"So, have you thought any more about what kind of wedding you would like to have?" Daniel asked as he and Regina made their way down the roughly cut dirt path with the sun casting a bright warm glow on the changing autumn leaves.
Regina made a chocking sound in the back of her throat, "Excuse me?" How could he even think of that at a time like this?
Daniel chuckled softly, "Surely you haven't forgotten we're kto be married soon?" he chided playfully.
Regina bit her lip, unsure how to respond. Instead she looked around her, marveling at how different the forest looked from a few nights ago. Following Snow through the trees as she made her way to her palace, the twisting branches had loomed over them ominously, warningly. Almost as if they knew the horrors that the princess was willingly submitting herself to by going back to the place that was supposed to be her home. Now, in the daylight, they seemed to be attempting to shield the couple, offering Regina protection as she ventured closer and closer to the stables.
That's where she was hoping -and dreading- she might be able to contact Sapphire again. It was the first, and only, place they'd seen her, so it was all Regina had to fall back on. She'd been trying to focus her energy, psyching herself up for the daunting task ahead, and then out of the blue her fiancée wants to talk about their wedding? Now? Did he not care for Snow after all? Did he not realize this plan they were following was a risk to all of their lives should they get caught, including his? How was he so calm?
Daniel squeezed her hand, "Come now love. I can see you're still nervous, and I don't blame you, but it isn't good for you. It's hard to focus on anything when all you think about is what might go wrong. You must try to think of happier things."
Oh so that's why he brought it up, Regina sighed, relieved. She snuggled closer to him and kissed him, "How did you get so smart?" she murmured against his chest.
" I met you," he simply shrugged, earning himself another passionate kiss and a light girlish giggle.
"Now," he said attempting to keep her talking before her thoughts could wander off again. "First thing's first, where would you like to have the ceremony?"
Regina furrowed her brow, "I'm not even sure there will be a ceremony dear. Even if we manage to rescue Snow, Leopold will surely realize she is gone and then he'll send search parties and-" Daniel put a calming finger to her lips.
"Shh, this is supposed to be your fantasy darling. Pretend none of that is happening. If you could have a wedding with anything you wanted, right now, what would it be like?"
"Hmm," Regina tapped her chin thoughtfully, "Well, I suppose I'd have it somewhere wild with lots of flowers. It'd be a simple ceremony, just you, me, Daddy, and…Snow."
Daniel brushed a stray tear from her check, "And what else?" he asked quietly.
"Well, I don't want to wear a white dress, I've always liked blue. So maybe something ivory with blue flowers, like the color from my riding jacket," she smiled.
"That's always been my favorite color on you."
Regina blushed, "and Snow could wear a simple blue bridesmaids dress with a dark blue sash, and we could both have big bunches of colorful flowers and-" she stopped, realizing she was rambling and looked at Daniel "What about you?"
Her fiancée simply hugged her closer "My fantasy," he whispered quietly in her ear, "is right here." He kissed her cheek and tickled her sides affectionately, "As long as I have you, nothing else matters. Regina nestled herself deeper into him and they stayed there for the rest of the walk.
Before Regina knew it, they were standing by the front doors of her beloved horse barn; the very same doors that Cora had used to trap them here only two nights ago. She squeezed Daniel's hand one more time, and then reluctantly inched away from his comforting embrace to stand on her own. She rolled her shoulders back and fixed her gaze straight ahead attempting to enter the stable appearing calm and confident. This was one thing her mother taught her that she truly did take pride in. Though Regina did not agree with Cora's theory to never show one's true feelings, she knew some times were more appropriate than others. Right now, the former future Queen wanted Blue to know she was ready for this, should the fairy choose to help her, even though in reality she was trembling inside. With Daniel behind her, she made her way to the center of the stables, the exact spot she had kneeled with little Snow when she feared her to be dead.
She turned to Daniel and bit her lip, knitting her brows in confusion. "What now?" she wondered aloud.
