Chapter 37

For the Sake of Power and Love

(Daniella's POV, Following morning)

A shuffling of footsteps woke me up from the comfortable slumber that I found myself in. I missed living in the palace and being back in my own bed and my own clothes. I described my rooms to my mother and she procured something very similar to what I had in my...real past.

Turns out that those snuffled footsteps belonged to a maid. I groaned and hid under my covers to block out the noise. I believe that she must have gotten the memo, for she left the room almost immediately. My mind drifted off to the cuff on wrist. I yanked it and as expected, it didn't budge. I need to see Henry.

I preferred my warm bed to the cold air but I was curious about what Henry was up to. I got up and quickly padded to my wardrobe to get a robe. To go to Henry's room, I had to walk down a set of stairs as he did not reside in the royal wing of the palace. Unfortunately, that meant that I had to pass some guards and servants who gave me strange glances. I didn't really care what they thought, but I couldn't help but feel as if I was thrown under the spot light again.

When I reached Henry's room, his door was slightly ajar. As I approached, I heard two voices. The first belonged to my brother. The second belonged to...

I frowned and questioned, "Mother?"

I entered the room to see the Queen towering over Henry, who looked a little frightened.

"Mama, what are you doing here?"

She turned around and smiled. "I'm just paying your friend a little visit. I couldn't have someone I know nothing about stay so close to us."

I rolled my eyes and gave Henry a glance. "Relax, he's not hiding anything. He's not an assassin."

Mother continued, "Whilst he seems to be a good boy he doesn't speak much. Is that normal?"

If only he would have kept quiet most of the time in Storybrooke. "Yeah, that's normal."

Mother raised her eyebrows. "How did you two meet?"

I answered in place of Henry and I. "At school. We are in the same class."

"School? So in this future world, I sent you to a boarding school? Isn't your tutor good enough?"

"It's different in Storybrooke. I don't think there's any boarding schools there. Everyone just simply goes to school for the morning and returns in the afternoon."

"You're telling me that you're in a class with the children of peasants?"

I let out a breath, "No, well, yes. But it's not like what you think. There's no social class distinctions in Storybrooke. It's really different there but it's nice."

Mother nodded and turned to face Henry. "And you, my boy. You're of noble blood?"

Henry looked at me and gave my mother a nod. So, she continued, "Who are you parents, dear?"

My heart thumped. I hoped that Henry would say something smart. To my disappointment however, he seemed totally stumped. I frowned. Just say a fairytale couple. Doesn't matter who!

I opened my mouth to speech but luckily, we were interrupted by approaching footsteps. A maid entered the room. She bowed before my mother and I. "Your Majesty, Your Highness, breakfast is served in the dining hall."

When she left, I quickly said to my mother, "I'm hungry, can we go down now?"

Before she nodded and surrounded us with smoke, she narrowed her eyes at Henry. When we arrived in the dining hall, I almost immediately raced to the table. I was very hungry but I knew that if I stuffed myself and got sick, it'd give the servants something to talk about.

As usual, mother took her place at the head of the table. I sat down beside her and noticed that grandfather's place was still empty. I suppose he hasn't returned from his trip yet. After the servants poured us our drinks and left, mother interrogated me with several questions that I knew had been bothering her. "Your friend doesn't quite make me feel comfortable."

I put down my orange juice. "What do you mean?"

"For starters, young nobles your age should be able to hold a conversation, least be able to speak to a queen with formalities."

"Henry was born in Storybrooke. He isn't educated like we are."

I received an undecipherable glance as a response. I decided to change the topic. "Have you found a way to take off the cuff?"

Mother finished chewing and answered, "Yes, I believe so. I'll attend to that matter after breakfast."

"There's no court today?"

"There is, but returning magic to my daughter is much more important than listening to some pathetic peasant's whines about the price of the grain, is it not?"

I looked down and bit into my pastry. I almost laughed at the fact that it didn't taste as good as the ones that mama makes in Storybrooke.

The edges of her mouth curled up in a smirk. "Daniella? What is it?"

