Hey guys I'm back! So sorry about the delay, I'm finally finished trying to get my summer jobs under control (I hope), and I'm extremely excited to bring you the next chapter in this DOQ fic just in time for the start of DarkOutlawQueen week! I hope you enjoy, and don't forget to tell me what you all think in the review section!
Ever since that day, this small little island was all she'd ever known. But, she believed it was all she'd ever needed. Regina was happy, content with the freedom that her lifestyle provided. In her eyes, Martha's Vineyard was everything she'd ever wanted. It was a place in which she could live out the rest of her days liberated, distant, and free from the chains of the reality that lay beyond the salty waters that enclosed and protected the small utopia she had come to call home. Her small Bohemian-styled beach house was just perfect. For inside, Regina spent her days toiling away at one masterpiece after another. Spurred on by a patchwork of faded memories and aspects even more profound, she has worked endless hours on end perfecting her craft.
Regina is a painter; her only friends are a blank canvas and a set of brushes. She doesn't quite know how or why she's pursued such a career as a simple local artist. Perhaps it is her need for an outlet to express herself; more importantly, to express a certain depth of herself that she can't quite comprehend, let alone manifest in any other way except through art. There always seems to be a rule that an artist must know exactly what he or she puts onto the page. However, this is rarely the case with Regina. For many times, she hasn't the slightest clue as to why she'd turn up with the masterpieces she has created. Many times, she would look at a finished product and ponder what exactly about herself contributed to its making. It is an eerie thought: believing that she knows everything about herself when in reality, the artwork she has designed ends up telling a completely different tale. It's like a figure of her subconscious, manifested in the form of art on canvas whenever she would pick up a brush and paint whatever comes to mind. In a way, this fascinated Regina as she settles with the conclusion that she perhaps is simply eccentric in her own way; painting about memories as fleeting as a passing breeze mixed with a deeper understanding that lay just at the tip of her paintbrush, yet is rendered far too distant to grasp. Nevertheless, she continues on creating masterpiece after masterpiece, loving what she does and loving the reactions she obtains from her customers. Regina always has believed that she fusses way too much over the obscurity of her art pieces. After all, art isn't meant to be concrete but something that is to be left to the imagination, the imagination of the viewers. Art is not art unless the story it tells is as dubious as what meets the mind. Regina simply sees herself as a vessel to be utilized by her customers for an escape. Pushing down her darkened thoughts about her seemingly self-exposing artwork, she lets others interpret her pieces for her. After all, she much rather prefers the superficial interpretations made by her customers than any other explanation she can possibly come up with herself.
Her customers never went so far as to relate the themes of the paintings to her own deeper self. That is…until this very night.
"It's really beautiful," Reya compliments, her large brown eyes scouring over Regina's latest masterpiece in the works. "So special."
Regina shakes her head as she warily watches the young brunette from afar, leaning up against the doorframe to her living room (otherwise known as the central hub of all her artwork). "It's nothing," she sighs.
"What do you mean nothing?" the girl blurts, whirling around to give the older brunette a pointed look.
"Exactly what I said. It was just something I came up with one late night." Regina shrugs modestly.
"Are you kidding?" Reya exclaims, "You don't see what you've done here?" She gestures towards the painting. The young brunette looks back towards the canvas displayed on the easel. It's a simple yet intriguing piece of art. Swirls of blues, grays, and blacks make up the color scheme of this masterpiece. Gentle strokes of all three colors converge as one at the center to create the rough image of a mother and child, seemingly born out of the wisps of darkness that take up the entire cloth.
Regina furrows her brows as she, too, glances back towards the painting. It's her most recent work, having come to her in a peculiar dream a few nights prior. As usual, she didn't think much about it (simply putting it down to the few glasses of wine she drank just before bed) as she sat in front of her easel late that midnight; a freshly coated brush in hand. Come to think of it, it was the same night she'd found a pearly white feather stuck in the sill of her bedroom window. It was just after her dream too. Had it not been for that dream, Regina wouldn't have found herself making away across the room to open the window just enough so that she could grasp the trapped feather that flapped softly in the breeze. She pressed it to her lips and wondered about the impossible. However, Regina shook her head. She let the feather go, sticking her hand out the window and allowing the passing breeze to take it from her fingers. Regina watched it dance in the air in front of her window for a few moments before disappearing out of sight. Then she went, sat by her easel, picked up her brush, dipped it in blue and gray, and let the implement and her heart take her away in effortless strokes in patterns of swirls like that of the feather dancing in the wind.