"I'm not sure love. Perhaps we just have to-" but he didn't get to finish before the simmering blue light appeared behind Regina once again.
"I sensed your distress," Sapphire said gently as her fairy form came into view, "Something has happened, what is it?"
Regina spun around, "Sapphire," she gasped, "You startled me."
The fairy chuckled lightly, her laugh like the soft chiming of jingle belles, "I'm sorry my dear girl. I had no intent of frightening you. I merely sensed the air of concern that surrounded you and your beloved as you approached the stables,"
Regina's expression became somber and the gleam disappeared from her eyes. She looked anxiously to Daniel, thoughts coming back once again to her little princess trapped in the palace with her dreadful father.
The change did not go unnoticed by Blue, "I see my concerns are valid?" she sympathized, "Please tell me what has happened. Is it… Snow?"
Regina's eyes suddenly filled with tears hearing Sapphire say her name so slowly, carefully, as if she already knew the girl's fate, and it was not a pleasant one. She tried furiously to brush them away. She was tired of crying. More than that, she wasn't supposed to be crying, not here. She was supposed to be strong for Snow! Daniel's arms wrapped around her and helped her to focus. She took a few breaths, trying to calm herself. Daniel gave her his handkerchief and she dried her face. "I'm sorry," she apologized, turning away from her fiancée's embrace and back to the fairy.
"No need to be sorry, Regina," The girl blinked. It was odd to hear Sapphire say her name, though she couldn't imagine why, "It's obvious you care for the princess,"
Regina nodded vigorously, "I do. So much."
Blue smiled, "And I am glad to hear that," she paused, "Now, I know it will be hard, but I need you to tell me what happened,"
There it was again. That strange tone that made Regina think the fairy already knew; that she may have known for a long time. She shook her head; there was no way Blue knew, she would've told them. Right?
Daniel tapped her arm and Regina came out of her trance. She glanced at the fairy once more and then cleared her throat. It didn't matter what she knew or didn't know. Regina had a plan and she intended to stick to it. "Well," she began, "I- that is we-" she gestured to herself and Daniel, "we think that Snow, that she's being…" another lump was forming in her throat, but she pushed through it, "We have evidence that Snow is being severely abused by the King," she finally managed.
The fairy's frown deepened "And how do you know this?" she asked, clearly concerned.
"I-I noticed the first night you came to help us. We offered to walk Snow home after-" her gaze shifted and she gulped- "everything, and she started acting so strange. And when she stood up there were these-" Regina shut her eyes as the images from that night threatened to take over her subconscious, "bruises. Horrible ugly bruises! They reminded me so much of-" she cleared her throat in order to calm the rising lump of grief, "Well, I assumed my mother had done it and Snow had told her that Daniel and I planned to run."
Blue nodded compassionately and motioned for her to go on, "What happened next?"
"I wanted to get a closer look, but Snow forbid it. When we reached the edge of the woods, she said she could get home on her own…"
Blue raised an eyebrow.
"I know." Regina said, seeing her skepticism, "I thought it was odd too. And the look on her face- Well, I just knew something was wrong. There was something I didn't know," she took a deep breath. "I knew she wouldn't let me follow her, so I gave her the lantern and let her go ahead. We waited until she was out of sight and then Daniel and I made our way to the castle…" Regina was quiet for a long time. Blue put a comforting hand on her arm. "We saw…" Regina shook her head; she couldn't divulge Snow's vulnerability like that; though since the fairy had seen the princess die and be resurrected, the girl knew she was keeping the violent information private more for her sanity than anything else.
She glanced at Daniel.
"It doesn't matter what we saw," he said, saving his fiancée from any more mental torture. "What matters is Snow is in danger and we need your help."
Blue shook her head, "I had my suspicions, but from what you two have told me, it's far worse than I imagined. I will do whatever I can to help."
