Author's Note: This chapter is a week late. For that I am sorry. Real life has turned my world upside down recently. I have had little to no time to write anything. I hope that you will enjoy the chapter none the less. This week has proven to be filled with inspiration and the coming week promises to have plenty of time to write. Which means, for the first time, I may be able to post two chapters in one week. Keep your fingers crossed. :-)
No Swan Queen interaction but some Snow/Regina goodness. :-D This chapter was originally supposed to end chapter seven, but that would have made the chapter nearly twenty pages. But it also works that this chapter is posted today, before tomorrow's episode of Once Upon a Time, since it explains a bit about Regina's hatred for Snow White and their past.
Chapter 8
'History Repeated'
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Regina huffs a sigh of relief as she drops the blonde Princess to her bed. The woman was not light by any means, her body lean and muscular beneath her gown. The gown alone weighs a ton in her opinion. Regina had had to carry the girl through the hallway to these chambers. Locating the proper chambers had been simple enough. There had been a patrol of guards moving in and out of the room with dogs, hoping to give the canines the scent of the Princess to help them track her down.
Wouldn't it be a sight to see when the castle woke to find Emma sleeping soundly and safely in her own rooms come daybreak? Regina had been surprised to find that not only were Emma's chambers warded, but so were Snow and James' chambers, and the boy's chambers. She had yet to gain the young boy's name, but promised to inquire it with Maleficent. The shape-shifter would be displeased that she was showing an interest in another child, but her interests lie in giving a name to the adorable young man. He would one day be a worthy foe, of that Regina is sure.
The fact remains that the royal family's chambers are warded, but much of the castle remains unwarded. Regina sensed a great deal of magic coming from beneath the castle when she arrived, but had no time to investigate fully. She promises herself she will investigate the anomaly further at another date. For now, she simply wishes to alleviate herself of her burden and return to her castle. It has been a long day after all.
Looking down at the sleeping Princess, Regina shakes her head. The woman is dead to the world, yet her chest rises and falls and her heart still beats. Exhaustion as well as a bit of magically induced sleep keep the princess in her deep slumber. She remains unconscious even as Regina brushes some of her wayward locks of golden hair behind her ear. The worries that had creased across the young woman's face no longer mar her countenance, and when she is not wielding a deadly weapon (or several) Emma is quite fetching.
Regina's fingers tingle as they brush against Emma's cheek and for a moment Regina is struck with just how beautiful the young woman is. It is no wonder she exemplifies beauty. After all, "You look like a replica of your parents…" How Regina did not connect the woman's linage at their first meeting escapes her. Perhaps she had just thought that no daughter of Snow White would dare come after her halfcocked. Then again hadn't Snow herself once done the same in her youth and ignorance?
Chuckling softly, Regina turns to leave. She cannot transport herself from this room to her castle. So, she like any normal mortals walks across the open bedchambers towards the doors. Her feet stop when she hears Emma coo in her sleep.
"Mmmm…Mr. Antler…" Turning to look over her shoulder, Regina is struck dumb at the sight of the Princess pulling a raggedy looking toy from beneath the pillow. The princess unconsciously snuggles against her beloved toy. A smile cracks through and she struggles to keep in her laughter.
Now, whenever thinking back to the huntress that had stalked her like an expert marksman and tracker, she will forever see that same skilled killer snuggling up to a plush toy like a child. Emma seems like a pure being that, although dark in many aspects of her life, she still held onto a childlike innocence that Regina had lost far too early in life. The sight of such innocence always calls to a part of Regina that she has long tried to suppress. One that wishes to—for only a single moment—to feel that same sense of awe and reverence, and see the world as others did.
Grinning Regina blindly leaves the sleeping Princess behind, opening and closing the large doors behind her as silently as possible. With her back to the hallway, Regina holds her palm against the closed door, her face instantly returning to its stoic and cold façade. Grabbing the edge of her cape she spins around and nearly trips over her own feet at the sight before her in the otherwise empty hallway.
"You!" Snow hisses her mouth open to scream for, well, anyone.
Regina races forward, appearing through a puff of black smog instantly in front of Snow White. Grabbing a hold of the raven haired woman's head she wraps one arm around the back of her head and covers her mouth with her other. Thankfully her gloves keep the squeal that would have been a scream, muffled.
