DragonQueen Oneshots
Lake Meeting:
Regina had every intention of keeping her promise to Maleficent, but her royal duties and the endless hours with Snow keeps getting in the way, so in the end it's Maleficent who finds her again.
The king was still away on his two weeks journey to a nearby kingdom, and Snow White had clung to Regina like the plague. The twelve-year-old had absolutely no understanding for Regina's need to be alone, and the girl often voiced her concern for Regina's "moodiness" as she called it.
Moodiness. Regina had almost snorted at that. How wonderful it must be to be so clueless all the time. Regina would have sold her soul to live in the same state of oblivion. To live in the delusion that the world really was flower fields and unicorns and getting everything served on a plate the moment you needed it.
But on this particular afternoon, Regina had managed to get away from the castle. She had told Snow she had a headache- an excuse she used more and more often these days- and then she had snuck off. Had used one of the castles many, many doors to escape from the cluttered palace. She had walked with no particular destination and ended up at a lake not far from the castle. But far enough to be secluded and alone. God forbid Snow should find her here. The girl would only contaminate this place with her ridiculous, sweet laughter and "isn't it wonderful, stepmother?"
Yes, dear. Very lovely indeed.
Regina sighs in relief. She should take the time to come here more often. Maybe she could come here at night? She hardly ever sleeps, so why not take advance of that and come here instead?
This place is nice. Very nice. The weather feels warm, despite it only being early spring, and the water- Regina tested it with her fingertips earlier- feels nice too. Nice and warm.
Too warm to let this opportunity slip away. Regina quickly unlaces her boots and kicks them off. She carefully raises her skirts, just a bit, and then she lets her bare feet sink into the water. It prickles and makes goosebumps appear on her ankles, but only for a moment. It doesn't take long before it just feels nice and warm.
Regina inhales slowly and releases her hair from the silly up-do she's been donning that day. The tight bun irritates her scalp and makes her head hurt slightly. She prefers her hair like this. Loose and flowy. It reminds her of the days spent in the sun with Daniel. Happier days.
She runs her finger through her hair again and again until all the tangles are gone, and then she leans back. It was her intention to just sit with her head tilted back for a moment, but the sun feels so nice on her skin, so she ends up leaning further and further back until she's lying in the grass with her feet still in the water.
Regina chuckles a little to herself, she is still capable of laughing after all. If Mother could see her now, she would undoubtedly scold Regina for lying in the grass in her dress, but Regina doesn't care. She's alone.
Or is she?
Regina, who had been in the process of hiking her skirts up slightly to soak up the sunlight, stops what she's doing and listens. She could have sworn she heard something. A slight rustling. She waits and listens. Nothing. Hmm. Perhaps it was some sort of animal.
She resumes her task and hikes her skirts up to her knees, then she leans back once more, lying comfortably in the soft grass. The sun is warming up her skin, already making her olive skin glow slightly. If she stays here long enough, her cheeks will definitely get a nice glow.
Regina runs a finger through her hair. She doesn't care one bit about the grass and small leaves tangling into her hair. She can always get rid of those later, before she heads back to the castle.
This is truly glorious. A moment of peace. No royal duties needing her attention, and no Snow, acting like an immature child, tugging at her hands, craving her full and prompt attention. The girl is almost thirteen. She should be able to entertain herself instead of depending on Regina all the time.
Regina frowns and closes her fingers around the grass. Sometimes she can hear Snow's voice in her head, saying "come, stepmother," over and over again.
No. She refuses to think of Snow White right now. That wretched girl has already cost her enough. She can't let her take away her sense of peace too. She won't let the darkness win. At least not right now.
She slowly loosens the grip on the grass in her hand and relaxes her fingers once more. Her eyelids slides closed. Perhaps she could fall asleep here, right now, bathed in sunlight. Her head lolls to the side as her neck relaxes.
Creak.
Regina opens her eyes at the sound and yelps, half in terror, half in surprise.
Maleficent is hovering above her, looking down at her. She doesn't look threading in any way, but Regina thought she was alone, and now she discovers that the last person she'd expected is standing here and watching her. Much like the last time, Regina wonders for how long the dragon sorceress has been standing there.