Daniel shot daggers at the fairy. He let go of Regina and stepped closer to her. He wondered how many punches it would take to kill her. "You knew?" he spat, disgusted, "You knew all this time and you've done nothing! You brought her back to life and you knew that she would only come back to suffering! What kind of fairy are you?!" He lunged at her then, and she darted away, causing him to fall forward into a pile of hay. Regina was at his side in an instant.
"Daniel!" she admonished, helping him get to his feet, "You mustn't hurt her!"
Her fiancée eyed her incredulously, "Are you kidding me Gina?! How can you stand there and defend her? She let Snow go back to that wretched man!"
"I'm sorry!" Sapphire cried from the other end of the stables, "I had no choice!"
"That's bull!" Daniel shouted, "You had the power to bring her back from death, and you want us to believe you couldn't rescue her from her own father? You're despicable!" he tried to attack her again, but Regina held him back.
"I know it looks bad," she said calmly, "but she has to have some kind of explanation."
Truthfully, she wanted to maim the little winged sprite as well, but she knew fighting was not going to rescue Snow. They were wasting time here. She left Daniel, silencing his objections with a glare of her own, and walked briskly over to the fairy.
"Make no mistake," she asserted, making sure to emphasize the bite in her tone, "I am no less angry than my fiancée here. However I believe you deserve a chance to explain yourself."
Blue nodded gratefully, "Thank you," she sighed, but Regina's stare only grew more menacing.
"You're welcome," she said icily, "But; if I am not satisfied, you will be nothing more than a pile of pixie dust when we are done with you. Am I understood?" Blue nodded vigorously, eyes wide with terror. It hurt Regina to know that Blue was afraid of her, if only for a moment, and it scared her how much she'd just sounded like Cora, but she quickly reminded herself that she was not doing this out of spite, but affection for her little princess. They needed the fairy if their plan was going to succeed and right now, that meant understanding exactly whom they were working with. "Good," she said, "Now what do you mean you had no choice?" she eyed Blue curiously; she sighed.
"According to ancient Fairy Law, fairies are only allowed to directly interfere in the life of any one mortal twice. The first time I helped Snow was the other night, with you two," she nodded at Regina and Daniel. "She looked so happy when I left…"
"But…" Regina prodded.
"I don't know," Blue shrugged, "something just seemed…wrong." When I went back the next day, Snow was sick in bed and covered in bruises that hadn't been there before."
"She's sick?!" Regina asked. She glanced worriedly at Daniel, it was worse than they thought!
"I don't know," Blue confessed, "I'm sorry."
"It's ok. We just…can you tell us what happened? And quickly?"
"Certainly. I heard Snow and her maid mumbling about the doctor, and what the King would do and… I had to help her. I went to the rest of the Fairy Council to request permission to help her again, as my first act was quite an expulsion of our magic and I wasn't sure if they'd allow me to help her again so soon, but I was sure they couldn't leave the princess like she was…is, I guess…" she looked down, cleared her throat, and continued. "When I got there, they told me there was nothing I could do, I'd already helped her twice," she shook her head miserably.
Regina raised an eyebrow, "What? But you just said…"
"I know! I told them I had only just met her and there was no way I could've helped her before, but they didn't believe me. They said something about last year and a forbidden magic candle and…" she blinked back a pool of tears "they said if I helped her again they'd…they'd take my wings!" at this point the tears started to spill over, "I'm- I'm sorry! But I, I just, I couldn't- I'm sorry!"
Regina suddenly felt for the fairy, "I understand," she said.
Blue dried her eyes, "I was coming to get you, but then- you found me instead," she smiled slightly then.
Regina returned it, "I guess we did."
"I'm sorry I doubted you," Daniel said as he came over and wrapped his arms around Regina.
Sapphire smiled kindly, "It's all right. And I promise I'll do whatever I can to help."
Regina bit her lip; this was the chance she was waiting for, she had to say something before she lost her nerve, "In that case," she fidgeted nervously. Daniel gave her an encouraging smile. "I need to ask you something."
