed, "I don't deserve you, little firefly."

My cheeks blushed as she continued, "Every time I look at you, you remind me of your father. I could almost see him talking to me in you."

I knew how much Daniel meant to mama so I looked down and muttered, "Sorry-"

"No, there's nothing to be sorry about. He'll be so proud of you, firefly." After saying this, mother kissed the top of my forehead and stood up. Looking around at the room, she quietly added, "You're the only person who still sees the good in me. I can't imagine where I'll be without you."

After giving me a small forced smile, mother walked out of the room.

Dinnertime was quiet but I decided to ask about what had happened in the cavern when I was unconscious.

After setting down her cutlery, mother replied, "Maleficent wanted to make a deal."

"A deal? About what?"

"Yes. She wanted to be rid of her dragon form.I told her that it wasn't possible in this land without magic so she bargained that if she were to let you go, I'll have to help her find her daughter. That is, once she has been reverted back into her human body."

My jaw nearly dropped open. "She has a daughter?"

"I was surprised too, but I can't say that it wasn't possible."

I nodded slowly and continued, "But in a land without magic, you can't revert her, right?"

Mother shook her head but continued, "Maleficent believes that the curse will be broken soon."

"Broken?"

There was silence before my mother stood up and collected my plate. Then, she echoed quietly, "Maybe."

I followed her into the kitchen. "What will happen when the curse breaks? Will magic come back? Will we return home to the Enchanted Forest?"

Mother chuckled, "Actually, I'm not quite sure myself. I never intended for the curse to break, so I didn't really care about what would happen afterwards. Besides, the curse wouldn't have been cast if it wasn't for the assassin that Charming sent to kill me."

I didn't feel comfortable about the idea that the curse could break. I nervously began, "But Mama, when the curse breaks, the people of this town will...umm..."

"As long as I'm around, they can't hurt you alright?"

"But what if they hurt you?"

Mother sighed and turned around to face me. "They won't. Daniella, why don't you go up and get your coat. I want to show you something after I'm done with the dishes."

I nodded and headed upstairs to my bedroom. When I passed Henry's room, I stopped. I wonder where he is right now. Probably with Emma...does she know? I hope Henry doesn't mention anything about what had just happened.

I shook my head and tried to push the thoughts about my brother out of my mind. Then, I went into my room. After putting on my scarf and jacket, I made my way downstairs. To my surprise, mother was already waiting for me. "How did you get ready so quickly?"

She smiled and replied, "I left my coat in the living room so I didn't need to go upstairs to get something warm."

After straightening her hair in front of the mirror in the hallway, mother gestured for me to follow her. We got into the car and drove out into the dark cold streets of Storybrooke.

"Mama? Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

I bit my lip before quietly whispering, "Do you think Henry's ok?"

"I assume he's with Emma and Snow so I would say, he's probably feeling more than ok."

"Mama..."

"What?"

I took a breath before glancing at my mother and asking, "Why did you let Henry leave?"

Mother frowned. I carefully observed her eyes that shone from the glare of the streetlights. I could tell that she was trying to concentrate on driving instead of answering my question. Eventually, she replied, "There's nothing I could do to force him to stay. Besides, he's afraid of me. And...I don't really want him to live with fear on his mind."

"So you're just letting go?"

Mother chuckled. "Oh no, dear. Have you seen me let go of anything?"

Smirking, I replied, "Not really..."

"I'm just letting Henry get what he wants for now. He'll come to realise that I'm his mother and that he needs me."

"What do you think Henry would have told Emma? I mean, it's kinda surprising that she hasn't called you yet."

Mother didn't reply. The rest of the trip was silent until the car slowed down to a stop. I looked out and saw that we were next to a cemetery. "Mama, why are we at a graveyard?"

"We're going to our family mausoleum."

When we got out of the car, Mother took my hand and we walked through the cemetery. At the end of the path, we arrived at the mausoleum. Mother unlocked it and I stepped in. The only source of light was from the moon which flooded in from the windows. The first thing I noticed when I entered was a heavy stone coffin in the middle of the small room. I brushed over the plague and whispered, "Grandfather?"

"Daniella, dear, are you alright?"

I nodded despite the tears that were forming at the corners of my eyes. My body started to shake a little but I felt my mother's arms around me. "I'm sorry firefly."

I sniffled and wiped the tears on my face. Then, I stuttered, "Is this what you wanted to show me?"

"Not exactly."

