A/N: I have to say I was completely blown away by the response to the last chapter, so thanks to all those favourited and followed and especially to impureevilregal, burningflame74, VampWolf92, xxxMadameMysteryxxx, celticank and SansaFort for revewing!
I'm still not 100% happy with this chapter, but I can't figure out why, so I decided it would be best to post it and see what you guys thought! :)

UPDATE: I realised that Snow has completely disappeared and Talulla hadn't seemed to notice, so I thought I'd better add it in! Thanks for the reviews so far! :)

The next morning, Talulla woke up with a heavy heart. A feeling of sadness seemed to have settled over her since she had walked away from her mother the night before. She could still picture the look of sincere regret that had almost made her run back into her arms in her head, but what was more clear was the memories of what she had done prior to that. Talulla choked out a gasp and unconsciously placed a hand over her heart as recollections of agonising pain came back to her, so real it was almost as if it was happening again.

Sitting up suddenly with her eyes squeezed shut, she forced herself to think of other things and only when she succeeded and opened her eyes, did she see her Grandfather sleeping in a chair next to her bed, snoring softly. A lump formed in her throat. He held so much love for her and her mother that he would do anything for either of them.

Suddenly, Henry groaned and sat up, opening his eyes sleepily. When he saw that his granddaughter was awake, the sleep cleared from his eyes and he stood up to place a hand on her forehead.

"Are you alright, Talulla? You're not in any pain or uncomfortable, are you?" he asked gently, removing his hand from her hand from her head and searching her eyes for any sign of distress.

"I'm fine, Grandfather, I promise," the young girl said. "It was all real though, wasn't it?" she continued flatly. "When I woke up, I thought it was one of my nightmares, but then I saw you and it all came back. Everything, the pain, Mother, her voice…"

The old man looked at her, his expression full of pity. "I'm afraid you encountered a side of your mother that she never wished you to see. She loves you so much, Tallie, and she always takes care to control herself around you. Can't you see that this is why she never wanted you over that side of the castle?"

"I don't understand, Grandfather. Why would she hurt anyone? I thought… I thought she wasn't like the King. I thought…" She broke off as a hiccup escaped from her throat and tears spilled down her cheeks. "I thought she was good."

"Tallie, please, listen to me. Your mother has been through a lot. To be Queen, you must be strong. She has to punish those who disobey her so the Kingdom doesn't try to overthrow her."

The young girl sniffed, trying to stop herself from crying even more and embarrassing herself.

At that point there was a hesitant knock on the door. Talulla froze. She knew who it was. Her mother. She shared a glance with her Grandfather, but neither of them said anything.

After a few seconds of silence, the door creaked open and the Queen's head appeared round the door. Her eyes were red-rimmed and shadowed by dark rings and her hair was hanging in knotted tendrils around her face. It was clear she had tossed and turned all night.

"Talulla?" she whispered. Her voice was broken, defeated, and it was then that the young girl realised that what Henry had told her was true. Her mother was the strongest person she knew and to see her so desperate… she didn't like it all. "Talulla, I'm sorry..." she continued. "I'm so sorry."

The young girl looked at her Grandfather, who gave her an encouraging smile and gave her a gentle push towards the door.

"Mother?" she said tentatively and the Queen stepped through the doorway, opening her arms to embrace her daughter, tears already slipping down her face.

"Please forgive me, Talulla," she murmured, stroking her hair. "I didn't mean to mean to hurt you, I promise you, it will never happen again."

"I was so scared, Mama, I thought you… I thought you…"

"No, no, darling! No, I could never do that! I would never, ever…" She trailed off, hugging her daughter close. She knew she wouldn't be able to forgive herself for letting her daughter think she was evil enough to… to kill her.

"But what about the Huntsman? Why would you hurt him? He was my friend!"

Regina immediately felt herself tense in fury. She didn't wish to talk about that man and his failures to her daughter, but she knew she had to explain her actions. Taking Talulla gently by the shoulders, she pulled her to arms-length and knelt to her level. Looking her daughter in the eyes, she attempted to explain herself.

"Sweetheart, I'm sorry, but he failed me. Being Queen, I can't let that go, do you understand? I can't be allowed to show weakness."

"I think I understand, mother," the young girl said seriously. "But… but can I know what the Huntsman did wrong?"

The Queen sighed. Her daughter did have to bring up the most awkward questions. She couldn't ever tell her that the Huntsman had failed to kill her sister, so instead, she made an excuse. "Tallie, I'm afraid it's not for your ears right now. Perhaps when you're older," she added when Talulla's face fell.

"But what about Snow? Can you tell me about her? I haven't seen her in days!"

Regina clenched her fists, forcing herself to sound sympathetic. She hated that her daughter had put Snow on a pedestal. It was time to break that down. "Tallie, I'm sorry, sweetheart, but she's gone. She left after the King's funeral."

"What do you mean gone? She didn't even say goodbye!"

The Queen wasn't sure whether it was anger or sorrow coursing through her veins at the anguish on her daughter's face as the young girl came to the conclusion that her sister wasn't coming back any time soon. Yet, however hard it was to upset her daughter in this way, she knew that she needed to change the way Talulla thought of her sister.

"Snow wasn't all she was cracked up to be, sweetheart. She thought it best to run away than to stick together as a family." She placed a gentle hand on her daughter's arm. "We won't mention her again, alright?"

"Okay, mother," the young girl said sadly, but to her mother's relief, then changed the subject. "Can we have breakfast soon please? I'm hungry."

The Queen chuckled. "Of course, my dear." She turned to her father. "Are you going to join us, Daddy?"

"Of course, Regina. Give me a moment to go and get changed and I'll meet you down there," he said as he got up and after Talulla gave him a look to say that she was okay with him leaving her alone with her mother, he walked out, shutting the door behind him with a soft click.

"Do you want me to help you change?" the Queen asked after a few moments, praying her daughter would allow her to do something. She knew that things wouldn't go back to normal between them; she doubted they ever would after what she did, but she had to try and rescue what she could of their relationship. If not for herself, but for Daniel.

"Could you tie the laces up the back please? I can't reach." She had already slipped into a loose purple gown – she saved the restricting corsets only for special occasions – and now turned away from her mother, presenting her with the matching lilac laces.

The Queen immediately complied, pulling the laces tight. She was just about to tie them off when her daughter intervened.

"A little too tight, mother," Talulla breathed.

"Sorry, sweetheart." She loosed them slightly. "Better?" The young girl nodded and Regina smiled, tying of the ends. "There we go. Would you like me to do your hair?"

"You haven't done that for over six months!" Talulla protested.

"I know, but you used to like it, it used to comfort you, so I thought… I thought you might like me to do it again. But, never mind, I'll leave you to it." She went to walk away, but her daughter's hand on her arm stopped her.

"No, mother, please, do it. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you, I… I just didn't think you'd want to. I thought you thought I was too old for it now."

"You will never be too old for me to look after you, Tallie. You'll always be precious to me." And with that said, she guided her towards the mirror.