"I shall destroy Snow White's happiness if it is the last thing I do!"

It had been years, close to two decades now, since he'd had a vision of Regina saying those words, making that vow! He'd been waiting and waiting to understand how that would happen, the story behind that dark future desire! Now he knew it.

King Leopold, after the death of his wife, had been unable to remain in his castle for long. Instead of staying to face the reality of what had happened to his beloved wife, he had gone on a tour; exploring his Kingdom, visiting his allies, assessing his enemies, anything to keep him from that place. Snow White had gone with him.

As the anniversary of the Queen's death approached, their journey crossed into the land owned by Prince Henry's father, now his brother. Sensing something was about to happen, something big, he'd watched eagerly, focusing day and night on his cauldron. He'd been right.

The images were clear, the story even more so. He saw Regina, dressed in riding clothes, standing on a hill with Daniel, the stable boy and the object of her affection. He saw Cora in the woods agitating a horse upon which a girl in pink, Snow White, was seated upon. The horse galloped away. He couldn't hear anything in the cauldron, but from the way the girl was hunched over her pony, he imagined there had to be screaming involved. As the horse tore out into an open field, he saw Regina again, her face had gone from happy and carefree to confusion as she pushed her secret beau away and looked around. In a flash, he watched as she mounted her horse and then took off. What she'd heard, it must have been the girl's cries, because the next thing he knew, she was right next to the run-away horse, reaching out to the little girl, reaching out for her, allowing her to jump from the uncontrolled ride unto her own. The girl did. But she was only barely on hanging on and fell off the moment Regina halted her mare. Regina was quick to dismount as Snow tried to find her footing, and the two finally looked at one another. They exchanged words he couldn't hear, but one thing was clear. The girl Regina had rescued had just introduced herself as Snow White.

Snow was soon retrieved by what appeared to be a nanny and a couple of guards, but the encounter was enough. They'd come face-to-face at last and what a sweet irony it was. If Cora was trying to work against him, to prevent her daughter from falling into his grasp, she was doing a marvelous job of it. What, in fact, Cora had just set in motion would evolve over the next couple of days to make not just a perfect storm, but the perfect storm. A storm that perfectly explained the vow he'd heard in his vision.

The next day, as Regina finished preparing for her riding "lesson" by assessing herself in a mirror, she had no idea he was looking back, watching as Cora transformed her riding clothes into a beautiful ball gown. The King entered and when he took a knee and offered a ring to Regina, he didn't need to hear what had happened to know that the King had just proposed. Regina was in shock. He could tell by the way she looked at Cora when she'd nodded her head in acceptance for her daughter. She seemed to stay that way all day; though tea with King, while the King and Snow, along with several servants into their estate, and all through dinner, where the announcement was shared. The raven-haired Princess just kept looking down at the ring the King had placed upon her finger, kept smiling at the girl she'd saved, all the while she held nothing but fear in her eyes. He was not surprised, not one bit, when dinner ended, and he saw her finally slip the ring off her finger and run into the stables, to her beloved Daniel.

The words, once again, were irrelevant. Their actions made it clear. Through kisses and tears the pair talked. Regina explained. He argued. They agreed. It ended with a small circular piece of a riding gear being slipped over the same finger she'd just removed the King's ring from. A promise. One to run away. He knew the look because he'd seen the same look in Cora's eyes once upon a time as they'd contemplated and planned the exact same escape. But as with that failed attempt, it was a Princess that doomed this relationship as well. The Princess Snow White. She'd come to the stables and seen the pair kissing, a strange sight for the ten-year-old to see given that she'd just learned Regina was to marry her father. After a few brief words, he watched as the girl tore off into the night, and Regina chased after her.

He had to admit he didn't know what he thought would happen when she caught her. As much detest as he'd seen that she'd have for the girl in the future he half expected she'd kill her right then and there, but he couldn't allow that. He needed that girl just as he needed Regina. He needed Snow White's child, the Swan! But, trapped outside of the property as he was, he could do nothing about it but watch as the girl fell along the road she was running, and Regina collapsed in front of her. Snow was crying, clearly upset by what she'd seen, but Regina…she appeared kind. She smiled at the girl, spoke gentle words to her until a smile spread over Snow White's face, and suddenly the entire situation changed. Snow White rose and turned to go back the way she'd come, but now it was fear that flashed over Regina's face, and she caught the girl by the arm before she could go! What he wouldn't give to be able to be there! Hiding in the woods, overhearing precisely what they were saying! It was lucky for Cora her spell was still in place. If it wasn't, he'd enjoy slipping into her bedroom tonight to murder her for the silence alone as the girls finished their talk with a hug and walked back to the estate with their arms around one another.