"Now, let us be honest with each other Snow…" Regina breathes, "This is not the first time you have seen me sneaking out of those chambers." After all, before Emma slept in them, they belonged to Snow White's mother and had not changed even after the Queen's death. Regina does not know when they changed, when Snow White decided to rearrange the chambers and why she would give them to her daughter. The witch wonders where all of the former Queen's things are. She wonders if Snow kept any of them, if Snow was even the one to rummage through her mother's belongings. Surely then the woman would have had many questions if she had, questions Regina knew no one would wish to answer even so many years later.
Snow's eyes widen at the implication, even as Regina smirks. "I am going to release you, and you are not going to scream. If you do, I will reconsider my kindness and take your darling Princess back. I assure you that she is safe, unharmed, and fast asleep in her own bed." Snow's glare softens, but is still unconvinced. "I swear to you on my own life, that Emma is in those chambers, fast asleep and unharmed."
This seems to calm the Queen, even if it does surprise her. The shock is evident upon her face, even if half of it is covered by Regina's gloved hand. Snow had only calmed down enough to leave the dungeons moments ago. The echoes of a long time enemy of both women, rejoicing at the death of Snow's daughter grating at her nerves. Even now those words war against the part of her that wishes to believe Regina is telling her the truth. Seeing Regina now, standing before her, swearing on her own life that Emma is safe, unharmed, and sleeping sounding in her own chambers, troubles Snow. Who is she to believe? Rumpelstiltskin who has no reason to lie to her? Or Regina, who, if having killed Emma has every reason to lie to her face?
"Now, I am going to release you, no screaming…or calling for help, I already have a headache. I do not need a migraine." She informs tiredly. "Deal?" Regina waits for Snow to nod her head in agreement before she slowly releases the Queen, and steps back from her.
"What are you playing at?" Snow hisses, her voice low and gruff as she looks around the open hallway as if expecting to see a hidden accomplice ready to strike.
Regina merely raises a brow, remaining silent. What game is she playing? Honestly, she no longer knows. Which is very unlike her as Maleficent was quick to point out.
"I have no game to play here Snow. I am simply returning what is not mine to have taken."
"You lie." Regina sighs, she had just sworn on her own life that Emma is unharmed and in her own rooms. What else would it take for this impatient woman to take her seriously?
Perhaps by not kidnapping her child, a small voice tells Regina. Swatting the voice away Regina keeps her eyes on the formerly younger woman. How odd it is to realize that now she is the younger woman of the two. "I have no reason to lie."
Snow does not believe her and contemplates breaking her word and screaming, calling attention to herself and Regina. No, she cannot do that just yet. Regina could simply transport herself to freedom and safety here in the hallway. However, if she were to step back into Emma's chambers, there would be no use of magic, no escape for the witch.
"Prove it…" Snow challenges.
Regina shoulders sag, her posture saying 'very well' as she about faces. With her back to Snow she realizes she is giving the Queen ample opportunity to take advantage of her, but brushes the idea away quickly. With about ten long strides Regina she once again before the Princess' closed doors. Looking over her shoulder Regina is surprised that Snow has not followed her or moved an inch. Jerking her head roughly towards the door she signals for the Queen to follow her.
Snow looks around their immediate vicinity before picking up the skirt to her gown to follow after Regina. Opening the door just as Snow steps behind her Regina reveals Emma's rooms. The large sitting room with its long couch and cushioned chairs by the carved fire place is lit by the embers of the burning logs. Just beyond the sitting room are open double doors to Emma's bedchambers, where the canopied bed sits in the center of the room. Even from where the women stand, one could make out the sight of a curled up lump—otherwise known as Princess Emma—lying peacefully in her own bed.
Of course this isn't enough for the mother and she leaves Regina standing by the open door as she checks over her daughter, the click of her heels echoing through the room as she rushed forward to ease her fears. Regina follows the woman at a slower pace, slightly uncomfortable remaining here long enough to watch Snow embrace her slumbering child and ascertain her health.
Reaching the bed, Snow sits on the edge and leans over it. Brushing Emma's hair away from her face she gently calls out for her daughter. "Emma…Emma, sweetie?" Snow tries in vain to wake her daughter as Regina steps into the bedroom, her arms crossed over her chest as she leans back against the ornate door beside her.
