It was meant to be a fun night, but as Lily drove them out to the bar, she knew her mother was deeply in thought. Not good thoughts either. She pulled off the road and looked at her mother, elegant and beautiful. They had been ready to party but even her inexperienced eyes could see her mother's sadness. "Mom? What's wrong?"

Maleficent looked up, as though just noticing that the car was stopped. "Why did you stop?"

"You're upset. You can talk to me, you know."

Mal nodded. "I know. It's just… seeing you with the Evil Queen made me realize something. It brought back memories that I'd hoped to forget."

"What is it?" Lily asked.

"When I look at Regina...I see her for what she was. That little queen who walked into my kingdom all those years ago. So innocent and sweet. Today I realized...that's who I fell in love with. But that's not who she is anymore. I've been holding on to a memory. She's a hero now and a mother and I…"

"You're what?"

"I'm still the Dragon Queen. The Great Beast. I am proud of who I've always been. I don't want to change. Being good sickens me."

"You should be." Lily said. Her mother looked up at her. "You're amazing just the way you are." She smiled. "I didn't steal that from a song by the way."

Maleficent chuckled. "I think...I should break up with Regina."

"You know I only want you to be happy, Mom. Whatever you decide."

The dragon nodded. "I'm sorry if I ruined the night. I just-"

"Mom, don't apologize. I completely understand." Lily said.

Her mother looked up and smiled. "I will tell her in the morning. Tonight. We party."

"Tonight we party." Lily grinned. She started the car again and they arrived in record time. It was an amazing night. She never would've imagined her mother being a party animal but she could really cut loose when she wanted to. Lily ended up losing the shot contest but it was fun anyway. Their Lady in Red turned out to be Zelena, who was bored and wanted to have a bit of fun with her sister. She did look delicious in red. Mal obliged her with a few dances and bought her some drinks, but as the night wore on Lily could see that her mother was starting to anticipate her talk with Regina. It was near silence in the car as they drove home. Lily parked the car and started to get out, but her mother put a hand on her arm.

"Lily, I want to tell you something."

Lily immediately turned around. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

"No, it's just...no one knows why I truly hate Stefan and Aurora and I think that you should. You know very little about me as it is, thank Snow White and Prince Charming for that. I think you should know about your mother, why I do the things I do."

"You don't have to explain yourself to me, Mom." Lily frowned.

Mal sighed. "I know. But what do you know?"

"Well...Regina told me that Stefan broke your heart when he chose Briar Rose over you."

"He did." She nodded. "He promised that we would be together forever, and that he would love me for all time. But him choosing Briar Rose is not exactly why I hate him. It's what he did after that...You had an older sibling."

"What?"

The blonde smiled sadly. "I believed it to be a girl but she hadn't been born yet." Her smiled faded quickly, turning into an angry scowl. "Stefan sent assassins after me. Dragon hunters, treasure hunters, sellswords, mercenaries, any and everyone he could find willing to risk their lives to end mine. They failed to kill me, but your sister didn't make it. When I gave birth, the egg was broken and she was stillborn."

"Oh my god." Lily whispered. "I'm so sorry, Mom." If anything it made her love her mother more, for trying again to have her family and for sticking it to Stefan, that bastard. It enraged her and filled her with sadness at the same time.

"Do you know what hurt the most?" Maleficent asked. "It wasn't his betrayal, or even him trying to kill me. It was that he gave Briar Rose's daughter the name we had chosen for ours. Aurora...a new dawn, a new beginning. She was to be the start of a new era for me. After that, that's when I got angry. He killed my daughter and gave her name to another."

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

"How could you?" The blonde raised an eyebrow. She sighed and leaned over to kiss Lily's forehead. "I need you to know that I will always have your back, and I will never let anyone hurt you or take you from me. I won't fail again."

Lily nodded. She pulled her mom in for a hug and she felt Mal purring through her tears. They stayed that way for a few minutes before the blonde pulled herself back together and gave her daughter another kiss. "Mom?" Lily called as Maleficent exited the car. She quickly walked around the car to hug her mother again. "I love you."

Mal smiled and kissed the top of her head. "I love you too, my dear."

Xxxxxxxx

It was very early in the morning when Maleficent barged into the Evil Queen's castle. The Queen was sitting in front of her precious golden mirror, staring at it but not really seeing it. She turned when Maleficent stepped in. "Do you love me?" The dragon demanded at once.

"Yes." The Queen said, quickly rising to her feet. "I do."

"Why?"

"Because…" the Evil Queen scowled in frustration. "Why?"

