Snow in Paris. One of the most breathtaking sights Regina had ever seen. Almost 10 years later and her life had been filled with such experiences. Because of Mal, she had done one of the many things she had been denied growing up on her father's estate: see the world. They traveled from Peru to Australia to England to Alaska to Columbia to Egypt and that was just the bare minimum. They even visited other worlds through the use of Zelena's ruby slippers. They were still going to new places and experiencing new things, making new memories. It was almost the perfect life.
"Regina, come on!" Zelena called. "Move those feet or I'm beating you with a baguette."
Regina rolled her eyes but ran to catch up to her big sister nonetheless. They walked to the car and got in and Zelena drove them expertly through the icy streets. Snow blanketed almost everything and the magnificent city became a winter wonderland.
"You act like you've never seen snow before." Her sister commented.
"I have but I never got to really experience it." Regina said. It was either because she was locked in the house by her mother or too focused on hunting Snow to notice anything else. She hardly used to take time to enjoy and appreciate the seasons. Now, she had plenty of time to do whatever she wanted.
"Hmm." Was all Zelena said. They passed into their territory, a plot of land surrounding their mansion home that Mal had purchased, a bit of a small homestead to give them privacy. As soon as their large house came into view, Zelena quickly parked and exited the car. Regina followed and as soon as she closed the door, something slammed into the side of her face. Her first reaction was shock, then anger as she could feel the ice down the front of her jacket and shirt. She spun towards Zelena and received another snowball to the face. "Now you can experience it. Even I, of all people, have had a snowball fight." She gathered up some more snow and threw it but Regina ducked this time. Regina burst into a grin and quickly scooped up some snow to throw, hitting Zelena in the side of her face and making her squeal in shock at the cold.
"We did not properly prepare for this." Regina laughed, watching with glee as the redhead tried to pull the snow out of her shirt. Both were wearing their favorite coats and boots and that was mostly it to fight the cold.
"No, we didn't but I'm going to win!"
/
Maleficent heard all laughing and screaming from upstairs. She peered out of the window and smiled at seeing her mate and her sister-in-law flinging snow back and forth like they were crazy. She snapped a picture with a camera and put it away before making her way downstairs. By then, everyone else had run outside to join in the game. However, when Mal put on her coat and stepped outside, the front yard was empty… She frowned and walked down to the grass. No footprints, no disturbances in the snow. She heard a giggle and turned around only to be bombarded by snowballs. She sighed, knowing it was coming. Everyone waited to see if she would be pissed. She smirked and snapped her fingers, causing a wave of snow to hit them all in the back. After that the snowball fight became more of a brawl, with people getting tackled and shoved into the snow. Which was exactly why Maleficent found herself laughing that evening at everyone sitting on the couches in the living room, bundled up.
"Shut up, Mal." Regina said. "At least I have my own personal heating pad." She opened the blanket she was wrapped in to show that their little girl was in her arms. Being half dragon, she gave off a lot of heat like Mal. The dragon queen smiled at the sight of their youngest child. Her name was Melisandre. She was born with golden skin, not quite as tanned as Regina's though, and she had Regina's thick, black hair that at the moment she refused to cut and so it almost reached her legs but she had bright blue eyes like her blonde mom and added a small blonde streak in her hair because of her. It could be Mal's motherly bias speaking but she considered the little girl one of the most amazing people she knew.
On the floor was Sarai, their granddaughter and the daughter of Ruby and Lily. She was a beautiful dark haired, brown eyed ball of fire that demanded to burn everything in her sight. Being part wolf and part dragon, she rarely got cold and was in no danger of getting sick. Even now, being a little bundle of energy, she was wrestling with Lily on the floor.
Wrapped up next to Belle on the other crouch across the room was their niece, Jade, Zelena and Belle's daughter, a young genius in the making. She was a pretty girl, sporting fiery red hair like her mum, fierce hazel eyes, a nose covered in freckles and a mind that would not stop working just like her brunette mother. It took her half an hour to read novels and she could almost parrot it back to you word for word. She had an incredible memory.