"Your words will not wake her. She will sleep on." Snow slowly turns towards her, but Regina's focus is on the sleeping Princess who remains unaware of the rest of the world as she sleeps. "You know the spell," Regina nonchalantly informs. She used it on most of the guards around the castle when she'd arrived earlier that evening.
"You bitch!" The Queen's nose flares as her eyes burn with hatred. If it were not such a startling sight, Regina would think it rather cute that the poised Queen can so easily revert to her foul tempered thief persona with nothing but the blink of an eye. It has been years since Regina has been graced with this willful creature.
Before Regina can even speak a word of reassurance or mock the Queen for jumping to conclusions (and maybe berate herself for not being clearer) white gloved hands are around her neck. Her feet shuffle backwards so she is not trapped between this enraged mother and a wall.
"How dare you! How dare you!" Snow fumes, her grip growing steadily tighter.
Regina wants nothing more than to ask Snow if she'd gained multiple personalities since her departure. However with the grip of Snow's hands around her neck there are more pressing matters to deal with than dealing the Queen a barbed insult.
"You promised!" Snow accuses. "You swore…!" Tears stream from the queen's eyes and Regina briefly wonders why they haven't turned to steam for the fire in Snow's eyes surely would evaporate them within moments.
With the wards around the room Regina cannot hope to escape Snow's arms with the help of magic and the Queen's hands are surprisingly strong as they begin to squeeze at her throat. Regina feels a thread of panic enter her, but only for a moment. She will be damned if Snow White has yet another victory over her. This victory for Snow will not be the last loss Regina will face. She will not meet her end by the hands of this girl-turned-woman.
Regina grits her teeth as she grabs Snow's wrists as tightly as she can. Her nails bite into Snow's skin, their gloves doing nothing to prevent the crescent moon shapes from appearing on ivory skin.
Doing her best to lead them out from these rooms, to where she stands a better chance against the enraged mother, Regina keeps back stepping. The constant shift keeps a distance from her and Snow, forcing the Queen to follow her at arm's length and keeps Snow from putting any more pressure against her neck.
"Bring her back, damn you, bring her back!"
Without real knowledge of the furniture around the room, Regina does not see the couch until she is lying over the arm of it with Snow White on top of her. In any other circumstances she would have been crude and made several sexual comments to the usually prudish girl. Sadly, this time she has barely enough air left in her lungs to spit out "Lehht…ga…"
The adrenaline running through both women is like magic, it crackles invisibly beneath their skin forcing strength into muscles normally underused. The weight of Snow White's body on top of her allows the Queen to press down hard enough on Regina's throat that the witch can practically feel her trachea collapsing.
In a moment of panic and desperation Regina lifts her leg, wraps it around Snow White's hip like a lover and spins them off of the couch pushing up with her shoulder blades and hips.
"Ughff…." The wosh of Snow's breath against her décolletage relieves Regina as the Queen's hands release their hold. Scrambling, even as she coughs desperately, trying to breathe through the sore muscle, she skims down Snow's body till she is straddling the Queen's waist. Turning her head into her forearm Regina coughs; her lungs and throat burning. She blindly reaches out her hands and grabs onto Snow's wrists and presses down on them. She traps Snow as effectively as she can. Her neck burns, and she knows the moment she returns to Maleficent's fortress she will be scolded, sure to have bruises again.
Snow regains her breath back first and begins to scuffle beneath Regina, bucking and thrashing wildly. Regina grits her teeth and holds on for dear life, knowing that if she is topped at this moment she will have no chance against the queen.
The apple sure didn't fall far from the tree with these two, Regina thinks hollowly as she wheezes her eyes red rimmed as if she had been crying. Not a single tear has fallen.
"Oh, dear, now, look…at what….you've," Regina coughs, wincing as she swallows what little saliva that has gathered, "—made me do." Regina sighs, bowing her head a bit, resting. Beneath her chest her heart slows its erratic pounding.
"Gah! Get off me you evil witch!"
Regina grins, she can't help herself. Of all the insults the Queen could have thrown at her at this very moment, she chooses the commonly used one. How boring. Surely Snow can do better than that? Hadn't she taught the woman anything in her formidable years? Regina's face hardens at the thought. Yes, she had taught Snow a great deal as a child but of all that had been taught there was one learned behavior that Regina had not taught her well enough.
