"We completely understand why Miss Red and the princess need time in the quiet," Leah said, walking with Snow and Charming through the gardens back towards the palace as it was growing dark. "Is she the princess' protector?"
"We all are," Snow said, glancing to Charming. "But, yes, she's most comfortable with Red."
Leah paused, turning on her heel to face them.
"I'm stunned she isn't most comfortable with her step sister."
Snow briefly looked down at her feet. Charming and Leah both watched her, concerned and more than aware of her sadness. It was almost tangible, and it hurt.
"We think it's a result of Regina's abuse of her daughter," Charming finally said, his voice increasingly heavy. "That she has broken down Lynn so much that she isn't comfortable with anyone. Red is a special case. No one, not even her, I think, can explain Lynn's attachment to her."
"It's only gotten stronger in the last two months, too," Snow added. "Well before we arrived here."
Leah considered that. "I'm so sorry you both have been forced to suffer through this," She said, her voice rather gentle. "But it truly is a blessing that she has found solace in Red."
"Absolutely," Snow glanced around, watching the sky. The first signs of autumn were beginning to show, and with it the cold was also beginning to return. "Lynn's birthday is soon, too. She's nearly six."
Leah smiled. "You will be able to spend her birthday with her for the first time in years? That's wonderful!"
"It is," Charming agreed, taking Snow's hand. "I'm hoping it will be a positive turning point in their relationship, to know that Snow loves her."
"Oh, that will be, I'm sure," Leah said, the three of them starting to walk again. "Sometimes we all need a bit of a push, a sign, a physical reminder that people are here, that they care a great deal."
"Of course," Charming squeezed Snow's hand. She squeezed it back. "Snow and Lynn were close when Lynn was a baby, when she was a bit younger. She's been through a lot. She just needs the time to let the shock abate."
"I understand that," Leah went quiet. "That is why Stefan and I are doing everything we can for Aurora. We're going to find a way to reverse the curse, we absolutely have to."
Snow hesitated but then reached over to pat the queen's shoulder. Leah's eyes started to well with tears, and, then, suddenly, she embraced Snow. She had no idea what kind of thoughts were going through Snow's mind, and certainly not Charming's as he stood just a few feet aside them. She could only feel the thoughts of what had been done to her own daughter. It was tormenting. Every night, she and Stefan had a hell of a time trying to get sleep. Aurora, in her bassinet very close to their bed, usually sleeping peacefully but every so often waking up in terror. It was a response to some light as it entered the room. Purplish and gold light always woke her up. She was terrified of it and, so, to the best of their ability, she and Stefan had done away with just about anything in their bedchamber that could cause those colours to come anywhere near Aurora. It made her sick. Regina. How could she do something so cruel? And under the pretence of being there to give them something to be happy about, something to help her through her daughters being gone.
Leah closed her eyes. It was all too much.
"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?" Regina had violently snapped her hand shut and just about through Aurora towards her mother's arms. "You want her to be like Snow?" She had hissed. "Then that's exactly what you'll get."
"You both are such wonderful people," Leah said when she finally let Snow go and, once again, the two women and Charming began to walk into the palace. "I haven't the slightest clue how Regina can be so blind as not to see that."
"She's unreasonable," Charming said, shaking his head. "And absolutely horrible, vindictive."
"And, again," Snow said, sharing a worried look with Charming. "We're so sorry she took out her hatred of us on you and your child."
"She's a mother herself," Leah said softly. "I simply can't fathom how she can't understand how genuinely horrible what she did was."
"She can't feel love," Charming grimly replied. "She can't feel anything, actually. She's truly heartless."
"She wasn't always that way," Snow shook her head. "She can feel love. She's not heartless. She just can't do anything which is not fuelled by emotion. And it isn't good to her, or anybody else. That's why she's after me. Because she is afraid of me taking away her crown."
Leah frowned. "That's a fair assessment," She admitted. "Though why she is afraid of that last I will never be able to understand. The people would much rather have you as queen. She should step aside and allow that. She has no birthright claim to the monarchy of Misthaven either."
Silence. Silence apart from the soft clicking of their feet while they stepped into the main hall, meeting Stefan in the hall, Aurora curled up asleep in his arms.
