A couple days later, Emma arranged to meet Regina again. This time, she asked Granny to give them their space and she promised that they wouldn't be disturbed. Henry was pacing behind her and she was massaging her leg.
"I saw them today." Her son said. "Fixing the buildings and stuff. Do you think they're going to stay here?"
"I don't know. If she sees that we've changed...maybe." Emma said. "If she would fucking let me talk to her…"
The door to Granny's chimed and in walked the Wicked Witch. Zelena winked at her but ultimately ignored her, taking a seat in the same manner that Regina had a few days ago. She pulled out her phone and started texting. In the chair across from Emma appeared a little fiery haired girl with a pretty face covered in freckles.
"Who are you? I asked for Regina."
"You think you deserve to speak to my aunt?" The girl asked.
"Look, I-"
"You've said your piece. You apologized, she didn't accept it, she wants nothing to do with you. Why continue pushing?"
"I just want to talk to Regina."
"What would you say to her that you haven't already?" The girl asked. "You tried to murder her wife because she didn't want to be with you. That told her that you didn't care about her happiness, only your own. You tricked Robin into attacking her-"
"That wasn't supposed to happen." Emma hissed.
"Which told her," The girl continued, "That you were willing to hurt her family and conspire against those you believe did you wrong. Apologizing is not going to fix your relationship with her, if there still is one. Actions probably won't do much either."
Emma chewed on her lip, glancing over at an unconcerned Zelena. This was obviously her daughter. They looked a lot alike and her daughter had an accent too, but it sounded more like Belle's than Zelena's. She was like Melisandre, seeming older than she was and bearing an understanding and wisdom far beyond her years, but that didn't change the fact that she was just a kid and she had no idea what was going on. "I know you want to protect Regina, but I'm not going to hurt her. I never wanted to hurt her. I just wanted…"
"To be loved? You don't think she knows that?" The redhead leaned forward and laid her hands on the table, palm up. Emma looked uncertainly at them. The girl motioned to her arm and she moved it forward, rolling up her sleeve and revealing the green affliction coating it. "It's a different color."
"What?"
"Mom's was a different kind of green." She replied.
"Do you know how to get rid of it?"
"Yes. You stop being envious."
Emma rolled her eyes and pulled her arm back. "I'm not about to do this. Do I need to go through all of you kids before I can talk to Regina? Because if so, then fine."
The girl laughed. "You're not going to talk to Regina, and Sarai would probably try to kill you on sight. Regina doesn't want to talk to you. You cannot be surprised by that."
Emma let out a sigh and absently rubbed her leg. How the hell was she going to change things if Regina wouldn't even bother to talk to her. She could send a bunch of kids and fix the town, but she couldn't take a few minutes to talk?
"I believe that you need help, Miss Swan." The young girl said. "I don't exactly know what kind, but your fixation on my aunt is not healthy. It is toxic and it has already poisoned you. It is poisoning everything around you. Look at your town. Look at your son. It may take another 10 years to be cured, but I think you should try it before it gets you killed." She got to her feet and Zelena did the same. "Good day, Miss Swan." The pair teleported away, leaving Emma in the diner with her son. She was a bit surprised that he hadn't spoken up during their little conversation. Neither of them said anything to each other as they left the diner and walked out to the car.
"You okay?" He asked as she drove them back to her parents' house.
"Fine." She shrugged. Talking to Regina was off the table. Earning her forgiveness seemed to be off the table. The Queens of Darkness weren't going to associate with her anymore. What was she supposed to do? She got out of the car, suppressing a grimace, and leaned against the door while Henry brought her her cane. She limped up to the house and waited while Henry came to open the front door for her. The first thing she heard was Regina's voice. It made her limp a little faster into the room. Regina was sitting on the couch across from Snow and David and all three stopped talking to look up at her when she walked in. "What's going on?"
"We're discussing how to fix everything around here." Snow answered.
"And you." Regina added.
"You're discussing me to my parents when I was just sitting in a fucking diner waiting for you?" Emma hissed.
"Yes." Regina answered. "I think you would've figured out by now that I don't want to talk to you and have no intention of doing so. You apologized, no one accepted it, I'm moving on." She turned back to Snow. "Most of the people in this town are still your people. You need to either step up and be their leaders and work with us on this or talk to them and tell them that we're not here to imprison them or whatever crap Leroy was talking about. We could, but it would be easier if they cooperated. Especially since it would only help them."
