Forbidden
Revelations:
"Because of us, Maleficent lost her child".
Regina stares at Snow. Just stares. And then she wonders how much new information her brain can handle in such a short amount of time.
Maleficent was pregnant? When... How… What?!
"You can't tell Emma," Snow adds, quite unnecessarily.
Regina simply nods while she still tries to wrap her head around. If Maleficent was pregnant around the same time as Snow…
She was pregnant when I showed up in the Forbidden Fortress and took the curse from her. She was pregnant, and I threw her around like a ragdoll.
Guilt washes over her like a wave, and for a second, Regina is certain she's gonna be sick.
And her next silly impulse is anger. Toward Snow White. Maleficent lost her baby because something she and her idiot prince did.
Regina immediately balks and stops herself. Anger on Maleficent's behalf is definitely not gonna help the matter.
"Are you judging us?" Snow asks quietly. Maybe she saw a glimpse of the turmoil of emotions Regina is feeling right now.
"I honestly don't think it's my business to judge anyone," Regina says plainly. "But I really should go now. I can't be seen with the "heroes", remember?"
"Right."
Regina says goodbye to her former stepdaughter, and then she slips back into the shadows.
Maleficent was pregnant. Regina is still trying to wrap her head around that. Maleficent was pregnant, Maleficent had a baby, and Snow and David shipped the baby through a portal to make sure Emma was born good.
"There are far worse crimes that must be answered for". That's what Maleficent said, and on the one hand, Regina can see where she come from, and hell she even understands why Maleficent would want revenge on the people who wronged her
But at the same time, she knows that murdering Snow and David is hardly the answer.
Well… Things just got a hell of a lot more complicated. Again.
So now she has to keep Snow White's secret from Emma, keep her own secret from well, everybody, avoid getting killed by an angry dragon and protect Snow and David from said angry dragon, search after the Author, try to get a happy ending, and infiltrate The Queens of Darkness whilst keeping Maleficent at bay.
And who knows, maybe Maleficent will try and have a go at Emma, too. After all, Snow and David did trade her child for theirs.
Regina sighs. She'll add that to her never-ending list of things to do. She needs a nap. Or a drink. Or maybe she just needs to curse. Loudly.
How long, she wonders as she walks through Storybrooke and heads toward her vault. How long before I actually snap?
Snapping sure as hell seems tempting right now. Regina yanks her gloves off and rubs her temples. Her head is starting to throb slightly. Possibly from the non-stop drinking she's endured for the past two days.
Or maybe she's just about to combust from everything that's unravelling around her right now.
And honest to god, combustion would probably be to prefer over this. This abundance of shit her life has become over the last few days.
She takes her coat off and throws it over one of the many chests standing on her vault floor. There's still a few blankets lying around on the floor, and Regina wonders whether she should remove them or not. It looks a bit messy.
That's where they ended up, her and Robin. On a couple of blankets on the hard-stone floor. Soulmates or not, Regina would have preferred their "first time" to be in a bed. With lit candles around them.
And preferably not with his frozen wife lying unconscious in the next room.
She wonders if he told Marian about what happened while she was a popsicle, and then she scoffs. No, of course he didn't. What good could possibly have come from that?
Regina plops down on one of the wooden chests. Her books are still lying scattered around in the vault. She could use this unforeseen "spare time" to plow through them one more time, just in case there should be something about the Author. Something she has missed.
But deep down, she knows there isn't, and she's really not in the mood for sticking her nose in the books right now.
She's in the mood for a drink. And a fucking huge drink too.
Hangovers be damned, she thinks to herself as she flicks her wrist and fabricates a large glass of whiskey. She's gonna drink tomorrow night with "the Queens of Darkness" anyway, she might as well get used to it.
She just gotta chose to believe that Maleficent isn't coming for Snow or David tonight.
Or herself for that matter.
God, what a mess. And now there's the lost life of an innocent child involved, too. Regina sighs gravely and takes a large sip of the drink. The alcohol burns her throat, but the hell with it. If there's one thing she doesn't desire right now, it's to be sober.
At least she can stress out "find out why Ursula and Cruella resurrected Maleficent" from her list. They did that, so she can get her revenge on Snow and Charming.
And now it's up to Regina to protect them from the dragon's wrath.
Regina scoffs. Can she even protect herself from the dragon's wrath? That's the million-dollar question.
She feels like she's playing some sort of insane "cat after mouse"-game right now, and she has a terrible feeling that this whole thing might just blow up in her face. As things have a natural habit of doing when it comes to her.
