When the cat is out….
A few weeks later, an opportunity presents itself so suddenly, so well timed that Regina almost suspect that there's magic involved.
The king is travelling to meet King Midas, and he's taking Snow White with him. Rumors had it, that the young princess begged her father to bring her along, and obviously he couldn't say no to that.
Regina is given a half-hearted invitation, too, followed by a: "but I doubt you will find it entertaining, my dear". So it's not really an invitation. It's the king's polite way of saying that he isn't particularly interested in bringing his queen with him.
So Regina wisely chooses to stay at the castle. Instead, it's decided that Johanna will accompany the king on the journey, to look after the young princess whenever the king is occupied.
On the day of their departure, Regina stands in the court yard, ready to wave her family off like the good queen she is. Snow hugs her tightly and expresses how sad she is that Regina won't be joining them. But the king simply chuckles, ruffles Snow's hair and tells her that "someone has to look after the kingdom while they are away". Regina goes along with it, even though they both know king Leopold would never leave the responsibility for the kingdom to her. No, he'll leave the duties to one of his trusted counselors.
Regina smiles and watches as Snow climbs into the carriage. She had expected the king to do the same, but Leopold changes his mind halfway there, turns around and gives Regina a kiss on the cheek.
Snow giggles girlishly, and Regina isn't sure what to feel about the kings sudden and rare display of emotions. Could it be that he's feeling guilty over the lack of attention he's showing her?
No. Of course he isn't feeling guilty. He doesn't think of her that way. He doesn't harbor those kinds of feelings for her. After two years of marriage, he still hasn't made any attempt of getting to know her, and Regina knows that he probably never will. Despite being married, they're strangers to each other. Regina knows as little of her husband as he knows of her.
She waits and watches as the carriage slowly descends. The last thing she sees before it rounds a corner, is Snow White waving at her.
Now she's alone. Well, apart from a few handmaidens who never really pays attention, except for when Regina is giving them a direct order. And right now, her order is that they are dismissed for the rest of the day. She can manage on her own, has never been interested in having an entourage of people following her every move. It's bad enough that Snow trails after her like a damned puppy.
Regina locks herself away in her chambers for a little while. Now that she's alone, she has absolutely no excuse for not studying magic.
Of course, Rumplestiltskin shows up halfway through her studies, and as usually he pushes her far beyond her limits, but today, his teasing and taunting proves to be successful, and Regina's ability to make fireballs grows, as does her ability to transport from one place to another.
Rumplestiltskin giggles gleefully and asks Regina what makes her so motivated today. Regina answers "revenge" as she always does, but Rumplestiltskin waves that statement off, and taunts her with her "newfound fondness for dragons".
Regina becomes perplexed but manages to scoff and claim that Rumplestiltskin is out of his mind.
"Your marriage to the good king has proven to rather boring, hasn't it, Dearie? I can't blame you for wanting a bit of… fun."
That's when Regina end the lesson and verbally throws Rumplestiltskin out of her chambers.
It's only afterwards that she realizes she didn't deny it. Not really.
Of course Rumplestiltskin knows what's going on. Of course he does. That imp is watching her every move, Regina is certain of that, and normally she wouldn't have bothered to think about it.
But now… Now it bothers her, that he clearly has some kind of way to watch her. She doesn't want that. Whatever happens is between her and Maleficent. There shouldn't be a third part watching. And that third part should definitely not be Rumplestiltskin. He will think of some kind of way to twist things and poison the only good thing that has happened to Regina in a very long time.
Because despite how unsure Regina still is on what's going on, she still thinks of what's happening between her and Maleficent as a good thing. Maleficent is different. She's the first person in Regina's life who hasn't tried to manipulate with her in some way. She's honest. She doesn't play games.
Regina is suddenly overwhelmed by the need to see the other woman, and she promptly locks the spell book away.
It's nearly sundown when Regina leaves the castle. No one pays attention to her departure. The handmaidens were chatting briskly with one another, so it was fairly easy for Regina to slink past them and disappear into the night.
She could have chosen to transport, but she chooses to walk instead. It's a beautiful evening, and it feels nice to walk around so freely. Without a trail of handmaidens or an over excited stepdaughter. Except for a few bird chirps here and there, Regina can't hear anything. Not even her own thoughts. For once, there's complete silence in her head, and as unusual as that is, Regina relishes in the feeling.
The road to Maleficent's castle is far, but Regina enjoys the walk, and she even catches herself hum. Something she hasn't done for quite a while. She also seems to appreciate things a whole lot more. The black bird chirping somewhere in the trees. The dark blue color of the sky. The way the sun dips into the water and colors it golden. The light breeze in her hair.
Before she realizes it, she has reached the gate to Maleficent's castle. My, that didn't take very long. Regina stops and listens. It's so quiet out here. So very quiet. Maybe Maleficent isn't even here. Or perhaps she's busy. Or not in the mood for company. There could be a hundredth of reasons as to why Maleficent doesn't want to see her.