"I understand." Snow said quietly.
Regina looked over at Emma. "Will you give us a minute alone?"
Emma fought the urge to say no. Henry headed upstairs to his room and she limped into her room, but she kept the door cracked so she could peek back out. It surprised her to see Snow crying.
"I really did try. The first few years, I swear, I tried everything." Snow said.
"I know." Regina whispered.
"Then, I just...there wasn't anything I could do short of throwing her out and I could never… I don't know what to do. I can't help someone who doesn't want it. Archie visits, but it doesn't help."
"Doesn't mean you stop. Especially since we're back for now. If she tries anything again, Mal will kill her. Of that I have no doubt and I will have no say. Do you understand?"
"We do." Snow whispered.
"Good." Regina rose to her feet and dusted herself off. "You won't see me for a while, but we should be back shortly."
"What? You just said you're going to be staying here and now you're leaving?"
"We will be back. We're not done. Good evening, Charmings." The queen teleported away in a cloud of purple smoke, leaving Emma's parents in the living room alone.
Regina returned home and couldn't help grinning at the sight of Mel gliding across the living room in her dragon form. Roland was still in the form of a baby T-Rex, sitting on the couch and watching tv. Meanwhile, Sarai and Jade were on the floor, still in their beast forms as well, watching tv. "Are we ever going to get our human children back?"
"Nope!" Melisandre called, balancing precariously on the back on the couch. "It's so much fun to be a dragon. Lily said she would take us on a hike tomorrow and teach us how to climb and breathe fire!"
"Mom said she would take me Running on the next full moon." Sarai brushed against Regina's leg and she bent down to pick up her four legged granddaughter. "It's going to be amazing!"
"I bet it will. Have you eaten?"
"Yep." Roland leaned back and patted his belly with his tiny arms. "Ruby and Belle got Italian food for us."
"You have another couple hours before you need to get ready for bed. As humans."
"Yes, ma'am."
Regina placed Sarai on the couch next to Roland and went upstairs to find her wife. She walked into the master bedroom and stopped dead in her tracks. The light had been dimmed considerably and it caused Regina to frown a little. "Mal? Baby?" The door to the adjoining bathroom opened and Regina's heart nearly stopped when Maleficent walked out of it. The dragon was clad only in black lingerie that hid absolutely nothing. She glistened, like she'd rubbed herself down with oil. Regina licked her lips hungrily.
"You called?" Mal asked, her eyes already dark with lust.
"Oh no." Regina turned around and ran out of the room. "No, no, no."
"Regina? Is everything okay?" Ruby asked, walking out of her and Lily's bedroom.
"She's wearing lingerie and oil!" Regina yelled, racing down the stairs.
Ruby looked back at the master bedroom as Mal stepped out in a black robe. "Couldn't get her?"
"No, but I will." Her friend smirked. "Regina can't resist me."
Regina paced the back patio in a fit, trying desperately not to think about Mal. She couldn't. Not after seeing her in that. She bought new lingerie too… "Fuck me."
"I would have done that if you hadn't left the bedroom." Mal smirked as she appeared next to her wife.
"Then you would win." Regina replied. As strong as she thought herself to be, she was a weak woman when it came to Mal. That was a word she didn't throw around lightly, but it was the truth. Back in the day, she would've killed anyone who used her name and the word weak in a single sentence. Mal...was something else. She could command Regina to do anything if she truly wanted to, and Regina would obey.
"Is that not the point of the game?" Mal asked. "Have I made you uncomfortable?"
"Of course not. You know I love your attention, it was just unexpected."
"So you say." Mal smirked, kissing her forehead. "If it displeases you so much, I will not enact my master plan tonight."
"Master plan? You think it's going to take one night to get me to break?"
"I can prove it to you." Mal challenged. With a wave of her hand they were back in the bedroom. Mal removed her robe and hung it up on the rack. "Remove your clothes."
"What?"
"You heard me."
Regina arched an eyebrow, debating whether to obey, although she already knew she wanted to. "Mal, this isn't fair."