"Anything, as long as it is in my power."
"Does…does teaching someone something count as direct interference?"
Blue knit her brows in confusion.
Regina let out her breath in a woosh, "Does teaching magic count?"
"You want to learn magic?" Sapphire asked. Regina nodded uncertainly. "Well no, it doesn't count. Teaching and giving advice is helping you do something for yourself, not doing it for you. But honey, are you sure? I mean with your mother and all…"
But Regina nodded determinedly and Daniel squeezed her hand, "It's the only way to save Snow," she whispered quietly.
Blue's face stretched into a warm, proud smile, "Then of course,"
Regina beamed, "Thank you."
"I told you, I'm at your service dear. Now, what do you want to learn?"
"Well…" Regina shifted her weight from foot to foot "nothing too dangerous. Honestly I'm still kind of afraid because of…you know."
Blue's expression pitied her, "Oh my dear," she went over and touched her arm gently, "you are not Cora, you proved that the other night."
Regina's cheeks reddened at the complement. "Thanks," she whispered, "Now, um, my father said something about a…disguising spell?"
"Ah, you want to learn a Cloaking Spell."
Regina shook her head.
"Well, that is a tricky piece of magic," Blue said, more to herself than to the couple, "but I suppose…being raised by Cora Mills…and to use such powers for good…" she turned back to face Regina and Daniel, smiling. "Let me see your hands."
Regina leaned against Daniel, shuddering at the mention of her mother's name. Daniel gave his fiancée a reassuring squeeze on the shoulders, "Happy thoughts," he whispered affectionately in her ear, "riding Rocinante, baking cakes," then his voice dropped another octave, "what you want to happen on our wedding night," he cooed seductively.
The last remark sent a satisfying tingle down the brunette's spine. She gave her fiancée a contented, relaxed mumble, leaning into him a bit father and squeezing his hand before standing up and joining Blue in the center of the stables, where she was now the size of a regular human. Blue held out her hands, palms up, and indicated for Regina to grab them. She raised her arms, but stopped just before placing her hands in the fairy's. "It, it won't hurt will it?"
Blue chuckled softly, "No, dear," she assured, "I just need to test your powers, get a feel for how strong they are."
Regina's eyes grew wide; she already had magic? "My powers?" she asked alarmed, "But, I've never used magic before!" Had her mother done something to her when she was younger? Given her powers without her knowledge? She cast a distressed glance at her stable boy, who could only shrug.
Blue squeezed her arm reassuringly, "Everyone has magic in them dear; people are born with it, it's in their DNA. Most never learn how to wake it from their subconscious and put it to use, but it's always there."
"Everyone has it? Even, say, Daniel?"
"Yes dear, even Daniel has magic," Daniel looked up at that remark, confused and stricken. This caused Blue to laugh outright.
"Don't worry, it isn't going to just jump out and hit you, it's not a disease! For most, it takes years of practice to summon magic, let alone use it. Trust me," she smiled.
"Years?" Regina gulped. They didn't have years. Snow didn't have years. "But what makes you think I-"
"You," Sapphire interrupted, "are a special case my dear. You've been around magic all your life; that genuinely makes its influence stronger."
Regina chewed her lip, "But, what if-"
Sapphire smiled, "I know, you're nervous, especially given your-past, but I trust you. I believe in you."
"We both do," Daniel smiled fondly.
"Now," said Blue, "give me your hands, and think happy thoughts,"
The comments made Regina smile. She took a deep breath and released it slowly as she closed her eyes and placed her hands in Sapphire's waiting palms.
