I hope you enjoy this next chapter, Cora gets to share her memories of Danielle. As always I would love to hear what you think of it. In the next chapter Mary Margaret and Gold are going to have their chance to speak. So if you have any requests of suggestions let me know those in the reviews as well. Or PM if you don't want everyone seeing what you have to say.
"Regina, when you were twenty three years old you gave birth to a child. The labor was difficult, but you did well, and so did your daughter. The King wanted to name her Eva, but you insisted that she be called Danielle. I assume that you named her after that stable boy you were so in love with, I tried to talk you out of it, but you were as stubborn about her name as you were with everything else, so her name was Danielle. You two were very close, I remember when the nurse came to take her from you, you sent her away, insisting that you would be able to care for her yourself. I talked reason into you on that case thankfully so you were able to get your sleep. But still you spent so much time with her. I thought you were coddling her. When she was learning how to walk she would stumble as babies do but you would catch her, you never let her fall. It drove me mad; to be honest a lot of things about your relationship drove me mad." Cora said.
"We are trying to tell Regina about her life with Danielle, not how you felt about it" Gold commented. Looking over to Regina and saw that she was still listening, her eyes open looking at her mother. In them was a look of disbelief and anger, perhaps at the lies that Regina believed that she was being told. But deep beneath it all he believed he saw a shimmer of recognition. He tried to sense how her body was talking all this news, if it was making the curse fight against her stronger but there was no way of telling. In order to Gold to make Regina listen, and be receptive, not distracted by her pain he had to numb her and paralyze her in the process. And although it hid the symptoms he knew it did nothing to delay the battle going on within her.
"Danielle was so smart, but she was slow to start talking." Cora continued. "You worried about it, thought that something was wrong with her. But one day she started talking, but not how most children do with short mispronounced words that gradually make their way into sentences. No she started right with the sentences. And once she got a hold of language she was quite the debater, quite like her mother. I believe she wanted to be just like you. It didn't help that she looked just like you. I remember when she was born and I looked into her eyes I swore they could have been yours, dark brown, like pools that you could get lost in. Once her hair started to grow it was dark brown as well, matched her eyes, she had beautiful curls when it was down but for some reason she loved braids. One of her favorite things to do was to ride horses, you were always with her whenever she did this of course. I don't think you wanted to believe it but you were quite the protective mother. The two of you would play a game that you called adventure time, in which you would ride horses and so for walks in the woods. Sometimes without any guards, it was really quite careless. On Danielle's fifth birthday you announced that you were pregnant again. But sadly not that long after you miscarried and almost died."
"I remember that" Regina said hoarsely.
"You talked about running away with Danielle once you got better. I think you saw me as a threat. But I couldn't have that, I couldn't lose my daughter. So I faked Danielle's death. One day when you were still recovering Danielle went out horse riding, and I made it look like she died from a riding accident. But actually I gave her to a family that had recently lost their own child, that I used and transformed to look like Danielle. It was on her funeral that you sent me through the looking glass." Cora finished her story.
Regina closed her eyes, trying to make sense of what was happening in side of her head. During her mother's story images had flashed through her head. Of a child wrapped in a blanket, holding a hand and she walked to the stables, and a very young girl riding a horse. This person felt familiar to her somehow but besides the familiarity she sensed nothing but a hollow feeling.
"Can you listen to more?" Gold asked.
"Well I'm not exactly in a state to protest." Regina answered.
"If you feel as though you can't handle it we will stop, but I believe it is best for you." Gold explained.
"I don't know how your stories can serve me but if it makes you happy by all means continue." Regina said.
"Mary Margaret I think it would be best if you were to go next" Gold said.
