Sorry it was such a long wait! I updated Chapter 2 as well for better clarity/writing/format.

**TW** This chaper contains suicide, read at your own risk

"Just a few more days until the wedding. You must be so excited,"

The voice sounded distant. Foreign even. Regina didn't acknowledge the maid, who was standing in her room, folding clothes and keeping a watchful eye on the girl. Not that there was much to witness. She had hardly left her bed since… she couldn't remember. Since her mother had left her baby to die. To think, she could have finally had her perfect family- her eyes squeezed shut, feeling a sharp pain in her chest from grief at the thought. At least that was something. She couldn't bring herself to cry any longer, having exhausted herself of tears… she wished she could, it was better than the apathy and numbness that had taken over her. A new feeling that grew more intense as the days passed, coupling with the profound sadness that was ever-present.

She no longer protested, or pled for mercy when Cora tried to intimidate her with her magic. Her threats no longer carried the same bite as they once did. Cora had finally broken her, Regina had become so detached the pain was almost welcoming. She would allow her mother to become furious, choking her against the wall until she nearly passed out, secretly hoping she wouldn't stop. She didn't care about anything anymore.

She laid on her side, doing nothing but gazing through her bedroom window at the last bit of summer sun dipping below the tree line, for perhaps the last time. It was almost nightfall. A blessing and a curse- she would be left unbothered, a reprieve from her mother even just for a few hours… but the nightmares…. she dreaded them. Her life was destined to be the same, even more of an unbearable, never-ending nightmare than it was now. She wouldn't have to worry about nightmares anymore. She wouldn't have to worry about anything.

Regina didn't hear the maid leave. She groggily looked around her room, it was dark now. She wasn't sure how much time had passed, she hadn't been sleeping exactly, just… existing. She felt so tired, dazed, no matter how much she slept. She slowly began to sit up, her arms shaking underneath her own weight. She was hardly aware of the familiar dull ache in her stomach, she finally noticed the plate of untouched breakfast had been cleared from the bedside table. She closed her eyes, mustering up the will to actually get out of bed.

She carefully made her way over to her bedroom window, swinging the panes wide open, taking care to not make any noise. The cool night air greeted her, along with the sound of crickets in the distance. She looked up at the stars, all bright and twinkling… could they be up there somewhere? She thought to herself. She felt her chest tighten, she felt a ferocious longing to join them. She heaved herself up onto the windowsill, letting her legs hang out the window as she sat for a moment. She peered down. It would be high enough, for sure.. It wouldn't take long. She reached up to touch her necklace, that read 'Daniel'. She thought of him now, and Lana…she closed her eyes as the tears started to come. All it would take is just letting go. She could be free, be with her true family…she now allowed herself to imagine them all, together and happy, a thought she couldn't bear before.

With one last, stuttering breath, she closed her eyes and loosened her grip. She felt herself lean forward, and she began to fall.

The air rushed around her for about a second, she gasped as everything suddenly stopped. She opened her eyes, a chill ran down her spine as she realized she never made it to the ground. She was being suspended, and now pulled upward, by magic. A sense of dread washed over her, Cora was certain to be furious, and put bars on the window… she'd have to think of another way. She landed on her feet, and slowly turned to face her mother.

To her shock, it wasn't her mother at all. She gasped, wide-eyed. A short man, with scaly, almost metallic skin stood before her. "Who- who are you? How did you get in here?" she asked, voice barely above a whisper. The man giggled, looking her up and down. "Well dearie, we weren't supposed to meet like this," he said. He had a funny voice, she thought. "What do you mean?" she asked again, after he ignored her question. "You jumping out of a window, wasn't part of the plan! But, not to worry, dearie…" he said exuberantly, coming closer to her now. He reached out a scaly green hand, to gently stroke her cheek. He looked at her more seriously, "You won't remember any of this,"

Regina saw plumes of red smoke around her, and then everything went black.

"Rumple! How kind of you to stop by," Cora said sarcastically, as he had just poofed into her office as she was trying to focus on her potions. "What do you want? I'm very busy," she said, as she carefully added a pinch of powder into the brewing pot, stirring as she did so.

"You owe me a favor," Rumple sang in a sing-song voice that Cora found most annoying.

"For what? I haven't seen you in years," she said, glaring at him.

"Oh, just saving your daughter's life," he teased.

Cora stopped what she was doing. "What could you possibly mean by that?" she hissed.

Rumple smiled and giggled at her, taking joy in her frustration.

"Oh, might've not been the smartest idea to kill the child," Rumple said casually, inspecting Cora's workstation.

Cora was seething, she hated that he tended to know everything.

"She tried to jump out the window just now, so very lucky I was there to catch her," he declared.

Cora threw the spellbook she had been holding to the floor. "How could she be so stupid- "

Rumple interrupted her, "Ah, not to worry!" he announced, producing a small vial in his hand with a small puff of smoke. "I took her memories," he grinned, "She won't even remember she had a child," holding the vial out for Cora to take. She reached a hand out, and Rumple snatched it back. "Tsk tsk, you must promise me to be more… delicate, can you do that?" he teased.

Cora glared at him. "Of course," she said as she took the vial from him. She inspected it, watching the blue wisps swirl around inside the glass for a moment before looking back up at him. "Why?" she asked.

Rumple giggled once more. "Let's just say… I'm invested in her future,"