The Evil Queen agreed to the dinner and Lily helped her make something more modern and less gaudy than her usual attire. She was not pleased about that small detail but she agreed nonetheless. Regina was more of a hassle to convince, but after finding out that the Evil Queen would be attending, she was quick to agree...and argue, but Lily mostly ignored that part. She and Mal planned a lovely feast of smoked fish, sauteed garden vegetables, baked potatoes, sweet buns and for dessert, a large chocolate cake that Lily quickly claimed half of. For drinks, Mal was bringing out a few special bottles of her famous firerock brandy and dragon wine. Tonight...was going to be fun.
Lily had just gotten done taking a shower and blow-drying her hair. She had chosen a simple outfit of a black tanktop and blue jean shorts for the evening. She went into her mother's room and found that Maleficent was standing in front of the mirror in a simple long sleeved black shirt with dark jeans. Her makeup was flawlessly applied and her hair was neatly brushed. "Lookin' good, Mom."
"Thank you, dear." Mal turned around, continuing to examine herself in the mirror. "Do you think it's enough?"
"Enough for what?"
Maleficent frowned at herself before throwing up her hands, engulfing herself in smoke. When it cleared, her mother was wearing a form fitting black dress with quarter length sleeves, no back at all and a long tail so she could show off her legs. "Much better."
"They'll be eating out of your hands." Lily smirked. "Especially looking like that."
Mal smiled. "If there is one person I know how to manipulate, it must be Regina. Dinner is ready?"
"Yep. just waiting for our guests."
"Come here, my dear." Mal reached under the bed and pulled out a box. Lily stepped forward, trying to peer inside curiously as she opened it. Inside, was jewelry. Jewel encrusted and probably worth more than Lily's life. Her mother pulled out a diamond necklace and magically put it on her own neck. The next necklace was made of diamonds as well, except with a sapphire centerpiece. This one, she put on Lily. "A dragon should always wear jewels."
Lily smiled and touched the necklace. "Thanks, Mom."
"Of course dear. Now, let's get ready for our guests." she kissed the top of Lily's head, replaced her box and lead the way into the kitchen. They laid out the food and Lily even set out some candles and dimmed the lights a little. "Why are we going through the trouble for this when it will only end in disaster?" Mal asked. "We both know it will."
Lily grinned. "Just a little entertainment, Mom. Don't worry, I'll make sure no one comes to blows and you can have as much fun as you want. Wait, did we tell them not to bring guests? Shit!"
Mal rolled her eyes. "Regina is probably going to bring Emma. I swear, I know that woman too well."
"EQ will probably bring that Graham look alike guy."
"I doubt it. The mirror can't exactly eat."
The doorbell ringing interrupted their conversation. Mal returned to setting the table and Lily went to go answer it. As her blonde mother predicted, her brunette mother had indeed brought Emma along. "This is an exclusive function." Lily said, making notice of Regina's provocative little black dress beneath her long black coat. She also carried a bouquet of red roses. Emma was wearing some kind of stupid looking poofy pink dress.
"Please." Regina said simply. "I told her about Mal's cooking and she was just dying for a bite."
Lily slammed the door. "Mom, you were right." She called.
"Told you."
Lily opened the door again. "Fine. Come on in, however I should warn you, we reserve the right to kick your ass out if you dare to cause any problems." Emma merely meekly dipped her head. She scowled a bit, wondering just what kind of game they were playing. A flash of black smoke alerted to the arrival of the Evil queen on her doorstep, accompanied by a man Lily had never met before. The Queen herself was dressed in an elegant black evening gown that nearly trailed the ground as she walked. Her hair was down and neatly brushed and her makeup was perfect as usual. The man next to her wore a long sleeved black shirt and dark jeans. In one word, he was positively gorgeous, like a slightly younger Liam Hemsworth. "Evening, EQ. Who's your friend?"
"This is Liam, a dear and recently reunited friend of mine. Liam, this is my daughter, Lilith. Is she not everything I said she was?" The Evil Queen smiled proudly and touched Lily's cheek before continuing into the house. She paused to take a bouquet of black roses from Liam and walked into the kitchen.
"Um, come in." Lily stepped aside and Liam walked in, dipping his head respectfully and flashing a bright smile. "How do you know my mom?" She asked.
"I was one of her Black Knights." He answered. "I joined when I was really young and I suppose I impressed her."
"And how did you become recently reunited?" She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms.
"Well, I have always been in Storybrooke. Dockworker. Not as dashing as a knight but, it pays the bills."
