Life in the Southern Isles was slow, easy going. It was a maritime kingdom, its harbors were always full of ships, loaded with fine silks, spices, gems, and grain. Its seas were full of fish and its farms were full of cattle. Snow rarely touched its cities and its high walls protected them from enemies and storms. There were 18 islands in the territory. In the past, each city was grand and beautifully built, almost all of them have since lost much of their luster, decaying and crumbling from neglect. The kingdom was rich but its leaders were conceited, selfish and greedy, and they had been for the last few generations. The capital was called Laeso and it was indeed golden and beautiful. Of course it was, the royal family lived here.

From above, the people milling about the streets looked like ants. They were just going about their day. They had no idea of the storm that was about to descend upon them.

Maleficent tucked her wings, letting herself dive, bursting through the cloudbank. People instantly started screaming and scurrying about. She laughed to herself, throwing out her wings once again and glided low and slow across the city. Her shadow blackened the streets and people rushed to dive into buildings, as if that would save them if she truly had a mind to destroy them.

There was a castle in the center of the city and she made her way towards it. Lily and Kilgharrah soon arrived. The Great Dragon was even larger than she was. He was a war dragon, powerfully built with much thicker limbs with a crown of horns on the back of his head as opposed to her two. They were scouting the harbor, deciding which ships to burn. Elsa gave them permission to burn the fleet but truthfully, they had few of those left considering they hadn't recovered from the last invasion. She would have to study the brothers' kingdoms when she returned to see what kind of military power each of them had. All of them banding together would be a problem.

After a minute of flying around, Mal chose the street she wanted to land on, right on main street. There was a balcony that overlooked the city and she could see a group of red haired men on it. She assumed this to be Eogan and his brothers, though she couldn't tell who was who.

When she was in position, she closed her wings and dropped, smashing into the ground and breaking the streets under her talons. She prowled forward, slow and deliberate. Let them witness her magnificence, let them witness the one who would spell their doom if they continue this foolish rivalry with Arendelle. Let them quake before the Great Beast.

"Lords of the Southern Isles." She called. "Did you receive Arendelle's message?"

"We have." One of the lords called.

"Please, your majesty." Another said, pushing his way forward. "Mercy. We did not-"

"Do you know who I am?" Mal asked, tilting her head.

"You are Arendelle's Champion-"

"And much more!" Mal threw back her head and let out a thunderous roar, pleased beyond measure when they ducked and covered their ears. It was then that she spotted Eogan, his unnatural blue eyes and shivering despite the heat making him stand out. He certainly remembered her. "I am Maleficent!" She growled. "Mistress of All Evil, the Dragon Queen, the Great Beast! I have engulfed whole kingdoms in firestorms. I have seen kingdoms rise and fall. I have defeated more knights, more kings, more armies than I have scales. All of that, I did for glory and vengeance. Imagine what I can do when protecting those I care about. The queen of Arendelle is a dear friend and you…you've tried to invade her kingdom and tried to have her assassinated when you failed. She showed you mercy and you repay her with blood!"

"Mercy?" Eogan hissed, pushing his way to the front of his brothers. "Look at me! She cursed me! She is only an evil witch-"

Mal roared again and flicked her wing. Behind her, Kilgharrah let loose a torrent of flames, engulfing half the harbor, blasting through ships and the docks. "She should have killed you, you son of a bitch!" She snapped. "You attacked without provocation and threatened to make her and her sister slaves! You deserve a slow, painful death. But I am not here for you. I am here for Runo. Even after terms of peace had been struck, he chose to send assassins after me and my kin."

"He acted alone." Another of the brothers pleaded, earning glares from the others. "Please, we want peace. We do not want war."

"If you cannot fight wars, you should not start them." She flicked both of her wings this time. Lily and Kilgharrah circled the city, breathing fire into the sea, encircling them in a funnel of flames. She almost purred seeing them quiver. "Lords of the Southern Isles, this will be your final warning. Queen Elsa tires of mercy. She tires of caution. The only reason she has not declared war is because unlike you, she cares about the lives of her people and yours."

To her right, Lily landed heavily on a few buildings, perching on top without destroying them entirely. Kilgharrah stayed in the air, blasting through the last of the fleet and leaving the smoking husks to fall into the sea.