If she ever manages to track down that Author, she has a question or two to ask whoever the fuck that might be.
Okay, so she's an expert in fucking her life up, but this, this is definitely not something she's responsible for.
Well, partly responsible for, but that's it.
"Fuck!" she mutters sincerely. Normally, she's not one for profanity, but given the situation, this sea of mess her life has become, it's fitting.
But it didn't make her feel any better. Her head still feels like it's gonna explode at any given second.
There's always the second option. She could try a good old-fashioned scream. That would be fitting too. Regina takes another gulp of the whiskey. When did she turn into such a dramatic person? She's not normally a "screaming" type of person.
But back in the "good old days" she would probably go out and rip out a few hearts. And she definitely can't do that anymore.
She really needs to find a new way to work her frustrations out. She had hoped drinking would do the trick, but apparently not.
"Regina?"
Regina's neck makes a "crrr" sound as she quickly re-positions herself into a more normal sitting position. She didn't even notice that she had slumped back with her head leaned against the raw stone wall.
"Regina? You down here?"
Regina quickly identifies the voice as Emma Swan's, and the brunette frowns as she glances at her wrist watch. It's well past midnight. Shouldn't Emma be peacefully asleep in the pirate's arms or something like that?
"Yes, I'm here," Regina confirms and doesn't even bother to hide the whiskey glass. This is her vault. If she feels like having a nightcap, then it's her business.
Emma steps into the faint light there is in the vault, and she frowns a little when she spots Regina sitting on the chest with the drink in her hand.
"Party for one, Madam Mayor?"
"Yes, something like that," Regina says and smiles thinly. "What are you doing down here at this time, Miss Swan?"
"Couldn't sleep," Emma shrugs. "And Henry says that you hang out down here these days, so…"
"So you decided to come for a midnight chat instead of sharing your insomnia with Captain Guyliner?"
"Hey, stop calling him that," Emma protests.
"My apologies," Regina sighs and takes a sip as she reminds herself that neither Killian or Emma is to blame for this abundance of shit. "Forget I said that. I just happen to be a bit stressed out at the moment."
"Yeah, Mary Margaret told me about this undercover-thing you're doing," Emma says. "Got anymore whiskey?"
Regina flicks her wrist again and makes a glass of whiskey appear in Emma's hand.
"Thanks," Emma says as she sits down on another wooden chest. She takes a sip of the whiskey and then proclaims: "I don't like it."
"If that's the case, then why on earth did you ask for it?" Regina inquires and raises an eyebrow.
"What?" Emma's own eyebrow raises at that and she quickly looks from Regina to the whiskey. "Oh, no, not the whiskey. The whiskey's good," she sniggers.
"Then what is it you don't like, Emma?"
"The undercover-thing." Emma says plainly.
"Yes, well, I'm not particularly overjoyed by it either, but the sooner we find out what Cruella, Ursula and… and Maleficent is up to, the better, right?"
"Right," Emma nods. "But you could have told me about it. I could've helped you."
Regina laughs dryly. "I think I can handle a few bitter witches, thank you very much."
"Bitter?"
"Never mind."
Emma takes another large gulp at the whiskey and then turns to look at Regina. "What's going on?"
"What do you mean?" Regina asks tiredly. There's not much going on right now. Apart from a few glasses of whiskey.
"I get that you're going through a rough patch after Robin leaving, believe me, I get it," Emma says. "But you have been jumpy as hell these past few days, so spill it. What's going on?"
Regina takes a sip of her own whiskey. "I have no idea what you're talking about, miss Swan."
"You're lying," Emma says plainly. "Superpowers, remember?"
"Is this your version of a heart to heart? Or is it perhaps some ridiculous attempt of girl talk?" Regina bites, but the words aren't quite as harsh as one could have hoped.
"No," Emma says and scoffs. "This is me trying to be your friend, something you clearly need to get used to," she shoots Regina a deadly glare. "Our son happened to mention that you looked, and I quote: "like hell, just in high heels." …"
"Well, that was kind of him," Regina half-snaps. She should have known that she couldn't hide anything from Henry. He's too damn smart.
"…So, I figured you could need someone to talk to. Someone that isn't providing you with a hope speech," Emma chuckles and Regina raises her eyebrows in horror. The last person who should find out about this, is Snow White.
"So, I'll ask you again: what's going on?" Emma asks and takes a gulp of the whiskey. "I'm here, I'm listening, and I'm not gonna go away until this whiskey glass is empty. So I suggest you start talking."
