Sorry for the long wait in updating but I had trouble writing. Please enjoy and perhaps leave a few ideas?!
Regina´s dream sequence:
She was in a small cottage but didn´t know why. She had never been there before but she still seemed to recognize it. It was her mother´s cottage. She looked down at herself and saw that she was her sixteen-year old self again. Her hair was long and she was wearing a light blue dress.
,,Rapunzel!" a woman´s voice sounded from a far. Johanna!
She ran to where the voice was coming from. It was indeed her mother. The old woman was cooking some kind of soup while humming dreamingly. This was what her life could have been like, she concluded.
,,What is it, Mother?" Rapunzel asked softly and smiled at her mother. Johanna took her hand and went to the only table in the small room. This wasn´t going to be easy. Her daughter had her own will and was very stubborn so it wouldn´t be easy to tell her the surprising news. She guessed her daughter wouldn´t take it well. The ginger-haired woman sighed.
,,At the market I had a chat with the miller. His son is old enough to marry and the miller has money so I thought that maybe…well I …" she stammered nervously looking at her small daughter. Rapunzel looked shocked and shook her head. This couldn´t be.
,,You thought I could marry him. Mother, I don´t want to marry someone I barely know. I want to marry for love. There are other ways to get us money. We could, for example, sell my hair." The young girl suggested. She loved her hair but she would let it go if it meant she could stay with her mother. Her mother was everything for her and leaving her was out of the question. She just wanted love, real love.
,,But you love your hair, sweetheart." Her mother cut in with a deep frown. Of all the things she had expected to hear this was not what she expected at all. Her daughter´s hair had been growing her whole life and Rapunzel always refused a haircut and suddenly she was willing to cut it all. This was not her little girl sitting in front of her.
,,If it helps you keeping the house then it is a small price for me to pay, Mama. I just want to stay with you. I want to marry for love not for money. And if it is the only way then I´ll do it." The strong-headed girl spoke like an adult in her mother´s ears and she gave in. She couldn´t force her daughter into marriage like that. Her daughter had a free will and pushing her would make her very unhappy, Johanna knew.
So she went to her room to get some scissors while Rapunzel took a seat on the table. She was very nervous but it was the only way to get them money. They got some money from the fabrics her mother was making and selling at the market sometimes but other than that they didn´t get much.
Johanna returned with a big pair of scissors in hand and stood behind her beautiful daughter. This was a big moment for them both. She took a deep breath before taking some of the girl´s long brunette hair in her hands but she never cut anything. She just couldn´t do that to her child. The brown curls reminded her so much of her former husband. She lay the scissors down on the table and kissed her daughter´s head.
,,Mama?" Rapunzel questioned irritated. The old woman kneeled in front of her and began to explain.
,,I can´t do it, sweety. We´ll find another way to get us some money." The young girl nodded and hugged her mother tightly. She knew she was truly loved.
Slowly Regina woke from her wonderful dream with a content smile. Johanna was sitting next to the bed and held her hand tightly. ,,Mama?" she asked softly before sitting up in the bed. It was not her house she noted confused and then it all came back to her. She had been kidnapped by Cora and they had rescued her. Suddenly her hand went up to her head to find that she was still bald.
,,I´m here, sweetheart, don´t worry. We´ll find a way to grow it back. In fact I already spoke to Rumple and he gave me this." She held up a small vale with a blue glowing liquid in it. It was a potion to grow back hair.
,,What did he want in return?" Regina asked worried.
,,Nothing. He gave it to me willingly." Johanna answered smiling at her daughter. Regina smiled back remembering her dream.
,,I had a dream. It was our life. The life we could have had together. I just wish it could have been real." The younger woman explained and took the vale from her mother. She knew that it might not be working but she still tried. Rumple´s magic was stronger than Cora´s so maybe it would be able to break the spell the witch placed on her hair. She stood up and went to the mirror that stood on a wall next to the bed.
Looking at herself made her uncomfortable. She was thin, thinner than she had been before. And she was pale , very pale. In her eyes she looked terrible and added to that she lost the thing that was most beautiful about her. Her hair.
Taking one last glance at her bald self she opened the vale and drank the potion. But as she expected, it wasn´t working. Her hair only grew back to the short length it was before the head shave. She looked so much like her stepdaughter now.
She began to cry and turned away from the mirror. Her mother was quick to hug her and comfort her. She needed her now more than ever.
,,Shh, it´s okay. It will grow back eventually. You just have to be patient. Do you want me to even it out for you?" Regina nodded saddened and followed her mother to the vanity that stood against another wall. The older woman tried to not cut too much but that was more difficult than she expected. But in the end her daughter really looked a lot like Snow.
Archie came to her house later that day to see Regina. The short-haired beauty was really happy to see him.
,,I missed you." She said and smiled lovingly at the young man. He smiled too and leaned in to stroke some hair away from her face and kissed her passionately.
,,I missed you too. I love you." He answered and leaned in for another kiss.
,,I love you too."