She smirked. "I hear that. Come on, dining room is this way." She lead the way and found the two Reginas sitting in their seats across from each other. Mal had put both bouquets of roses into a purple vase and placed it on the windowsill. She took her seat at the head of the table and Lily sat to her right with Liam across from her. Emma was at the end.
"The spread looks amazing, your Majesty." Liam commented, ogling the food like a starved dog.
"I am sure it will taste even better." The Evil Queen smiled at Mal. The dragon sipped her wine and gestured for them to begin while she observed. Only when everyone had filled their plates did she move to take anything for herself. She hardly ate throughout the dinner of sexual innuendos and passive aggressiveness between Regina and her counterpart. Lily mostly tuned them out and focused on talking to Liam. She was actually warming up to him when she realized that this was probably want the Evil Queen wanted. Distract the daughter with a good looking guy while she went after the mother.
"You know." Said the Queen, sipping some wine. "I spoke...with an old friend of ours." Silence reigned around the room as she put down the wine glass and picked up a knife and fork. "Rumpelstiltskin. No one was willing to talk so I found someone who would and...I have just one thing to say to you, Madame Mayor." She suddenly stabbed Emma in the hand, pinning her palm to the table. Regina stood up, as did the Evil Queen. "How dare you?" And just like that, the evening became a beautiful disaster. Lily looked at her mother, but she seemed interested in hearing what the queen had to say, so she made no move to intervene.
"What the hell is your problem?" Regina hissed, conjuring a fireball.
"We have spent so long on hatred. So many years because Snow White told a secret and cost us everything. Years spent on vengeance. And you would dare to ask Maleficent to move on when Snow White stole our child?! You would dare to have the gall to stand by the woman that has ruined our lives oh so many times even after she did the same thing to our daughter? How dare you?"
"It is because of those wasted years that we should look to the future." Regina said. "That we should try and focus on being a family now. I don't want Lily to make the same mistakes I did. My entire life was wasted."
The Evil Queen was literally seething with rage. Her eyes started glowing purple and magic could be seen crackling across her skin like bursts of electricity. She picked up her wine glass and took a sip, seeming to calm down. "Now you want to be a family?" She asked. "They do not deserve to live. I cannot believe they continue to call themselves heroes." She slowly tilted the glass and allowed the wine to run onto Emma's hand. The blonde screamed and tried to pull herself free. The Queen did it for her, ripping her hand from under the sharp utensils and letting her fall to the floor. Regina went to heal her and the Queen looked at Mal. "I will take my leave, Mal. I am far too angry to continue this, but it was a lovely dinner. Thank you." Mal merely nodded and the Queen teleported away with Liam.
"She is right." The dragon said softly, looking at her daughter. "They did not pay what they did to us."
"Mal, please, don't do anything crazy." Regina practically dropped Emma as she quickly came to the blonde's side. "Please, Mal, I beg of you not to do this."
"I will not move on from this, Regina." Maleficent said slowly, her eyes starting to glow. "They started this, and we shall finish it."
"Maleficent, please."
Mal stood up, conjuring her staff. Lily rose to her feet as well, waiting to see just what her mother would do. Her phone rang and she answered it.
"Bring your mother to main street." Liam said. "The Evil Queen wants to give her a gift."
"EQ has a gift for us." Lily informed her.
"Well, Lilith, my dear, it would be rude not to accept it." They teleported straight to main street where a crowd had already gathered and the heroes were already present. Arranged in the street, kneeling, were the 7 dwarves. The Evil Queen was standing in front of them with Liam at her side, poised to defend his queen.
"Maleficent!" Emma conjured her sword and took off for the dragon, but Lily slammed into her from the side. The dragons continued up to the Queen. Regina helped Emma up and they stormed forward as well.
"What the hell are you doing?" Regina demanded, glaring daggers at her counterpart. Once again, the Evil Queen did not look at her, did not acknowledge her presence. Her eyes remained locked on Mal's.
"Some things can't be forgiven...or forgotten." She said slowly. Her eyes fell upon Lily and their daughter shuddered under the intensity of her gaze. "Their lives aren't worth yours. A thousand are not worth yours, but for now, will their blood satisfy you? You are a dragon after all, and transgressions are always paid in blood."
"Wait! Stop!" Snow and David came running forward, but they were frozen in place by the Evil Queen.
"Why not just kill them?" Lily asked. "It's their fault."
"True. But it will hurt them even more knowing someone else paid for their mistakes, their actions. This is how you commit an unjustifiable act." She looked at Snow. "Except this time, we will not have to justify it with foolishness. It will be the truth. You caused their suffering, you caused it all the moment you decided to steal my daughter and implant your daughter's darkness in her heart."