"Remove your clothes." The dragon commanded again. She kept her voice gentle and her tone polite, but there was no mistaking her intent.
"I don't want to."
"Then don't." Mal purred, walking around her, stalking her, testing her. Regina swallowed harshly, gasping when Mal took her by the chin and kissed her. She was powerless to the dragon's every whim and desire, but...she was not going to lose this bet.
"Stop or I'll turn into a dragon." She threatened. Mal froze and met her eyes. "I'm serious. You know that's a game ender." She watched Mal's eyes turn black, then bright gold.
"And if I were to slam you on the bed right now...What would you do?"
Regina gulped, drowning in the hot golden gaze of her wife. "Mal…"
"Hmm?" The dragon purred.
"Fuck this bet." Regina growled, pulling the blonde closer and attacking her lips hungrily. She was all set to rip Mal's clothes off right then and take her, when the door flew open and she quickly slipped under Mal to the balcony, composing herself as fast as she could. It was like a spell had been broken and she made her way into the bathroom for a cold shower.
"Goddamnit, Lily." Maleficent hissed.
"What? I was just bringing you the reports you asked for." Her daughter said innocently.
"I almost had her." Maleficent growled. "Another minute and I would've won the bet."
"Oops." Lily smirked, handing her a stack of papers. "We're all set to go. How long is this going to take again?"
"Not too long hopefully." She looked down at the documents, reading through the list of things that needed to be fixed in town. "This is quite a bit."
"Doesn't include the forest Emma destroyed when she kept blowing shit up so the Merry Men couldn't hunt. Dwarf tunnels collapsed too."
"That'll require a bit more magic." Maleficent said.
"We'll get as much done as we can while we're here."
"I know. Get some rest." She put away the notes as Lily made her departure. Maleficent had no chance to react when the lights went out. The fireplace did the same, dousing the room in an impenetrable blackness and she felt herself being pushed into a soft chair. The curtains to the balcony opened on their own accord. A blink later and Regina appeared in her lap, illuminated only by the moonlight shining in through the balcony doors.
"You told me to remove my clothes." Regina said, her voice deep and dark with want. "So I did. What's my reward?"
Mal gulped and chanced a look down. Regina was indeed naked. She looked down at Maleficent, a quirk in her eyebrow and the corner of those luscious lips of hers slightly curled. "You think you should be rewarded?"
"Come on, Mal." Regina smirked, her voice low and enticing. "Is this bet really that important to you? You would say no to me over some jewelry that I will just give you anyway? You want me, take me."
Mal growled softly, her eyes never leaving Regina's. Her scent was intoxicating and nearly enough to make her mouth water. She could feel Regina's heart pounding in her chest. Hers was no better. By the gods, she was irresistible. "No."
"You sure?" Regina leaned forward, pressing hot kisses to her throat. She touched Mal's forehead and memories of their night in the forest attacked her. Regina in her dragon form was enough to make her come undone, but all of a sudden she could smell her mate's arousal, taste her sweetness on her tongue, hear her moaning from the night of their mating. It was almost too much. "Please, Mal. Take me. I'm yours, just take me. This bet isn't that important. You don't care about it that much. Besides, even if you lose the bet, are you really losing when you can ravish me?" That was a good point. "And…" Regina pressed, sliding two fingers under the blonde's chin to tilt her head back so their eyes could meet. "Just think of our children."
Mal frowned slightly in confusion. "What does Lily and Mel have to do with this?"
"Not them, dear. Our future children that we should be making. That we could be making at this exact moment. How does a clutch of dragonlings sound? Three, maybe six." She purred. "All you have to do is-" Regina yelped when she found herself on her back on the bed in the blink of an eye. She gulped when Mal leaned over her and kissed her like she never would again. When she leaned back, she smiled wickedly.
"You're absolutely right. We'll certainly need to mate again. We should postpone our trip and lock ourselves in our room to see it done." She leaned forward to slowly kiss Regina again. "We must mate many, many times." She touched Regina's forehead and she was bombarded with all of the times they'd had sex, every point they'd earned in their little game. Every single one. Skinny dipping in the lake, using their marks in public places, the time Regina went Lady Godiva on the forest trails while Mal flew above her, the many times Regina would rush home from work just get between Mal's legs, not to mention everything they had done over the last decade. They'd really done too much.