The woman can't keep a secret to save her life, Regina thought bitterly.
Ire rose within her as Snow continued to struggle beneath her. Regina tightened her grip until her knuckles turned white and Snow winced at the pain. "Won't James be the jealous little fool." Laughing at the red hued cheeks beneath her and the rise in Snow's attempts to free herself.
"Do stop your incessant worming around. Your daughter is fast asleep…"
"You put her under that foul curse!" Snow accuses her eyes blazing brighter than they had moments before. This time when Snow bucks Regina wonders how her spine remained intact.
She has little time to wonder about such durable bones as she's thrown head over tea kettle. This time however she knows what Snow plans and rolls to the side and onto her knees as fast as she can. It is still hard to breathe but she manages to regain her feet a second before Snow does.
Keeping a safe distance between them, Regina stands behind the couch they'd fallen on top of.
"Your child is fine!" Regina tries, albeit bitterly, to reassure Snow of this fact, sure that this has to do with her misspoken assurance that Emma would sleep till morning. Except she hadn't said morning, she'd unwittingly allowed for Snow to assume Emma would sleep 'on' under the spell Snow knew well.
"To think, I believed you. Even after he spoke of her death. I believed you. Why do I always believe you!" Snow had lost her mind, Regina was sure of it. She was raging at herself, angry that she'd apparently fallen for another of Regina's 'tricks'.
"I swore to you that she was well! On my life…" Regina side steps. She needs to keep some kind of furniture between her and Snow as the Queen rounds the edge of the couch and Regina steps behind a plush chair.
"So it is your life I will take for your lie!" Snow lunges for Regina, and although Regina has waited years to do it she feels no satisfaction when her closed fist meets Snow White's nose and there's a crunch. The crunch should be satisfying, honestly it should, but the sight of the blood makes her sick to her stomach instead. Snow cries out at the pain as Regina winces at the shock moving up from her knuckles to her forearm.
Growling at her own emotions over the situation, the sight of Snow White bent at the waist both of her hands cupping her nose to staunch the blood flow, Regina steps closer to the injured woman. The same woman who'd been moments away from killing her, the same woman who'd caused her more pain than anyone ever could do again, the very same woman that she'd helped raise and watched grow up to look so much like her mother.
Regina feels tears spring to her eyes but they will not fall, she won't allow them to. Taking a deep breath she places her hands on Snow's shoulder. She jumps back when Snow swings at her, one hand pressing tightly to her nose as the other tries to grab purchase on her.
Shaking her head at the two of them, the situation she is in presently, and how several years ago she would have taken pleasure in seeing Snow in pain, she tries again.
"Come with me," Regina instructs. Snow snaps her head up, her eyes speaking for her. 'You must be crazy' they say most effectively. Regina is almost sure that Snow says it aloud she can hear the Queen's voice so clearly in her mind with just the look.
"Emma will be fine. As I promised you before. She is going to sleep on until the morning. Not unlike her mother, she jumped to conclusions and attacked me. She injured her ankle after breaking my nose—much like I have done to yours—and I healed her."
"Whay?" Snow's voice is muffled and nasal. The question is clear however. Why would she heal Emma after taking her? Why not just kill her? Make Snow suffer much like she had suffered?
"Because I had and still have no intentions of being responsible for hurting her. She is under a sleeping spell," Regina squeezes Snow's shoulder, feeling Snow stiffen beneath her touch. "The same spell I used on your imbecile guards this evening. She will wake in the morning just like the rest of them. Well rested and unharmed. Just as I promised." Regina annunciates the last sentence, trying to focus Snow on this sole fact, while knowing the Queen will focus on anything but it.
"Now, follow me. I cannot heal your nose while in these chambers. A fact you well know." Snow would never attack her, face her head on, knowing she could use magic. The playing field is level in these chambers, something Regina is not very comfortable with. As talented as she is as a witch, she has no skill in hand to hand combat. She is decent with a bow and arrow—better than decent honestly—but anything involving a sword or fists she would lose at. It is why she had hired hands that could use a sword and their very body as a weapon. It is something she plans to rectify immediately. She will not be caught unawares again. Never again will she be forced to be a victim unable to protect herself or those she loves. Never.