"No." Lily said. Stunned eyes turned to her. "Release them. Release them all." She commanded. The Queen was shocked, but she obeyed. The dwarves ran off into the crowd and Snow and David were freed. She looked up at them. "Your delusion of who you were, these perfect heroes who care about everyone and their followers, should be shattered because I know who you truly are. Your true colors were shown the night you took me from my mother's arms and sent me to another fucking world! I didn't deserve that, my mother didn't deserve that even after she asked you for help. You don't deserve forgiveness, you don't deserve life." She took a deep breath and looked up at her mother. Maleficent's face was emotionless, but her eyes revealed nothing but pride in her child. Lily turned back to the Charmings. "I forgive you. The both of you. Because I am better than you and your daughter. I will spare your life this one time. I will let you go free and not burn their town to the ground as I would so love to do. Remember this, Charmings, as the day that a beast showed you mercy, when you couldn't do it yourselves." Maleficent teleported them back to the house and quickly wrapped her arms around her daughter. Lily sighed and shrank into her mother's warmth.
"You are truly stronger than I ever was. I love you so much."
"I still hate them." Lily whispered.
"I know. You can hate them as much as you like, my dear, you will never have to deal with them again."
"I love you, Mom."
"I love you too."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Everyone kept their distances from the dragons for a while. Maleficent spent her days teaching Lily. Her daughter soon started spending time with Liam. He seemed a good man, for the most part, and if he ever revealed that he wasn't, she would deal with him herself. Since the Evil Queen's 'gift', the heroes had been more desperate than ever to take her down. It took little to evade them. All she did was move her castle and the heroes were forced to search for it again. The dragon didn't speak to Regina either in that time. She was very...confused. Very frustrated. For so long, she'd loved Regina. And yet now, life just seemed to keep getting in the way. She did not truly trust the Evil Queen yet either. Her possessiveness of Lily made her uneasy in some ways. Still, she did not want to wait around for Regina to come to her senses. So she decided to surprise the mayor one day while she was at work with lunch. Before she'd even stepped out the door however, there was a soft knock. When she opened it, Regina was standing on the other side with a bottle and a pizza. "May I come in?"
"Of course." Maleficent stepped aside and let her in. "What's this for?"
"I've been thinking." Regina said, placing the food on the coffee table of the neatly furnished living room. She straightened up and looked up at the blonde. "You're right. I have lost you too many times. I love you, my dear Maleficent. You are everything I could ever ask for and I am determined to make us work. I will do whatever it takes. Starting…" She gestured shyly to the food and wine. "With a little snack? We can watch a movie later, maybe? Cuddle, talk. Whatever you want to do."
Maleficent smiled at seeing her so shy and soft. "I was actually going to ask you that same thing."
Regina smiled. "So I can stay?"
"For the day? Don't you have to work?"
"Well yes, but you are far more important."
Mal smirked. "Well alright then." She sat down and opened the wine with a loud pop. Regina sat next to her, practically under her, and kissed her bare shoulder. Her phone started ringing and both of them scowled as she answered it.
"What, Miss Swan?! I told you that I was taking a few days off."
Mal tilted her head so she could hear the blonde's response.
"We found the castle, but you won't believe where it is. Archie and Henry went snorkeling in the lake."
"Okay...and?"
"She moved her castle to the bottom of the freakin lake." Emma said. "Why aren't you as shocked about this as I am?"
"Because I'm not shocked and as I said, I'm taking today and the next few days off. Good bye." She clicked end call and even went so far as to cut the phone off and take out the battery. "There. Peace."
Mal smiled. "You didn't have to do that."
"I completely did. Now let's eat." Regina giggled girlishly and they settled down to a nice meal. Afterwards, the queen cuddled up under the dragon's arm while they snuggled and watched a movie about dragons. Mal draped a quilt over them for warmth and soon, she was peacefully asleep with Regina in her arms. The way it was supposed to be.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Standing on the bank of the lake, Lily shivered from the cold air. She couldn't wait for summer. Liam was rowing to her from the middle of the lake. He smiled as he pulled up next to her. "Why underwater?" Was the first thing she asked.
"Why does the Evil Queen do anything?" He replied as she climbed in. "Brace yourself, she's a bit cranky."
Lily laughed. "When is she not." She looked up at the heroes not far away. They had found the castle too, by pure coincidence actually. Now that they had, the Evil Queen had placed guards in the water, several varieties of sharks and even a pod of killer whales. Even now she could see the dozens of fins circling through the water. Liam rowed them out to the center of the lake and stood up, removing his shirt. She arched an eyebrow before following suit in stripoing down to the bathing suit that she was wearing underneath her jeans and t shirt. "Wait, isn't the water cold?"