I looked up and frowned. I saw a little smile form on my mother's face before she stepped to one side of the coffin. Then, she put her hands on it and pushed. I gasped when the coffin moved to one side, revealing a flight of stairs. "What's this?"

"My vault. Come on, you'll like it."

Mother took my hand and lead me down the steps. When we reached the bottom, I looked around and saw that I was in a passageway. Then, I followed my mother past the brick walls. She pushed aside a set of curtains at the end of the corridor and lead me inside a room.

I smiled and immediately walked over to my mother's black mirror that hung in her chambers back home. I looked into it and exclaimed, "You brought it with you?"

"Of course I did. I couldn't leave it behind, could I?"

I looked around at the other things in the room. There were several trunks piled around the floor. "What's inside these?"

"Some magical ingredients from our land."

I opened one of the trunks to see some of the familiar ingredients that mother and I have used to make potions back at home. I closed the lid when mother said behind me, "I have more to show you."

I followed mother back into the hallway but she suddenly stopped at a wall. "Mama? Wha-"

I stopped speaking when she pushed at the walls. There was a click and then, the wall swung inwards as if it was a door. When I stepped into the room behind the wall, I was awestruck. In the middle of space, there was a fake white apple tree lit up by a beautiful string of fairy lights. On the walls around the room, mirrors hung, just like the hall of mirrors in our palace. On the wall, there was also a painted portrait of my mother and I. I remember sitting for the painting. It took many hours but luckily, the artist was able to work fairly quickly. His name was Jasper and it was only after the painting was finished did my mother tell me that he was actually her art teacher when she was a teenager.

In front of the mirrors, were mannequins wearing some of my mother's dresses from the Enchanted Forest. As I grinned, I felt a hand on my back, "Do you like it?"

I nodded. "It's beautiful. Did you decorate it yourself?"

"Well I had to; since no one but myself knows about this place. I decided to bring some things over to remind me of home. The Enchanted Forest brings back some horrible memories but it is my home after all...and yours too, I imagine."

I smiled and replied softly, "Yeah. I miss home."

"Maybe I can help with that."

I turned to my mother and frowned. "What do you mean?"

Mother winked at me and lead me over to a wardrobe that stood at one corner of the room. When she opened it, I put my hands to my mouth. Inside, were my favourite dresses from the Enchanted Forest. I opened the drawers and saw that it contained some of my possessions too.

Mother chuckled and asked, "Did I leave anything behind?"

I shook my head and took out an ornate box that was inside a drawer. "Is this..."

"Open it."

Inside the box, was my crown. I placed the box down and took the crown out, weighing its familiar touch in my hands. "Mama?"

"Hm?"

"Are you ever going to tell Henry about this place?"

There was a pause before my Mother answered, "I don't think I will. I can't risk it, just in case Snow or Emma finds out. This can be our special place, firefly."

I grinned and whispered, "I kinda want to stay here."

Mother took the crown from my hands and put it back into it's box. Then, she replied, "I know...it's tempting to hide isn't it? But that's not what we do right? We don't run from anything."

My heart dropped. I didn't really want to leave the room as it felt most like home. However, I nodded under my mother's gaze. "Mama? Can I...take something back?"

"What do you want to take back?"

At the corner of my eyes, I spotted a shimmery gauzy bundle of fabric. I looked down and sitting on top of a box was the doll that mother had bought for me not long after I arrived at the palace for the first time. I picked up Adelaide and held her close against my body. Sure, I'm past the age to be playing with dolls, but it's the first gift I've received from my mother.

"You want to take Adelaide with you?"

I nodded and added, "Can I take my tiara too?"

"Your tiara? Why would you need that?"

I shrugged. "I don't need it...but I miss the Enchanted Forest, the palace, the magic."

Mother sighed and replied, "Alright, but you'll have to keep your crown in my room. I don't want Henry meddling with it.

I nodded as mother continued, "Well, let's go home then, shall we?"

As we left the room, I suddenly thought about my father. Surely mother would have brought him with her to this land.

"Mama? Did you bring father's body here?"

Mother turned around to face me. Then, she quietly breathed, "Yes I did. Do you want to see him?"

Seeing my expression, mother sighed and led me down the hallway. Then, she pushed past another set of curtains. The room looked exactly like the vault that was connected to my mother's chambers in the palace. I took a deep breath and walked to the middle, where a glass coffin stood on top of a marble stand. I went up to the glass and ran my hand down it. I smiled and whispered, "Hi daddy..."

