DragonQueen Oneshots
Magic Lessons:
Magic lessons with Maleficent is entirely different from what Regina is used to. She's not preaching much, and she's far more patient than Rumplestiltskin. She doesn't taunt or push Regina's buttons. In fact, she's kind. Kinder than Regina ever had expected she could be. She's surprisingly gentle, a stark contrast to Rumplestiltskin's taunting nature.
And Regina is slowly but steadily making progress.
Her fireballs are still weak, but simpler spells like that drying spell and teleporting from room to room, that she can do. She can't yet teleport a longer distance, but she's convinced she'll learn that soon.
Maleficent has proven to be a far better teacher than Regina expected, and she's tempted to think of her as a better teacher than Rumplestiltskin himself. But it's not just the lessons that interests Regina. It's Maleficent. Regina enjoys her company. She's not this terribly dangerous creature Regina heard tales of, but she isn't the wobbling, unstable woman Regina met the first time either. She's funny. More than one time, Regina has caught herself laughing over something Maleficent said, and that had shocked her. It's so foreign to laugh.
And another thing is, that Maleficent always encourages Regina to talk. That's foreign too. Regina has been raised to not speak unless spoken to, and in her new role as queen, she isn't exactly encouraged to speak her mind. But Maleficent plainly shoves all that aside and insists that Regina tells her everything about her less than interesting day. Often, Regina hasn't a lot of news to tell her, but Maleficent somehow manages to squeeze every little detail out of her. Every dull moment of Regina's day.
"I'm talking too much, aren't I?" Regina asks one late afternoon in Maleficent's castle, when they're taking a short break from the lessons.
"No, no, not at all. Do go on. I enjoy listening to you," Maleficent claims.
So Regina goes on, she keeps talking, and Maleficent doesn't interrupt her once, she simply listens and waits until Regina is finished before she sits down next to Regina with two glasses of wine in her hands. She hands one of the glasses to Regina.
"Thank you." Regina says as she takes the glass.
"Sweet for my sweet," Maleficent quietly quips with that little gleam in her eyes Regina doesn't quite understand.
The wine is actually surprisingly sweet, Maleficent was right about that, and Regina enjoys the crisp taste on her lips. This wine is far better than the wine she drinks at her own castle. She never enjoyed the taste of the wine they drink at king Leopold's castle. It's far too bitter.
"Is the wine satisfying, Your Majesty?" Maleficent asks, and Regina's mouth twists. She doesn't like it when Maleficent refers to her by title. It feels as she's speaking to a stranger, and not to Regina. She doesn't want to be "Your Majesty" when she's here. That's one of the many reasons she keeps coming back. Here, she's just "Regina", and not "Your Majesty".
"I'm sorry," Maleficent immediately amends. "I truly meant no harm."
"I know that," Regina is quick to say, but she silently wonders whether she'll ever feel comfortable with her role as queen.
Maleficent suddenly reaches across the pillows and grasps Regina's hand. Regina has learned not to flinch when she does that, but she still wonders why Maleficent keeps doing it. It's odd, but it doesn't feel that strange anymore.
"Keep talking," Maleficent encourages.
"I fear I talk to much."
"Quite the contrary, my dear."
Regina smiles a little and takes another sip of the wine.
"Don't you ever talk to the king?" Maleficent asks, and Regina wonders where that came from.
"God, no," she laughs dryly. "I'm afraid my husband and I don't have a lot of things to talk about."
"What do you do, then? You and your… husband."
The word is practically dripping with sarcasm, and Regina laughs again. It would appear that she has found someone who isn't terrible fond of the king either.
"We…" Regina considers for a moment. "Acknowledges one another when our paths cross in the hallway."
"But you never talk?"
"Only at official events or whenever Snow is present," Regina shrugs and takes another sip of the wine.
"He never shows you interest?"
"Interest?" Regina repeats and raises an eyebrow.
Maleficent takes a sip of her wine and asks plainly: "He doesn't share your bed?"
Regina chokes on her wine, and she blushes ferociously. What kind of question is that? And the thought of the king sharing her bed isn't a very pleasant one either. Of all the things he could demand from her, this is the one thing Regina hopes he'll never ask of her. The thought of being taken to bed by the king is making her stomach churn. The brief, close mouthed kiss they shared at the wedding ceremony was quite enough.
She remembers that Maleficent is waiting for an answer, and it isn't very polite to ignore a question. But Regina can't get her voice to obey, so she simply shakes her head.