He grinned. "Yep." And dove into the water. She leaped after him, feeling a tremendous shock to her senses at the icyness of the water. A Great White shark circled her, coming closer and closer. Liam grabbed onto its fin and she copied the motion. The shark instantly dove downwards, drawing them into the dark of the water, sweeping past the other predators in the water and the mass of undersea life. The Queen's castle was dark and foreboding in the murky gloom, but the shark swam right past it, leading them to a tunnel that quickly revealed itself as a portal. The Queen's castle wasn't underwater at all. It was just in another part of the forest. Lily and Liam climbed out of the pool of water, both shaking from the cold and raced inside of the castle to the rush of warmth that met them. "Careful, she threw a temper tantrum today." Liam cautioned her.
"Why?" Lily asked, pulling some kind of fur cape off a stand to wrap around herself.
"Maleficent has been meeting with Regina and she's pretty upset." He pulled off a fur coat and put it on. "She blew up some cars, injured half a dozen people, stabbed a few of the dwarves."
"Holy shit."
"Yeah. Just...be prepared, okay?"
She nodded. She took the lead up the stairs and into the Evil Queen's study. She was laying across the chair with her hair covering her face. Meanwhile, the entire room, except for her precious mirror, had been completely obliterated. "EQ? You okay?"
"No." came the mumbled answer.
Lily magically fixed the room and went to pick up a brush off the table nearby and returned to pull her half mother up into a sitting position. She pulled back the luxurious mass of black hair and started to brush it while Liam poured his mistress a glass of wine. "What's going on, EQ?"
"Why does Maleficent love her?" The Queen asked, readjusting her position so she could sip her wine. "She is pathetic and weak." She scowled. "Soft." She suddenly stood up and tossed the wine into the fireplace, igniting it with a fireball. "Maleficent is more than some petty human! She is a dragon!"
"She's not just a dragon either." Lily reminded her. "She is still human too, but yes, she is a dragon, and you have to understand that."
"Maleficent is fire incarnate." The Evil Queen snapped, pacing furiously. "She is the all consuming flame that shines brighter than the sun. She is beauty and she is light and she deserves to shine, not spend her days cooped up in a little house playing girlfriend to some self righteous bitch!" She screamed in frustration and kicked over a table. "I made a vow to show Regina that you cannot snuff out the darkness, that you cannot change what you truly are…"
"You're still going to do it?" Lily asked.
"No. I want Maleficent. I don't give a shit about Regina. I want my dragon!"
"Then instead of throwing temper tantrums, do something about it."
"I will!" The Queen roared, storming off to another room.
Lily chuckled to herself and reached for the bottle of wine to pour herself some. Liam looked up at her. "So, who do you want to win Maleficent's heart?" He asked.
She shrugged. "Whoever is worthy and will care for it like it's supposed to be cared for. Both of them have hurt my mom in many ways and in my opinion, despite how much I like the both of them, they aren't worthy. But it's up to my mom."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
While Maleficent slept with Regina in her arms, her dreams started to take a form that wasn't her own doing. Someone was manipulating them. Her instincts told her to wake up, to get out, but when she felt a soft hand on her arm, she started to calm down.
"It is only me, my dear." The Evil Queen's deep, invigorating voice whispered in her ear. The scene around them took shape and she found herself in a castle unlike any she'd seen before, reminiscent of her old one but less extravagant. There was a large roaring fireplace, a thick black rug and a chess table set up with two large, soft chairs beside it. "How about a little game?" The Evil Queen materialized in one of the chairs, in a simple, yet provocative dress. It hid virtually no cleavage, allowing Maleficent to see all she desired. It left the Queen's arms bare and had long slits in it to show off her legs when she lifted them to prop them on the foot stool nearby. Her hair was down, like an ebony waterfall that was just begging to be touched. "If you want, you can change into something more...comfortable." The Queen smirked and snapped her fingers, transforming Mal's clothes into the dress she wore to dinner. "That will more than suffice. Please, have a seat. Would you like some refreshments?" Mal warily sat down, slowly starting to relax. The Queen snapped her fingers and two servants rushed up with goblets of drinks and a tray of goodies. Mal looked up, finding that these servants were actually Snow and David, bound and muzzled, beaten and broken, but still forced to fall to command.
"What is this?" She asked.
"Midas' famous white gold wine." The Queen answered, sipping her goblet.
"I meant all of this." Mal waved the servants away and gestured to the room around them. "What is this?"
The Queen looked down. "You didn't want to meet me in our world so I created this one...for us. If I overstepped before, I am...sorry." That caused Mal's eyebrows to touch her hairline in shock. "I was only doing what I felt was right when I offered the idiots to Lily."