I grinned. "You make better pastries in Storybrooke."

"I bake?"

"Yeah of course! Actually, we've made several apple pies here in the Enchanted Forest too. I think the cook stole our recipe since his apple desserts tasted much better after we made our first pie in the kitchen."

Mother set down her cutlery and pushed her plate away. Sensing the silence, I murmured quietly, "You're thinking about what it would be like if father didn't die, right?"

Mother smiled at me and put her hand on my arm. "Yes. I am. I'm thinking about him."

*The following day

The doors to the throne room opened so unexpectedly that I jumped a little and would have fallen off my mother's lap if her arms hadn't been around me. A dark shadow stood at the end of the hallway. It spoke with a resonant voice, "Hello Regina."

I recognised that voice. I turned my head and whispered with a frown, "Maleficent?"

Mother raised her eyebrow, "You know her?"

I nodded. Then, I turned back to Maleficent who had started striding down the hall with her notorious staff in hand. The guards in the room put their hands on the hilts of their swords but mother waved them off. Maleficent gave us a wicked grin and scoffed, "Are your guards afraid of me, Regina?"

Mother lazily replied, "You managed to scorch half of them the last time you were here. But that matter is for another day. Alas, you've arrived late...how very much like you."

Maleficent brushed off the insult and said, "I didn't know you were holding court. I would have come later, but then again, are you not happy to see me? I've done what you've asked." Maleficent turned to me when she finished. "So you're the one I've gotten into all the trouble for."

"I-Well, I," before I could utter another word, mother nudged me and in a low voice, said sternly, "Don't stutter, Daniella."

The smirk on Maleficent's face made me scowl even more. However, mother's voice prevented her from commenting further. "So, my dear. Do you have her?"

Maleficent gave us a feline grin. She hit her staff on the ground once and in front of us, in chains, was the blue fairy. I jumped off my mother's lap. "Here, I've captured the blue fairy for you. I hope you don't mind that I've scorched her wings a bit."

Mother stood up and walked down the steps of the throne. "Oh no, it doesn't matter. This fairy will soon see what my flames feel like against her skin."

The blue fairy looked up at my mother and gave her a glare. I didn't notice mother's outstretched hand until she retracted it from the fairy's chest. The organ glowed against her snarling face. Blue stuttered through broken breaths, "What do you want?"

"Mmm, such hostility for a carrier of light magic..."

"If it's about Snow White-"

"No, not everything's about that brat. However, if you have information on her I suggest that you tell me before things turn messy." Mama continued after the dramatic pause, "Now fairy, I just need one thing from you."

The room held their breaths. "Your magic." With that, a heart shaped stone appeared in my mother's palm. She held it out towards the fairy who immediately fell onto her knees. A powerful blue hue flowed from the fairy's chest and embedded into the stone. The fairy's face seemed to loose colour each passing second. Once all of Blue's magic had been drained from her, she shook and collapsed onto the marble floor. Mother nodded towards the guards and they immediately came over to drag the fairy away. Then, she turned to me and said, "Give me your hands, dear."

I placed them in my mother's palm and with the other hand that held the heart, she waved it over the cuffs on my wrist. It fell off with a clatter as it hit the ground. As soon as the leather left my skin, I felt the core of my body grow warm. I grinned and flexed my hands.

With her hands on my shoulders, mother silkily asked, "Now dear, can you show me what you can do with your magic?"

I faced the people in the room and slowly uncurled my fist. As I did so, the warmth of magic encompassed me. A fire lit up in my hand. I need to make this look impressive. I focused my memory on Storybrooke and how Snow and the heroes have separated me from mother. I snarled at the memory and indeed, the flames in my hand multiplied. I glanced around the room and realised that not all of the torches have been lit. In a leap of faith, I threw the fire in my hand out towards the first torch and willed it to travel around the room. It did, and I smiled at the resulting murmurs amongst the people.

"Impressive, dear. I'm glad that you have inherited one of the character traits of my magic."

