Sloth: Hello everyone! How's everyone doing? I hope all is well. And yes, a new chapter so soon. Like I said, I finished with the first five chapters and I'm going to post them quickly. They all fit as one cohesive prologue.
In this one, a little insight on everyone's favorite Evil Queen. Regina's a complicated character and I wanted to try to capture some of that complexity, so hopefully I did just that. Without further ado, enjoy!
Chapter Two. No Regrets
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The purple storm clouds rolled over the entire realm. It ripped through everything it touched with complete disregard for the natural order. Farmers were ripped from their lands. Fairies were plucked out of the skies as they tried to flee from the curse. Animals scurried, thinking they could just escape if they just got to their dens. But there was no safety. The cloud forced its way into every home, every ship, and ever castle. It snatched people left and right, bunging them all into the ice cold darkness. Their memories, their very being, were ripped from them and rewritten as the Queen saw fit. And if she didn't bother to rewrite their story, then the Curse would do as it pleased.
It swapped families, giving children to the wrong parents or forced strangers to be in loveless marriages. If you were lucky, this would have been it. There were those who were stuck with their family, but the relationships would be brushing your teeth with a jagged knife. There would be no escaping this darkness the curse would spread.
As the Enchanted Forest of Auradon disappeared from the realm, a small town in Maine would come to life.
Welcome to Storybrooke.
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Storybrooke, November 17th, 2001
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Regina was a busy woman. She was a mayor with a lot to do and little time to do it. After all, this town would fall apart without her. Almost quite literally. The curse was tied to her and so long as she stayed, so would the curse. There had been times when he questioned whether the curse had been a good idea to begin with. While he had been happy at first, that happiness didn't last very long.
Everything had been so predictable. Every day was the same, with only a few differences here and there to spice things up now and then. Like when Mary Margaret appeared to get a back bone for a day out of nowhere. Or the time the ice cream shop was being run by this woman she had never seen before. The changes to the town were spontaneous and gave a bit of excitement, but they never lasted. Even raising Evie was predictable.
Their relationship had been strained in the Enchanted Forest. She had run off when the war with Snow had escalated. Prior to casting the curse, Regina had only gotten the occasional letter by raven, telling her that her daughter was ok, but wouldn't be returning until the feud was over. It was fine though. The curse had reunited her with Evie.
But it wasn't the same. Her daughter was stuck, unchanging, following the routine set up by the curse that would reset time every time, on the dot.
Picking up Henry's bottle, a disturbing thought struck her. What would happen when the dead line approached? Would it be the same as the year before? Would the town gather together for Miner's Day to celebrate, only to have it end with a body? And if that happened…? Two variables came to mind that she did not want to happen. Would that boy remain dead now that Henry was here, or would Henry disappear because the curse caused time to reset?
Her hand gripped the bottle tighter.
She couldn't think like that. She had to think about now and worry about the consequences later. And right now, her son needed to be fed before she took off for work. Steeling her resolve, she fixed up the formula and strolled into the living room with the confidence of a queen. She paused briefly at the sight of Evie totting on Henry.
The sight of her daughter making her son laugh was all the reason she needed to push away any regrets she had. This curse was the best damn thing she'd ever done. Smiling, she walked over to her daughter and held the bottle to her.
"Do you want to feed him?" she asked.
Evie looked up from blowing kisses in Henry's direction. "Really? I'd love to," she beamed. With Regina's guiding hands, Evie got Henry tucked into her arms before gently placing the bottle into his hungry maw. Regina sat next to her daughter, smiling softly as the girl fed the infant. She absent-mindedly played with Evie's hair, feeling how soft it was compared her own. Their hairs might have matched in color, but Evie's hair was as soft as her father's.
Pushing the memories of that man away, she stood up, swiftly going into mayor mode. "I've got to go into the office soon," she said. "Do you need help watching Henry? I can have Summer over."
"I'll be fine, Mom. Mal and the others are coming over so we can study for a Calculous test on Monday," Evie explained.
Regina frowned at the prospect of so many teenagers in her home. She trusted her daughter, but her friends? Not so much.
"Wouldn't the library be a better place for them?"
"But I can't bring Henry to a library, now can I?" Evie countered.
"Careful with that cheekiness, young lady," Regina reprimanded playfully before heading to grab her purse and bag. "If I can't talk you out of bringing those ruffians into our home, I can at least expect you to keep the house in one piece. I'll have Summer come by and check on you."
"Mother," Evie whined.
"Don't whine, Evie. It's unbecoming of a lady. I love you," she said before planting a kiss on Evie's head.
"Love you too," the girl replied.
With a smile on her face, Regina left. Upon exiting, her eyes caught sight of Moe French's hideous flower delivery truck. Her gazed locked onto Moe's grandson as the boy exited the truck. While a brief glimmer of pity surfaced, it was quickly squashed under the ruthless thumb of Madam Mayor as she caught sight of a certain imp limping on his daily walk. She watched as father and son walked by each other without even looking at each other and she reveled in the fact that they were still unaware of the other.
Rumpelstiltskin thought he had been clever, keeping the boy a secret from the realm. Too bad his little maid just couldn't stop whining about going back to her "precious" spawn. She had the perfect little family with two beautiful children and he had nothing.
As Ben French returned to the truck and Mr. Gold continued on his walk, she didn't have any doubts in her curse. She was sure everything will be fine come Miner's Day.