Mother put her arm around shoulder and squeezed. I pressed my face right up to the glass. At first, seeing my father's dead body was unnerving but over time, I had gotten used to his stiff complexion.

After several moments, mother's voice took me out of my thoughts. "Daniella? You ready?"

I nodded and before exiting the vault with my mother, I whispered a quiet good-bye to both my grandfather and my father.

In the car on the ride home, the phone rang. I picked it up only to hear Emma's voice on the other end. "Madam Mayor?"

I looked at my mother's eyes through the mirror in the car as I answered, "Uh, no. It's Daniella."

"Oh, ok. Is your mom nearby? Henry's with me at the moment and we're outside your house. He hasn't got the keys so..."

"That's alright. We're almost home. Mama's driving."

"I'll see you soon then."

After I hung up, mother spoke up. "Was that Emma?"

"Yeah, she's outside our home with Henry right now."

Sure enough, Emma was waiting on the porch with Henry when we arrived. Mother handed the keys to me so that we could go in whilst she and Emma talked. As we walked up the stairs, Henry nudged me and whispered, "Reckon we can eavesdrop?"

I frowned, "How?"

Henry sped up to the top of the stairs and perched behind the railing at the little ledge that hung over the foyer. I followed him and crouched down. Before I could tune into the conversation however, Henry poked my doll with a curious expression on his face. "Where did you get that from?"

"Mama gave it to-"

"Did you buy it today?"

"No. It was mine from the Enchanted Forest."

Henry raised his eyebrows but resumed listening to mother and Emma's conversation.

"He didn't say anything to you?"

"No. Is everything alright? I'm just worried that Henry's-"

"Everything is fine Ms Swan. It's not a surprise to both of us now that Henry would run off to you at any given minute..."

There was a pause. Then, Emma answered, "That's not what I was implying."

Emma received a moment of silence and the click of heels as a reply. "Good night Ms Swan."

The door slammed shut and Henry and I looked at each other. Then, we quickly stood up and ran away from the stairs, seeing that mother was walking into view. I gave Henry a glance before entering my room as he entered his. I gently set Adelaide onto my bed and lay down beside her.

*The next day

I had hoped to avoid the topic for as long as I could, but Henry eventually brought it up. He had been avoiding mother and I ever since he ran away and came back...so why did he have to mention school at the dinner table?!

Whilst there was a little bit of excitement in me, I internally groaned at the idea of starting school at Storybrooke. Much to my annoyance, mother managed to enrol me and take of matters over a single phone call. And now it's a Monday morning...

When the alarm rang, I immediately snoozed it and pulled the covers back over my head. However, mother knocked on the door moments later. She entered before I could even turn around.

"Wake up, firefly. It's time for your first day of school at Storybrooke."

I heard Mama shuffle over to my bed. She rubbed my back as I slowly turned around and opened one eye. Then, I mumbled, "I don't want to go. I won't know anyone and-"

"I've told Henry to stick with you. Besides, you're both in the same class."

Same class? "But that means that Snow is my teacher right?"

Mother gave me a small smile and whispered, "It'll only be for the rest of this year, alright? Unfortunately, I cannot request for you to be put into another class, as you need to catch up on knowledge taught in this land."

I sat up and asked, "Will it be hard?"

"What, dear?"

"What subjects do they teach here?"

"Oh, it's very similar to the Enchanted Forest...you'll see."

I sighed and slipped out of bed, into the cold air.

*Later

I was sandwiched between Henry and our mother as we walked through the school grounds. I remained silent as I noted a familiar face here and there. Holding my breath, I tried to keep my eyes ahead of me for I had just spotted Leyton and his gang at the corner of my eyes.

"Yeah, they're pretty messed up. It's best if you would stay away from them," Henry whispered in my ear. I turned around and replied softly, "Believe me, I know."

"You do? Who were they back in the-"

"Henry!"

We both looked up at mother's face which sported a stern expression. Then, she lowered her voice and spoke, "Do you remember what I told you before we left? You are not to mention anything from the book."

Henry stubbornly replied, "But the stuff in the book is real!"

Mother glanced around and bent down to whisper, "And will anyone believe you? Look, you've been complaining to me that no one wants to play with you. If you stop talking about your book, things will change. See, I'm helping you."

"No you're not."

I sucked in a breath and cast my eyes to the ground as we kept walking. The silence was interrupted by a voice that was too familiar to my ears. "Good morning, Madam Mayor!"