Regina shakes her head, now is not the time to rehash the past. Especially that past. "Come along, your Highness…"
Snow does not move. Regina steps away from the Queen, sighing when Snow remains where she is, slightly bent over. Blood has begun to slip through her fingers and drips onto the floor beneath them and down her arm, staining her white gown. Beneath Snow's green eyes lay numerous questions. None of which Regina wishes to answer at the moment. All she wants to do is heal the Queen, take her leave, let Maleficent yell at her, drop into her own bed and sleep for the next two days. She cannot say that living in Fairytale world is not interesting. She hasn't had this much 'fun' in years. If she's honest she hasn't had to work this hard in years either.
"Snow, please." Regina requests, her shoulders sagging as she stares at the woman, hoping she will give in. "I wish to leave, but I will not do so until you are no longer bleeding. Please, follow me. I cannot help you while in these chambers."
Snow seems to consider her options, her eyes looking to Emma's rooms and the mess they have created of the sitting room. Nodding she begins to follow Regina out of the rooms. She insists however that they leave the doors to the chambers open, and only stand right outside them. It is a precaution, Regina knows this. She does not argue. She has no energy left to argue. Her head is slowly killing her, her neck is sore, her chest is tight, and her back is throbbing. She just wants to go home and rest. She like everyone else is only human, she can only handle so much.
Regina flinches as she sees the damage she has done to Snow's nose. "This will only take a moment…"
Snow closes her eyes and grimaces the entire time, the lightning like touch of magic against her face tickles. She gasps against the pain but as soon as it started it is gone and the throbbing stops.
"There…" Regina drops her hand away, turning her back to take her leave.
"Why take her just to return her?" Snow asks, stopping Regina in her tracks.
Regina turns and truly takes Snow in. She has truly aged her eighteen years, but still retains every ounce of her beauty. The mirror was right, she truly is the fairest of them all, even now as she has wrinkles, worry and laugh lines, and has blood staining her chin neck and clothing. They do nothing but enhance the beauty before her. It is sickening. And wholly unfair, but Regina wonders if Emma will age as elegantly as her mother.
Not that she cares!
She has no interest in how the Princess will age. Nor does she care about her beauty. She would much rather never see the insolent brat again. Well, maybe…
"I had no intentions of taking her. Call it an impulse." Regina shrugs; it is truly just old tricks dying hard. "I had originally planned to just transport her to her rooms and be on my way, but your daughter is a bit…" Regina looks around in her own mind for a proper description of the Princess, "…rowdy when frightened." Regina wishes she could point out to the bruise Emma had caused her as payback for snatching her, but Maleficent had made quick work of healing them and her ankle before she'd brought Emma back. Maleficent wanted her in tip top form for arriving back at this castle unprotected and without aide.
"Why should I trust you…" Snow has every right to be skeptical, Regina knows this. It is just very tiring to have to explain herself all of the time.
"You have no choice but to trust me, and you know you do. Even if you do not wish to admit it. The only reason you have not screamed is because a part of you trusts in my words. You know that I am not lying to you. It is why even while you were angry with me and trying to kill me, you did not stab me with the dagger I know is in the insole of your left leg."
Snow's left leg shifts and her eyes widen. The Queen surely wondering now why she had not just grabbed it and stabbed Regina when she had the chance in Emma's rooms. Regina is grateful that she didn't have the foresight to do just that, as she had been unprepared for the Queen's attack and would have surely died at her hands had she gone for the dagger rather than the use of her hands. The only reason she knew the Queen had the dagger at all was when she'd been atop the woman, she'd felt the handle press against the outside of her own thigh.
Snow sighs, hating that Regina is right, or seems to be at least. Still, her eyes track the doors of Emma's room before meeting Regina's again. The sight of her slumbering daughter calming her assuring her that of all things Regina has said and done to her, killing or cursing her daughter is not one of them.
There is still a part of her that trusts Regina. It should have died years ago, but there are too many memories—long buried as they are—that make it impossible for her to overlook Regina when she is being honest. This is the woman that raised her. Even if the years have eaten away at the happiness that once lived within Regina's heart, there are still pieces of that young woman in Regina. Pieces that Snow sees glimpses of at the most inopportune times, such as this one.
"Sometimes I wish I could hate you." Snow admits her heart hard in her chest as she feels tears fill her eyes. "I wish that I could hate you for all the pain you've caused me. For all that you've done."