"We were discussing Regina," Charming met the gaze of Queen Leah, who nodded. "We're hoping that we might be able to help even a little with keeping Aurora safe."
Stefan and Leah stared at each other for a long moment, before Leah turned around, standing by her husband's side. He set one hand firmly to her shoulder, and the other still securely holding Aurora. Then, she spoke:
"How might you describe Regina, Charming?"
He startled, but, to his own shock, replied without missing a beat.
"She's not the queen. She's the evil queen."
Snow said nothing, though her heart was starting to race and her stomach sank. Is that true? Has Regina become that far gone? Is she truly that far gone from the woman who saved my life all those years ago?
"The evil queen…" Stefan took that in. "You may very well be right," He said with far more conviction.
"She cursed our child for no reason!" Leah cried, her voice breaking. "She is nothing short of 'the evil queen!' There is no other way to describe her!"
Snow swallowed hard, numbly allowing Charming to hold her gently against him, a physical support.
"I can't blame you for feeling that," She finally whispered. "But I don't know if I am able to go that far quite yet."
Maps were strewn all around her. It was almost impossible to figure out what was what. Local. Kingdom. Continent. It wasn't clear, at least in some spots. There were just too damn many things to look at. Lynn was, thankfully, fairly calm. They were alone in the library, which, as far as Red could tell, was also the records room for Leah and Stefan's kingdom. She couldn't believe they were so willing to let her spend time alone in here with Lynn. Then again, they trusted her. She pushed that thought as far to the side as she could. Trust. It was something she wasn't sure she even understood the meaning of anymore. It made her sick just to think about and, so, she forced herself not to. Dwelling on that wouldn't be conducive to anything, let alone trying to do the right thing with Lynn. She was conflicted, however. Regina cursed an innocent baby. Why? Because she was slighted by Leah and Stefan offering their condolences about Snow? Or was it much deeper? Was she still as quick to anger, revenge as she was the night Lynn had been taken? Red paused, the thought hammering in her head. She had thought she was doing the right thing, then.
Lynn was the difference.
Lynn was the proof that Regina wasn't heartless like she had thought her that night. Red bit her lip. She had made a mistake. A serious mistake. One that, she was realising, left not only Lynn traumatised but Regina, too. She forced herself not to cry. Instead, she turned to watch the little princess, the little girl whom had grown attached to her, trusting only her from the start. At the beginning, it had only been halfway. Now…now it was full trust. Her mind kept coming back around to that word. Once again, Red shoved it aside. Lynn was happily bouncing around the room, skipping, happy to be in a beautiful dress and tiara. What Snow, Charming, and, indeed, Leah and Stefan didn't know was that the tiara was truly Lynn's. It was one of the few things she had grabbed that night on impulse. She was glad for it. Just like the necklace Lynn trusted her to know about, it was a reminder of who she was. For such a young child - Snow said she was close to turning six - it was necessary to have that. To know who she was. And Red knew she was willing to do just about anything to make sure Lynn wouldn't have to worry about forgetting who she was. Her cloak suddenly starting to feel heavy around her, Red turned back to the maps and books strewn around her, only to be caught off guard mere seconds later.
"Lynn, what are you doing, that's -"
Red stumbled over a stack of books around the maps while Lynn grabbed one.
It fell in front of her.
A map of the south of Misthaven.
More than just that, there seemed to be the name of what looked to be either a manor or a town in neat calligraphy on it. Lynn pressed both her hands on it, eyes wide, and Red barely had enough time before that to read the name. Willowsand. Why was Lynn…had she been there before? The way her eyes lit up when she saw it, the excitement so clear in the way she was bouncing up and down. It all had to mean something. If she had been there before, it must have been a place she felt safe. Was it somewhere Regina spent a lot of time? A secret, less known place for the queen to escape to? Lynn kept babbling on, albeit incoherently. She knew this place. The name, Red was starting to realise, was somewhat familiar. She hadn't known it had anything to do with Regina, though. She looked back at some of the other maps. It had been there a couple of times. She sighed. No wonder the name felt familiar. It was one of the many names that kept assaulting her brain while she tried to figure out what to do. While she struggled with it all. While she tried to figure out how she was going to find a way to bring Lynn back to her mother.