"That isn't why I didn't want to see you-"
"Because technically, you're with Regina? The hero? And you can't be seen with me. I understand, but I'm not going to give up."
"Shut up." Maleficent sighed, relaxing back in her chair. She smirked and propped her feet up. "This is a difference between you. Regina makes me feel human, but you constantly stir the fire within me. It blazes when in your presence. It flares when we touch." She licked her lips slowly. "Set the board, my sweet." The Queen leaned forward to do so before leaning back again. They played a few lazy games of chess for a while, simply enjoying each other's company, reminiscing about the days of old. Those days were long gone unfortunately and the ones ahead were too uncertain to speak of.
"Checkmate." Mal smirked after the their third game and the second one she'd won.
"Congratulations." The Queen smiled. "I must bow to a worthy adversary."
"Is that so?" Mal waved her fingers, drawing the other chair closer and moving the queen's feet in her lap so she could stroke the smooth tan flesh. "I remember when you used to bow to me every night."
"Give the command." The Queen said, her voice deepening with lust. She suddenly found herself completely in Mal's lap and nearly fell at the sudden change in position. She scowled. "You love to keep me feeling like a fool, don't you?"
"Yes." The dragon chuckled deeply. Her fire was tickling her, begging to be stoked, to be unleashed. The Evil Queen leaned her head back and closed her eyes as Maleficent burned her dress away. "Beautiful." She grabbed the Queen by her neck, wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her into the air, carrying her down the hall. She was directed to a bedroom and quickly tossed the smaller woman onto it. She opened her mouth and unleashed her fire. It swept around the room in a raging inferno, further stripping the Queen of her lingerie and Mal of her clothes as well. Her eyes glowed as her beast reared its head. It had been a while since the dragon had been let loose. "Do you really want this...Regina?" The Queen looked up at her. "That is still your name, is it not?"
"Yes...and yes."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"So." Lily said, after having been left by the Queen, she and Liam decided to raid the kitchen. "Why did you join the black Knights so young?" she asked, popping a grape into her mouth. Liam was busy fixing a giant sub.
"Well, it wasn't the Black Knights when I joined, they were just Leopold's elite guards. But I'd always wanted to be a soldier."
"Protect the kingdom, have women throw themselves at you?" she said, raising an eyebrow.
"More like playing at war." He replied. "It sounds terrible, but I've always been good at war. Strategizing, leading, fighting. The Evil Queen saw my potential and helped me hone my skills. In return, she received my unwavering sword and my unwithering loyalty." He pulled out a knife and sliced the sandwich in half.
"And she brought you back now, why?"
"Well, it was supposed to be just for the dinner. You know, make Maleficent jealous." He smirked. "I think she forgot the entire plan as soon as she saw the Dragon Queen in that dress."
Lily laughed. "I think you're right."
"Anyways, she offered me a position at her side. It was either continue slinging dead fish or live in a castle and occasionally lift a sword. Obviously, I chose the simple life." He pushed one half of the sandwich to her and she picked it up and took a big bite, blushing when he grinned at her. "She's not quite what I expected."
"Who? The Queen?"
"Yes. Without love, her heart, I expected her to be...unhinged? Completely deranged and devoid of human compassion. She hasn't shown me that."
"Well, she doesn't care about anyone, except me, you, Mom and that mirror. Everyone else is just meat sacks in the way."
"Yes, but how can she still love if Regina is the one with the heart?"
"Does she have a heart?"
"I don't think so."
It was something to ponder at least. A few minutes passed in comfortable silence as they ate. It was indeed strange how the Evil Queen seemed fixated on the family she didn't know she had. In her mind, Lily was her daughter and Mal, her rightful mate. She hadn't done anything to Regina, hadn't made any plans to attack the heroes again, her entire focus had shifted. Lily felt that the shift had occurred the moment they met, that the Evil Queen merely wanted what she felt was hers and was willing to take it. She was so unlike Regina, who was willing to wait and slowly build a relationship. At the same time, she had a family of her own to take care of and it did leave little time for Lily. Most of that free time was spent with Mal or Henry. The Evil Queen however, was more aggressive in her approach but still she made Lily seem like the greatest thing in the world just when they looked at each other. Maleficent had told her once before why the Evil Queen saw her in such a way. "Because if someone as dark and broken as us can make something so bright and beautiful, then everything was worth it." Losing Daniel, being forced to marry the king and be a mother to Snow, going dark, turning on the love of her life, casting her curse, losing everything...had been worth it. Just because Lily existed.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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