"Perhaps we should spend a few years traveling across the entirety of the Southern Isles and drenching every island in flames. Perhaps we should visit every kingdom that dares to ally itself with you and reduce them to ash."

"We are not afraid of you!" Eogan yelled. "Dragons can be killed. We will find a way and-" A good number of his brothers rushed to shush him. As the assassin had said, they were fighting amongst themselves. Good. Hopefully they destroyed themselves.

"You should be." Mal growled. "How will you rule the Southern Isles if there are no Southern Isles?" She turned her head. "Do you hear that, citizens of Laeso? Your lords would rather send you all to your deaths in a war you will never be able to win, rather than admit defeat! How many of you lost loved ones in the invasion?"

"Shut up!" Eogan hissed.

Mal shifted back into human and teleported onto the balcony just to punch him in the stomach. He doubled over, groaning in pain. She grabbed him by the throat, hoisting him into the air and slammed him against the nearest wall. She raised her hand towards the other brothers and let fire pool there in case they decided to attack.

"Listen here, you piece of shit," She growled, glaring at Eogan. "I don't care about your fears, your pride, or really anything concerning you. However, you attacked my family. Every day you should be thanking Elsa because were it not for her, I would flay you where you stand. Look outside, three dragons now guard Arendelle because of your actions. All of this is because of you." She looked over her shoulder. "Which one of you is Runo?" They all glanced at each other, either too afraid to speak up or too protective of their brother. "Fine." She sighed. "Listen Runo, I know you are here. Have you ever heard of the Evil Queen? The woman who rips out hearts, conqueror of realms, the one who cursed half a dozen kingdoms? Her children were in the house you sent those assassins too. She is dying to carve you into pieces. You all should hope there is no war. Otherwise, you are free game to destroy."

Smoke billowed off of her skin and she leaped off the balcony, shifting forms in mid air. Lily took off and Mal followed her. The dragons circled Laeso some more, burning and destroying the harbor and Mal saw a statue of some guy that she had to destroy. A few fools tried to shoot at them with arrows and she returned fire, decimating the guard houses. And with that done, the dragons departed, flying out of the sea until they were a good distance away. A small island awaited them where they could conjure a portal to go home. Unbeknownst to the lords of the Southern Isles, a spy had been left in their midst.

Zelena, using an invisibility spell, leaned against the wall and watched the brothers turn on one another, recording everything for Elsa.

"How could you do this without telling us?"

"I was trying to remove a threat!"

"You have doomed us all!"

"The Arendelle witch will not attack!"

"Who cares? You have destroyed our reputations! You tried to assassinate the queen after we were promised peace!"

"You were lucky she did not destroy our entire army after that stupid invasion!"

"I did what needed to be done!"

"She has crippled the Southern Isles with her missives to other kingdoms, war is our only choice!"

"How about leaving her in peace?"

"We are tired of peace!"

"You are all fools!"

"We must beg for forgiveness!"

"We must gather our allies and go to war!"

Zelena almost sighed listening to them go back and forth. Another red haired man came in, dressed in commoner's clothing and wreaking of manure.

"Brothers!" He tried to squeeze his way into the midst of them, but they only pushed him away.

"Get out, Hans!" Eogan yelled. "This is no place for children."

"I believe it is a place for men who have been defeated by Arendelle." He retorted. The brothers all turned to glare at him. "I went alone and almost conquered the city. You brought the Duke of Weselton and an armada and failed. Now they have bolstered their city's strength with three dragons, another queen and who knows what else. Runo, if your poisoner can find a way to take out the dragons and create more of the poison that took out one of the queens, you can-"

"Bah!" Runo scoffed. "Return to the stables and finish cleaning out the shit." Hans turned red and glared at his brother. For a moment, Zelena thought this might get interesting, but he eventually turned and stormed out. She made a mental note to follow him. They couldn't have a rogue wolf on the loose, desperate to prove himself by taking out her family.