Princess Lynn Mary Anne. Daughter of Misthaven's Queen Regina. Lynn was going to see her mother again, soon. She had promised Lynn that, and, more than anything else she had promised, including to Snow and Charming and even Leah and Stefan, that promise to Lynn was one she was utterly intent on keeping.
"Fenella Chloe!" Lynn told her with nothing short of sheer confidence, dragging her out of her muddled thoughts. "Fenella!"
Red scooped her up into her arms, her brow knitting together in confusion.
"Who's Fenella?" She gently pressed, lightly scratching Lynn behind the ears to keep the little princess calm. "Do you know her?"
"Mommy's friend!" Lynn said simply. "She mommy's friend!"
"Does she live there?"
Lynn nodded. "With her wife! That what mommy said Sherry is!"
Red's mind was running faster by the second. Fenella. Sherry. Friends of Regina. Clearly people she trusted. Clearly people Lynn trusted. That was it. Willowsand, where they were, it was the only safe place to go. The only non-obvious place to go. And Regina doesn't have many friends, I'm sure of that. She must be really close with these people, must really trust them, too, if Lynn has been around them enough to know who they are. Every hair on her body began to stand up, making her shiver, and so Red tightened her cloak around herself. Lynn didn't seem to notice. That was a relief. The last thing she wanted was to scare her. Guilt pricked at every part of her. Red forced herself not to start cursing and crying. How could I have thought this was a good idea? Why did I think that taking Lynn away from her mother was the only way to protect her? Yes, Regina is dangerous, but she's not dangerous to Lynn. Red closed her eyes, letting Lynn snuggle up against her. A part of her mind treacherously whispered her memories of meeting her mother, of her time separated from Snow, and of how she came to learn to better control her wolf powers.
She wouldn't - couldn't, really - admit that she thought her relationship with her mother was everyone's relationship with their parent.
"We're going there, then," Red finally whispered to Lynn, who looked up at her and nodded excitedly. "I need you to keep it a secret, though. You can do that, right?"
Lynn stared at her. "I keep it."
She barely got the words out before starting to cough, shivering. Red swore under her breath and hugged her, waiting for it to stop. When her breathing went back to normal, Lynn curled up against her again.
"It's going to be okay," Red said, setting her down and cleaning up the maps as quickly as she could. "We'll leave in a few days. I promise."
Authour's Note: first, thank you all so much for reading and encouraging me. i know this is an incredibly slow moving story, and thank you all for waiting and taking every detail in as we slowly approach the curse and, of course, swan queen. i've had this concept in my head for years and finally felt i was equipped to write it, so hearing and seeing just how many people love my writing and of course the concept and story means so much. that goes double for my lengthy hiatus on this fic, especially because i was in hospital briefly due to a depressive bipolar episode for part of that time. your love and encouragement of me has in part reminded me to never forget who i am, and it also keeps pushing me to do my best, not just here, but as an artist in general and a musician in particular. all that to say i see and hear you guys and appreciate every word. so, that in mind, i'm going to start responding to reviews as a conversation of sorts at the end of every chapter going forward including this one. tol kuv! (be well, hebrew 💖💖💖)
jasouatfan: Snow is 100% misguided, and, sometimes, good intentions can quickly be perverted into something they never meant for it to be, and are too blinded to see.
Sammii16: don't you worry, this is a huge passion project for me and will keep going and going. and as for Regina…let's just take a moment to remember that she never lets anything slide, and does whatever it takes for what she cares for.
barrattajennifer: she really is…and she lets her own love and feelings about her step sister get in the way of seeing her and her step mother as they are.
The White Shell Mermaid: i've definitely wondered what a conversation between Regina and Queen Ava would be like too, especially in this context. either way, i do think that, unintentionally, Leopold became another abuser in Regina's life, trying and expecting her to be a way she never was and never would be. she certainly viewed it that way and, compounded with the abuse from her mother, it caused her to snap. i agree that Regina resents her for dying but, at the same time, Ava sympathises with her for everything she's been through, and would understand why she takes that out on Snow. and Red definitely cares for Snow…but she cares for Lynn just as much.