It was the first time in a long time that Regina could honestly say that she was happy. She spent most of the day with her daughter, practicing fighting and magic and listening to her gush about her family. In between their practicing and strategizing Salacia went on and on about swimming and racing Zeraya, babysitting her younger siblings, painting with Aria and playing hide and seek with Caspian. She talked about Raya too, when Regina asked about her. As expected, Raya was a wonderful mother. She was kind and supportive and protective. When it came to Zelena, Salacia spoke just as highly about her and how she loved to teach them magic and alchemy and botany. Amphitrite was almost always in Oz now so she could be with her daughter and grandchildren. Stomping down the prick of jealousy, Regina couldn't help but feel joy at seeing that Salacia had a good childhood, a good life. A life far better than the one she had. That meant more to her than anything else. Yes, it still hurt that she wasn't a part of it but she hoped to be part of it now.
In regards to her relationship with Raya, she was uncertain on how to proceed. She still loved Raya. She had fought tooth and nail for her, dove into the darkness and erased her own memories just to find her and now that she had…She couldn't have her. The Evil Queen would have murdered Zelena by now, but she didn't want to hurt Raya any more than she already had and she didn't want to ruin Salacia's family. She didn't know what to do.
Once in her small beach shack, Regina cleaned herself of salt and sand and the smell of the sea and conjured a set of pajamas. Then she climbed into bed and wrapped herself in a few more blankets to fight the evening chill. Her training today had exhausted her completely. Too tired to even reminisce on her first outing with Salacia, she was asleep within seconds. She dreamt of nothing.
When morning came, she was ready to finish this damned ship and get the others home. After cleaning herself with magic and dressing herself in a black pantsuit with a black shirt underneath, she was ready to go. Before she could leave however, there was a knock on the door. She waved her hand, opening it from her place on the bed.
Raya was the first one in and had a basket under one arm. She was followed by Salacia and Zelena, who were both carrying huge trays of food. Amphitrite followed with a large bottle.
"What's this?" Regina asked, watching Salacia conjure a small table so they could put the food down.
"Breakfast. We hoped to share it with you." Salacia answered. "If you don't mind."
"Is it fish?"
Her daughter laughed as she opened the trays. It was not fish or stew. It was bacon, sausage, some kind of baked bun and fruit. "We went inland for it. I figured you were tired of fish and stew." Salacia pulled out chairs for the others and waited for the older women to take their seats before pouring the drinks. "I asked Emma and Henry about what you liked to eat in your world but I think they were messing with me. Emma said salads and Henry said pancakes. The salad option is just sad and why would you eat a pan of cake? Let alone multiple. It'd have no nutritional value. I suppose if you have good genes it wouldn't matter but it can't be healthy."
Regina chuckled softly as she conjured a plate of pancakes in one hand. "These are pancakes. It's not really cake. You drizzle it with syrup and you can eat it with fruit. And salads are the only thing Emma has seen me eat. I try to spend as little time with her as possible." She sent the conjuration away and looked at the food. "So why did you all want to have breakfast?"
"We looked at Raya's memories." Zelena answered. "Of what you told her. Salacia said that you wouldn't mind."
"Hmm," Regina sighed. "So is this a 'get the hell out' breakfast or a pity party?"
"No one here hates you, Regina." Raya said.
"Jury's still out on that." Zelena muttered, adding one of the buns to her plate.
Raya narrowed her eyes at her before looking at Regina again. "I want to help you. I haven't figured out how yet but I will."
"Me too." Salacia added.
Regina smiled at the two of them. "Thank you."
Raya conjured a golden box and sat it on the table in front of the former queen. "These are the ingredients I gathered over those two years that I was away." She sat down and Regina didn't make a move towards the box.
"Why are you giving this to me?" Regina asked.
"I got them for you. They're yours. Do with them what you will. Although, if you plan to use them, let us know so they can be properly prepared."