I beamed, "You liked it, mother?"

Mama looked at me with glassy eyes. She nodded and answered with a devilish grin, "Now that you've performed this little act, I'm sure that you can do more." Mother waved her hand and in front of us, appeared a woman with her hands bound behind her back. The woman's face was stoic but her face expressed a slight moment of surprise when she caught a glance of me.
"Mama, who is she?"

"She soon would have been a loyal supporter of Snow White. Daniella dear, I want you to do your...worst on her. Show me your power. Make me proud-"

I cut in, "You're...you're not already proud of me?" It was a stupid question really. This version of my mother has only known me for two days.
Everyone waited for mother to give a response but she didn't. I faced the woman on her knees before us. A loyal supporter of Snow White. In other words, a person blind to all the horrible things that the princess has done to me. I thought about my years at the orphanage and when I did so, my fingers itched to tear out the woman's heart. Before I could reach out however, she croaked in a dry voice, "Daniella, this is not who you are-"

The guards near the throne stepped up before the woman could continue. With their swords to her throat, one of them uttered, "You will address the princess as Your Highness."

I however, didn't care that she had used my given name. I frowned and demanded, "What do you mean? I don't even know you."

The woman croaked, "You might not remember but-"

"SILENCE!" I jumped a little at my mother's voice. She stepped up and snarled, "Don't waste our time, peasant."

Then, she turned to me with a risen eyebrow and beckoned me to continue by simply saying, "Daniella..."

The woman exclaimed loudly, "She's only ten! Leave her from your evil ways!"

Perhaps it was the the fact that I wasn't ten and actually fifteen that annoyed me, or maybe the accusation thrown at my mother. I dug my hand into the woman's chest and made sure to take my time retracting my hand. When I did, I heard the murmurs in the room increase. As I held the glowing organ in my hand, I was reminded of the first time I crushed a heart. I had been so hesitant. And for good reason.

However, I didn't know whether to feel guilty or not, as in the present moment, I felt no sentiments towards the woman. Well, I am technically in the past. In a reality where mother would have probably killed this woman even if I hadn't interferred. Then, the words started ringing in my head. Proud. She'll be proud of you. Someone will love you enough to be proud of you...

I smiled at the woman and wordlessly lit a flame in one hand. With the other, I brought the heart closer to the flames. The woman bit her lip in pain but as perspiration formed on her forehead, it wasn't long before she howled out in pain.

I tried to maintain an expressionless face as the woman screamed. In a small moment of self doubt, I extinguished the flames and gave my fingers a little flex. The woman panted and slowly looked up at me. I stepped towards her after gaining my composure. It was mother who spoke behind me, "Did you think that my daughter's done so soon? No. Daniella's got more to show you, peasant."

My heart hammered and I felt something pull at my stomach. Would mother in Storybrooke approve? I mean, they're the same person aren't they?
I grimaced inwardly before raising my hand towards the woman. She clutched at her throat, trying to pry the invisible grip of my magic. I turned my hand to face the floor and the woman followed, bending down to bow in front of us. When I released my grip, her face had turned a ghastly colour. She took a deep, much needed breath. Then, I gave my mother a glance. She'll be proud of you, just finish the woman!

The room was silent. I imagined my mother in the same place as me. Just like she would have, I stepped towards the woman who inched away slightly. Then, I bent over and with a snarl, started to squeeze the heart. The woman withered. I was prepared for every action she took. Afterall, I had seen from the best. She clawed at her chest and in her final moments, her eyes bulged as they pleaded into mine. She'll be proud of you. Just kill her!
The woman slumped before me. I opened my palm and let the fine powder fall over her matted hair.

To my surprise, it was Maleficent who was the first to speak. It reminded me that she was actually there for I had long forgotten about her. Maleficent approached the slumped body with a finger on her lip. "This one's going to show the new generation what magic really looks like-"

Mother's silky voice replied firmly, "I know what you're thinking. You're not using her for whatever your mission is right now."