Under her breath, my mother mumbled, "Must she always be so shrill..."

As Snow approached us, Henry's face lit up in a wide smile. The princess was the first to speak, "Daniella! I'm so glad that you're awake again. Welcome back."

Back? I frowned but before Snow could make out the meaning of my expression, my mother cut in. "Ms Blanchard, I'm sure that you'll accommodate for Daniella. She's got some catching up to do, due to her coma condition."

"Oh, don't worry Madam Mayor. We'll revise topics already covered in class before we start anything new."

"Good. Well then, I'd best be going."

"Of course."

Then, mother turned around and gave me a quick hug. I held on tightly as she whispered, "You'll be fine."

After mother left, Snow smiled and said, "The bell is going to ring soon. Let's go to the classroom, shall we?"

Snow gestured for us to follow so I trudged behind her footsteps, leaving a considerable distance between us. Henry was originally walking closer to the princess. However, he lagged behind when he saw that I wasn't sticking close to them. He nudged me and commented, "She doesn't bite."

My cheeks flushed red so I snipped back under my breath, "No, but I don't feel comfortable walking so close to a woman who has nearly killed me several times."

"Killed you? How?"

I gave Henry a look, telling him that now was not the time to ask. Thankfully, he got my message and didn't inquire further. When we arrived at the classroom, Snow showed me to a desk on the last row. "I'll just go and collect your textbooks from the staff room. I'll be back, Daniella."

I nodded and after she left the room, I stood up to have a look around. Henry's voice spoke up behind me. "You've never been in a classroom before?"

I whipped my head around and scoffed. "Of course I have. Just not in this realm."

"I thought they didn't have school in the Enchanted Forest."

"They did, unfortunately...but I'm guessing that it's probably more pleasant here."

"And why is that?"

I scanned across the room and whilst waving my hands towards the colourful array of decorations on the walls, answered, "Snow seems to have put a lot of effort into making this place look nice."

Henry shrugged and asked, "Who were your classmates in the Enchanted Forest?"

I frowned. "Who jousts at a tournament? Knights." I smirked as I continued, "Kids from the village of course. Who else?"

"You had to travel from the castle to the village for school?"

I laughed at Henry's clueless face. "No, of course not. I had a tutor when I lived in the palace. Before then, I had school at the village...like everyone else."

Henry's face still remained confused. I tilted my head before the realisation hit me. My story wasn't in his book. I sighed and quickly explained, "Long story, short; I spent one year in the palace as an infant before I fell into a portal which took me to Wonderland. When I grew up a little, I came back to the Enchanted Forest where I resided in an orphanage. Then, mother found me and took me back home."

Henry's dumbstruck expression amused me so much that I failed to keep a straight face. Awkwardly, he replied, "I didn't know..."

"Yeah, because you got Emma to burn those pages about me and our mother."

Cautiously, Henry continued, "So you weren't always the Princess?"

I shook my head, "I wasn't."

"How did you get separated from mom anyway?"

I scoffed and answered simply, "You should ask her yourself."

Henry didn't reply so we fell into a strange silence that was soon broken by the ringing of the school bell. Then, kids starting flooding into the room. There were a few faces that I recognised. Luckily, they took no notice of me, nor Henry. That is, until Snow walked into the room. She received a few 'good mornings' as she strode down the room towards us. With a slight thud, she set down the books that she was holding in her hands. "These will be yours. At the end of the year, you'll return them for the class next year to use. However, you can keep them with you till then."

I nodded and although the class was already looking at me, Snow made it worse by telling everyone to quiet down so that she could speak. "Alright class. Today we've got a new student joining us. Her name is Daniella Mills and yes, she's Henry's sister. Now, I'm sure you'll all make your new classmate feel welcome."

Several people threw a brief glance at Henry before looking down. My heart fell. Great. They're probably going to ignore me because of my brother. However, Snow addressed the class again, "I hope you've worked a little on your science fair projects over the weekend."

The room was filled with mutters until Snow put her hands up and continued, "From what I'm hearing, you haven't done much have you? I'm sure I don't need to remind you that the project is due in two weeks. I'll give you from now until morning tea break to work on it, does that sound good?"

There were a few murmurs of contentment in the class. "You can move into your groups now." Then, everyone got up and formed the groups of their project. I spied Henry moving to his group in the corner of my eyes as Snow approached me.

"Daniella, come with me..."