Regina looked at the box with distaste. She almost wanted to destroy it, but she didn't want Raya's efforts to go to waste. She moved the box to the floor next to her chair while they ate. It was a good meal and Salacia filled the conversation aspect by telling the others about Regina's ideas that they'd discussed the day before.
"So how did you break both of your legs?" Raya asked.
"I drew some enchantments on my feet to make me move through the water faster. I saw it in one of Henry's movies. I didn't account for stopping underwater and I hit the wall of your training arena and broke my legs."
"What's a movie?" Raya asked.
"Um, a recording that you can watch over and over again. It's sort of like a play? But not really…"
"Perhaps we can take a trip to Storybrooke to see one." Salacia suggested.
Regina only shook her head. "I don't believe that you would find it appealing, nor would you be treated well there because of your affiliation to me."
"I don't mind breaking someone else's legs."
"You drew enchantments on your feet?" Zelena cut in. "With what?"
"I didn't tattoo myself if that's what you're thinking. I'm not that crazy. I conjured up some ankle stabilizers, support wraps, and marked them." She conjured them and showed them to the witch.
"What language is this? This isn't the magic Rumple taught us."
"No, it's draconic. Mal taught it to me." Regina said, tilting her head. "The Dark One trained you as well? When?"
Zelena handed the support back to her, ignoring her inquiries. "Speaking of your friend, Mal, Amphitrite helped us get in touch with Ursula. She's in the Land of No Magic and she said she has a way to bring Mal back."
Regina shook her head. "That's impossible."
"Why-"
"Because Mal is dead! Dead is dead!" She snapped, rising to her feet. "And it's my fault."
"Did you kill Maleficent?" Raya asked, standing up as well. She walked around the table but Regina raised a hand towards her in warning.
"No, Emma did. But-"
"Then you didn't kill her. Just because you were the Evil Queen doesn't mean that everything bad that happens is your fault."
Dead was dead. She learned that lesson already. She wished she had stopped Emma from killing Mal, especially when it didn't even matter. They didn't need that stupid orb of Gold's to save Henry or break the curse so Mal was killed for nothing.
"Ursula may be right and you can have your friend back." Raya said, pulling her out of her dark thoughts. It was a nice sentiment and it would be wonderful to have Mal back, even if the dragon hated her. "Don't forget that Ursula is the daughter of Poseidon and Maleficent is a dragon. Who knows what they can do?"
"Is that all she said?" Regina asked.
"No, she said Maleficent had a baby and it was stolen and if you helped her, she would bring you your silver platter. What does that mean?"
Regina could have sworn that her heart fell into her stomach hearing those words. Mal…had a baby. And someone had stolen it? She remembered Mal closing off her kingdom a little while before she cast the Dark curse but she never imagined… And Ursula was in the Land of No Magic? She and Cruella were always glued to Mal's hip. Why weren't they there to help Mal? Who could have done this? Regina ran a hand through her hair as she sat back down. "I once said that I wanted Snow White's head on a silver platter. Either she really needs my help or she really hates Snow. I don't think she and Snow ever met though." If there was a chance that Mal could be resurrected, she wanted to take it. If not that she needed to find out who stole Mal's baby and make them pay. Maleficent had many enemies and she was a dragon. There were any number of idiots who thought they could steal from her hoard or slay her to gain fame. Even more idiotic were the people who believed that dragon parts had magical properties. Technically, it was true, but those kinds of people only saw dragons for their parts and wouldn't have hesitated to butcher Mal or her baby for the pieces they could use or sell. It turned her stomach to think of Mal's baby ending up in the hands of someone like that.
"Hey, stop spiraling!" Raya commanded, bringing her attention back to the breakfast table. "Calm down."
Regina took a deep breath and downed the rest of her wine. "Is there a way to contact Ursula again?"
Amphitrite nodded and rose to her feet. The sea goddess had been silent during the entire breakfast, but Regina had felt her eyes on her the entire time. She never could read the goddess so she didn't call attention to it. Amphitrite cleared her throat as everyone rose to leave the room. "Regina, because of the way your relationship with my daughter ended, I was quite prepared to hunt you down and kill you. You hurt her and I hated you for that. However, I must apologize." Jaws dropped around the room but Amphitrite hardly took note.
