"Don't let her take her…" Regina muttered in her sleep, brows twitching into a frown. "My…" her voice trailed off as Daniel's arms tightened around her, pulling the brunette closer to him. His lips found her hairline, leaving a soft kiss that further quieted his love. Regina nestled closer to him, burying her face in his chest to hide her from the world and the mother of hers that resided in it.
Daniel had remained awake. He couldn't sleep. All he could think about was his daughter. His daughter that his one true love was caring. His daughter and love that Cora was potentially harming. He had to protect his family. When Regina shifted in his arms again, he turned his head to face her. The lines of worry were still distorting her features and nothing he did seemed to ease them any. What was he to do though? What could he do? His hand went to the spot of his chest where he could still feel Cora's hand reaching into him with a grimace, rubbing as if he could remove the traces of magic used to rip out his heart. As if that hadn't been bad enough, Cora had started to randomly squeeze his heart. Just to remind him what she had in her possession. His eyes clenched shut in pain; not from Cora's hold, but for the pain she was causing Regina. How was he supposed to beat her?
A soft knocking on the door interrupted his thoughts. Except for his eyes snapping open, Daniel froze. Regina had gone quiet beside him. When neither of them moved, the knocking came again. After a failed attempt to speak, Regina cleared her throat and called out, "Who is it?"
"Leya, m'lady," a hesitant voice came back through the door. Both breathing a sigh of relief, Regina and Daniel sat up. Regina gave him a quick kiss before working to disentangle herself from his grip and step out of bed to open the door for her favorite of their house maids. "Your mother wishes you to joi-"
The words were cut off as Cora herself threw the door open with a burst of magic. Daniel froze in fear, hand clutching his chest when he felt the magic in the room. "When I requested my daughter I did not mean tomorrow," Cora informed the girl, throwing her across the hall with a wave of her hand.
Regina took advantage of Cora's momentary distraction to lunge across the bed and shove Daniel to the floor. "Hide!" she hissed before she was wrenched back by a grip on her shoulder, throwing her back onto the bed again.
"Really, dear, even in your sleep you still cannot act like a lady." Regina lifted her gaze to find Cora shaking her head in disapproval from the doorway. "We will have to work on that before your wedding so the king will not have to see it," Cora motioned Regina out of bed. Regina glanced quickly to the side of the bed she had shoved Daniel off of before moving to join her mother, hands clasped before her and head dropped in submission. Cora's smile at her daughter's unquestioning obedience made her ashamed. But she had to do what was best for Daniel.
"The royal dressers are here for your fitting. If you cooperate, the dress should be done before the sun rises, just in time for us to travel to the palace for your wedding," Cora informed her, a hint of warning in her tone. Regina understood perfectly well what her mother meant. She wasn't sure if she would be able to keep from speaking her true thoughts should she open her mouth to speak, so she kept silent and nodded. Cora nodded her approval and motioned for her daughter to follow.
Regina paused in the doorway to look over her shoulder. Daniel was using the bed to pull himself back to his feet. Their eyes met - Regina's filled with worry, Daniel's with determination. He gave her a nod; things would work out. She took a deep breathe, pulling from his strength, before returning the nod before following her mother out of the room.
Daniel watched her leave. Shame filled him for even thinking the situation was hopeless. Where there was love there was a way. And there was nothing but love between them, nothing but love in him for Regina and their unborn child. He would find a way.
After checking to see that the hallway was clear, Daniel left the room in search of Henry. He knew the older man would never stand up to Cora. But he also knew that all he wanted was happiness for his daughter, whether it be from the king or from a lowly stable boy.
After working for Regina's family for a few years, Daniel knew that Henry was where Regina got her love for horses. The first place he looked was the stables. The familiar scents surrounded him, the wisdom and strength carried by horses filling him. His favorite of the horses, Monty, greeted him with a soft nicker, his head sticking out over the stall door to greet him. Despite the circumstances, a smile pulled at Daniel's lips. He couldn't help it whenever Monty was involved. "What am I to do, old man?" Daniel asked the horse, hand running along the smooth length of his head.
An crate of apples, fresh from Regina's tree, waited between his stall and the next. As Daniel reached down to grab one and offer it to the stallion, another voice broke through the stillness of the stable. "I don't know about old man, but I do know what you can do." Daniel turned quickly to view the intruder and let out a breath when he realized it was only Henry. Sensing the apprehension of the younger man, Henry held up his hands with a chuckle. "Horse got your tongue?"
Daniel offered a shaky smile at the attempted humor but gave up when he thought about how forced he must look. "How are you so calm…?" he questioned the man he considered something close to a father.
