I don't own OUAT

Cora didn't know what to do. She had told neither man in her life that she was pregnant, purely out of fear. She knew not whose child it was. Besides that, if she mentioned it to Henry, he may leave her when Rumplestiltskin came to take her child. There was no safe option for her. She would lose the child regardless, and the love of one of her men. Neither could know until it was too late. However, she feared it was almost that time. She was months into her pregnancy, and had begun to show.

Still, only Sophia knew about the child. Cora had dismissed Kryssi from her duties of dressing, undressing, and bathing her a few weeks back. Regardless of the girl's apparent secret-keeping skills, she could not be trusted with something such as this. She would no-doubt tell Henry. That was something she could not allow to happen. Worse yet, she would most likely wish to tell the King. If he found out, he would dismiss her from the household, despite the gold he recieved from her. She would not lose her crown. He could not know.

She looked at herself in the mirror, staring with horror at her prominent stomach. She sucked in her breath, trying to pull her gut in as much as possible. Despite her efforts, it was very obvious that she was pregnant. She padded her clothing during the day, making it look as though she was simply growing fat. It was not something she wished to do, destroying her beauty with such things, but it was what needed to be done to keep her secret. She thirsted for a man, but could not sleep with either one now without them knowing her secret. It had been a little over a month since she had had a man, and it was wearing on her nerves. She was practicing her magic freely in her chambers now, trying to concoct a spell to conceal the bump. It was not working.

"Ma'am, I have new sheets for your bed." Kryssi pushed her way into the room, the stack of bed clothing in her arms gratefully covering her eyes. Cora frantically looked for a way out, finally, desperately, hiding in the wardrobe as quickly and quietly as she could. Kryssi set the pile down on the bed, looking around in confusion. "I could have sworn she was in here…" With a shrug of her shoulders, she started to set the bed, first stripping it of its sheets, and then folding the old ones. Cora inwardly groaned. This would take forever. Some deity must have decided to shine down on her, because as Kryssi was setting out the sheets, she noticed something. "Wrong size." She hastened out of the room.

Cora figured she had about ten minutes before the girl reappeared with the correct bed wear. She snatched up a random dress and a few rags to stuff it with, and quickly threw the dress over her head. Looking in the mirror, she noticed she had not put on a corset. It was not the safest idea to wear a corset when with child, but she only had clothing that required it. Cursing herself, she tore the dress off again, digging for a corset. She found one, tying it as loosely as possible. She gazed into the mirror, satisfied with how it looked and how it sat on her bloated abdomen. She turned around, walking towards the bed where she had abandoned the corset. Looking up, she realized just how much trouble she was in. Henry and Kryssi both stood in her doorway. Twin pairs of eyes were locked on her bulging stomach. They knew.

Henry's eyes twitched from her stomach to her face, taking in her horror-stricken face with a disgusted look of his own. His fingers moved to the tip of the sword on his side, slowly gliding it out of its holster. He raised it above his head at the same moment that Kryssi jumped on Cora, pushing her to the ground, arms pinned underneath. The pain tore through Cora as burning rivers flowed from her eyes. She felt a kick- her child's first- come. She could do nothing to save it. It kept kicking, not letting her give up.

"Please, no! My child!" She was promptly silenced by Kryssi banging her head against the cold stone ground. She lost her fight, her now-bleeding head limp on the ground. Her whole existence was pain, and even the child had lost its fight. The kicks ceased.

"The bastard deserves to die as much as his whore of a mother!" She gave in, not caring to survive anymore. She closed her eyes and waited. It was short. Just one more pain, this one swift and sharp, a blade straight through her spinal cord. And that was it. The pain stopped. It was finally over. But then she blinked. How was it possible? She had somehow survived, impossibly. There was a blunt pain that shot through her mind as she spun, he vision blurring to the point of blindness. After hours, she slowed to a stop, facing her own decapitated body. Her own scarlet blood poured out over the white stone.

"How is this possible?" She heard a harsh giggle behind her and was suddenly picked up. Her eyes searched to find who was holding her. She saw Kryssi and Henry still standing over her corpse. Then who?