"Are you even listening to me?" The young girl's voice echoes in the back of Regina's mind, snapping her back to reality. The older brunette shakes her head from her daze, blinking down at the child still standing before her with a look of confusion written about her features.
"Geez, you were on a completely different planet a second ago," Reya remarks.
"Sorry," Regina sighs, running a hand through her hair, "Lost in thought, I guess." She gazes back down at the young brunette with a renewed fascination. Funny how she turned up on her doorstep specifically at this point in time.
Reya shakes her head. "Well, I said that these paintings, this one especially falls exactly in line with everything that's happened before the curse. It's like your true self is shining through in the form of what you paint."
Regina raises one perfectly arched brow. "That's quite the statement coming from a kid like you."
"I'm not a kid," Reya defends, rolling her eyes.
"Mmm…whatever," Regina says, shifting from the doorframe to come and plop herself down onto the couch. "The bottom line is that I'm not so sure I'm buying into this whole curse, other self, type of thing. I mean, seriously, you really must have quite the imagination to come up with a story like that. And to think that I have a daughter. It's ridiculous. One, I am so not mother material. I can tell you that much. And two, wouldn't you think that if I had a daughter, I'd certainly remember her? There are some things in life that even tequila wouldn't be able to erase from memory." She chuckles humorlessly.
"That's not true," Reya insists, "Look, I'm telling the truth. The whole reason why you don't remember me is because of a curse that was cast a long time ago. It took you from a far away realm and made you forget who you really are, forget me…and forget your soulmate."
Regina shakes her head incredulously. "I think you might have some screws loose. I'm sorry, but what you're saying just isn't plausible. It's not real. There's no such thing as curses, or magic, or other realms. Plus, I'm pretty certain I know who I am. And I don't need a soulmate."
"Do you?" Reya challenges. She tilts her head, carefully surveying the older brunette as she slouches into the plush cushions of her couch.
"Yeah," Regina asserts. "I do."
Reya shakes her head and crosses her arms over her chest. "We'll see about that," she replies bravely.
Regina frowns, sitting up slowly. "Excuse me?" Her gaze pierces the young brunette's defiant look.
However, the older brunette's attempts at looking intimidating don't seem to faze Reya in the least as she simply shrugs nonchalantly. "Just what I said," she replies calmly, "We'll see about that." She earns nothing but a disgruntled huff from the other party. "But I think that deep down, you know that I'm right."
"My life is perfect," Regina states simply, "It's exactly how I want it to be. I don't need you coming in here and telling me that everything I have is not real. Because it is." She stands, heading past Reya towards the large window that looks towards the view of the water. She opens her arms wide. "All I have ever wished for is right here. I have a beautiful house. I live surrounded by the sea. I'm doing what I love." She looks back at Reya from over her shoulder. "I have someone that I love."
At her last statement, Reya's brows furrow deeply. She steps forward, her heartbeat increasing as a chill spikes through her blood. "What do you mean?" she asks slowly.
Regina sighs, turning to face the young girl once again. "I mean exactly what I said. I have someone that I love. So your talk of a soulmate is ridiculous. Why would I need a soulmate when I already have one?"
"Wait," Reya breathes, her eyes widening upon realization, "You already found him?"
Regina tilts her head, bemused by the young brunette's hopeful features. "Um, yes," she replies, a confused smile coming to her lips. "Yes, I have."
"Who?" Reya presses.
"His name is Steven, Steve for short," Regina answers as she tugs on the end of a lock of ebony hair. "He's a tattoo artist based in the Bluffs. Gave me this." She shows Reya a feather tattoo located just on the inside of her right wrist. However, Regina watches as the young girl's features sink. The optimistic light that was present in her eyes just seconds ago fades and is replaced with almost a horror.
"No! This isn't right!" Reya bursts, shaking her head desperately, "He's not your soulmate. You're not supposed to be with him!"
Regina scowls. "Excuse me, but who are you to tell me that the guy I love is not right for me?"
"Because he's not. It's all wrong. It's because you don't remember! Robin Hood is your true soulmate. He's the guy you're destined to be with. Mom, you have to find him. You have to find him and kiss him—"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait!" Regina interrupts, holding both her hands up. Her heart rate accelerates, blood pumping in her veins as a result of her confusion about this madness. "Are you kidding me?" she spits, "Robin Hood? As in the fairytale?" Regina laughs incredulously. "You really are crazy. The only Robin I know is Robin Locksley, some fisherman who sits at the end of the jetty downtown every single sunset, by himself, with a sad-looking, skinny little fishing pole. He's a loner." Regina wrinkles her nose. "And he smells like fish." She rolls her eyes.