It was hard to describe what the brunette felt just then. Sapphire's magic swelled, warm and comforting, it came closer and closer to Regina, who was anxious to bask in its glow. It was all the love Regina had been deprived of as a child. Cookies baking when she got home from school hugs and kisses before bed at night, presents on Christmas morning…it was the best feeling in the world. The brunette tried to hold on to that feeling, to meet Blue's magic in the middle, as she was sensing she was supposed to. She closed her eyes tighter and concentrated, but something held her back. Every time she felt the pressure rise in her chest, a satisfying tingle in her fingers, signalling she was doing something right, she felt a dark, gloomy force stop it from happening. It reminded her of her mother. Of all the abuse and unhappiness Cora represented. Of her spiralling depression, years ago. Of the lives her mother almost took from her. Both Snow's - and hers.
Finally, she couldn't hold on anymore. Regina opened her eyes and wretched her hands out of Sapphire's panting heavily from the effort the experience had taken. Daniel was at her side right away.
"Are you all right? What happened?"
Regina shrugged to catch her breath "I'm…f-fine," she wheezed, sounding winded and exhausted, even to her own ears.
"Are you sure? What happened?" he repeated, obviously concerned.
"I-I'm not sure," Regina said. They both looked at Sapphire, who was wearing a perplexed expression, "What did I do?" the brunette asked, immediately regretting pulling away from the fairy so suddenly, "Look, I- I'm sorry I pulled out like that. I just…" she hung her head and trailed off.
Blue came over and wrapped her arms around the girl, "No dear," she soothed, "it wasn't you. I- I never knew she'd had such an effect on you." Regina knew at that moment the fairy had witnessed her memories when they were connected. She nodded into the woman's shoulder, silently saying a prayer of thanks that she hadn't said her mother's name aloud. If Daniel knew all that she had been through…she shook her head. She didn't even want to think about that. He knew enough, but there was so much yet to tell. And so much she wondered if she'd ever be ready to face.
"So what do we do now?" she asked, stepping away from Blue's embrace.
"Well," she mused, "with time, I believe you could learn to overpower your mother's influences." Regina was about to object that they didn't have time, they needed to get to Snow as soon as humanly possible, but Sapphire beat her to it, "But since I know you want to get to the princess as soon as you can," she continued, "I will cast the Cloaking Spell on the both of you for now."
Regina smiled her thanks. Blue snapped her fingers and the couple grew to be unrecognizable. Regina's eyes remained the same, but she became a pale skinned auburn haired beauty with long locks tucked neatly in a perfect, flowing braid. The simple top and pants she borrowed from her father had been exchanged for an outfit similar to her favorite riding clothes, except her usually teal jacket and breeches were now a pale, spring green. Stylish black riding boots adorned her feet. Regina's eyes widened and she smiled brightly. Turning to see Daniel, she gasped. His plain stable hand garments had been replaced with a royal blue tailored jacket with gold trim on the collar and in the center alongside a row of identically colored buttons. He had light grey pants and carried an official looking travel bag. His hair remained in the messy long style Regina adored so much, but instead of a sandy brown, it was now midnight black.
Regina beamed at Blue, "Thank you, this is incredible!"
Blue smiled kindly, "Of course my dear. Now listen, you, Regina, will pose as Snow White's new riding instructor, Deirdre."
Regina nodded.
"And Daniel, you are her knew Literature teacher, Vince."
"But doesn't she already-?"
The fairy's eyes twinkled, "I'll make sure he takes a…sudden leave of absence."
"How can we ever repay you?" Regina asked.
Blue waved her off with a sweep of her hand, "No payment needed dear, this is what I do. And truthfully, I'm rather fond of the three of you," she said.
"Well, thank you, thank you so much. Come on Daniel, we can't lose any more time!" They started toward the door, but Blue called out to them.
"Before you go,"
"Yes," Regina said, turning back toward her."When you take Snow, and you are a safe distance from the castle, call upon me and I'll remove the spell, we can't have the King recognizing you when he undoubtexdly sends search parties to look for the lost princess."
Regina shook her head vigorously, "We will," she assured her, turning to leave.
"Oh, and dear?" Regina whirled around a second time, "I know your mother is wrong, you'll be a great sorceress one day. And I'd be happy to train you."
Regina simply nodded followed Daniel out the door.