Cora's Scrapbook, Chapter Three: Shattered Sight
As Ingrid prepares to cast the Spell of Shattered Sight on the residents of Storybrooke, Cora and Regina take measures to protect the town from themselves.
Author's Note: Thank you to all who have been reading. We are almost through the "Frozen" episodes, so the Queens of Darkness are on the horizon! Enjoy the new chapter!
Characters:
Cora Mills
Regina Mills
Henry Mills
Robin Hood
"Marian"
Mother Superior
"That should hold," Regina said as she and Cora finished putting their protective spell over Regina's vault.
"Good," Cora said, taking a seat on a bench to the side of her late husband's coffin. "I still think that we should have secured ourselves in separate locations."
"Afraid that I'm going to be too much for you?" Regina smirked.
Cora gave a small, sad, smile. "I'm more concerned for your welfare."
Regina looked at her father's tomb. "You know, I really miss him. It's my fault that he's dead, but I think it would have made him happy to see us like this."
"He was a good man," Cora nodded. "I may not have loved him, but he did give me you, and that was greatest thing anyone has ever done for me."
Regina reached down and took her mother's hand. "I can feel the Snow Queen's spell coming."
"Let's hope that Emma can sort her out before we do anything too regrettable."
Cora awoke on the cold, stone floor of the mausoleum. Looking around, she spotted Regina sending fireballs towards the door, which was still locked by the protection spell.
"Looks like another fine mess you've gotten us into!" Cora sneered.
Regina huffed and spun around to see her mother getting off the floor. "Mother. You're up."
"So sorry to disappoint you, dear."
Regina advanced. "You know, none of this would have happened if it wasn't for you! If you had just let me marry Daniel, I could have been happy, we'd still be in the Enchanted Forest, and we wouldn't be locked in this vault."
Cora rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you're still stuck on that pathetic stable boy. How many times have I told you that you were destined for greatness? Actually, don't answer that, because I've done too much of it. I should have become queen myself. I would have done a much better job than you ever did."
"A better job?! Ha! You would have reduced everyone to ash and cinders at the first sign of trouble!"
Cora advanced on Regina. "No, I never would have allowed rebellion in the first place. I would have killed Snow White before she even had a chance to flee. Because of your weakness, you allowed the kingdom to be lost, and when I tried to help, you sent me to Wonderland!" She spat that last word in disgust. "You send your biggest supporter, your strongest ally, and your best chance at success through the looking glass? You were a fool."
Regina's nostrils flared. "You never cared about me! You only cared about getting your power. That's the whole reason you came into Storybrooke! It was never about me. In the end, you would have cast me aside just like Zelena."
"I'm glad you mentioned Zelena," Cora shot. "I should have kept her. She was far more powerful than you will ever be! Rumple said so himself."
Regina gestured towards the stone bench near the wall and magically hurled it at her mother, who reduced it to dust mid-flight. "More powerful? I cast the Dark Curse!"
Cora laughed mirthlessly. "You cast it, yes, but you didn't cast it well. If you recall, I was able to deflect it easily, and it was broken all too easily. If you had half a brain, you would have poisoned Snow and Charming's hearts so that they couldn't have even made contact. The savior never would have been born, and your curse would be unbreakable. Your sister would have thought of that. She even found a way around the Laws of Magic!"
"Yes, so then I never would have been born!"
Cora smiled cruelly. "Yes, and I wouldn't have to have this ridiculous conversation with you. I would be living in a palace, well cared-for by servants and a daughter who could actually live up to my expectations!"
"You're tired of this conversation? Good. Me too!"
Regina hurled a fireball at Cora's head. Cora promptly vanished.
"Mother! I know you can't get out of this vault!"
"Come and find me then!" came Cora's voice from below.
Regina forced back her father's coffin and descended the stairs, on guard for whatever her mother might conjure. She felt magic emanating from the ingredient room, and she slowly stalked into the dimly lit chamber.
"You really should keep the hearts in a safer place," Cora said coolly from the back of the room. "In the wrong hands, they could be very dangerous." She raised her hand, revealing a glowing, red heart.
"Whose heart is that, Mother?" Regina asked, hands at the ready.
"You're asking the wrong question, dear. A better question would be what I am going to do with it." She held the heart aloft and spoke, "Rise!"
Regina was knocked off-balance as the floor around her rumbled. The stone beneath her feet began to crack and crumble, and a skeletal hand reached through the debris, grabbing her by the ankle. She shrieked and tried to magically throw off the hand, but her concentration was broken as another arm reached out from the wall and wrapped its bony hand around her throat.