Reya listens quietly, the corners of her mouth turned down in concentration. "That has to be him," she murmurs.
"What?" Regina asks, shaking her head.
"That has to be him," Reya repeats, louder this time. "This Robin Locksley. He has to be your soulmate, the same one that you were separated from by the curse."
Regina laughs again, waving away the brunette's statement once again. "Kid, there's one thing I know for certain, and it's that Robin is the furthest thing from a soulmate to me."
"How do you know that?"
Regina shrugs. "I just know."
"Have you even talked to him."
"Not really. It's not like I go out of my way to have a conversation with him. He and I live completely different lives. I'm sure of it."
"But you never know, Mom, maybe you just need to—"
"Kid!" Regina interrupts once again with a huff, "It's not going to happen. Plus, I told you. I already have someone."
"But it's fake," Reya mutters under her breath.
"What?"
"Nothing. I just wish you'd call me by my real name. It's Reya, not 'kid'."
"Only if you'll stop calling me 'mom'," Regina retorts, "I'm not your mother."
"Yes you are."
Regina groans, pressing a hand to the side of her head. She squeezes her eyes shut and takes in a deep breath. The young girl is impossible, so adamant in what she believes. It's both infuriating as well as strangely amusing. For in some strange way, she reminds Regina much of herself. Regina shakes her head. Again, she is thinking far too much. What the young girl—Reya—what Reya speaks of is unreal. After all of this banter back and forth about selves and soulmates, what it comes down to is that Regina's life has been perfect as far back as she remembers. Why on earth would she change it now just because of a young girl who appears on her doorstep late at night? The thought is downright preposterous…and terrifying.
"It's getting late," Regina announces after a few moments of silence. She opens her eyes once again, peeking down at the young brunette who stares expectantly at her. The woman sighs a relenting sigh as she shakes her head slowly. "You'll take the couch," she states in utter defeat. "There's blankets on the end there."
And with that, Regina is turning on her heel and heading off to her bedroom just across the hall, leaving Reya to get comfortable on her own in the company of those swirly canvas masterpieces.
The feather danced before her in the cool breeze on the balcony. A small soft smile tilts up the corners of Regina's lips as her eyes follow its path back and forth and back and forth. The wind brushes her long ebony tresses back from her face as she inclines her head into the gust, allowing her eyes to flutter shut and savor the smell of forest she's come to know and love.
It's the day before the wedding, or as some say, the last day of freedom. And it was very much the case in her previous marriage. However, this is one that will, quite evidently, be worlds different. Finally, after working so hard, Regina has found her happy ending (or her happy beginning), one that is to be officially sealed tomorrow by a pair of golden bands and a kiss.
"I thought I'd find you up here," a voice startles her slightly from her reverie. Regina turns to find the very reason her heart beats standing just inside. She smiles welcomingly, her eyes surveying his form up and down. How she would love to make love to him right here, right now. But his cheeky proposition that they abstain from sex until the wedding night keeps her in her spot.
"Is everything all right?" Robin asks, stepping towards her.
Regina nods. "Yes," she replies, glancing back out over the trees, "Everything is perfect."
Robin grins, once again stepping forward and wrapping his arms around her form, drawing her back into his chest from behind. He places a soft kiss into her hair as he joins Regina in admiring the scenery before them.
That is, until she speaks again, interrupting their brief moment of silence. "But," she adds, turning and striding past her fiancé. "I've just been thinking…the wedding dress isn't quite right."
Robin frowns, watching as Regina pushes herself from his arms and makes her way towards her wedding dress that hangs daintily off her dresser. He looks on with a slight confusion written upon his features as she fingers the gown's jeweled neckline. "What do you mean, my love?" he questions, following back inside, "Isn't this the one you've said was perfect?"
"It is," Regina explains, "I love the style. But the color…it's just not me."
"You mean white?" Robin clarifies bemusedly, "I think you look rather stunning in white. And isn't that color what all brides wear?"
The queen shakes her head. "Thank you, dear. And I suppose. But still, I just don't feel as if it's right for me. I mean, look at me. I'm the Evil Queen—"
"—Ex-Evil Queen." Her fiancé is quick to correct.
"I know, but that doesn't mean that I should wear a pearly white, pure, and virginal wedding dress."
Robin sighs, shaking his head as he makes his way towards Regina. He stands before her, extending his arms and taking her hands in his firmly. "Regina," he says, "We've been through this before. You've changed. You're a different woman now."
"I'm a different woman because of the scars I bear." Regina shakes her head. "But I'm not so much talking about my morals, I'm talking about my personality. I'm most certainly not a 'snow white' type of bride." The irony makes her chuckle inwardly.