Mal moved back, smirking at seeing Regina's eyes black with lust, the scent of her arousal so heavy it was almost suffocating. "I'm going for a flight and I'll be sleeping on the couch tonight." She used magic to remove Regina's scent as she slipped onto the balcony and threw herself over the edge, changing forms mid air. The night air felt good on her scales and erased Regina's scent from her nose. That woman was going to be the death of her. She amazed herself at not bending to Regina's will in seconds. She felt pleased at her actions and it took her a few moments to notice something large and dark moving through the trees below her. It was like a shadow, moving quickly but a bit clumsily because she could see the large path it left as it made its way through the forest. Mal began to descend and it slammed into the lake, diving below the surface before she could land. She landed quietly on the banks of the lake and took a sniff of the area. "Oh no."
A serpentine head poked out of the water. "Easy flight?"
"Regina, what the hell are you doing?"
"Since my wife wouldn't have sex with me, I thought a cold swim would be good to...take the edge off."
"Don't."
"Don't what?" Regina climbed out of the lake, water dripping off her glistening scales and Mal spun around, closing her eyes. She heard Regina giggle and come close to her, rubbing herself against Mal and twining their tails together. Her touch was magnified, sending waves of heat through the dragon's body.
"Regina, I swear…"
"Swear what?" Regina purred and became more aggressive in her nuzzling, determined to get Mal to break. She purred and cooed and practically climbed under Mal, making her wife rear back. She was sweating. Regina was so...submissive, so irresistible. "Come on, Mal, baby- Aaaah!" Maleficent pushed her wife into the lake and took flight, putting as much distance between her and her beloved as possible. Her wings were shaky and she couldn't stop panting. She wouldn't make it far flying like this, but it was far enough away that she knew Regina couldn't follow so easily. She landed near a small pond and splashed herself with water, trying once again to remove Regina's scent from her scales. She even went as far as to rub her nose in a patch of flowers. It took another hour for Regina to catch up to her. The woman was relentless. "Truce." Regina called, walking out of the bushes in human form.
Maleficent was unconvinced and stood a step back. She let out a thunderous roar and blasted smoke and fire into the sky so high they licked the stars. Regina licked her lips, her eyes darkening once again at the dragon's display of power.
"Stop that! Truce." Regina said, crossing her arms.
Mal glared at her and shifted back into human form as well. "Are you done then?"
Regina laughed softly. "I could've won. Face it. You can't resist me."
"You want me to get naked?"
"No! Don't do that. I mean I do, but I also want to win."
Mal rolled her eyes. "So we have a truce for the rest of the night?"
"Yes. I can't keep chasing you and…" Regina cleared her throat, looking down. "I don't like to sleep without you."
Mal smirked and silently conceded that she didn't like to sleep without her mate either. "Fine, but no tricks."
"You have my word." Mal walked forward and Regina came to her side as they started walking home, both too worked up to go to sleep right now. "By the way, I am impressed that you managed to ignore me being a dragon."
"Thank you. You running out of the room yelling about lingerie and oil was fantastic."
"You know oil gives you an unfair advantage after the last game we played." Regina snapped.
"No, you only said that after you cheated by wearing the red suit, which we both agreed was off limits."
"No, you said that-"
The pair would argue the rest of the way home, but Mal would really have it no other way. She didn't even care and she would have it no other way...unless they were naked and arguing.
The next day, she and her wife ignored each other entirely, lest they have a repeat of the night before. While Regina took the kids to her vault to show them around, she and the rest of the queens began more reparations. Lily and Zelena started on the town, Belle went to the mayor's office to help Tink, and Mal and Ruby began to fix the forest, restoring patches of charred and decayed vegetation from Emma's explosives.
"You talked to the old bitch yet?" Mal asked, healing a blackened ree.
"No." Ruby smirked. "She called and I've decided to see her later on today. I'm not looking forward to it. You fucked Regina yet?"
"No. If it wasn't for your wife, I would have last night." Ruby snorted with laughter while they walked, her voice ringing through the empty forest. "I wouldn't be surprised if she timed that shit." Ruby started laughing again and Mal rolled her eyes, smirking at her amused daughter in law.