Cora cackled as her undead lackeys pinned Regina to the wall. "You know, it's time I deal with you the way I should have a long time ago. You never did listen to me, and now you won't have a choice."
Cora reached out to take Regina's heart, but Regina, letting out a bloodcurdling scream, sent out a powerful blast of dark magic that threw her mother against the wall, knocking her unconscious. "So predictable." She strolled over to Cora's unconscious form and took the heart that controlled the zombies, promptly crushing it. The skeletons, who had remained by the far wall, crumbled into dust as well. Regina quickly vanished their remains and smoothed over the stonework damage, removing all traces of her mother's attack.
As she prepared to climb the steps and attempt to break out, she looked at the mirror on the wall next to her. "What am I wearing?" She magicked herself into one of her Evil Queen gowns. "I missed you," she said to her villainous reflection.
She felt something bounce against the aura of her containment spell and gave a bloodthirsty grin, sensing the presence of Emma Swan.
Cora awoke, for the second time, on a cold, stone floor. Her head was pounding, and Regina and Henry were standing over her.
"Grandma! Are you okay?" Henry asked, helping her to her feet.
"A little bit dizzy," Cora stuttered, putting a hand on the wall to steady herself. "Masterful work fighting me off, my dear."
Regina smiled sheepishly. "Sorry about that, Mother."
"Don't be!" Cora laughed. "We were under a curse."
"Did you really summon zombies to fight mom?" Henry asked excitedly.
"I did," Cora said. "We had an impressive battle down here. Like something out of Star Fight."
"Star Wars," Henry corrected her. "I'm just glad that you didn't kill each other."
"What about the Snow Queen?" Cora addressed her daughter.
"She was redeemed at the eleventh hour, and she sacrificed herself to break the curse."
Cora had only spoken to Ingrid once, but she was glad that she had found peace before her death. "It's too bad we couldn't have known the redeemed Ingrid. We could have been such good friends."
"Speaking of friends, Elsa finally found Anna and Kristoff," Henry said.
Cora blinked. "Who?"
"It doesn't really matter, Mother. I doubt you'll even have time to meet them before they return to Arendelle. Speaking of which, Henry, you should go and see them off."
"Right. See you both later tonight!" Henry smiled as he sped off to find Emma and company.
Cora shrugged. "That's too bad, but we have more pressing matters. With the Snow Queen dead, the curse on Marian must be broken. We should be tending to her."
"Right," Regina said flatly. She stepped over to the heart drawers and withdrew a box labeled, Marian. "Let's go find Robin, Mother."
Robin, Regina, and Cora stood silently around Marian, who might have been sleeping softly on a bed in a back room of the vault.
Regina held her heart gently in both hands. She knew that whatever happened next, her dalliances with Robin Hood would be over. Her mother, who stood between Robin and Regina, put her hands around both of their shoulders.
"It's time," Cora said.
Regina gently placed Marian's heart back in her chest, and with a gasp, she sat up and came to life, embracing Robin. Cora could swear that amidst Marian's reunion with her husband, she cast a fearful glance towards both Regina and Cora.
"So who did you fight with?" Cora asked Mother Superior as they strolled the grounds of the convent.
"What do you mean?" Mother Superior asked.
"During the Spell of Shattered Sight! Did you try to rip Tinkerbell's wings off?"
Mother Superior laughed. "I'm the Blue Fairy! Do you really think that that curse would work on me?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, Miss Embodiment-of-Good-Magic," Cora said sarcastically.
"What about you?"
"Let's just say that my skills at raising undead warriors are still pretty sharp," Cora said.
Mother Superior clicked her tongue. "Well, my friend, when you've practice Dark Magic, I imagine it stays with you."
"Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about," Cora said. "I learned some time ago that one can change the source of their magic power. I want to learn to rely on light magic, and I want you to teach me."
"Learning light magic isn't like learning French. It's not a new skill, it's a lifestyle change. Do you really think that you've reached a level of peace that you're ready to do this?"
A young nun came hurrying towards them. "Mother Superior, the electrician is here to replace the wiring that exploded when you blew up the generator during the curse."
Mother Superior might have been called the Red Fairy for how much she blushed. "Of course. Show him in right away."
Cora smiled knowingly at her friend. "I think we'll start on Monday."
Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter! If you did, please follow, favorite, and review!