All I've done…Regina's jaw flexes as her entire body tenses, waiting for some undercut blow. Or is it coiling in on itself waiting and readying itself so she can pounce on Snow the moment she steps over the line?
"I try, I try so hard, and sometimes I can. Sometimes, I can hate you. I can feel nothing but hatred and anger and betrayal. It's so strong and I hardly know what to do with myself when I do feel like that. All I want is to hurt something, to break apart everything I've ever built up in frustration because I could never take that anger out on you or anyone else."
Snow takes several deep breaths trying to calm down. "I… Regina I," Snow whispers, a single tear sliding free as she stares down at the stone floor beneath her. "I wished you gone so many times Regina. I wished you dead and then when you left, when you were as good as dead, I wanted you back."
"My aren't you the little masochist…" Regina's voice is hollow, no amusement in her tone or posture.
Snow laughs decrepitly. Of course in her vulnerability and honest to goodness heartfelt reminiscence Regina would strike out. Cut at her more. "As sick and masochistic as it is, what am I without you?" Snow asks, finally looking up from the floor. "I didn't know for the longest time. What is a heroine without her villainess? Watching Aurora mend fences with Maleficent, I wanted that. I wanted to have you back as you were before…"
"Before you ruined it, ruined me." Regina accuses her hands trembling as she stares at Snow. It seems unreal, unnatural for the White Queen to stand before her admitting to her deepest darkest secrets. Once upon a time, Regina would have welcomed all of Snow's secrets and kept every single one of them. But that was a different life time and she was a different person. A whole person. Now, she is fragmented and jaded, and the fault lay with the woman in front of her.
"Poor little Snow White, afraid of her own feelings." Regina maliciously teases. "You have no right to speak of anger and betrayal."
"You killed my father!" Snow yells, her voice echoing across the floor. "You were supposed to love him! He was your husband! And you killed him! You tried to kill me!" Snow shrieks, very unlady like.
Regina's head tilts to the side as she can hardly speak through her fury. "I wish I had been the one to kill him. I wish I had been there when he died so he could look into my eyes and know it was me. To know that he had lost—to me! He…he deserved much more than a painless death for what he did!" Regina retorts, fists forming at her sides.
"He loved you!" Regina sputters at the mere idea that King Leopold had loved her. "He loved me!" Snow wails, "He was a good man."
"Ha!" Regina truly cackles evilly at the idea of Leopold being a good man. "You are still so naïve…he did not love me. He never loved me and I never loved him. He needed someone to take care of you and he needed to keep a close eye on me. Afraid that after Lily died…"
Snow reels at the mention of her mother's name. It has been years since anyone has said it aloud. Many referring to the deceased Queen as 'the queen mother' rather than her given name. Sometimes Snow forgets it at times. "My mother…? What does she have to do with any of this?"
"Yes your mother, and if you would let me finish I could tell you the significance of her death!" Regina hisses. Snow snaps her jaw shut, but her glare speaks of how she does not appreciate being silent. Regina does not care. "Your father was not the man you think of him as. He never was that man, not for as long as you were alive."
"Are you saying I changed him?" Snow could not keep silent, not when Regina stood before her and had the audacity to insult her father. To speak ill of the man she had killed, whether by her own hand or by assassination was the last straw. To insinuate that Snow White was the reason her father was…what? He was a good man! He had always been a good man, always! (To her at least)
"Do not put words in my mouth!"
"Then explain this to me!"
"I would if you let me finish a single thought! My gods…" Regina throws her arms into the air, exasperated.
Snow sighs, her chest heaving in her frustrated anger. "Go on then…" She bites out.
Regina looks around the hall, surprised that no one has come upon them yet. There is a tingle at the back of her neck, like she should recognize something, but even as she focuses her powers on identifying anything out of the ordinary, nothing makes itself known.
"Your father was a kind man—once. He was a young Lord that caught the eye of the only daughter of King John II, your mother. He knew I would do everything in my power to see him crumble. He was not the rightful heir to this kingdom. He married your mother, the rightful ruler of this kingdom. He had belittled and slowly over powered her in the years they were together. He loved her, in his own way, but what he loved more, was power. He knew that I would try and usurp him after your mother died. I was the only one willing to speak out against him. I had no respect for him, my only respect lie in your mother. She had," Regina's throat closes and she has to take the time to clear it before continuing, "She had helped raise me. I was your mother's lady in waiting."