All three children lived a life of luxury and adventure, going with their mothers on trips all over the world. They were homeschooled so they had plenty of time to devote to travel. Life was absolutely perfect for all of them. Except there was one minor problem. Outside of Storybrooke, their magic didn't work as well. Only able to cast small spells, it put them at a disadvantage, especially when the kids were starting to become more interested in magic. Not to mention that Mal, Lily or Ruby hadn't changed into their beast forms in years. They could've changed forms in the other worlds, but not every one used magic and going to the Enchanted Forest took a lot more energy than they willing to expend. The slippers needed to be charged almost and charging them with magical energy was especially difficult being in this world. It took a year of charge to go there the first time. They had a solution for this, although it wouldn't be implemented until the kids' next birthdays.
Mal came to sit next to Regina and Mel and gave them each a kiss. "It's not my fault you wanted to play in the snow like a child. How about I make us some hot chocolate and put on a movie?"
"Yes, please." Mel said. Regina kissed the top of her head. Ruby added some more wood to the fireplace while Mal made her family some hot chocolate and cinnamon rolls. By the time she returned, Mel had joined in the wrestling match. "Join us, Jade." She called, currently pinned to the ground with Sarai by Lily.
"All of you like are like half some fearsome animal. I'm smart enough to know a human wouldn't stand a chance." Jade replied. "Besides, up here there's cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate."
Mal couldn't resist purring just at the sight of all of her family. Sure the Queens of Darkness was meant to be this powerful, evil faction, but there was really no place she'd rather be than here.
Lily suddenly snatched a laughing Sarai up and carried her back to the front door. "One more dump in the snow?"
"Mom, no!" Sarai said. "Mom!" Ruby simply waved at her. She reached out to Mel. "Auntie, help me!"
"Before I help you, I want to pick from your stash." Melisendra said, crossing her arms.
"Me too." Jade added. "I'm not going to help you but I know where the stash is, so unless you want the location spread to the entire household, I would like a pack of Oreos."
"You conniving little-"
"Rai." Ruby said sternly, arching an eyebrow. "Language. Watch it."
"What stash are they talking about?" Mal asked.
Mel looked at Jade. "You know where the stash is? Well, never mind then, Rai, you're on your own. It'll be empty by the time you get back."
Lily snickered as she carried Sarai outside and dumped her in a pile of snow. She returned moments later to chase Mel and Jade upstairs.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The chilly air had bite to it but Regina only closed her eyes and sighed against the icy nip to her cheeks. It was just light enough for a ride and she had promised her little girl that they would go today. She usually kept it simple when it came to riding, just the basics. Mal had purchased for her and Mel a pair of lovely white horses, suitably named Ice and Mist. Regina peeked over her shoulder, smiling at seeing a happy Mel riding right behind her. A sunset over the frozen landscape was just perfect. This life was perfect.
Regina slowed down to a walk to allow Mel to catch up. "Are you getting cold?"
"No, I love it. Can we race on the way back?" There was a momentary sense of panic at her request remembering the last time she had seen a little girl on a horse. Her daughter scoffed when she noticed Regina's lack of an answer. "Mom, I'm not Snow. I did a backflip off of Ice the other day."
"Yes, after I told you not to." Regina arched an eyebrow at her smirking child.
"Well, you know what Ma says. Life is meant to be lived. That includes a few scrapes, bruises...broken bones…"
Regina rolled her eyes. "That's because Mal is immortal. She has nothing but life to live. And she can heal those scrapes and bruises and broken bones in seconds. You can't."
"But she can heal my scrapes and bruises and broken bones in seconds." Melisandre pointed out.
"Okay, you got me. We can race back."
"Speaking of healing stuff, when will I start learning magic?"
"When you can stop doing backflips off of horses after I tell you not to." Regina replied.
"Touché." Mel grinned. "What about our birthdays? Are we going somewhere this year?"
"Don't we go someplace every year?"
"Yes, of course, but...where?"
"Tell you what." Regina brought Mist to a halt and turned her around. "Beat me back to the stables and I'll tell you." Mel burst into a wide grin and turned Ice around. "Ready?"
