IX
Retribution Most Dire
Regina cursed as the cloudy image in her mirror disappeared. "What happened? What did you do?" she asked accusingly. It wasn't at all out of the ordinary for her to berate her enamored servant.
Her mirror stuttered out a response, mustering his dignity. He didn't like it at all that she immediately thought it his fault. "The connection was lost, your majesty. It could very well be the Dark One took offense to the jewelry you left his little maid."
"Or it could be that he suspects me," she drawled in a bored tone. She tapped one ruby nail against the small wooden box which contained Belle's heart. "And she was doing quite well, too. It's not everyday someone could claim she was able to seduce the Dark One."
The bearded visage of her loyal servant smirked at her from the confines of the mirror as she continued to glare at him. "You know he's going to find out eventually. Surely he's begun to suspect –"
"Did I ask for your opinion?" she seethed, baring her teeth at him in a snarl. "You've seen for yourself that he cares for the girl. Why shouldn't I use her to trap him? Even if she isn't able to secure his dagger, I can always use her to bend him to my will."
Regina's eyes narrowed as a tiny crack appeared in the bottom corner of the mirror on her vanity. It traveled upwards as she leaned closer, pressing a finger to the glass. Mortar and dust filtered down from the rafters, the castle jolting violently, shaking on its foundation and throwing her to the floor. She shrieked as her head rebounded against the marble, pain forcing her to cry out.
"So sure about that, are you, dearie?" came the low ominous tones from her former master as he stepped out of the shadows, his lithe frame vibrating with rage. He wore his darkness like a cloak, magic crackling at his spell clever fingertips, waiting to be unleashed.
Regina stumbled up to her knees, her hands reaching for the box on her vanity in a last-ditch effort to save herself. He wouldn't dare risk the loss of his Belle, she was certain. She might have been quick, but he was quicker, the box poofing into his hands before her fingers could even come close to it. She turned on him, her eyes manic in her fear, her anger, the combination of the two twisting her features into a mask of insanity. He merely smiled, the gesture sending an icy chill down her back.
A blast of his rage shattered the numerous mirrors lining the walls of her bedchamber, spraying her with glass shards, splinters nicking her porcelain skin. "Did you really think you could best me, Regina?" he sneered, coming to stand over her where she cowered on her knees. "I have lived for centuries, dearie. In that time, I have lost more than you can comprehend. My own son fled from me, couldn't abide what I'd become, disappearing through a portal where I can never follow. I won't allow you to take away the one good thing I have left."
His hand shot out and wrapped the long tail of her hair around his fist, yanking the broken queen to her feet, her eyes wide with terror. "What are you going to do to me?" she asked, her voice filled with false bravado, determined not to let him see how frightened she truly was. "Kill me? You need me!"
An impish giggle reverberated through the din of the crumbling castle walls. "Need you? Surely you jest. You were an amusing distraction. I merely wanted to see if you could surpass your mother in your training." He leaned closer to her, his chin nearly resting on her shoulder. "She was right about you, dear. You really are a failure." He let go, prancing away from her, almost gleeful now that she was within his grasp and facing retribution to pay for her crime. "Don't worry … I'm not going to end you. Even though I should."
"And why would you spare me?" she spat defiantly.
"Because Belle wishes it, that's why," he snarled through clenched teeth. "She doesn't want another murder added to an already long list. I quite disagree, but I did promise."
Tired of playing with his prey, he flicked his wrist in her direction, black smoke beginning to curl about her feet. Regina watched in horror as her ebony heels began to form into cool white marble with a hint of gold. "No!" she screeched, unable to move from her place, unable to flee. "No, Rumpel … you can't do this to me!"
A feral grin curled his lips as his fingers lovingly caressed the box containing Belle's heart. "Oh, I assure you I can," he giggled. "You'll make a fine addition to my garden, your majesty. And every time Belle goes out to cut roses for the foyer, you'll see her and wish you'd left well enough alone."
The Winter Palace crumbled to dust as the Dark One transported himself and the marble statue of the queen to the castle rose garden and installed her there where she would remain until she crumbled to dust due to time and the ravages of nature. Her reign of terror was at its end.