The arguments began anew, but one brother hung back. Elena made sure to get a good view of his face so she could let Elsa know to be wary of him. Something about him made her skin crawl. He was one of the plainer looking brothers, dressed in fine green clothing with a mop of red hair slicked back on his head. A thin golden crown sat on his head and he had the beginnings of a red beard growing in. Then again, half the other brothers looked similar. What stood out was not his appearance but his demeanor. He was close, but also distant from the others, quietly observing their fighting, the same as he had done when the dragons were displaying their power.

"Brothers." He called. Despite the others' shouting, he didn't raise his voice, and yet, they paused to listen to him. "Rudi is right." One of these idiots is named Rudi? Our kingdom is bleeding without our allies and our trade routes. Within five years, we could be starving."

"Whose fault is that? He emptied our grain stores for his armada." The brothers all glared fiercely at each other again, prepared to launch into another argument, but the same brother made a sshing sound.

"I understand your hesitance to go to war, but it is our best option. We do not currently have the army or fleet to fight nor the funds to just go around hiring assassins, especially ones that cannot succeed. The queen of Arendelle is weak. She wishes to be kind. She will not attack us. She will protect her city only and as long as we do not attack again, she will stay there. That will give us time to prepare. Let us send word to her to negotiate peace. Say, for the next five years. We will spend that time preparing, building our forces, forging new alliances…figuring out how to kill dragons. We need time to rebuild. Thanks to you, Eogan." He paused to almost growl at his older brother. "Thanks to you, our army has been decimated. Thanks to you and Hans, the rest of the world sees us as untrustworthy and greedy. You know, I supported your idea of conquest, but perhaps you should've started with some other kingdom that wasn't protected by a woman powerful enough to freeze the entire fjord!"

"She made fools of us." Eogan said, for once not yelling.

"And she did so again. We will start small, rebuild, replenish, then we will forge new alliances and target hers. Then we will hit them with everything we have. Let me lead, brothers, and I will give you a victory."

Three of the brothers walked out instantly. Zelena recognized them as the ones advocating for peace. The rest agreed to help their new leader. The rest of the talk was just them making decisions about food, trade, the boring stuff Zelena didn't care about. Then they started drafting letters to Elsa. When that was done, they were sent off by a messenger and the group dispersed with the promise to return after they'd checked on their own kingdoms. Zelena departed as well, checking on Hans, but he was still grumbling as he cleaned the stables. She briefly thought that maybe he could be turned into a spy, but decided against it due to his past with Elsa and Anna. She eventually decided to follow Runo. If he had contact with the poison maker, he was the best lead to follow.

/

Meanwhile, back in Storybrooke, Mal and Lily were telling Elsa, Ingrid and Regina about their trip to the Southern Isles. Regina laughed to herself as she listened to the dragon describe their recent terrorizing while she wrote out enchantments in a notebook.

"You should just go to war." Mal finished her tale while bouncing Livia. "And let me kill some idiots. Isn't that right, Livia?" Livia only giggled as the dragon tickled her chin.

"I want to see what they do before I fully commit." Elsa replied. "Zelena might have some good information for us to use against them."

"Couldn't you just open a portal straight to the city and send your army through there?" Lily asked, moving Bjorn to the seat next to her.

"That's not as fun, Lilith." Mal growled. Lily and Elsa exchanged a grin.

"Anyways, what are you working on, Regina?" Ingrid asked.

"The new defense faction of Storybrooke is finally set." Regina answered, handing over her book to show her what the boys had come up with. She was creating enchantments that the boys would wear to conjure their armor and weapons at a moment's notice. After six months of training from Mal and Zelena, they finally chose their new members and the new leader would be coming by today to test her enchantments. They'd decided to call themselves the Rangers and dressed as such and their chosen colors were black and royal blue. "They wanted something where they could have their weapons and armor appear when they needed it." She explained.

"Who is the leader?" Ingrid asked.

"Jason."

Ingrid smiled at that. "Good choice."

Since getting more involved with the Lost Boys, Regina had spent days at a time getting to know each and every one of them, as she promised. It broke her heart and filled her with rage hearing each of their stories. Jason was also one of the older boys at seventeen and he had had one of the worst experiences in Neverland just because he refused to break for Pan. He refused to obey the manboy and willingly put himself between him and the other Lost Boys to protect them. It had taken a week of spells and half a dozen healing elixirs to remove all of the scars the young boy was covered in, as well as fix broken bones that hadn't healed correctly. He couldn't remember his family or where he was from and he wasn't quite sure if Jason was even his real name. According to the other Lost boys, he was regarded as the best fighter amongst them, even better than Aerrick, and he excelled under Mal's tutelage, even though he did still have some problems with authority but that was a problem for most of the Lost Boys.

