"Lovely ceremony. I never would have thought you…so eager for something of this much grandeur."

Queen Leah stood up suddenly, absolutely stunned to see Misthaven's queen sauntering into the palace. Briefly, she felt a stab of rage go through her, feeling briefly upstaged by the other queen. Regina looked almost as if she were wearing water, in a dress quite fitted at the bodice but loose from the skirt, swirls of purple, green, and blue all flying out around her, with emerald bracelets cuffing the ends of her long, almost sheer sleeves, another massive contrast to the rest of the dress. Her dark hair was piled up, and some curled ends fell over her tall, almost willowy gold crown, itself also adorned with emeralds. However, that rage and envy quickly left her. There was something in Regina's eyes that seemed threatening. She told herself it was just a trick of the light. Regina was no ally, but she wasn't an enemy either. That was something she and Stephen were absolutely relieved about; her kingdom was much more powerful, much more wealthy, and much more stable. She was also, in and of herself, a powerful mage.

Stefan had once remarked that Regina could probably do the work of her entire personal guard herself. That was the first thought that came to her when she met Regina's eyes. Misthaven's queen paused about halfway through the palace's grand entrance hall. Everyone in the room was watching her, some of them in fear, and others in curiosity or awe. Her eyes fell over them, slowly glancing around. Stefan took a few steps towards his wife and gently pushed her to sit back down. Leah all but collapsed into her throne, her hands shaking, and her eyes falling and remaining on her newborn, sleepy daughter. Her heart pounding in her chest, the only other sound she could hear were her husband's footsteps approaching Regina, who, she was sure, expected to be honoured. That was when it occurred to her that Regina's own daughter had gone missing, that she was likely here to show them support, and perhaps even protection.

She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Regina," Stefan said shortly, inclining his head towards her. "We hadn't expected you to come."

"Is that so? I'm surprised to hear that."

Stefan blinked, startled.

"Might I ask why?"

Regina raised an eyebrow. "Well," She said, drawing out the word. "Among other things, I am one of the most powerful queens on the continent. For another, while I may not share a border with you, I am a close ally of one of your bordering kingdoms, and he, regrettably, could not attend."

"King George, yes," Stefan frowned. "I recall he is having a crisis in his family."

"To put it lightly," Regina's eyes fell on Leah. "He, I'm sure, is not looking to bring difficult emotions on himself in this. He did always want a daughter."

The lords, ladies, and everyone else present were beginning to murmur. Anxiety. Shock. Leah turned to Stefan, who allowed Regina to follow him towards her and their newborn.

"I'm sorry about what happened to your daughters," Leah said, standing up and taking Regina's hands. "Losing Snow and then your baby…I can't even imagine it. Snow was so lovely, I have no doubt in my mind that she loved you and your baby."

Regina's eyes narrowed.

"She was quite kind," Leah went on. "And a wonderful young woman. I hope she and your baby will be found alive soon."

Regina was silent, taking in a sharp breath, and her lips flattened into a thin line.

"Please, allow us to introduce you to our daughter," Stefan said, sharing a smile with his wife. "I can only imagine it was a long journey to be here. We're…honoured to have you."

Leah nodded, scooping up their daughter and cradling her in her arms.

"Isn't she beautiful?" Stefan said, pressing a hand to his wife's back.

Regina briefly closed her eyes.

"I can only hope she'll grow up to be as beautiful and kind as Snow," Leah remarked, giggling a bit and tickling her baby girl, who happily gurgled.

Regina's eyes snapped open.

"May I hold her?" She said, her voice a quiet drawl.

Leah and Stefan looked at her in surprise but then nodded. Leah set her daughter in Regina's arms and sat down beside her husband on their thrones. The baby girl almost immediately started crying and screaming.

"Oh, Aurora!" Leah exclaimed. "Shush, shush!"

Regina, shaking, looked down on the girl, and her gaze hardened. She pulled a hand out from under the girl and pulsed her magic over her. The curse. It wasn't the same as what she planned for Snow. But it would be enough. Perhaps even a warning for Snow as to what was to come for. But it was Leah's words that pushed her too far. Putting the girl into an endless sleep as a baby was not enough. Anger rising in her eyes and violent in her chest, she let her magic turn dark. The little girl still wouldn't stop screaming and, apparently none the wiser, Leah and Stefan assumed all the queen was doing was to try and soothe their baby girl. Instead, nothing short of anger and upset overtook Misthaven's queen. She turned away from Leah and Stefan and towards the people present, all of them watching her and the baby princess with bated breath. Regina then looked down at the princess and, almost in a trance herself, began to weave the curse into the princess. Golden ropes arose around the princess: her magic potential in its purest form. New. Never before recognised. And absolutely easy to manipulate.

"If you want your daughter to be like Snow," Regina said, a cruel edge entering her voice. "I am more than happy to make that happen."

Leah and Stefan shared a confused look, though that quickly dissipated into horror.

"You may be…beautiful…intelligent…and tenacious," Her voice lowered, and her hand shook. "But you won't be awake after sixteen…no, you'll sleep from then forever…or until a true love finds and kisses you. And how likely is that?" She snapped her hand shut and shoved the baby into Leah's arms. "You want her to be like Snow?" She hissed. "Then that's exactly what you'll get."