"Born ready."
"Ready...set...go!" They both gave their horses a kick and took off across the white forest, spraying up snow in their wake. She smiled as Mel passed her, letting wild cries of happiness as she did so. Her daughter was an excellent rider by now, but Regina was a master, and as much as she loved Mel, she was not going to let her win. Just as the small stables came into view, she and Mist put on a burst of speed, surging past the others to reach the doors first. Cody opened them for her and she dismounted to lead her horse inside.
"One day, I will beat you." Mel said.
"I await it." She replied. The pair set about removing the horse tack and brushing down the beasts.
"So," She said. "There is a possibility of us one day returning to Storybrooke." Mel sat on a hay bale, listening to her words while she leaned on the door of Mist's stall. "That's not your surprise for this year, don't worry. It's just that...I don't think we've ever properly talked about the Evil Queen. If we were to go back, I know you would notice...the glares, the mutterings, the curses. Even after being me and saving the town and raising Henry, the evil part wouldn't go away." She sighed, remembering those years of struggling and trying to be better, only for it all to fall apart.
"Mom," Mel gestured for her to walk towards him so she did, taking her hands. "First and foremost, you are my mom. That comes before anything else and it won't ever change. I don't care about the Evil Queen or what some irrelevant idiots have to say, unless it's something bad. I won't tolerate anyone disrespecting my moms. I'm with you, 100%. Anyone who tries to mess with that can go eat a fireball."
"Thank you." Regina smiled.
"Mom, there is nothing to thank. That's how you should be treated and how will be treated from now on."
"Alright, let's get you into a hot bath and get ready to wash all of this damn hair." Mel hopped down and followed her back to the house. She had to take couple deep breaths to adjust to all the love she was constantly feeling from her child. Once she and Mal had helped Mel with the long process involved in washing all of her hair, she excused herself for a place to think.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
It was night when Mal walked out to the pool, finding steam rising off of it and Regina sitting on the steps with the water up to her neck. "You'll catch a cold out here." She said.
"I drank an enchantment." Regina replied, continuing to stare off into space. Mal arched an eyebrow curiously, but she didn't interrupt her mate's thoughts. It took a few minutes for Regina to speak again. "Our daughter is amazing."
Mal smiled. "We know that."
"I talked to her a little bit...about the Evil Queen." Mal snapped her fingers, changing her dress into a bathing suit and slid into the water next to her wife. "Just in case we do decide to go back to Storybrooke...I know we haven't come to a conclusion yet, especially with everyone thinking I'm dead."
"You know, we can just send Zelena back to get what we need." Mal reasoned. Their solution to their problem of no magic was to simply take the magic from Storybrooke. There were few magic users in the town with all of them gone and they didn't care about anyone else, so win-win.
"What about all your properties. You were buying them for a reason and you still maintain them."
"It was meant to be a surprise for you." Mal sighed. "I brought about 2 blocks worth of properties and had them renovated." Regina turned to look at her. "It was meant to be just a beautiful place, full of shops, diners, fountains, clubs, music. A section of Storybrooke that was ours, so you wouldn't have to feel so alone with the other idiots. The renovations were complete a couple years ago, but we closed most of everything down because...well, if you couldn't see it, what was the point?" It was going to be beautiful, breathtaking even, a street to make Bourbon Street jealous...all for Regina. Just to make Storybrooke a little better.
"I'm sorry you spent so much time and money-"
Mal pecked her lips, silencing her protests. "It was more than worth it. Besides, I would rather you never see it than ever take you back there and have Crazy and Crazier try to hurt you or Mel."
"Or you." Regina replied. "You were the one almost assassinated."
"I didn't exactly help the situation."
"What do you mean?" Regina tilted her head as the dragon swam forward, rolling onto her back before planting her feet at the bottom of the pool.
"I told them that I would steal their girl. I did." She shrugged with a smirk.
"I expected nothing less." Her wife smiled.
"Well, honestly, you are mine and you've always been mine and always will be, so really...technically…" She smirked at Regina's barely contained giggling. "They were fools to think they could ever have you."
"Dragons." Regina scoffed.