Using me? I inched towards mother who dismissed the court. As they filed out rather quickly, Maleficent grinned and bade us a goodbye. "I do hope you change your mind on that, Regina. She could help us defeat the heroes. She could bring us victory."

Mother placed her arm around me. I looked up and saw that she was glaring at Maleficent. "The answer's no. My daughter isn't a pawn to use at your disposal."

"Well that's a disappointment. But I'm sure you'll come around-"
Maleficent dodged the fireball thrown at her with a chuckle. Then, she disappeared in a cloud of purple and green smoke. As the final wisps of smoke cleared, I let myself frown and think over what had happened.

I turned back to my mother and smiled meekly. She buried me into her so I replied, "You liked it?"

There was a short pause. "Does the Evil Queen give praises often?"

I grinned and started in a small voice, "Don't tell yourself that you're evil. You're my mama and if you love me, it doesn't make you heartless."

I felt mother's hand rub my back. "How can I ever let you go? You've already come too far into my life."

"But you have to, everything that has happened yesterday and today wasn't meant to happen. If you let this continue, it'll change the future and since I'm from the future...well I don't know what would happen to me," I blurted quickly.

Mother sighed. Suddenly, at the corner of my eyes, I caught something strange. The suit of armor at one side of the room didn't seem to be standing by itself. I squinted and was surprised to see Henry hiding behind the armor. I couldn't see his face clearly, but my heart plummeted. Had he witnessed...
Henry must have realized that I caught him spying for he stepped out. There were tears in his eyes. I parted from my mother as the shock kicked in, but he backed away. My voice wavered, "Henry?"

"NO, DON'T! Don't come any closer-"

"Henry, what are you doing-"

His eyes darted between mother and I. Then, he spat, "How can you kill that woman?! She did nothing to you-she was innocent!"

I glanced at mother nervously before surrounding Henry and I with magic, taking us out to the gardens. Once the smoke cleared, Henry continued, "How could you kill? I thought you weren't like them!"

"Like who?"

"The villains!"

I sighed and stuttered, "It was an execution...she was to die anyway! I, I wouldn't have been able to prevent that!"

"You choked her! You made her suffer in pain before you killed her. How-you're the same age as me!"

"For goodness sakes, I'm almost sixteen! But it's because of your grandmother and great great grandfather that I still look like a ten year old! Do you know that feels?"

"Age isn't an excuse!"

"Henry, please...I-"

"I'm going to find a way back to Storybrooke on my own. I don't want to be involved with your dark magic."

I rolled my eyes, "Ok, that's being stupid. There's no way back to our land, our time without magic."

"Yes! There is! Light magic!"

I seethed, "It was 'light magic' that sent us here! I don't believe it will be the cure of our problems. Stop praising light magic, they only use that name to mask the problems that they've caused!"

"What do you mean?"

I scoffed. "There's no light or dark. Just people who continually harm the happiness of others-"

"Yes, people like the Evil Queen and you!"
I looked around fearfully before harshly whispering, "Are you mad? Don't call her that, and this time I don't care what you actually think. I care because we're in the past and happen to be residing in her palace!"

Henry huffed and started sprinting down the steps of the garden. "Henry!" Come on, please don't make me chase after you...
I groaned and waved my hand to teleport. When I appeared in front of Henry, he jumped back and angrily shouted, "Go away!"

"Henry where are you going? You can't just walk out into the Enchanted Forest..." I paused and watched him continue to strut down the path. Then, I shouted, "You're gonna die without me!"

"No I won't! Despite what you think, I can find my way back without you. Good might not help you but they'll help me!"

Those words repeated in my mind. I felt my hand shake but I only caught a brief glance of the purple glow surrounding it before I unwillingly let go of my magic. It shot towards Henry who luckily dodged it. However, I was unable to say anything to defend myself. I looked pleadingly at Henry and began, "No, no I didn't mean to do that-"

Henry's expression broke as he shouted, "You're just like mom!"

