Snow finds herself in a field of wildflowers when she opens her eyes. She looks around her and spies the familiar estate to the north of where she stands. It doesn't take her long to spot Regina. She's grown again, and is happily chasing the sunlight, laughing and giggling as she plays. She stops only briefly to hug a tree and whisper to it.
"Hello, tree. Did you know today is my birthday?"
And it's in that moment that Snow wishes she had stayed in bed with her fiancé instead of traipsing through Regina's godforsaken memories. For a child must truly to be lonely to tell a tree that it's their birthday.
Snow had never had never had a reason to tell anyone or anything it was her birthday - everyone and everything already knew. Her nanny, Johanna, the servants, the guards, the cooks, her mother and father, and even Regina had always remembered the date and were always prepared with gifts and well-wishes. Snow doubts very much that anyone in yonder estate had an inkling of what today was, and it tore her heart to shreds.
"Mother got angry when I told her, but that's okay, because she said my present was I could go outside without her."
What beast of a mother got angry over their child's birthday? Snow's opinion of Cora grew less and less with each new memory she saw. She watches as the young version of her stepmother continued to frolic through the tall blossoms, humming and giggling.
Suddenly, she's overcome with the most awful feeling. Even she doesn't know when the queen's birthday is. They had never celebrated it when her father was alive, and she had never thought to ask Regina.
What must it feel like to have no one know the one day that can make you just the slightest bit happy? Snow tries to think of a day when Regina's smile had been just a little more hopeful, a little less sad. But she can't. The all blend together in a mass of sad and forced shows of affection. Oh how she wishes she had never gone to the blasted garden! Oh, to be ignorant once more!
Tears come in steady streams as she watches Regina laugh and sing, free of pain, but not of loneliness. Rumple's words ring in her ears as the memory slowly fades away.
"Lonely you are, and lonely you shall always be."
o0o
"How dare you leave without my permission!"
Snow was getting rather tired of being greeted by Cora's cold, harsh words. Why couldn't any of these damn memories have a pleasant start to them? She watches as a now blossoming Regina fidgets with one of the few remaining buttons on the girl's dirty and torn dress.
"Daddy said-"
The girl is promptly cut off by a swift slap to the face. But despite the cruel action of her mother, Regina remains calm, raising her hand only to cover the reddening cheek.
They are in the estate's stables, a place not unfamiliar to Snow. She looks around her, and it's then that she spots the young figure peeking its head from behind the stall door. It must be him - it has to be him.
"You dare to think your father has any say in how you are raised?"
Regina's eyes remain fixed on her scuffed and muddy shoes. "I only wanted to play with the other children, Mother."
Before she can even register what has happened, Regina stumbles back, blood coming from where she grips her mouth. Snow nearly loses the contents of her stomach when she sees the riding whip in Cora's hand, its edge tainted with the blood of the struck child. She watches in horror as Regina's hand is cruelly snatched away from her face, revealing the deep gash left in her upper lip.
Cora flings the whip aside and grabs her daughter firmly by the shoulders, forcing her to straighten her back, though the young girl's lips still tremble and her eyes dart around in fear.
"You will remember your place, Regina, or my next punishment will not be so kind."
Snow wishes in that moment it was not a memory she was witnessing, for she would surely kill this wretched witch without a second thought. She watches the woman leave and longs to gather the sobbing girl into her arms. To hold her close and whisper words of comfort. But she suspects someone in the memory is going to do the job for her.
Snow watches as he slowly creeps out from his hiding place, and his timid steps do not alert Regina to his presence. But his small hand on her shaking shoulder does the trick, and Regina jumps away from the contact. Snow pays close attention as the almost teenaged girl whirls around to face the owner of the hand, watches as a young, giddy smile graces the tear- and blood-stained features.
"Hello, Regina."
"Daniel."
AN
Thank you guys so much for the awesome reviews! Glad that you're enjoying the story so much, and I hope to keep this story going strong to the end!
TM - Long Live the Muse