Ruby took a deep breath, wiping the corners of her eyes. "Well, the bet was your idea. Don't you know you can just call it off?"
"It's more than that, dear." Mal replied. "Regina thinks I'll just do whatever she wants."
"You will."
"That just because she takes her clothes off, I'll fall to my knees to worship her."
"You would."
"Ruby, whose side are you on?"
Ruby snorted again. "The one that gets me my thousand bucks."
"I'm sure you have that in your sock drawer." Mal scoffed, motioning to a thick branch on the ground. Ruby bent to pick it up, holding it over her head so Mal could reattach it to a tree with magic.
"I do, but I want Zelena's money." The she-wolf was quiet for a while as they worked, repairing and restoring a good section of forest before they took a break. "Why are we doing this, Mal?"
"What do you mean?"
"We could be going after your parents right now. Why are we wasting our time reforming a town that we're not even going to be staying in? Hell, if it's about our friends, you can just buy a luxury condo or something for them. We all know you don't care about money that much. You know the idiots are still going to give us hell for trying to help them. Why bother?"
"Several reasons." Mal answered, gesturing to the woods around them. "This is disgusting. Banning the Merry Men from town was one thing and hardly unexpected, but constantly blowing up and setting fire to the forest is another. Destroying pieces of the town, making everyone else miserable. Why should the rest of the world suffer because Emma Swan was upset?"
Ruby arched an eyebrow, watching Mal bend down to send healing energy through the dirt, breathing new life into the charred grass and dead trees ahead. "It's true then. You are like some nature fairy."
"Excuse me? Did you just call me a fairy?" Mal stood back up. "I take care of the forest because it takes care of me. I can't hunt without it. My prey can't survive without it. It infuriates me that she would take her anger out on something that can't fight back."
"Nature couldn't, but the town could've." Ruby replied. "They were so quick to condemn Regina whenever she did anything wrong in their eyes, but Emma torched a mile of forest because she was mad at Robin. They didn't do shit about it."
"Don't think about it too much, dear. You'll go crazy." Mal sighed.
"I'm not the crazy one."
Mal patted her shoulder. "Worry not, we're almost done. Once we are, our friends can make their decisions about what they want to do, we will go get my parents and go on a vacation. I think we deserve one."
"I agree. But you're not telling me something." Ruby narrowed her eyes at the dragon, but Maleficent only smirked in reply.
"Come on. We should finish this today and then you can have fun talking to your bitch of a grandmother."
Ruby smirked and followed after her. It took another hour to finish repairing the forest. Instead of fixing the dwarf tunnels, Mal used magic to level the ground, ensuring that there would be no more cave ins and the area was safe to walk on. She made grass and flowers grow around it and tall trees sprouted up at a command to root the loose earth in place. Ruby did a quick sweep of the area and made sure there wasn't anything they missed. Once they were clear, Mal took off to head to the mayor's office and Ruby made her way to Granny's cottage, her home away from the diner and B&B, neither of which Ruby wanted to go to. She wasn't sure if she ever wanted to step foot in either establishment again.
Granny seemed upset when she saw that Ruby had come alone. "Hello, Pup."
"Hi, Granny."
Granny motioned for her to come in and she did. Nothing had changed in the decade she'd been gone. The cottage was still quaint and rustic, hardly more than the little house she was raised in. When Regina had designed their houses for the curse, she had actually given Granny a decently furnished house and Ruby had augmented it over the years with her salary from the diner. She might as well have given her paycheck back to her grandmother on some occasions.
"How've you been?" Granny asked, gesturing for her to sit on the horrid brown couch that she could never persuade her grandmother to get rid of.
Ruby sat down on the edge of it and shrugged. "Happy." She answered.
"Where's the little one?"
"Home with her mother, probably running around with the other children."
Granny's eyes hardened and even though she appeared to be relaxing in her rocking chair, her grip on the arm started to tighten. "And you didn't bring her to see me?"
"Why would I do that?" Ruby asked.
"We're really going to do this?" Granny sighed. "Ten years I don't hear from you even once. I have a great-granddaughter that I know nothing about. You don't think I should be a little upset?"