Regina laughs half-heartedly. This is neither Emma or the Savior she's talking to anymore, this is Sheriff Swan.
"This undercover mission is just getting to me," Regina admits and drains her glass of whiskey. She quickly flicks her wrist and re-fills it. Keep the drinks coming.
"Okay." Emma says. "Well, between you and me, I wouldn't wanna hang with Cruella Devil either."
Regina chuckles again. "It's not Cruella I'm worried about. Or Ursula for that matter."
"Right. You and Maleficent met before, right?"
"Yes. Or paths… crossed." Ha, that's to put it lightly.
"And… What?" Emma encourages and smirks a little as she continues: "What, did you break into her castle and stole her diamonds or something like that?"
"No," Regina says. "Well, I did break in once, but any diamonds I have is the one she gave me herself."
"Seriously?" Emma says between gulps of whiskey. "Maleficent gave you diamonds?"
"Yes." Regina nods. Maleficent did have a habit of leaving lavish gifts whenever she returned home to her castle. There was always some sort trinket lying on Regina's pillow when she woke up.
"Why?"
"Because she wanted to," Regina says as nonchalantly as she can.
"Oh. So before your epic "throwing swords around"-fight you guys were... what, friends?"
"Yes."
The vault goes silent and Regina fiddles with the glass of whiskey. If she's gonna share this secret with anyone, then why not share it with Emma Swan? She's probably the only person in Storybrooke who wouldn't raise an eyebrow. And in light of what Snow White just spilled to Regina earlier… Regina would feel a bit better with keeping that secret if she spills one to Emma. Tit for tat, as they say. Spilling a secret to Emma somehow justifies the fact that she's withholding one from her too.
"Actually..." Regina says and seeks solace in another swig of whiskey. "Maleficent and I were a bit more than friends a long time ago."
"Seriously?" Emma says, and something tugs at the corners of her mouth.
"Yeah." Regina confirms nonchalantly. "Anyway, it ended badly. Or… I ended it badly, so I'm guessing she's pretty pissed off at me."
But Emma's though process is clearly a bit slow tonight, for she says: "A bit more than friends as in…?"
"We were involved," Regina says grimly and waves her hand awkwardly.
"Holy shit."
"So now you know what's going on with me." Regina says and shrugs. "She's out for my head because of what I did to her. So there's that."
Emma nods slowly and then her next brilliant exclamation comes: "I didn't know you were into women."
Regina rolls her eyes. "Well, since you're so keen on labels, let's call it bisexual." She can label herself as "bisexual", right? Well, technically speaking, yes, yes, she can. There were other women than Maleficent, but sexuality was rather fluid back in the Enchanted Forest.
Oh god, this is so confusing. And so surreal. To think that she's discussing her sexuality with Emma Swan of all people.
"So, your ex-girlfriend who also happens to be a dragon is pissed off and wants to kill you because of the way you left things with her, is that it?"
Regina laughs dryly. "And because I trapped her underground for thirty years. But yes, apart from the "girlfriend" part, that's perfectly summed up, miss Swan."
"I see why you're drinking." Emma says and clinks her glass with Regina's. "To utter chaos."
"To utter chaos," Regina echoes and empties her glass. "I suppose I should probably head home. I'm supposed to play my part tomorrow."
"Right." Emma says and hops of the chest. "See you tomorrow, Regina."
"Oh, and Emma?" Regina says, and the Savior stops in her tracks and turns around.
"Yeah?"
"I would appreciate if this could stay between us," Regina mutters and maybe she even blushes a little as she continues: "I was very young when the… the thing between myself and Maleficent went on..."
"Young as in…?" Emma says, and Regina immediately knows what she means.
"Young as in married to the king," the brunette says. "And I don't think it would benefit anyone if your mother found out what happened…"
"Right. Got it. I won't say anything to anyone, Regina."
"Thanks."
Emma leaves the vault, and Regina waits a few moments before she follows and emerges from underground.
A movement catches her attention as she leaves the vault behind her. Regina turns around.
Maleficent is standing half hidden behind a tree, and it's very obvious that she's watching Regina and probably has been standing there for a good while.
Regina very nearly scoffs. It would seem that the Savior has just unconsciously saved her. Her Savior skills must be ever present.
Maleficent is making no attempt to approach her, but the look she's giving Regina is unmistakable.
Regina considers to just get this over with, but on second thought, she's been drinking, and she would prefer to have this "witch-fight" when she's sober.
So, she acts like a coward.
She transports away.
Away from Maleficent's furious gaze.
To Be Continued…?