Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Once Upon a Time.
Author's Note: And so Armina becomes more of an enigma for Emma. Of course, we know better. Enjoy, and as always, R & R!
I so enjoy your comments :)
That night, Emma had a strange dream. She was floating above a land that must have been the old world her parents came from. She descended through the trees to a sylvan throne room, built almost entirely from wood and stone. To be honest, it looked like something from a Shakespeare play featuring a freaky guy with horns that she couldn't remember the name of.
There, sitting on a throne of ornately-carved stone sat Armina, Queen of Beasts. She appeared to be watching some sort of dancing group of woodland elves. She appeared utterly bored out of her mind. That is, until a black carriage pulled up on the adjacent road. The Evil Queen stepped out, flanked by her black-clad guards brandishing spears and swords.
The elves immediately dove out of her way as she plowed through to the throne. "Armina, we need to talk," said the Evil Queen, turning to shoo the creatures out who were in the clearing. "Get out, I must talk with the queen."
Armina laughed as none of the beasts moved, making the Evil Queen look to her. With an amused expression, the Queen of Beasts asked, "Cur hic es?"
At the evil one's look of confusion, Armina gestured to her husband, who translated, "Why are you here? I'm sorry, she wants the beasts to understand what goes on here. Her human speaking is not as well-practiced as mine."
"I see. Well, I'm here to negotiate peace," said the Evil Queen.
Armina's eyes briefly flashed a dangerous red, but returned to the constant shifting of cool colors almost immediately. "Ego pacem facere non possum, quia tu mala es. Cum mala pacem non facio."
Regina looked to Andrew who again translated. "I cannot make peace, for you are evil. I do not make peace with evil."
"I assure you, I'm not evil," said Regina, lying through her teeth. In an instant, the Queen of Beasts was in front of her, her hands wrapped around Regina's neck, suffocating her.
In heavily accented English, she snarled in Regina's ear, "I know what you are, Regina Mala, and I await your death. I curse your name with each word my mouth utters. Until your death, you should always fear me." She relinquished her grip on Regina's throat and backed away, dangerous crimson still staining her irises.
Gasping for breath, Regina replied, "Well, I don't … think you want… war, do you?"
Armina's laughter spread through the whole of the Wild Forest. "Id portate!"
Andrew again translated for the clueless queen. "Bring it."
"I will most definitely 'bring it.' Armina, you don't want me as an enemy."
"Cur illud est? Semper victor sum! Ego semper victor ero!" Armina said with glee.
"Why is that? I am always the victor. I will ever be victorious," said Andrew without prompting. "Truly, queen, I suggest you leave now, while you yet live. Shapeshifters are quick to anger, as you well know, and Armina is no different. Go now."
"Discedete, Regina Mala," ordered the Queen of Beasts.
Regina replaced her façade of calm and walked away, her guards following close behind her. She suppressed the urge to throw a particularly nasty curse at the shapeshifter, fearing what creature would carry her out of the clearing. She got into her carriage and ordered her coachmen to ride as fast as they could. She didn't need to be seen around here with the creatures knowing what had just occurred.
Emma's dream body was yanked from the scene and she was placed back into a dreamless sleep.