"Henry, why are we having this conversation again?! It hurts me...it hurts me when you call me evil or when you don't accept me. You're still my brother, even though I wasn't even there when mother adopted you. I still consider you to be family even though you're the grandson of an enemy who has ruined my life. Why can't you see that I try and have tried to love you? And each time I do something that shows who I am, you push me away! How is this fair to me?"

Henry replied, "It's exactly that. It's the things that you do, that show who you really are! You gave the apple turnover to Emma, you attacked Leyton in the playground, you killed this innocent woman. That's what bad people do, not good people."

My voice cracked, "Henry..."

He gave me a look and turned around. Then, he ran down the pathway that lead to the palace gates . As soon as he was away from hearing distance, I growled and shouted, "Why are you always so ungrateful?! FINE THEN. I HATE YOU TOO! DON'T COME TO ME FOR HELP EVER AGAIN!"

I stopped to pant and recover from the tears that ran down my face. I heard footsteps of armour approaching. Quickly whipping my head around, I saw a guard that must have been sent to check the commotion. "Your highness, is everything alright?"

I failed to change the temper in my voice as I snarled, "I'm fine." After looking at Henry in the distance, I reflected and added, "Make sure he finds his way out of the palace grounds. Once he's out, don't let him back in."

The guard looked unsure for a second. So, I asked, "What is it?"

"The boy is a guest of honour-"

"-because of me. My mother wouldn't care about whatever happens to him."

"Your highness, may I ask why you want him out of the palace? I heard shouting...did he do something to you?"

I huffed and replied, "Just make sure that I don't have to see him again."

"But-"

I waved my hand up and let my magic encompass me. I arrived in an empty hall, clearly not reaching the planned destination which was my chambers. I pressed my back against the space behind a suit of armor and cried, sliding down until my dress pooled around me like a puddle of blood. The resemblance scared me, so I clawed at the fabric, in efforts to pull it off. However, that simply reminded me of how the woman had attempted to fight against my magic as I choked her.

I growled at the thought and eventually, succeeded in tearing the sparkly mesh apart. When it drifted onto the floor before me, I glanced at my hands and panted. I let my hand flop to my side as I tilted my head against the wall. My eyes closed when my breathing settled back to it's normal pace. I did not want to see or face the reality around me. Now that Henry's gone, I am alone in this world. In this twisted past of mine.

The thought sent another hollowing feeling into my chest. Not wanting to think, I let the eerie silence surround me. For the first time, I realised that the castle wasn't as suffocating as I thought. The space around me suddenly felt overwhelming large. The quietness, unbearable. It was only natural that I receive the fright of my life by hearing mother's voice echo from the end of the hallway.

(Evil Queen's POV)

It had just been a manner of several seconds upon my arrival in my chambers when there was a knock on the door. When a guard came in, I knew that there was something wrong as I had requested to be left alone for this period of time. Looking at him from the mirror that hung on the wall, I asked quickly, "What is it?"

I was aware of the slight tremor that was present in his voice as he replied, "The princess has ordered that we keep the boy from ever seeing her again. I believe that this should be brought to your attention, my Queen."

I frowned and turned around, "Where is Daniella?"

"That's another reason why I've come to you. She seemed upset when she teleported away, your Majesty."

I stepped forward and replied, "Thank you for informing me. You may leave."

As soon as the guard turned around, I went up to my vanity and opened the drawer. I fished out a hairpin and without thinking about the pain, deeply pricked my finger with it. I grabbed a small compact mirror in my other hand and dripped the blood onto the surface. Then, I waved my hand over the glass and slowly, the blood merged into a swirl of magic. As it cleared, I saw a deserted hallway in the reflection. As I looked closer, I realised where it was.

I set down the mirror and teleported to the end of that hallway. When I arrived, I wanted to avoid looking at the suit of armour against the wall. However, I noticed something different about it. There was a rustle and I immediately noticed that behind the iron structure, was my daughter.

It seemed too easy; all I had to do was go up to her. However, seeing the suit of armour stopped me. I closed my eyes, hating my pathetic self for being affected by those words uttered so many years ago...