"When you have dealt with Cora for as long as I have, you learn to enjoy the small things," Henry told him as he found an empty crate to upturn and lower himself onto with a groan.
Daniel watched him as if he were crazy. "What is there to enjoy when the mother of your one true love is terrorizing her into submission. With my child frozen inside of her until it is convenient."
Calmly, Henry motioned for Daniel to toss him an apple, which he complied to. As he took a bite, Henry motioned with his head toward the tack trunk nearby for Daniel to join him. Daniel looked as if he were about to refuse but at further encouragement from Henry, grabbed an apple for himself and sat down. After another bite, Henry asked, "Do you love Regina?" Daniel nodded. "Is that child yours?" Again Daniel nodded. "So let's get this straight, you are in love with a woman," he motioned toward the house, "just a few hundred feet away. And said woman is expecting your child. Am I wrong here?"
Daniel sighed and shook his head. "I see where you're trying to get. But how does that help me any when I have to fight against a heartless woman with magic who does not approve of me. And let's throw in there the fact that she had my heart."
Henry held up a hand to stop him from continuing. "Are you afraid of her?"
"Terrified."
"Have you ever let her get in the way of you and Regina?" Daniel shook his head. "Even without your heart, do you love my daughter any less?" Another shake of his head. Henry leaned forward, resting a forearm on his knee. "Then what is stopping you this time?"
"This time there is a wedding in less than twenty-four hours."
"And?"
"And? What do you mean and?!" Daniel stood up, anger flushing his face.
"And what?" Henry sat back again to rest his back against the stall door behind him. "If a heartless witch could not stop you from loving my daughter, what can a simple king do?"
Daniel shook his head, unable to believe what was hearing. "You want me to sneak around the back of a king to continue seeing my lover? What of our daughter? Do you want her having two fathers?"
Henry crossed his legs in front of him, his eyes slipping shut. He was the picture of relaxed. "You make my daughter happy. I like you, but even you must admit that life as queen is a far cry from life with a stable boy. I want her taken care of. And I want her happy. This way, she has both."
Daniel stared at the man, in complete shock at what he was hearing. "You…you honestly believe that is the best for your daughter?"
"Power and happiness. The best of both worlds. You could be well off in this too. Lover of a queen. Horse master for the king. Imagine the horses you can train!"
Daniel was speechless. This man had always helped him and Regina find ways around Cora. This man had always preached that love was important and would find a way. If this was his idea of finding a way, Daniel wanted nothing to do with it. "I will not share her. And I will not share my daughter," he finally said, anger making his voice quiet. "I will find a way to protect her from this marriage. And I will find a way to make her my wife. With your help or without it." Without another word, Daniel retreated from the barn, leaving behind a man with a knowing smile on his face.
"A weak man is strong with words," Henry told Monty who blew out a huff of air in agreement.
"Stand up straight, Regina!" Cora snapped, lifting her hand in the air. Immediately, Regina's back snapped into place as if strapped to a washboard. A cry of pain was muffled by lips bitten together. "Much better. Now you look like you care." When Regina still remained silent, Cora circled to stand in front of her, looking up into the face of her daughter. "Smile. You are going to be queen. Such a happy occasion," Cora smiled, showing Regina how happy she was that all of this was happening. Still Regina did not smile. Cora's lips dropped into a narrow line. Her hand rose threateningly. Regina eyed it, wary of the purple glow that had begun to surround the hand. Her mother's finger twitched, scaring her enough force a smile on her face. Displeasure darkened Cora's eyes. "One day soon you will be a mother. And you will realize that everything you do is done for the good of your child. I only hope your child will not cause you as much grief as you cause me."
Regina's eyes squeezed shut, guilt filling her. Her mother only wanted what was best for her. Even if she didn't agree with it, she knew her mother was acting out of love. But why couldn't her mother love her just as she was? Why did she have to be queen to get any sort of approval from her? "I only hope I do not cause my child as much grief as you cause me," Regina whispered, not caring if Cora heard or not.
If displeasure had darkened her features, anger created a blackout. "You insolent child, I have given you everything! You do not know-" but Regina would never know what she did not know. A sound from behind them had distracted her. Regina couldn't turn unless she wanted an unknown number of pins sticking into her, but the look on her mother's face was enough to make her scared.
"What a loooov-uh-ly dress!" The heavy step of boots followed the words from an unknown voice. Even without the pins, Regina knew she wouldn't have been able to move; the voice alone kept her frozen in place. "But the bride does not seem happy. Well, dearie, we'll find a way to change that." Curiosity flashed as a glittering man stepped into view but it didn't last long when he turned his power-filled gaze onto her.