"What…that's…you're lying." Snow shook her head, unbelieving. Her father was the rightful King to this kingdom. He had been the rightful heir, not her mother. If her mother had been the rightful heir than when she died, Snow would have immediately been raised to take her place as Queen. She would not have lived as a Princess in this castle. No matter the misogynistic beliefs of this kingdom, she would have been promised to a Prince and married young so she and her husband could rule. Her father would not rule if he was not from the royal bloodline.
None of that happened. None of the natural progression in the secession of royal anointment had taken place. So, Regina must be lying. She had to be.
Regina laughs, "No, afraid not. Your father was as born royal as I was. And I am not from any royal bloodline, Snow. My mother was a lady at court that died after giving birth to me. She was unmarried and had been having an affair with a man that worked at the mills. The scandal would have ruined my grandfather's name. He would have had me killed had my father not saved me and fled here. He was a miller…an average man."
"I remember, he was always humming or whistling a tune. He was very kind…" Snow nods her head, agreeing with at least one part of Regina's tale. Tall tale though it seemed to be, Snow could not dispute what she truly did not know. Not factually at least.
"I became your mother's lady in waiting when I was very young. I was chosen by her specifically because she…" Regina sighs feeling her breath leave her as the memory of Lily wound itself through her mind. "Snow," Regina tries to break it to the woman gently. She honestly truly does. "…your mother was a very powerful white wicca, a witch."
"You lie!"
"Snow…"
"No, my mother was not a witch, she…"
"Listen to me!" Regina bellows, sure that within minutes their discussion would end, guards surely on their way to their present location.
"She was nothing like me, Snow. She was my Teacher. She taught me the Rede and about the beauty and power and magic found in the earth and in everything around us. She taught me about the Goddess and God. But I am the one that turned away from it. I am the one that turned to the dark after she died. Lily would, she probably is, very disappointed with the way I have lived my life." That acknowledgement literally took Regina's break away, even as it was no longer an epiphany. "I turned away from her teachings, our beliefs, because of my anger and my need for vengeance." Regina hears the thumping footfalls of the approaching patrol. She should have been quieter, but Snow just got her so angry! The air around her crackles her hands itching with the magic surging through them.
Shooting her gaze back to Snow she grinds her teeth together. She should have known better than to tell Snow this here, now. This was not the time for a proper history lesson. "I would have done anything for you. I promised your mother that I would take care of you. That promise is the only reason I married Leopold, the only reason I stayed after..." Regina closes her eyes as she feels her heart constrict, knowing she had broken that promise many times over the years in her own selfish search for vengeance.
"Had you kept your word to me, had you never told Leopold about Calla," Regina sees the guards coming around the corner, and shakes her head, tears falling freely down her cheeks at the memory of her beloved. "—I would have ensured your succession to the throne at fourteen."
"No, no you, no, you lie, why would…"
"Snow!" James screams as he races down the hallway. Behind him, what looks like a legend of guards following. How they knew to come back to the castle, Regina does not know and does not question. Looking sharply back to Snow she hisses one last instruction.
"If you do not believe me ask Merryweather!" Regina advices before she disappears, guards led by James ten feet away from her as black smoke envelopes her.
Snow remains still, staring at the empty space Regina once filled with her lies and blasphemy. It is hard to breathe. The air in the hallway seems to disappear all at once as Snow considers what Regina was saying.
Somewhere behind her, Fauna and the Blue Fairy drop the disillusion spell that had kept themselves and their large group hidden from Regina.
"Snow…?" James questions softly, holding some of his men back as he takes a single step forward towards his wife.
"It's not true…" Snow whispers to herself as she shakes her head no. "It's not true…" Snow storms passed James and his contingent of guards, some of whom had rushed in to see if their Princess was indeed back in the castle walls.
Snow needs to see Emma, she needs to assure herself that Emma is safe once again. She needs her daughter to wake up. She almost hopes that Emma will not wake up in the morning—almost. Even in her desperation to prove, at least to herself, that Regina was lying, she would never put Emma in danger to appease apart of herself. If Emma does not rise in the morning of her own accord like Regina promised then it will be easier for Snow to suspect everything the witch has said.