*Flashback*

"No, of course not. Come join us, Cummings. Johanna's just having a little rant, aren't you?" After this, the servant disappeared into the room, promptly closing the door behind her. I could only hear small parts of the conversation, but it was the words of Johanna that stood out.

"That girl doesn't know what she's doing! She doesn't know how to be a mother to Snow! She's acting like a brat, parading around in Eva's jewellery. She's-"

A voice cut in a surprised tone, "Are you talking about the Queen?"

The thick voice of Johanna snapped in a thick voice, "Yes, I'm talking about that girl."

My heart plummeted. Perhaps I'm right. I'm just a girl, not a woman! I can't be a mother to a girl only a few years younger, let alone rule a kingdom!

I walked closer to the door and pressed my ear against the wood. This time, the conversation was more coherent.

The voice of the servant who I had followed continued, "Don't let anyone hear you disrespect the Queen, Johanna. She's not Eva, but she's still King Leopold's wife."

However, the voice of Snow's nanny rebutted, "She'll never reach Queen Eva's standards. Nor will I let her-"

I trembled, zoning out of the interaction. I looked down at my pregnant stomach and pressed against the tight bulge as I thought about my baby.

Johanna's voice suddenly brought me back to reality."She's a girl! Barely over the age of eighteen!"

"The King wanted to marry her, so it isn't our place to question his decision."

Johanna responded with a snort. "Mark my words, all of you. That brat married the King for power. She wants what Queen Eva had, but she'll never get it...despite that child she's brewing in her womb. The kingdom won't love her child as much as Eva's. She's fooling herself if she believes that we'll ever bow down to that child, instead of Snow."

The silence that followed made my head pound. I clamped my hand over my mouth to prevent myself from accidentally letting out any audible noise. There was a shuffle on the other side of the door. Realising that they were going to leave soon, I panicked and ran away. I caught a glimpse of a suit of armour in the hallway so I quickly hid behind it. Through a gap, I saw the door open and the servants filed out. I watched Johanna's expression carefully. Although she wasn't looking at me, I could still feel her words slicing into my skin. When she had disappeared from the corridor, I cursed myself for being so weak. She's a servant but I'm a queen!

My breath wavered as I heavily breathed. I looked down at my pregnant stomach and silently wished that perhaps, even if the kingdom despised their queen, they wouldn't hate my child.

*Present*

I shuddered as I relieved myself out of my memories. The suit of armor was still standing before me, it's helmet turned so that it seemed as if it was judging me. However, it was my daughter's whimpers that pushed away the iron knight's glare from my mind. "I was pregnant with you, when I wept in that very same spot."

My voice echoed down the hallway and I fear that it must have given Daniella quite a fright. Seeing me, she quickly lifted herself from the floor. I walked up to her and remarked gently, "Oh dear, you've ruined your dress."

Daniella sniffled so I magicked a handkerchief and dabbed her wet rosy cheeks. I felt helpless, not knowing what to say as I watched tears stream down my daughter's face. Am I really a monster? Uncapable of mercy? Of compassion...or love?

Author's note:

Does anyone remember the issue about Daniella's age? Just in case you're a little confused, due to the years that Daniella spent in Wonderland, she aged according to the time in Wonderland (which runs slower than the Enchanted Forest). I would say that she thinks like girls her real age (15/16 years old). However, even though she is physically more mature than a 10 year old child, she doesn't look like a teenager either. In other words: Daniella looks like she's 12 but she's actually 15.

I know that this whole concept is really strange but I didn't really want to write a story in the perspective of a kid. I believe that it's more interesting when Daniella is old enough to understand mature concepts. However, for the sake of being able to do more with her growth in Storybrooke alongside Henry, I've decided to keep her 'age' relatively young.

Also, I had to be mindful of the ages of the other characters such as Regina and Snow. (For example, if Snow was 10 at the time of Daniella's birth, she would be 26 at the time of the curse. I believe it approximately matches the real ages of the characters in the show.)