"Truth." The blonde countered. "What's our score?" She asked, wading back to her wife.
"317 or something. We've done everything there is to do sexually." Regina sighed. "What else is there?" The pair were quiet as they thought. They had already done a few google searches to try and keep their little game entertaining but they were running out of ideas. "What if we invite Amaunet back?"
"We've already done a threesome." Mal tilted her head, remembering that night with incredible fondness. Amaunet was a delectable Egyptian beauty who they had befriended during their last trip to Africa and their favorite lover to call if they wanted a little company in the bedroom. There were others, but Amaunet was regarded as the best. "What about darkness?" Mal asked as the idea hit her.
"What do you mean?"
"Complete darkness. No light, just sound, just...pleasure."
Regina slowly grinned. "Let's do it. But not tonight. Tomorrow, Ruby and Lily are taking the kids to some kind of trampoline world. We should have plenty of time then."
"Excellent." Mal kissed her lips. "Wow, your lips are so soft."
Regina giggled softly. "Have you seen your lips?"
"You're always talking about my lips. Are they big or something?"
"No, just plump." Regina smirked, giving her bottom lip a little nip. "And perfect." She yelped when Mal suddenly picked her up. With a quick word of magic, they were dry and she was swiftly carried into the house.
"Good night, Mamas." Lily said as they passed the kitchen where she and Ruby were having a late night snack. Belle and Zelena were far too busy cuddling and kissing on the couch to notice anything beyond themselves. They were usually wrapped in their own little world so it didn't surprise either woman. Mal carried Regina upstairs with ease and flashed a bright smile before tossing her across the room and onto the bed...which she almost bounced off of.
"Mal, what the-" Mal snapped her fingers, extinguishing all light in the room and sending them into darkness. Regina suddenly moaning made her frown in confusion before she remembered her marks. "Mal, I do believe I specifically said-" Mal rubbed her hands together furiously and smirked when she saw flames spark around the bed, an involuntary reaction from her wife. It illuminated Regina just enough for her to see her writhing on the bed, gasping in pleasure. "Is that how you want to play this, Mal?" Regina asked, her breathing starting to slow. Her voice dropped and Mal growled softly at how sexy it sounded.
"Yes, dear. Come on. Let's consider this the winning point."
"And then what?" Her head whipped around after hearing Regina almost behind her. "We start over? We end it?"
"No, satisfying you is one of the best parts of being your wife and a full time job that I take very seriously."
Regina almost giggled and she grinned. "How about we play a game of control?"
"Explain."
"Well, first off, I don't care if we have to go back to Storybrooke to do it, but you're getting marked because this shit is unfair." Maleficent burst into laughter at Regina's annoyed tone.
"Okay. Deal."
"The rules are, one of us makes a request of the other. If the request is not fulfilled, then that person gives up control when we have sex." Regina said.
"So essentially, if you tell me to do something and I don't, you get to be on top?"
"You have to do whatever I say and to make the request official, you must say please, dear. So, shall we play?"
"And if we both refuse to yield?"
"Then no one will have total control."
Mal slowly nodded. "Alright then. We begin tomorrow at dawn."
"Yes, but tonight, you will pay."
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The next day, the kids were burning with questions, so after breakfast, Ruby and Lily took them down into the training room. Even being away from Storybrooke, Mal never stopped their lessons and the basement of this house was outfitted to be almost the same as the one in Storybrooke was. Even the kids were trained. Defense and martial arts was a must as Mal wanted them to be able to defend themselves should the need ever arise. However, Ruby and Lily lead them through the training room to the small storage room behind it. Inside, it was warm and the floor was carpeted. Trunks and wardrobes lined the walls which the girls rushed to open.
"Whoa." Sarai said in awe as Lily pulled out the giant battle axe she used to use. It was different than the one she had paid $100,000 for because during a sparring match between her and her mother, Mal had snapped it with a single swing of her staff. In return, Mal forged her a new one. It was made from a precious metal that Mal claimed had been part of a fallen star. The blade had been expertly crafted and softly glowed. The handle was red and crafted from an ancient tree, the very same that had been used to craft Mal's staff. It was one of the most powerful weapons ever created, worthy of a dragon. She only trained with it now, but it was still a beautiful weapon. Lily smiled and placed it in Sarai's hands.