Maleficent slowly walked forward. "Because I need to know that this isn't another mistake. That you won't be like the others who have tried to take everything from me. I want love, I want to just be me and to matter to someone else."

"You do!" The Evil Queen insisted. "I don't know how to explain you grown tired of Regina?"

"This isn't about Regina. This is about me and you, Queen. Right now Regina doesn't exist. I want to know that you will be what I have searched for my entire life and that this isn't just some rivalry with Regina, that you really do love me."

The Evil Queen again scowled in frustration, at a loss for a way to show the dragon her truest feelings, something she hadn't done since she had been with Daniel. Could she really find love, even after everything? She looked up at Maleficent and rammed her hand into her own chest, pulling out the tiny dark piece of heart that had come from her separation from Regina. It wasn't much, but it was all she was. She placed in Maleficent's palm. The blonde looked down at it. Small heart. Dark heart. Heart with a hole in it. "I really do want you, Maleficent, and Lily. I want to be...a mother." The Evil Queen said, swallowing thickly. "I want to be happy and you...make me happy. I will prove to you that I can do the same to you, I will prove to you that I am better than Regina, just tell me what I have to do."

Maleficent looked up at her. "You have to give this back to Regina."

/

Lily was surprised to find her mother already up and dressed early the next morning. She was told to get dressed as well, so she did. She showered and put on some jeans and a tanktop, not really understanding the situation. Mal didn't bother to explain it either as they walked to Regina's mansion. "Did you tell her?"

"Yes."

"Was she upset?"

"Yes."

Lily frowned. "Well, what's going on?"

"Do you love the Evil Queen?" Maleficent asked, ignoring her question as they walked. "Do you see her as a mother?"

Lily thought about it for a moment. Strangely enough, she did. In the past few weeks since her arrival, the Evil Queen had proved to be a fun companion, a wonderful confidant and even a good friend. They hadn't reached the motherly stage despite the Queen's love of pointing out that they were related. Lily was sure that one day she could see the Evil Queen as a mother. She told her feelings to her mother and the dragon smiled. "So you and her are gonna go out now?"

"Yes, in due time. First, we want to separate her from Regina, completely. I believe that the Evil Queen can flourish and thrive just as much as Regina can. She just needs…"

"Family." Lily said.

Mal smirked and kissed her temple. "I was going to say help...but family works too."

"But what about Regina? You two are just...done?"

Her mother shook her head. "Far from it, I'm afraid."

They arrived at the mansion to find the Evil Queen already there, staring down her hero counterpart who looked like she was about to rip her apart. Regina was angry and had clearly been crying, but she hardly let that bother her as she grabbed the piece of heart that the Queen handed to her. Lily frowned. "What is she doing? No!" Regina crushed the heart and threw the ashes on the ground. She froze as Maleficent arrived and Lily sprinted over to the fallen queen. "Queen? Come on, wake up. Please, wake up!" Lily shook her, but it didn't matter. Her evil mother was gone. Just like that. "Mom! Mom, we have to do something."

No one was listening. Regina stepped up to Maleficent. "Why? Huh? I thought we were going to work through this."

"There is nothing to work through, Regina." The dragon tried to explain. "I'm not like you. I don't want redemption and acceptance. I want my daughter and someone to love me. You have an entire family that doesn't include us, I let you go so you won't have to worry about us."

"But I love you. The both of you. You can't leave me, Mal, and I won't let you take Lily away from me." Regina said, tears starting to fall again. "the Evil Queen is gone anyway. I'm Lily's true mother. We can be-" Maleficent kissed her forehead and turned away to approach Lily and the body of the Evil Queen. This would be the ultimate test of their love for each other. The Evil Queen had given her life to prove her love for Maleficent, now it was up to the dragon to prove her love by bringing her back. Even if they didn't want to admit it, the Evil Queen and Regina were still one and the same. It wasn't hard for Maleficent to love the Evil Queen because she had always loved her, even when trying to remain faithful to Regina. They were always meant to be, she and Regina. She reached into her own chest and pulled out her heart, cracking it in half and giving a piece to the Evil Queen. The Evil Queen, who was completely honest with herself, who held little to no fear of anyone or anything, a regal beauty of darkness with only one love...Maleficent.

"Are you sure this will work?" Lily asked. "What if it doesn't?" She looked down at her half mother before ripping out her own heart, breaking it and giving a piece to the Queen too. Slowly a light started to pass over the Queen's body, shining from her new heart. A heart that was whole and bright. Lily leaped to her feet excitedly. "Come on, Queen."

Slowly...the Evil Queen opened her eyes, glowing golden like dragon fire.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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