The next day, he finally used his brain and did what he should have done all along. He sent Theseus into the palace in his dove form. He watched from his castle as events played out then met Theseus when he was sure the others slept.

"What did you see?" the Dove would ask him at the end of the property.

"What did you hear?" he would respond every time.

Oh, it was the perfect set up for something to go wrong.

"Regina and the Stable Boy, they've made plans to run away and be married by the end of the week. Cora has been plotting something, though. The wedding is in two months, and she's noticed the distance in her daughter's eyes. Regina is sloppy, so hasty to get away, it wouldn't surprise me if more than the girl knew, servants, maids…"

"The girl? The Princess Snow White?"

"Yes, somehow, she knows of her plans to run away, the pair talk about it whenever they're together, which is often. I think the girl struggles with keeping secrets, especially those she's excited about, as most children do."

"She's in favor of the marriage."

"Yes, she wants Regina's happiness."

But Cora would not. And Cora was smart and observant, always had been. If Regina and Snow were both as sloppy as suggested, it was only a matter of time until…

He watched as two days later, the moment came. Cora had Snow White alone in one of the family's grand rooms. A child who had only just met the woman wouldn't be able to tell, but he could see the look of false emotion on her face. The viper was an actress, and for a ten-year-old, she was a good one. She led the girl who looked obviously uncomfortable to a sofa and spoke with her to the point that she was visibly upset. Snow stood up as if ready to run away, but Cora soothed the child, and with tears in Snow's eyes, the couple talked on.

"What did you see?"

"What did you hear?"

"Cora knows!" Theseus admitted quickly. "She knows everything the girl told her. The witch had her in a room and played on her emotions like a musician plays the violin; she didn't stand a chance."

"Is Regina aware?"

"No, Cora kept them separated through the rest of the day. She broke a window downstairs when no one was watching and placed guards at the door for the night, claiming worries of a burglary they'll have no chance to communicate before it happens tomorrow night, not with Cora aware."

"Tomorrow night?"

"When Regina and Daniel intend to run away together…Cora knows that too."

And she was far too dramatic to simply meet her daughter tonight and lock her away or even just talk to her about the decisions she was making. That would be the kind thing to do, what any parent would and should do, but a parent without her heart would no doubt be cruel. He'd seen how Cora had tortured her daughter over the years using magic against her, forcing her to do what she didn't want to, teaching her lesson after lesson to make her obedient. Something was bound to happen. Something was going to happen. Which was why the night she was meant to escape with Daniel he watched the cauldron like a hawk.

Late that night, when Theseus met him to ask what he'd seen, he replied simply with "everything" then left without hearing the words to the images.

He didn't need the words; the actions had spoken for themselves.

The couple had met in the barn, ready and prepared to go, and as they'd turned to run away, Cora had appeared outside, angrier than ever. The rage that pulsed beneath her skin only made her magic stronger, and with minimal effort, the witch had locked herself in the barn with the couple. Words were exchanged, but he didn't need to know what they were. He already knew. Regina was trying to run away, to trade her life as a Queen, something Cora had always wanted, for the life of a commoner, something Cora had always despised. He doubted very much that they were discussing the weather with such ferocity. And then he saw it; something Regina perhaps would have seen if she'd gotten to know her mother during her eighteen years of life half as well as he had during their brief few months together. He saw her calculating stare. He saw the same emotions on her face that he'd seen when she'd been with Snow White, emotions that he knew she was incapable of because she didn't have the heart to feel. Regina fell for it. Whatever she'd told her, whatever lie she'd just told, he watched as her daughter's face lit up, and she strode forward to hug her mother. Cora hugged back, but it didn't reach her eyes as she turned toward Daniel. She rounded on him, and he knew it was useless to encourage the boy to run. Cora would be certain there was nowhere to go. After a few brief words exchanged, he watched as Cora did what he'd taught her to do. Reached her hand deep into Daniel's chest, removed his heart, and squeezed. A hysterical Regina held him in her arms and did her best to wake the dead. But it was useless. Cora was to have her way no matter what.

She forced the girl to her feet, shook her, spoke with her. But Regina's eyes were nothing but bottomless pits. Her tears clung to her lashes, but she cried no more and handled it remarkably well when Cora waved a hand over the boy's body, and he disappeared. She allowed her mother to take her back to the castle and lay in bed with her eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling so that he felt as though she was looking right into his own soul through that cauldron.

There had been many times in her life that he'd watched her, recalling their original deal and wondering what her life would have been like if he'd been her father and not Henry. Often he thought it was a fair trade. Cora made her miserable, but Henry made her happier than he ever could have, that much he was certain of. But watching her that night, throughout most of the next two days as she moved catatonically about her day in utter shock, he had a strange new feeling. She'd have been better off with him all along. And so she would be.

Just as soon as someone on that property uttered his fucking name!