"Well, I can answer that for you, dearie." She was turned around to face Rumplestiltskin. "I'm not done with you yet." She was set down on a dresser, and he got in her... well, face. "You lied to me, Cora. I see now it was for your child. Well, I intend to take her now. We had a deal!" He reached his arm through her mutilated body and pulled a fetus out. Setting the bloody child down on her bed, he waved his hand, making the child grow bigger until she was of natural size and development. Cora smiled at that. Her daughter. Her child was a girl. A living, breathing girl, even if Cora herself was not anymore.

"Let me die now." He paused for a moment, considering. The child disappeared in a puff of purple smoke, and he walked over to Kryssi. Henry smiled and nodded at him as he passed, stepping aside so that he was on the far side of the trio. Kryssi looked up at him and giggled.

"I told you we'd get her, baby!" He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her into a deep kiss.

"All thanks to my beautiful little informant." One minute her assailants were across the room, joined as one. The next, they were directly in front of her. Rumplestiltskin leaned towards her and spat at her. "Tell me, Cora. Tell me!"

He snapped his fingers, and all her senses went numb, her consciousness fading into emptiness.

"Wakey, wakey, sleeping beauty" Her eyes flew open, and she propelled herself off of her bed. She could not look the man in the eyes. He offered her a hand, and she took it, standing up shakily, her nightmare fresh in her mind. She had to tell him. If she didn't... A shudder tore through her already trembling body. If she didn't, she was sure to die. Soon, and most assuredly by his hands. And, if she told him... perhaps he could help her hide it from Henry until a safe time. She sat down on her bed lightly.

"We need to talk.." He nodded, understanding her point instantly. He wrapped his arms around her and sent them to her castle, this time in the large dining hall she had seen at her first visit. She sat on the edge of the table, her mind cluttered with how she was going to break this to him. She didn't want him to take her child. She just hoped they could both raise her daughter together. No matter whose child she actually turned out being. He sent her a disapproving look and pointed to the chair beside her feet. Sighing, she moved into it instead.

"What is it?" He sat himself down in the chair beside hers, taking her hands in his own. She ran her fingers along his own scaly fingers, biting her lip as she tried to think of how to say it. She could think of no safe option.

"I... am with child." He dropped her hands, staring at her. His eyes quickly flickered to her stomach. There was a small bulge, but he would have dismissed it before, brushed it off as her getting a bit too used to palace life.

"Well, well, well. This just changes everything, doesn't it?" His eyes were lit up as he gazed into her eyes. "We will celebrate, of course!" He took her hand again, lifting it to his lips before pulling her out of her seat, spinning her around. Noting her hesitant look, he conjured something behind his back. "Also, I should return this." It was the necklace he had given her the last time she had been here. "You must have let it slip off the last time you were here."

"Thank you." She took it from him, tying it around her neck once again. It flashed red briefly, only noticeable to him. What would have been noticeable to any old fool would be the change in her attitude. All concern was dropped from her face and replaced with a beautiful smirk. This was the frisky little firecracker he had chosen as his lover. All he had to do was drop her inhibitions, add a small love spell. She was easily brought back out from the shell of this new royal. She was so much less herself without him. He was only helping her out, of course. A little gift to her.

Her strong arms rested themselves on his shoulders as gracefully as the royal she was constantly pretending to be. Her porcelain skin was cold as the stone it so looked like. He knew a good way to warm her up. His own arm wrapped around her waist, yanking her closer to him. He leaned down and kissed her, pulling her closer to him every second, clothing being the only thing separating their chests. Soon enough, she had ripped that away too. The love spell had most certainly taken hold. Clinging to him, she contained them in a large puff of purple smoke. It transported them to the bedroom she was now so familiar with.

He touched her bare stomach gently. This woman bore the child who would bring back his son. And the same child... would become his daughter. His newly-renewed parenthood was definitely something to celebrate, and with who else but the woman who gave him this chance? His hands quickly moved from her stomach to her wrists, throwing her onto his bed. This night would be better than each one before. Because now he had something to live for. Two, in fact. His son, and his new daughter. He would take the little girl soon enough, and then Cora would not be as important to him. But for now, she was the most important woman in the universe. No one could hurt her. She was under his protection, and would remain under it until she bore his child. After that... she was a good enough apprentice. He may decide to keep her around.

"Well don't tell me you plan on just standing there all night." She was laying across his bed, a heavy pout covering her lips. "Join me."

And he was all too happy to agree.