"He would be a good leader." Mal agreed, taking a seat.

"How goes the training?" Regina inquired.

"Excellent…depending on the student." The dragon replied. "I quite like being a teacher. The boys are eager to learn and getting better by the day. Elsa is improving at an astonishing rate. You two should get back into training when you feel ready for it."

"Of course." Regina rolled her eyes and accepted her book back. She wasn't sure how she was going to balance everything between three kids, training and being mayor. They didn't have to worry about the rec center as much anymore though they tried to visit once a week. Aerrick was doing well at keeping things under control for them.

She moved onto the chair next to Ingrid, wrapping her arms around her, careful to avoid squeezing the little one she was holding. They hadn't told anyone they were engaged yet and they hadn't discussed anything but she was curious as to what kind of ceremony Ingrid desired. Just thinking about that night made her cheeks burn.

"You know, it occurs to me that we never discussed what Merlin had to say."

"I was wondering when you would bring that up." Lily said. "You two were too busy making more babies to worry about the poison maker. Should we expect three more next year?"

"By the gods, Lily, do not even speak that into existence." Regina groaned.

"I thought you two wanted lots of children." Elsa said, trying and failing not to grin while doing so.

"Not all at once."

"As if you get to decide that." Mal murmured, making faces at Livia until she smiled.

"Ugh, what happened with Merlin?"

"He was the one who destroyed the homestead." Lily answered. "The guy who was making the poison caught his interest. Apparently, he gave some kind of poison to King Arthur."

"Why would King Arthur need poison?"

"There's a whole soap opera going on over there and Arthur's crazy. His wife, Guinivere, was going to run off with the knight, Lancelot, Arthur's best friend and right hand. Arthur wanted to poison him to kill him but also use some kind of elixir to trick his wife into forgetting Lancelot entirely. Obviously, Merlin wasn't going to allow that, and he didn't, but he wanted to know who knew how to make something like that."

"So he recruited the poison maker?"

"He did. And destroyed his garden."

"Did you talk to the poison maker then? Does he have any information on the other guy?"

"We did. He said that no one came to see him twice."

Regina frowned. "But we know this person can disguise themselves."

"Exactly. Zelena ripped out his heart, of course, and asked him again. He had his suspicions about the people coming to him but he claims not to know any of them. One person stood out. They always appeared differently, man, woman, once a centaur, but they always introduced themselves as something that has to do with winter."

"That's it?" Regina scoffed.

"That's it. He had no real knowledge of what his clients did with the things he made. He just sold them." Elsa sighed. "I don't know who this person is or what they want. We've been over the records, looked at every kingdom on the map. No one has magic, as far as we know, and Arendelle doesn't have anything anyone wants. There is no hidden bloodline with a claim to the throne and no one cut out of it. I spent the majority of my life locked in my room so I know I haven't pissed anyone off. I just don't understand why someone would go through the trouble of trying to kill me. They've tried to poison me, given poison to my enemies to poison me, sent a dragon to my doorstep-"

"Hey." Lily placed August in the baby seat next to her and pulled Elsa into her arms. "It's okay. We're not going to let them hurt you. I know words don't really mean anything, but I promise, I will hunt these bastards down and rip them apart. No matter how long it takes me. I'm immortal so I have all the time to do it."

"Agreed." Mal added.

There was a knock at the door and Regina released Ingrid to get to her feet. Before going to the door, she made sure to give Elsa a quick hug. She answered the door and smiled when she saw that it was Jason, fully decked down in his Ranger gear that was a mix of what any ranger would look like mixed with probably some super hero suit they'd seen on tv. It was mostly black with accents of royal blue. He wore a black leather vest with a blue crown symbol on the right shoulder over a long sleeved black shirt, black cargo pants and soft black boots. He pulled back the hood of his cloak as he bowed.

"Hello, Jason."