"What did you see?"

"What did you hear?"

"Snow White has been told that Daniel left Regina. The wedding plans continue."

Yes, he'd seen that earlier that day. He'd watched as Regina put on the wedding gown and had her hair arranged just so. Things were moving quickly for a royal wedding. But it wasn't those plans that he wanted so badly to see, it was what came after. It was a moment after her fitting that Snow White had come and exchanged words with Regina, words that had sparked the first bit of emotion that he'd seen on her face since the boy had passed. Hurt. Pain. Anguish. She'd turned away from Snow and controlled her breathing as though she'd been struck in the face. All before she'd turned back to the girl and smiled sweetly at her. Snow had cried, but the conversation had ended in smiles as Cora had come into the room and dismissed the girl before exchanging more words with her daughter. The emotions came back to her again, but they were different, far different than the ones he'd seen with Snow. For a brief moment, he'd seen realization. He'd watched her face and seen her brain work to figure something or other out before turning and speaking with her mother, who only shook her head. When she turned back, he'd seen the veins on her head pop, her eyes widen, and a sneer curve her mouth in a wonderful impression of the look he'd originally seen his vision.

"I will destroy Snow White's happiness if it's the last thing I do."

"Regina told the girl this, I assume," he questioned of Theseus.

"Yes, outright lied to her before her mother came in and promised they'd be a family. Regina knows that Snow told her mother, for a moment, I feared she'd do something, hurt the child or injure her for such a thing but then…she just lied.

"They're to move to the King's castle tomorrow where they plan to announce the engagement to the Kingdom before Regina and her parents return to their estate to make final preparations, before-"

"Returning, yes, yes, that I understood…what did she say when her back was turned?"

"Excuse me?"

"Regina, she and her mother exchanged words, then Regina left, and as she was walking, she said…"

He motioned to Theseus, urging him to fill in the blank space he was most interested in. For it was immediately after she'd muttered those words that he'd seen the most impressive thing yet. Regina had left the room and gone back to her own, but instead of packing she'd stared into a mirror for several seconds before tearing the dress from her body and running through the castle in nothing but her undergarments. It was nothing but remarkable that she hadn't been caught, especially since she'd run right up to her mother's office, opened the covers, and paged through at least a dozen different books with tears in her eyes. She'd wept so hard it was a miracle that she could see through those tears! But eventually, she'd found what she was looking for, grabbed a basket, practically thrown items into it, and ran not back to her room but outside, into the grounds. In nothing but her bare feet she slammed into the family mausoleum and there resting on a pedestal…Daniel. That was where Cora had moved him to. And now Regina…

He watched in fascination as the young woman who had struggled with magic thus far in her life opened up the book, read, followed step by step the Spell of Preservation, one that if placed on a body would stop decay freeze them in that moment for exactly one year. It was a powerful bit of magic, impressive to say the least for someone who had never managed much of anything before in their lives and as she looked down at Daniel's face, as the look of anger and rage finally faded into sadness he had to know, had to understand what sentence had prompted such magic from her.

It was the key to making Regina tick.

"Oh, that little gem," Theseus muttered rolling his eyes. "It was difficult to hear from where I was perched but I do believe it was something along the lines 'I should have let her die on that horse.'"

Welcome to the fourth section in this fiction. Again, for obvious reasons that will become clear to you soon enough, I've aptly named this section The Regina Section. Fair warning, The Regina Section is the second-largest section in the fiction so get comfortable because we're going to be in this section for a while. So if you are looking forward to seeing a lot of Regina's training and development, you are in the right place! But if you are not, never fear. This may be The Regina Section, but that doesn't mean it's going to be all about Regina. Who else will we be focusing on? He's coming at you in the next chapter!

Thank you MerlockVonBaron, MissAmande, Jennifer Baratta, and Grace5231973 for your reviews on the previous chapter! They are much appreciated! I'm glad that the Preparation Section wasn't half bad. As far as this chapter goes, I am sorry, I know it's not terribly exciting. I do feel like I need to warn you though that this sort of chapter will happen in this fiction. It's a lot heavier in one particular section closer to the end, but peppered throughout this fiction you'll find scenes where I have Rumple watching the entire thing through the cauldron or through a mirror or reflection of some kind. It's always a little better when it's through a mirror and he can hear sound, but obviously that wasn't the case for this chapter. There are just times in his storyline when he clearly knows what's going on but we know that he wasn't actually in the scene, so I had to come up with ways to keep him posted without having him be in the scene. Therefore, sometimes these are the kind of chapters you have to have. I'm so sorry. Consolation prize, like I said, it really doesn't get bad until toward the end when we reach one particular storyline. And hey, up next you have an awesome chapter that I'm super excited for! Are you excited? I think you should be. Peace and Happy Reading!