"Does Mom have a weapon?" Mel asked, searching through a wardrobe of Regina's many Evil Queen dresses.
"Yeah." Lily walked over to a weapon case and opened it. Inside it was Mal's staff, Zelena's broomstick that had been converted into a staff that Mal made for her, and Regina's staff that Mal made as well. "These are theirs." She glanced over her shoulder at Ruby lazily twirling the long red blade that Mal made her as well. Honestly, Mal had made all of their weapons. "If we go back to Storybrooke, Mom could make you guys some as well." She conjured a chair and sat down to watch the kids go through the trunks, fascinated with the former lives of their mothers. But they would never fully be able to utilize and realize their true power if they were in the Land Without Magic. Lily knew her mothers were reluctant to return to the small town and the idiots living in it, but they also wanted the kids to be able to experience all of the magic in their blood, all of the power they were born to wield. Perhaps they needed to take another trip to the Enchanted Forest. The kids were too young the last time they'd visited to really know about it. They would still need power to do that though and Storybrooke remained their only solution.
She looked up when Mel stood up, holding Regina's crown in her hands. After all these years, it had lost its luster. The diamonds had fallen off, the metal was dented, dust clung to the intricate designs. "Why wouldn't she protect her crown?" Her sister asked softly.
"Because it wasn't important." Ruby stated matter of factly. "Once Leopold was dead, she didn't even wear it anymore. This," She bent next to Mel and gently took the crown from her hands. "Is just a pretty piece of metal and Regina knows that. When you look at your mother, what do you see? Do you see a queen?"
"Yes."
"Even without her crown?"
Mel nodded. "She's a queen either way. I know she didn't want to be one, but...no one can take that away from her."
"Nope, but who cares about a crown? Maleficent technically was never royalty in our world, but she is still known as the Dragon Queen. Crowns and thrones are just decoration for people like your mothers, who are twice as strong and valuable as they are. Just think, Regina without a crown is what?"
"...Regina?"
"Yes, without all the rules, all the bullshit. We're all lucky to see Regina now, see who she really is, without the darkness and the madness."
Mel looked down at the crown before tossing it back into the trunk. Lily smirked a little and wiggled her finger at her mate. Ruby walked over and bowed her head for a kiss. "Thank you." She whispered.
"Of course. In a wolf pack, it is everyone's job to educate the pups."
"Ooh, look at this!" Sarai called, swinging on Ruby's red cloak with a gleeful grin. The large thing almost drowned her in red fabric, but she seemed so happy to hold something that was a piece of her mother. Jade meanwhile had found Zelena's old wardrobe and it was full of her favorite hats and dresses.
"How did they breathe in this stuff?" She asked.
"And walk in these." Mel added, holding up one of Regina's stilettos. "The heel is almost as long as my arm."
"One day," Lily said. "None of this will surprise you. The key to being a villain is do with it with flair. Have fun with it, play with it, do whatever you fucking want to do. Little Red here took a lot of time to learn that." Ruby smirked at her. "You know, one of our family mottos is Fuck The Heroes."
"It should be: Redemption Is Overrated." Jade said. "I mean, you can't tell the Queens of Darkness want to do, how to be."
"Unless you want to eat a fireball." Sarai grinned.
"I think the family motto is Eat A Fireball." Melisandre laughed.
Lily smiled. It truly felt amazing to be a part of a family, especially a big one. She almost couldn't fathom being alone anymore. They spent the day in the storage room before heading back upstairs to where the rest of the family were in the living room, talking.
"We've come to a decision." Mal said. "After the kids' birthdays and summer arrives, we'll return to Storybrooke. That'll give us plenty of time to prepare."
"Prepare for what?" Lily asked.
"Well, we're going for various reasons. The kids will be able to try out their beast forms, we'll be able to increase our supply of magic, and," She pulled out the map that would lead to her parents. "We'll finally complete our family."
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