It has to be all lies. Her mother was not a witch, white witch or not, she would have been told. Someone would have told her about her mother's dabbles into magic. Someone would have told her about Regina's position as her mother's former lady in waiting. Regina would have only been a child, no older than Jamie when she entered this castle as her mother's lady in waiting. And surely someone would have told her that her father was not the rightful King to this kingdom. Wouldn't they?
Seeing Emma lying peacefully on her bed, still dressed in her gown with Mr. Antler wrapped tightly in her embrace, Snow cracks. Covering her mouth with both of her hands she stifles her sob as she stumbles forward. She drops down onto the edge of the bed and wraps her arms tightly around Emma's waist, crying into her daughter's shoulder.
She's safe. Emma is safe. She's not dead or hurt or missing. She's right where she belongs—wrapped up in her arms.
Everything else doesn't matter. At least not for now.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"Well it is about time, what took you so long I was about to send a search party after you. Borrowing some of Elphaba's monkeys of course. Now what…" Maleficent's tirade stops the moment she catches sight of Regina's face. "I will kill the girl," Maleficent growls as she slams her drink down and rises from her chair.
Lady Tremaine even looks concerned at the sight of Regina's tears. Augusta has never seen Regina cry, ever.
"Fee…" Regina sobs and falls to her knees as Maleficent wraps her arms around her, gentling her fall as they both sit upon the purple rug.
Maleficent knows by the haunted look in her friend's eyes and the whispers of Calla's name in the witch's mind what has her so upset. Maleficent grits her teeth as she coddles Regina, shushing her and telling her everything will be alright, even as she knows that it will not. For Regina the world has not been right for nearly ten years. It has been more for Maleficent and those in this realm. Here it has been twenty six years since Calla died, no, since she was murdered.
Maleficent never saw Regina cry. Not even while retelling the gruesome story of Calla's death. Not a single tear had fallen. Not one. The pain was evident. Maleficent had seen the pain, clear as day in the way Regina's whole body trembled, how her magic was searching for an outlet, how the sparks leaving her fingers were no longer the light blue that they had always been. The change in Regina was seen clearly through her shifted aura, her shifted magic. The once white witch had closed off her heart to the world around her and swore vengeance and let the dark take her over.
Maleficent doesn't know what to do. She has never had to hold Regina as she is now, rocking them back and forth as she tries her best to calm her. She wonders if anyone has had to hold her as she grieves. Surely her father must have held her after Calla's death. He was the only one that Regina would let in after Leopold murdered Calla. Henry was the only person to ever see pieces of the old Regina, the woman that Regina had not been again—until recently.
Maleficent knew it better than Regina did. As hard as Regina is fighting this change, it is happening. Her heart, once cold and black is graying, it is softening. It has taken ten years, but slowly Regina is returning to who she had always been meant to be. There are now sparks of the old Regina in her everyday actions. Her kindness, the openness of her smiles, and the spark in her brown eyes. They all spoke of the true change within the woman. It is a change only Maleficent is aware of it seems. Not that anyone besides Henry would recognize the shift. No one else was ever as close to Regina as Maleficent and Henry.
"I hate her…I hate her, I hate her, Fee…" Regina repeats, the depth of her hatred seeping further and further into her words as she repeats the statement like a mantra.
"Shh…shhh, darling I know you do, Gina. I know you do. She's a wretched little brat just like her daughter."
"I…I miss her so much…" Maleficent, even reading Regina's mind, is unsure who the woman is referring to. Did she miss Calla? Snow? Or Lily?
Maleficent truly does not know and could not even offer a guess.
Slowly, Regina's words are lost to her as she sobs, releasing ten years of harbored pain. The anguish that echoes through the open hall is that of a grieving woman. It pulls at even Lady Tremaine's heart. Augusta is a cold woman but it cannot be said that she does not love her two daughters. She has done many things to ensure their happiness, even at the expense of that wretched Cinderella. So she does not know what she would do if her beloved daughters had been taken from her in the manner that Regina's daughter had been taken. Perhaps she too would have changed exponentially from the bright and happy woman into a heartless and calculating dark witch.
"She was only two…" Regina sobs, her fists tight as they bunch up the material of Maleficent's gown. "She wasn't even three years old, Fee…she wasn't even three…"
End Chapter Eight