And, before Stefan could run his sword through her, she disappeared in a cloud of smoke, and his sword fell just past where she had been, crashing down to the floor with a horrible, loud clang.

Red quietly walked into the room where Lynn was napping, only to find her curled up against her pillows and under a blanket. She paused in the doorway, her eyes widening in surprise when she saw Lynn weakly summoning little bubbles. Colourful. Flittering up. And occasionally flying out of the room, though most popped, disappearing almost as soon as they were created. Letting out a sigh, Red waited until Lynn noticed her. The little girl turned towards the doorway upon hearing her sigh, and she didn't respond other than looking sad. She did not flinch when Red slowly approached her, eventually sitting down beside her. The two watched each other closely. Lynn's eyes were still wide and she was shaking, but she didn't protest when Red gently wrapped an arm around her and her cloak. Red, stunned, did nothing but keep her breathing calm and steady, letting the little princess shudder against her. Then, even more shocking, Lynn's tiny hands grabbed Red's on her shoulder, seeming to like her cloak.

"Hey," Red said, her voice soft. "How are you, Lynn?"

"Cold," The princess sniffed.

Red hesitated but then picked up the princess and wrapped her arms and cloak around her. She then slowly stood up and walked towards her own room, sitting down on her bed. She put her back against the wall, snugly against it so that the princess could be as comfortable as possible. She seemed to, slowly, warm up. Red reached over to pull her blanket over them, and Lynn coughed but let out a small hum of happiness. It was quiet. Not wanting to scare or startle the little princess, Red carefully watched her, and did her best to keep her warm and comfortable. She wasn't sure how much time passed, but Lynn seemed okay, closing her eyes for a little and seemingly napping. Then, after a while, Lynn shifted to stare up at Red, and wrapped her hands around one of Red's again, almost as if she were scared of what would happen if she couldn't hold onto her. After a long moment, Red began to stroke the little princess' hair, and, much to her shock, Lynn curled up against her, seemingly wanting her to keep taking care of her.

"Lynn?" Red finally said. "Do you like me?"

Lynn blinked but then nodded.

"You're nice…" She whimpered.

Red's brow furrowed in confusion.

"I thought you were afraid of me," Red paused when Lynn stared up at her. "Lynn? Are you sure you're okay?"

"You take care of me," She said, starting to cry. "You're not scary…"

Red hesitated but then sighed.

"Who scares you?"

"Him," Lynn sobbed. "He's scary…"

Red chewed at the inside of her cheek. Damn it, Charming. I told you to be careful with your tone around her. Even if you're not talking to her, you have to be careful! We're trying to keep her safe, aren't we? Well? She glanced back to Lynn, starting to feel sick to her stomach. She wasn't quite sure what it was about her that the little princess liked, but she was glad for it. Seeing her get upset always bothered her, especially when she saw her struggle to bond with Snow. What bothered her more, though, was Charming. He meant well, she told herself, but, at the same time, he didn't seem to understand how to handle a child, let alone a child who was so difficult to handle. Red started to gently scratch the little princess behind her ears, something the little girl always seemed to be comforted by, and something which she seemed to be comforted by now. She curled up as tightly against Red as she could, and her crying started to slow, starting to calm down again.

"Has he ever hurt you?" Red finally asked.

Lynn shook her head. "He's just scary."

Red bit her lip.

"I'm sorry he scares you, Lynn," She said. "Really, I'm so sorry you're scared of him. I hope you know you don't have to be scared of me."

Lynn didn't say anything but sniffled.

"Is he the only one you're scared of?" Red's brow knitted in concern when Lynn didn't respond. "Hey, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I just want to make sure you're okay."

"I want momma," Lynn whimpered.

"I know you do, and I'm sorry," Red said, trying to keep her calm, which, for the most part, seemed to be working. "I hope…I can try and give you that comfort."

Lynn stared at her, blinked a little, but then nodded.

"Red…" She said, sounding confused. "Muh..muh -"

"Red! Where's -"

Lynn shrieked when Snow came into the room, clutching onto Red's cloak and hiding herself in it.

"She's in here," Red calmly told her, awkwardly holding Lynn carefully against her under her cloak. "I think she's just tired, Snow. Let her sleep in here tonight. I don't want her to get lost if she leaves her room from having a nightmare or something like that."

Snow glanced down at her feet and rubbed her neck, but then nodded.

"Lynn?" Snow called. "Is everything -"

Lynn started screaming and crying again. Not seeing anything else to be done, Red sent Snow a pointed look and, after a moment, Snow left the room, starting to cry herself.

"Snow?"

Charming paused, his breath hitching when he saw she was crying. He cupped her face in his hands and brushed her tears aside with his thumbs, every motion a light one.

"What happened?"

"I don't know why she hates me…" Snow whispered. "Red has her, thankfully, and she doesn't seem to be giving her trouble. But…she lost it the second…the second she heard me."

"She's probably overtired," Charming reassured her. "She doesn't always act like that when you're around. She's not exactly the most stable child."

"I just…" Snow said, swallowing hard. "What on earth did Regina do to her?"

"I don't know," Charming murmured. "But she's going to be okay, eventually. She's got us, and we love her, take care of her."

"Still," Snow said, horror entering her voice. "I…I just can't even begin to imagine what Regina did to her. How…how bad was her abuse?"