I stood up and followed Snow to a group of two students. As we approached, the Princess cleared her throat and spoke. "Daniella, this is Elizabeth and Maria. They're the only group who was a duo so with you, they'll be a trio like everyone else. Perfect. The groups now match!"

Snow seemed so happy about the grouping but honestly, I was excited too. I knew Eliza since she was living with me in the orphanage. However, the last time we saw each other wasn't exactly pleasant. Mother was choking her in order to threaten Snow and I had saved her only to use my magic to squeeze the breath out of one of the dwarfs instead. Maria on the other hand, I guess I could say that our relationship was alright the last time we were together...

*Flashback*

(Regina's POV) *Four months before the battle between Regina and Snow

There was a quiet knock on the door to my chambers. I looked up from the pile of wanted posters and called out, "Come in."

A maid scuttled into the room and after she bowed, I asked, "Where is Daniella? I thought I asked you to fetch her."

With her head still lowered, the maid meekly replied, "I'm not sure where she is; I've asked the guards but they said that they haven't seen her all day."

I stood up and approached the maid who was visibly shaking by now. "What do you mean? Get the guards to search for her, and report to me if she hasn't been found in the next ten minutes."

The girl bowed and quickly retreated. I frowned. Where could Daniella have gone? She wouldn't have snuck out of the palace would she? She knows specifically not to.

(Daniella's POV)

Sparkling white snow now covered the trees and the ground of the Enchanted Forest. As Hwin and I rode through the road, I was awestruck by the beautiful woods around me. As a princess, I wasn't allowed to go out of the palace walls but the perfect weather made me long to return to the village and see it under snow. When I lived in the orphanage, winter was horrible as I was constantly shivering. Now, the furs around my shoulders kept me snug and warm even despite the freezing temperatures. I've always wanted to go to the lake beside the village to iceskate, but no one at the orphanage knew how.

As Hwin and I arrived near the village, noises began to fill the air. I smiled and tied Hwin to a nearby tree. Then, I shrugged off my warm fur coat and draped it over my horse. I've worn one of my simplest dresses, in hopes that I would fit in. However, the cost of my simplest outfit would still have probably fed a peasant family for three months. I sighed and walked cautiously into the village square. Let's hope none of the villagers recognise me, I've been missing for several months now.

I made my way into the shop that sold winter clothing before anyone saw me. When I pushed open the doors and stepped inside, I immediate felt warm air enclose me. Behind a counter at the end of the shop was a middle aged lady...Clarence I think, was her name.

"Oh, good day, Miss."

"Hello. Do you sell ice skates?"

Clarence came out from behind the counter as she replied, "Of course I do." She bent down and opened a trunk. Inside, there were many boxes containing ice skates of all sizes. She got out a pair and handed them to me, "Try this size. If it fits, I'll show you several designs to choose from."

I nodded as I sat down on the little stool next to the trunk and slipped the ice skate onto my feet. After I've gotten the pair onto my feet, Clarence spoke again, "How does it feel?"

I stood up and shuffled a little. "It fits pretty good. How did you know that this was my size?"

Clarence shrugged, "I guessed. Afterall, you get used to estimating people's sizes when you work in a clothing store. Anyway, would you like to choose a pair from other designs?"

I nodded and Clarence brought forth two other pairs of ice skates. After a moment of choosing, I settled on a purple pair with fur lining.

After I paid for the iceskates, I left the shop and rushed towards the lake. When I got there, I saw two girls and a boy already on the ice. When they saw me, they began to whisper amongst themselves. Then, one girl came over to me. After I got my new ice skates onto my feet, I hobbled onto the shiny blue ice.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"I've never seen you before. Are you from this village?"

I immediately realised that I was speaking to the town mayor's daughter. "Oh, I'm not...I'm just visiting. There isn't a large lake we could use for skating in my village, so I came here."

The mayor's daughter nodded and internally, I sighed with relief since she hadn't recognised me, nor had she seen through my lie. Then, she smiled and said, "Well, I'm Maria. And the girl over there talking to the boy, she's Veronica. She lives in the North village. Her father is the mayor of that town."

I smiled and glanced down at my feet unsurely. "Do you know to skate?" Maria asked softly.

My cheeks blushed red as I shook my head slowly.

"That's alright. You'll catch on. Just hang on to me for now. I'll help you learn. It's not that hard."

After saying a word of thanks, I bit my lip as Maria dragged me out further, on the frozen lake.