"Your Majesty." Jason had always been one of the quieter Lost Boys. He was a handsome young man that initially had a scruffy beard and long, messy hair that he'd since shaved off. He looked much better now that he didn't look like he'd gone a few rounds with Mike Tyson.

"Come in." She walked back into the living room and he followed, swiftly bowing when he noticed the others.

"Your children are growing fast, your majesties." He said, peeking over Ingrid's shoulder at Bjorn.

"They are, aren't they? I'm not sure how I feel about that." Regina replied, peeking up her book again. "Would you like me to enchant something or give you a tattoo?"

"Tattoo. Rings or bracelets could be lost or stolen."

"Agreed." Mal added.

Regina rolled her eyes once again and led Jason into the kitchen so they could sit down. She pulled out a tattoo pen, a gift from Zelena, and proceeded to copy her enchantment symbols onto the backs of his hands. "Left is for the suit. Right is for your bow." It was slow, painstaking work, but she was pleased with herself once she was done. "How are your studies, Jason?" She asked, checking her work.

"They're going well." He smiled, unable to stop his chest from swelling with pride. "Queen Maleficent has named me her best student in martial training and I got A's and B's on my last report card from the night school."

Regina grinned. "I'll need to get you a gift. And stop by to see how the rest of you are doing."

"You don't have to do that."

"Of course I do. I'm proud of you. All of you have come so far."

"Because of you and Queen Ingrid."

Regina smirked. "You can just call us Regina and Ingrid, you know. And we merely helped. You all did the work."

Jason gave her a small smile and pulled his hands back once she was done. "Uh, I would like your help with something, if you don't mind."

"Never. What do you need?"

"Um," He cleared his throat, looking around the kitchen, anywhere but at her. "Would you help me find a name? Or I would like your opinion on one?"

"A name? You mean a surname?" She asked. He nodded. "Of course! What did you have in mind?" She paused, noting how uncomfortable he suddenly seemed. "Is it Mills?" It had crossed her mind on more than one occasion to adopt one or more of the Lost Boys. It was terrible what they had gone through and when they were brought to Storybrooke, only the youngest of them were adopted. She couldn't very well adopt all of them and choosing would be impossible, especially when many of them looked to her as if she was their mother. If not that, then a mentor in some way. But she really didn't mind.

"No! I know that would be weird." Jason said instantly. "But I was thinking about…Miller. Jason Miller."

It warmed her heart to hear his suggestion. "I love it. We can put in the paperwork to get it changed tomorrow." She conjured another notepad, writing down what she needed to do soon. "I should've talked to you all about this before. I'll set up a date to go talk to the others and see if they want to change their names too. I'll bring cupcakes and gifts."

Jason smiled. "Throwing a party because I picked out a name?"

"Yes." She replied. "You should take the time to celebrate the small things as well as the big things. Now, tell me how your magic training is going." She made notes to go to the store to get some treats and gifts for the boys before looking up at him.

"Magic is not as easy for me compared to some of the others, but I like it. I can handle the basics. Plus, Zelena's a fun teacher."

"I'm sure she is." Regina said.

Zelena's magic school was finally up and running. It took a month just to finalize a design and a location for it because the last thing Regina wanted was for her to drop Hogwarts right in the middle of Storybrooke. The witch refused to budge on a castle design so Regina agreed on a small one. A few properties needed to change hands for her to put the school on the same street as the Lost Boys' dorms, but they made it work. The school looked like a small medieval castle. The interior was mostly green and gold and Zelena reinforced all of the rooms with wards to protect against destruction. It also had its own massive garden that was used to grow alchemical ingredients. Regina left almost everything up to her sister. Zelena decided what to teach and when to teach it. Her classes were almost exclusively made up of Lost Boys, but after a little while, some of the other kids expressed an interest in joining, even some from Arendelle. Only after meeting the parents did Zelena agree to teach the children. Even some adults from Arendelle wanted in on the action. Again, Regina left everything up to Zelena. She could accept whoever she wanted or reject whoever she wanted. They hadn't found the time to stop by and check out a class, but the Lost boys seemed to be enjoying things. They talked Ingrid's ear off the last time she visited the center.

"Will you teach a class one day?" Jason asked.