"For what?" Regina asked.
"I should have killed your mother the moment she showed herself to be a threat. I'm sorry that I didn't."
"Um, it's okay." She wasn't sure what else to say. Amphitrite didn't leave her much room to reply anyway. The goddess soon turned to leave and Zelena was the first to follow her. Salacia magically cleaned the table and followed as well, leaving Regina with Raya. Her old friend was looking at her in concern. "I'm fine." She said, before the question could be asked.
"Is that true?" Raya asked.
"Not even close." She admitted. "But for now, I'll pretend it is." She avoided Raya's gaze as she left the shack. Outside, the idiots seemed to be waiting for her and she rolled her eyes as soon as she saw them.
"Regina, we should get to work-" David said.
"I'm busy." She scoffed.
"Doing what? We're trying to go home. I know you don't care but-"
Regina whipped around to face him. "Whining is not going to make me do anything. Save your breath and energy, Farmer." She turned to follow her daughter into the tower. She faintly heard Henry calling for her but she ignored it. Where she once would've been overjoyed just to be acknowledged by Henry, she was only annoyed now. He could spend days ignoring her existence but if she didn't drop everything to help his idiot family then he suddenly remembered her. She wasn't allowed to use her magic unless it was to help them and she wasn't allowed to just tell them 'no'. It hurt, and she knew it was wrong to be so annoyed by her own son but she was, and there was essentially nothing she could do to fix that. He hated her when she fought for him so she stopped fighting, but when he was in danger, she was the first on the ship to go to Neverland. She'd barely gotten a thank you for her efforts and has since been ignored for the most part. For the moment, she pushed away the pain in favor of the hope that bloomed in her chest at the thought of Mal coming back.
"You okay?" Raya asked, once they were reconvened around the pool.
"Not even close." She rolled her eyes when Henry and the idiots followed them into the room.
"Mom, I want to go home. We need your help." Henry pleaded. "You said you would-"
"Enough." She said sharply. "The Farmer and the Pirate have been rebuilding the ship on their own just fine. They can continue to do so while I deal with this."
"But if you help, they can repair the ship faster."
"That is true." She shrugged.
"You won't?"
"Right now? No."
"Regina." Emma hissed.
"What? Am I not allowed to say 'no' to him?" She demanded. There was a splash behind her and a lot of shrieking. She turned around one eyebrow rising at the sight of Ursula and another young woman helping Cruella out of the pool. The dual haired queen of darkness was cursing up a storm and her fur coat was soaked and heavy enough to pull her to the ground. The young woman was giggling and watching Ursula use magic to dry her off. Once that was done, the sea witch rounded on Amphitrite.
"What the hell was that, Amphitrite?!"
"I thought you were still in the Land of No Magic. I didn't know you were in Oz already. Otherwise, I wouldn't have opened the portal." Amphitrite replied. "What are you doing here?"
"I figured this would be an easier and faster way to get to Storybrooke since Regina's already-" She paused when she looked around the room. She skimmed over Regina and then her gaze fell on the Charmings, who looked like they'd seen a ghost. "You!" Everyone scrambled to avoid the tentacles that shot across the room and slammed Snow and David against the wall, coiling around their necks.
"Hey!" Emma threw herself on one of the tentacles, but her weight did little to bend it. Ursula merely launched another tentacle to wrap around her neck and yanked her off her feet, pinning her to the ground.
"Stop!" Henry yelled. He looked at Regina, who made no move to intervene. "Stop her, Mom!"
"What the hell's going on?" Neal and Killian stormed into the room, weapons at the ready. Almost instantly, another tentacle was sent to grab Killian, pinning him to the sand like Emma while another twisted Neal's arm until he dropped his sword.
"New guests, Mum?" Zeraya and Aria were standing at the top of the stairs. The elder sister seemed to find the violence amusing while Aria looked concerned, but only mildly so.