Maybe it was foolish of Regina to just show up here. Maybe she should have waited until Maleficent came to her. That's how this… this… thing normally plays out.
But now she's here and the thought of returning home without having seen Maleficent isn't very appealing.
So Regina raises her hand and knocks once on the gate. She's not gonna barge in and make the same mistake twice.
She waits and listens, and then…
"Come." She hears Maleficent's voice from inside the castle and the rusty gate creaks open.
Regina steps inside and finds Maleficent sitting nonchalantly on her throne, lazily running a comb her blonde hair.
The sorceress looks up and her mouth curves up in a smile when she lays her eyes on Regina. "Well, well. This truly is a pleasant surprise."
"You are not busy?" Regina asks, and can immediately hear the foolishness in her own words. Maleficent doesn't appear to be one bit busy at the moment.
"No, darling. You are always welcome here. Come, come," Maleficent urges and waves her hand.
"Do you except me to kneel, too?" Regina asks before she can stop herself. Maleficent does look very regal sitting like that, all nonchalant on her throne.
Maleficent laughs whole heartedly at that question and she elegantly hops off the throne. Her skirts swishes behind her as she approaches Regina.
"No, darling. I do not expect you to kneel. Not unless you want to be on your knees for me."
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Regina asks and raises an eyebrow.
Maleficent laughs again, but this time Regina isn't quite sure what the joke is. "Perhaps it'll be me who ends up on my knees for the queen," Maleficent continues and her tongue darts out to lick her lips.
Regina isn't sure what to make of that statement, either. And she doesn't get much time to think about it before Maleficent gently grasp her chin and kisses her, exactly like she did it the two previous times.
And that is something Regina understands. And she's more than willing to respond to the kiss, too. Her arms seem to wrap around Maleficent's waist on their own accord, and Regina doesn't feel one bit ashamed over it.
Maleficent's hands ends up on Regina's hips, and Regina immediately notes how warm they are.
"How did you manage to skulk away from your loving husband and devoted stepdaughter?" Maleficent asks between kisses.
"They…" Regina briefly trails off when she feels Maleficent's hot breath on her neck. Her breath is warm too, and so very, very intoxicating. Regina almost feels dizzy and she bites back a very un-queenly sound that's growing in the back of her throat.
"Well?" Maleficent murmurs and her fingertips brushes the back of Regina's neck.
"The… king and Snow is visiting King Midas," Regina finally grits out and tries to stay focused.
"And for how long will they be away, my sweet?" Maleficent asks nonchalantly and traces her finger along Regina's jawline.
"Seven days."
"Seven days?" Maleficent repeats, and her blue eyes sparkles. "Is that really so, little one?"
"Yes." Regina is grateful that a short answer will suffice. She feels lightheaded and warm.
"That calls for a celebration. Drink with me." Maleficent says and hands Regina a glass of wine. When she summoned it, Regina has no idea of, but she willingly accepts the glass and takes a sip of the sweet wine.
They end up sitting at the blanket in front of Maleficent's enormous fireplace. The one Regina unsuccessfully tried to light during her first visit. Today, the flames are flickering in the fireplace.
"You seem relaxed today," Maleficent points out after they've sat a while and talked about nothing.
"I am," Regina says. "Not having Snow White or the king around always lifts my spirit a little. And… I feel better when I'm here," she confesses almost shyly.
"And I like having you here. As I said, you're always welcome here," Maleficent says and flicks a lock of Regina's dark hair between her fingers.
"Thank you."
"Mmm," Maleficent hums in response and strokes Regina's cheek tenderly. "You are so beautiful."
Regina opens her mouth to protest. She is not beautiful. She's either too plump or too skinny, her cheeks are either too full or too hollow, never quite perfect. Her eyes too dark, her hair too unruly. That's what Mother always said.
"You are," Maleficent says firmly and puts a finger on Regina's lip to silence her.
Regina feels a new wave of warmth spread in her body, and it takes her a moment to acknowledge what it is. The only person she believed when he told her she was beautiful, was Daniel.
Now… Now she believes Maleficent too. How strange it may sound.
They sip their wine for a while, and none of them has the desire to speak. But it isn't a painful silence like the ones Regina is used to whenever she dines with the king and Snow isn't present.
This is comfortable. Maleficent isn't encouraging her to talk, the sorceress seems fine with just sitting there and holding Regina's hand.
Regina closes her eyes for a moment and feels how Maleficent entwines their fingers, untangles them, caresses Regina's wrist instead and massaging her palm with her fingers.
It's almost somnolent, and Regina wonders if Maleficent would mind if she fell asleep right here, on the blanket and pillows in front of the fireplace.
"Is anyone expecting you back tonight?" Maleficent asks, and Regina opens her eyes and tilts her head back to look at her.
"I don't think anyone noticed that I left."
"Then don't return home tonight. Stay here."
To Be Continued…