"Perhaps." Regina said. "Although if you ask Mal, I should be taking one instead."

"It is unfortunate that light magic is so rare. There must be someone out there who knows how to use it."

"I'm sure there is, but finding them is another story."

"Weren't you searching for another wizard? Does he have light magic?"

"You mean Merlin? Perhaps…I'll ask Mal."

After he demonstrated that the enchantments worked, she promised to be at the dorms tomorrow to do the rest of the Rangers. She made a note of it on her notepad so she wouldn't forget it. After that, she pulled him into the living room with the others to tell them what she had planned.

"Congratulations, ." Mal said with a grin.

"Thank you." Jason bowed once again.

"We will be celebrating tomorrow." Regina led him to the door. "Once Mal decides you and your people are ready, you should talk to Emma about organizing patrols and such."

"It will be done. Thank you, Regina."

"Anytime."

Regina saw him out and returned just as her sister did. "What'd you find out?"

"A new brother has stepped up as leader." Zelena answered, handing the camera off to Lily, who moved to plug it into the tv. "They plan to ask for a non aggression pact for the next five years, but they don't really want peace. They just want time to rebuild their army and figure out how to kill Mal and Lily. A few of the brothers left so I don't think we have to worry about them. Expect a lot of letters in the mail. I also left some little birds around to record anything else they might say, but I don't expect them to do anything soon."

"They do need to rebuild their army." Ingrid murmured. "And build new ships."

"Oh yeah," Zelena said. "After they've rebuilt their army, they plan to go after your allies first so you won't have anyone to help you."

"That's not surprising, but also not really necessary." Regina scoffed. "We held them and Weselton back with just us. We didn't call in anyone."

"I think it's more of a pride thing." Zelena shrugged. "You all really pissed them off by defeating them so many times and now they feel like a laughing stock. Apparently attacking other kingdoms will earn them some self respect."

Regina rolled her eyes as she sat down. Lily finished hooking up the camera and they watched the meeting that Zelena recorded. Her sister pretty much summed everything up. She also sent a few spy birds to follow Runo back to his ship. There is where another layer of the brothers' strife was unveiled. As soon as he was in his cabin, he was cursing up a storm and destroying the room. His second, a burly man in a green and gold with a thick black beard and a shaved head looked on while he did so, almost unbothered by the tantrum.

"Morgan thinks he is fit to lead us all. The bastard has never even left the capital!" Runo hissed. "If only those assassins had completed their job!"

"What will you do, my lord? Are we to make sail for home?"

"Yes, I am tired of this wretched place. Send for the rest of my advisors. I have some strategizing to do."

"We're not helping your brothers, my lord?"

Runo shook his head. "As if I will let Morgan have the glory of taking down Arendelle. Speak of this to no one."

The recording ended and Lily took down the camera.

"Is it possible to make pictures from that?" Elsa asked. Lily nodded. "Could you give me pictures of each of the brothers?"

"Sure." Lily went to grab her laptop and sat next to her to do it.

"What are you thinking, Elsa?" Ingrid asked, leaning forward in her seat.

"I'm going to show the pictures to my generals and advisors to see what they know about each of the brothers. I'll wait to see what their letters say before I make a final decision. What would you all do?" She asked, looking at Regina. "I could accept their offer of peace for the next five years. Since I already know what they're planning, I can prepare just as much as they will. Or I could just attack them now since they broke the terms of our last accord."

"I don't like waiting." Lily muttered.

Elsa gave her a fond smile. "I know you don't."

"I would wait." Mal said, surprising everyone. "What?" She growled when they all stared at her in shock.

"Weren't you the one advocating for burning the Southern Isles to the ground?" Regina replied.

"I said that's what I would do. In this case, I would accept their offer for peace. Let them rebuild. Let them grow. Just as they grow stronger, so will Elsa. Based on her progress in training, in five years, she will be a monster on the battlefield. As will Lily. Dragons only grow stronger with age. Ingrid now could destroy an armada on her own. Their best strategy would have been to take us by surprise, but since we already know what they're plotting, we have already won. So yes, let them rebuild their fleets, call in all of their allies, do whatever they feel they must do. It will only be more satisfying when we destroy them. And when I say 'destroy', I mean annihilate them so they will never again try to pull this shit." The dragon turned to Livia with a smile and continued playing with her while the others mulled over her words.