"My apologies," Maleficent immediately offers. "I didn't mean to frighten you."
Regina brushes that off. She isn't scared. But surprised about opening her eyes and seeing Maleficent looming above her? Yes, indeed.
"Are you spying on me?" Regina asks and raises an eyebrow. It's a very fair assumption. Why else should Maleficent be here? The Dark Fortress isn't exactly nearby.
Maleficent smiles but doesn't answer the question. The sorceress sits down next to Regina, and Regina quickly attempts to push herself into a sitting position as well.
"You don't have to sit up on my behalf," Maleficent says calmly, but Regina prefers that. Again, she feels oddly exposed like this. At least she's not wearing her nightgown this time.
"What are you doing here?" Regina asks, much like their last encounter.
"You haven't visited me yet." Maleficent states matter of factly.
"So you decided to visit me instead?"
"Yes."
Regina steals a glance at the other woman. Maleficent doesn't look very intimidating in her light, purple gown and with her hair flowing freely around her face. In fact, Regina finds it difficult to believe that this is the dreaded Mistress of all Evil, the feared dragon sorceress.
Maleficent turns her head and smirks a little. Regina realizes that she's been staring rather unabashedly at the other woman, and she quickly tears her gaze away and looks at the water instead. What business does she have staring at Maleficent? None. Absolutely none. She doesn't even know why she was staring in the first place.
"Anything the matter?" Maleficent asks a rather long pause.
"No, I'm fine." is Regina's automatic response.
"Are you sure? You're awfully quiet," Maleficent observes.
"I'm just a little tired." Another automatic response, but it's true nevertheless.
"Ah. Is that why you haven't come and visited me yet?"
"Oh, I…"
"Or perhaps you didn't want to?" Maleficent calmly interrupts her.
"No, I did," Regina emphasizes. "I just… Had trouble getting out."
"Well, if that's the problem, you could have told me at once. There are spells for that sort of thing."
"That sort of thing?" Regina echoes.
"To make your absence go unnoticed," Maleficent explains.
"Oh. Do you think you could make "my absence go unnoticed" all the time?" Regina half-quips. She only means it as a joke, but Maleficent looks completely serious as she says: "No. I'm afraid not."
Regina is careful to shrug as if it doesn't really matter. She turns her head against the sun and closes her eyes again.
Suddenly she feels Maleficent's fingers in her hair, and her head instantly jerks forward at the touch.
"Grass." Maleficent says plainly and shows Regina the tiny straws in her palm as evidence.
"Oh."
Maleficent's fingers returns to Regina's hair and she continues to pluck the tiny grass straws and leaves out of the brunette's hair.
Regina tries to breathe very, very softly, but that's difficult for some reason. She's not sure why, but her chest seems to rise and fall quicker than usual. What in the world is happening? Maybe she's been sitting too long in the sun. She feels warm. And not comfortably warm like before. Too warm. Like her skin is burning.
Maybe… Maybe she's getting sick. Yes, that must be it. Oh well, if that's the case, she will have a fine excuse to stay away from Snow for the next couple of days.
Maleficent pushes her hair slightly to the side, and her fingertips brushes lightly against the back of Regina's neck.
Regina is positive that the touch is unintentional, a mere accident. And she doesn't quite understand why her breathing has become erratic and her muscles feels like liquid in her body. She feels… She feels… something. Something she can't find a proper word for. It feels… good. Only better than good. It feels… It feels…
Regina instantly jerks away from the touch. "Snow White is looking for me. I should go."
She quickly gets back on her feet, clumsily pulls her boots on again and ties her hair back into a bun.
Maleficent watches her, and the sorceress seems amused once more. That really is a strange thing. Why is she amused when Regina feels strange and out of place?
"Come and visit me." Maleficent says and echoes her own words.
Regina doesn't trust her voice, so she simply nods once. But she isn't sure she will do it, though. Not if their every meeting is gonna end like this. With her, feeling strange and oddly flustered...
To Be Continued…?