Maleficent's eyebrows raises towards her hairline. "Never?"
"Never," Regina mumbles and pries her hand out of Maleficent's grasp. The subject is embarrassing her. She doesn't desire that kind of relationship with the king, but she's aware that this isn't how a marriage is supposed to be. You're supposed to marry for love, to be in love with your husband. Regina had always imagined that she would marry for love. She had sworn that she wouldn't end up like her parents. Their marriage had been loveless, Regina knows this. In fact, she can't remember ever seeing her parents show affection for each other. And here she is, copying it. She ended up exactly like them. Stuck in a loveless marriage.
"I don't think the king is interested in that kind of relationship with me," Regina says after a while. "And to speak frankly, I'm grateful he isn't."
"I need more wine," Maleficent says abruptly. "Would you like some more?"
"No thank you. If I drink more I won't be able to concentrate on the lesson," Regina says, eager to turn Maleficent's attention elsewhere. She had enough talk of her marriage for today.
"Ah yes, the lesson. That is why we're here, isn't it?" Maleficent smiles.
Regina nods.
They return to the lesson, but Regina is struggling for some reason. Maybe it's the wine, or maybe it's the subject they've just discussed, but either way, nothing is happening when she tries to create a fireball, and she quickly grows frustrated with herself. And then she apologies for being impatient and for not trying hard enough. Of course, that's the problem. She's simply not trying hard enough. She has to want it. She has to channel her anger, that's what Rumplestiltskin always tells her.
"Magic isn't always tied to your anger," Maleficent says.
"But Rumplestiltskin always says..."
"That imp is only familiar with two feelings: malice and bitterness," Maleficent brushes her off, and Regina giggles against her will.
"You can't force magic," Maleficent continues. "It has to come natural. And you have to relax."
Regina wrinkles her nose. Relax, relax? She can't do that, can she? No. She can't relax when she's trying to concentrate.
Maleficent raises from her chair and approaches Regina slowly until she's standing behind her. "Close your eyes."
Regina raises an eyebrow at that. Closing her eyes suddenly seems daunting.
"Close your eyes." Maleficent insists.
Regina only reluctantly does as she's told. She's suddenly hyper aware that the other woman is standing behind her.
"Breathe. Slowly. Relax. Don't force it." Maleficent instructs gently.
Regina obeys and breathes slowly in and out, only concentrating on her chest rising and falling and the sound of the steady thump-thump from her heart.
But the feeling of relaxation immediately fades when Maleficent suddenly puts her hands on her shoulders.
"W-what are you doing?" Regina stutters bewildered and is just a hair away from opening her eyes.
"I'm helping you. Don't open your eyes. Just keep breathing."
Regina does as she's told and turns her focus back to her breathing. She's aware that something is happening in her palm, she doesn't dare look, but she thinks it's a fireball. She concentrates on the feeling of the fireball in her hand, and she feels nothing but triumph when she feels it grow. She's doing it. She's actually making magic.
Maleficent moves her hand from Regina's shoulder and rests it on her stomach instead, and suddenly, the fireball isn't the most interesting thing anymore. Maleficent's hand is extremely warm, and Regina suddenly feels a rush of something. A foreign feeling, but certainly not unpleasant. It's like the warmth from Maleficent's hand travels inside Regina's body, and it leaves her with an odd, tingling sensation in her stomach.
"You're doing so well, Regina," Maleficent quietly praises in her ear.
But Regina isn't completely sure of that. Her breathing isn't relaxed anymore. Her palms are sweaty, and she's torn between wanting to push Maleficent away or demand that she doesn't move at all. Her stomach is churning, but it isn't unpleasant this time. Her stomach tingles and Regina have no idea how to make it stop. It's like she's aching for something she doesn't even know what is.
"I feel dizzy." She whispers and notices how raspy she sounds.
"I know," Maleficent says, and Regina is tempted to snort. How could she possibly know how Regina is feeling?
"It's… Probably the wine." Regina mumbles and congratulates herself with coming up with a sensible explanation for what's she's feeling.
"Yes, probably." Maleficent agrees, but she's smiling widely at Regina, and it makes Regina feel even more dizzy.
Regina closes her palm and her newly made fireball vaporizes. Then she finds her cloak and fumbles to clasp it.
"You're leaving?" Maleficent asks nonchalantly, and she still looks oddly amused.
"Yes, I can only be gone for so long. Thank you for your help," Regina rambles off and flees The Forbidden Fortress without giving Maleficent a second glance…
To Be Continued…