Five years was nothing to a dragon so Regina wasn't surprised she didn't care about that part. It was shocking to hear that after an assassination attempt she wouldn't immediately go scorched earth on the Southern Isles, but it was also in character that Mal would wait and hit them where it hurt the most. Dragons had all the time in the world and if waiting meant she would have her vengeance, she would do that too.

"I agree." Ingrid finally said. She glanced down at Bjorn in her arms. "I don't want to go to war just yet. Not when the children are so small and dependent."

"You don't have to fight, Aunt Ingrid." Elsa said.

"Of course I do. In any case, Maleficent is right. We know what they're planning so we can prepare. And Zelena's spies will keep us apprised of any changes. Based on Runo's reaction, there is a possibility they may turn on each other before the five years are up. The Southern Isles are an enemy that can be moved to the side. That gives us time to focus on the person who wants you dead. Merlin conscripted the poisoner maker, but the person who kept buying from him and targeting you, can get poison from anywhere. They could have stocked up on it or learned to make it themselves. Maleficent's spell may keep you from dying to poison, but they could target others. They called themself something based on winter'. It's still about you. They still want you."

"I understand that but we have nothing solid to go on with them. They are a chameleon, can be anyone or anything at any time. Without the poison maker as a connection, they are in the wind. Even if there are five years of preparation, the Southern Isles is the more pressing issue. This is the kind of blood feud that I don't want. If they're angry about being defeated now and I do it again, short of killing all of them, they will be back. I will not have Arendelle's children fighting a war that should've ended long ago."

"You mean should've never started." Ingrid replied.

"Perhaps you should assassinate them." Regina said, mostly in jest.

"I volunteer to do it." Zelena grinned wickedly. "I say we start with Runo and we use poison. I can make a very painful, very slow one in half an hour."

"We should probably hold off on that to see if he starts plotting against his brothers." Mal cautioned her. "But I would like to know more about this Morgan."

"Me too." Lily agreed. The younger dragon suddenly lit up. "How slow is this poison?"

"He could be dead in a few hours or a few days. Why?" Zelena asked.

"What if you poison Runo and convince his brothers that Morgan did it? Force them to turn on each other. Out of twelve brothers, half of them probably don't even like each other. Some of them already resent Eogan for losing his war and Runo is already trying to go against Morgan and he was just made leader. If you tear them apart from the inside, they'll be too focused on themselves to think about Elsa. If they wind up destroying each other, that'll be less enemies to deal with."

"You'd still have to wait." Regina said. "If you poison Runo now, they'll just think Elsa did it."

Elsa scoffed. "You heard what they think of me. Useless and weak. Why would I poison someone?"

"And you're okay with that plan?" Regina asked.

"Yes. I don't really care about the lives of traitorous, irritating fools who've tried to kill me. I'm tired of them. If they want to live, they really should've stopped when they found out I had a dragon."

Lily instantly grinned. "You know, you said you didn't want Arendelle's children fighting a war that should've ended. I think you forgot that your champions are immortal. We're always going to be here to defend Arendelle."

"You mean that?"

"Absolutely. And even if we're not in Arendelle, we're just a portal away. Right, Mom?"

"Absolutely, my dear."

Elsa gave them a small smile, lingering on Lily, before abruptly turning away, both women as red as tomatoes.

It would be another two weeks before the subject was brought up again when Elsa returned to them with the letters from the lords of the Southern Isles. Nine of them were from the brothers who sought conquest. Surprisingly, they asked for ten years of peace between the Southern Isles and Arendelle instead of five. The other three, the ones who had walked out, sent several gifts to the queen, asking for her to lift the trade embargoes and promised neutrality, that they would never support their brothers against her or take up arms against them. Elsa seemed to consider the proposal but eventually decided that she wouldn't lift the embargoes for another year. Her generals and spies were still gathering information on the brothers but they did reveal that Morgan had already sent out word for mercenaries.

"Time to go buy some mercenaries." Mal grinned as soon as she read the reports.