"Everyone calm down." Raya commanded, bringing order back to the room and silencing the idiots. "Ursula, what are you doing?"
Ursula looked at Regina. "You don't know, do you?
"Know what?"
"These two bastards are the ones who stole Maleficent's baby." She glared at the Charmings, her eyes full of nothing but hatred and malice for the poster children for heroes.
"Ursula, please," Snow choked out. "We're sorr-"
"Sorry? You're sorry?!" Ursula screamed. Cruella and the other brunette both reached out to her, but she shook them off. "You tracked my friend into her den and when she was at her weakest, you took her egg from her arms. And why did you do it? Because you wanted to make sure that your own child was a hero. You wanted to make sure that they were good and perfect. So you took the darkness of your child and put it in Mal's. You cursed her. You sacrificed her. You condemned her to a life of darkness, burdened by a weight she was never supposed to carry. If that wasn't enough, you then banished her to another world. A world without magic where Mal couldn't have followed if she wanted to."
"We didn't know!" Snow pleaded. "The wizard tricked us."
"He tricked you? He told you to steal someone else's baby? He told you to curse them? No matter what Mal had done, her child was innocent and deserved a chance to live and you sons of bitches decided she was worth less than yours. She was just a monster to you, wasn't she?"
Regina was eerily calm throughout the exchange. Her thoughts were whirling so fast that she felt the room start to do the same. How…dare…those fucking idiots lay their hands on Mal's child! How dare they do that to any child while they spent the last few months trying to lecture her on being a hero. Heroes don't do this, heroes don't do that. But they were fine to curse and banish a child?! An overwhelming rush of rage engulfed her and she wanted nothing more in the world than to destroy the Charmings, but a hand on her shoulder grounded her, steadied her. It was the brunette Ursula had brought with her. She was a beautiful girl and she smiled brightly at Regina before going to gently remove Ursula's tentacles from the necks of the idiots.
"Everyone, calm down. Relax. No one is dying today."
"Who are you?" Regina asked, ignoring the idiots' coughing and sputtering.
"I'm Lilith. You can call me Lily." The brunette grinned again, her brown eyes suddenly shifting to a molten gold. "I am Maleficent's daughter."
Regina's jaw dropped slightly. She could see Mal in her. There was a glow about her, a warmth that only came when in Maleficent's presence. She briefly wondered who Mal would have chosen to father her child, but she pushed that thought away just as swiftly. It was Mal's business, not hers.
"You're Regina, yes?"
"Yes."
"It's a pleasure. My mother spoke highly of you."
"What?" She glanced at Ursula, who was busy wiping her tentacles in the sand. "I thought you were stolen when you were a baby."
"I was. However, unlike the baby stealers who put their child in a tree and hoped for the best, Mom had placed spells on my egg that allowed her to communicate with me. After I landed in the Land of No Magic, things got a bit wonky, but I was able to speak to her when I was asleep. She told me all about her and you and the Queens of Darkness and the fools who took me. Until a few months ago when I'm assuming the curse broke and she was killed. Am I correct?"
"You are." Regina sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't-"
"Did you kill her?"
"No, but I shouldn't have imprisoned her. I took her for granted. I should've chosen her. I'm sorry-"
Lily chuckled as she raised her hand for silence. "She said you would say all of that, but she never blamed you. You can talk to her about it when we resurrect her. I asked who killed her." Regina pointed to Emma. The blonde had only just made it back to her feet before Lily walked over and punched her hard in the stomach. She doubled over again, coughing and wheezing. Henry put himself over her protectively, but Lily had already turned away to look at Snow and David. "It's okay. No one is going to hurt you. The pleasure of killing you will belong to my mother. When we return to Storybrooke, we will resurrect her and she will have her pound of flesh."
Regina found herself smiling. She was a little Mal all right. She was surprised to find that her anger had dissipated. Not completely however. She couldn't wait to watch Mal take her vengeance. She smiled as she made for the door. "Come on, David. Didn't you say you wanted to work on the ship? The sooner we get home, the sooner Mal can kill you."
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