Ruby rolled her eyes. "Cut the chaste act, Granny. After the way you insulted Lily before we left, you really think I would bring my half dragon daughter to see you? That should be a no brainer." She stood up again, her anger rising at the mere thought of that day. "If that's all you wanted to talk about-"
"It's not. Sit down."
"I don't think so. I'm not a child anymore. You stopped being able to tell me what to do a long time ago." Ruby growled. She could see Granny grinding her teeth. She abruptly stood up as well.
"What I said that day-"
"You meant every word and since you're always right, we both know you won't take them back. Your attitude to finding out about me and Lily and the fact that you nearly ripped out my throat when I asked about my family history are exactly why you have not met my daughter and why you never will. I don't give a damn what you've done for me. I don't give a damn that you raised me." She felt her wolf beneath her skin, snarling in the back of her mind. Her eyes glowed bright gold, matching the fire in Granny's eyes. "Believe me, I'm grateful for it, but I wasn't going to just let you disrespect my mate and her mother."
"So you run away for ten years?" Granny asked.
"I didn't run anywhere. I left because Emma and Robin were targeting my family, one of which you still support. She's not a fucking savior, she's crazy. She should be locked up too and instead, you all still treat her like she's some puppy that needs to be sheltered from the world."
"You don't abandon family." Granny said firmly.
"I didn't." Ruby replied. "They're at the mansion across town with my daughter." She made for the door. "Don't even know why I came."
"You came because you're tired of fighting." Granny rushed to the door and put her hand on it, stopping Ruby from opening it fully. "I know you are. We're a pack. We've been a pack the moment you were born, the moment Anita brought you to my doorstep."
"And we stopped about ten years ago when you refused to accept anyone else in that pack. You didn't even apologize." Ruby said. "That's fine though. You don't have to like them, Granny and you don't have to accept them. They don't give a damn and neither do I."
"Red- Ruby." Granny growled to herself. "Please. Allow me to apologize then."
Ruby scoffed, fighting back a laugh. "They don't give a damn about your apology and again, neither do I." She wasn't sure what she expected by seeing her grandmother again, but this wasn't it. She expected something more. Not unexpectedly, all they could do was argue about past wrongs.
"Just tell me her name. Tell me about her. Please." Granny pleaded.
Ruby let out a sigh and opened the door. "Her name is Sarai. She's just like Lily." She left the cottage behind her and shifted into wolf form to make her way home. She hadn't even done much, but she felt exhausted and wanted nothing more than Lily's comforting embrace. Arriving at the house, she found the kids arguing about some game they were playing while a purring Lily watched over them in her dragon form, laying on her side and soaking up the sun. Ruby walked over and laid her head on Lily's paw, listening to the kids bicker. All four were still in their little beast forms and were standing at a white line sprayed on the grass
"You used your wings, Mel. That's against the rules!" Sarai said.
"I did not! I'm just that good."
"Liar."
"I am not!"
Meanwhile, Roland and Jade were completely ignoring the pair of bickering girls and were continuing the game, which seemed to involve seeing how far one could jump from a starting line.
"Enough, you two." Lily called, putting a halt to the fight. She turned her head to the side, looking at her wife. "What happened with you and Granny?"
"Nothing much. Same thing that happened before we left. She wants to meet Sarai, but we already knew that. She also wants to apologize to you but I told her that you wouldn't care about it."
"Of course I do." Lily said. Ruby couldn't hide the surprise on her face. "Widow Lucas doesn't like to be wrong, you can bet your ass I'm gonna rub it in her face when she is." Ruby rolled her eyes while Lily let out a soft purr meant only for her. "Don't worry about it, babe. Granny, just like everyone else who stayed here and supported the crazies made their beds. You don't owe her anything and you shouldn't feel bad because she's upset about her own decisions."
"I know." Ruby licked her mate's paw and laid down next to her to watch the children play.
"You stepped over the line, Rai!" Mel yelled.
"I did not!"
"Just start again." Jade said.
Mel and Sarai exchanged looks before both grew mischievous grins. The next thing Ruby knew Jade and Roland took off, screeching at the tops of their lungs as Mel and Sarai chased them around the yard. Ruby chuckled to herself and watched the kids have fun, thoughts of Granny moving to the furthest reaches of her mind. She knew it wasn't over, but for now, she returned her focus to her family.
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