"Then what color would you prefer, milady?" Robin inquires, slightly intrigued. He watches as Regina turns and extends one hand, allowing magic to pulse from her palm and coat the gown in a shimmering light. His eyes widen as he witnesses the material turn as black as a raven's feathers. The diamond embellishments that had originally blended into the whiteness now become prominent, sparkling in juxtaposition to the jet-black silk and satin.
Contrary to what his initial thoughts were, the wedding gown has gained a whole different air to it. It's still elegant, but it breathes even more of a distinct, sharp, and sophisticated appearance that doesn't quite match its previous look. It's far more captivating and provocative. It's most certainly a gown for his queen.
The thief shakes his head, finding himself to have become utterly speechless at the sight. And to think that his exquisite fiancé hasn't even tried it on yet. Yet, he stifles a moan at the thought of her form swathed in the smooth ebony material.
"So?" Regina asks, turning once again towards her lover who still gawks at her new and improved attire.
Robin shuts his eyes, shaking his head in attempts to pull himself from his fantasy. "It's…it's really you," he replies, still at a loss for words. Slowly, his face breaks into a large grin, his hand reaching up to cup Regina's cheek. "I can't wait to see you wearing it," he admits somewhat huskily, his sapphire eyes sparkling with eagerness.
Regina chuckles lowly, leaning into his touch. "So you shall," she whispers, tilting her head upwards to capture her lover's lips in a soft kiss. "This is me," she murmurs against his lips, "This is who I am."
Sunlight shines in through Regina's bedroom window. It burns through the darkness of her lids, bringing her from her dreamless sleep back into reality. With a soft groan, she lazily turns onto her stomach, burying her nose into her pillow in attempts to gain a few more minutes of sleep. However, it is the aroma and sound of what appears to be cooking bacon that rouses her once more. For a moment, Regina had forgotten her whole encounter with the mysterious Reya. But as she makes her way into the kitchen, what she had hoped was a dream appears to be quite the opposite as the young brunette is found scampering around her the room, frying up a batch of bacon and eggs.
"Good morning!" Reya chirps, waving the turner in the air in greeting.
Regina rubs her eyes, brushing her untamed frizzy locks back from her face as she lumbers into the cooking space. "What are you doing?" she murmurs groggily.
"Cooking breakfast," the young brunette states. "Duh, what does it look like I'm doing?"
Regina lifts a brow at Reya, who simply shoots her a cheeky grin. The woman shakes her head, rolling her eyes as she takes a seat at the kitchen counter, grabbing the mess of eggs and bacon already prepared and laid out on a plate. She wastes no time tucking into her food, her head resting in her free hand.
Reya finishes plating her own dish just in time to watch the older brunette eat rather unceremoniously. She looks on, surprised at her mother's uncharacteristically uncouth demeanor. She would laugh about it, if their current situation isn't so serious.
"What?" Regina asks, her voice muffled by the food. She catches Reya's eye and lifts her brow again.
Reya shakes her head. "Nothing," she replies, "Just…it's strange to see you this way."
"What way?" Regina asks, "You mean having bed head and with dark circles around my eyes? I know. I'm not that attractive right now."
"Yeah…" Reya drawls pensively, "I guess you could say that. I was thinking more curse-wise. You're so different now that it's been cast."
The older brunette groans, rolling her eyes to the heavens. "And here I was hoping that you'd forget about all that stupid nonsense that you've spewed last night."
"Not a chance," Reya replies, sitting with her plate and fork in hand. She begins tucking into her food as well. "This is important."
"Mm," Regina huffs sarcastically. She shakes her head. "I'm sure it is."
"You bet," Reya says confidently as she shoots her mother a bright grin. "And today, I'll prove it to you. We are going to find your real soulmate."
So as you can tell, this is going to be a completely different way in which we will see a cursed Regina (or ex-Evil Queen). Even though she may not be quite as refined as the mayor we all know, she will still possess her core characteristics like her boldness and audaciousness. So she's not completely out of character (I hope!) ;)
Another note, Steve is not cursed. He is not a part of the Enchanted Forest in any way. Remember that this curse is different, having taken only Regina and Robin and Reya from their realm and integrating them into the real world. So yes, there probably will be characters in this fic that are new and not tied to the curse in any way.
Lastly, the flashback is a shoutout to Lana who said she'd love to see the Evil Queen walking down the aisle in a black wedding gown, also with the idea further developed by the help of ideas from a lovely rp between me and my bestie thequeenregina ;)
More to come, please stay tuned! Thank you for coming by today, and I promise I'll do everything I can to update faster! See you soon!