Regina rolled her eyes at the dragon's antics. "I'm sure they would agree to it. A dragon can pay them more than any kingdom could."

"We should use them. Pay them to be our spies and sabotage the Southern Isles."

Regina rolled her eyes again. "Mal…"

"What? I have ten years to wait until I can destroy these people. They will not rest a single day."

"They could attack before then." Lily said.

"I doubt they will. Their reputation is important to them. The queen's letters to the other kingdoms confirmed their treachery and proved them untrustworthy. They'll need to regain that trust to become the titans of trade they once were. But I have been surprised by humans before, so if they do, I will raze their capital."

"Understood." Elsa smiled.

"FUCK!" Lily, Mal, and Elsa all glanced towards the hallway after hearing the distant scream.

"What was that about?" Mal asked.

Regina just sighed and went to check on her fiancee. Ingrid was in the master bathroom, sitting on the edge of the bath. "You okay?" The blonde merely held up the pregnancy tests. Regina took them and read them. Positive. All three. Ingrid refused to look at her, but it wasn't snowing at least. She'd already taken her tests earlier that morning. Positive. All three.

"I should've been more careful that night." Ingrid said softly. "I should've-"

"Hey," Regina snapped. "We both should've remembered that we could get each other pregnant. It's not your fault and this isn't bad. It's just…unexpected. Then again, neither were the first three."

"So you're not upset?" Ingrid asked.

"No, but I am offended. You should know me by now, Ingrid. Any child of ours is a blessing. Why would I be upset?" She moved to sit next to Ingrid and waited for her to answer.

"I don't know. I just…Things are moving quickly and more kids would be a lot."

"So are the ones we have now." Regina shrugged. "You know I've always wanted children. I will love each and every one we have. Just as I love you." She touched Ingrid's arm and when the blonde looked up, she took her firmly by the chin. "I don't want you to ever be afraid of me. I don't want you to fear telling me something or telling me how you feel because you're unsure of my reaction. I know I can have my moments but I hope I have never shown that to you to make you feel this way."

"You haven't." Ingrid insisted at once. Regina released her and waited for her to explain. "I suppose that's something I struggle with. I used to do it a lot, with my powers, my parents. I worry about the outcome before I even act. Keeping it inside hurt but it was safer."

Regina frowned. She didn't want Ingrid to be like that with her but she wasn't sure how she could convince the blonde of that. "I want you to feel safe with me."

"I do."

"Um, perhaps we should go to a session with Archie."

"Perhaps we should."

Regina stood up to pull the blonde into her arms. "Just so you know…I'm very excited to have more children with you. Hopefully, it won't be twins this time."

She felt more than heard Ingrid snort. "Hopefully not."

The two separated but Regina pulled Ingrid to kiss her lips. "We may have a problem."

"What's that?" Ingrid asked, glancing down at her lips, waiting for the chance to taste them again.

"If having sex with you always leads to pregnancy, we may be having a lot of kids. I don't think I can give that up."

That drew a laugh from her lover. "You're insatiable."

"Because of you, my dear."

"That's cute, but I'm setting a timer. In nine months, it will remind me to use Mal's birth control spell or else we won't be having sex ever again."

"That is cruel and unusual punishment."

Ingrid only rolled her eyes. "We'll have to go back to our list of baby names. And expand the nursery further. You'll have to pay Lily with another lasagna."

"Maybe we'll let Mal get those dragon egg cribs she wanted."

"Oh that'd make her day." Ingrid laughed, taking her hand and leading her out of the bathroom. "Do you think we should tell the others?"

"Mal probably already knows. Apparently, women give off a different scent when they're pregnant. Lily may have an idea but I don't think she pays enough attention to her dragon senses. Besides, she is far too busy paying attention to Elsa."

"I noticed. Don't say anything though. I don't think they figured it out yet."

"As you wish." Regina smiled. The pair walked back into the living room where the others were. Zelena, Ruby and Belle had arrived in their absence and each one held one of the babies. She heard movement in the kitchen and she assumed it was Elsa and Lily. Mal was relaxing next to the fire, purring softly. Regina looked at Ingrid, who nodded. "Everyone!" She called. "We have an announcement!" Lily and Elsa peeked out of the kitchen doorway.

"We're pregnant." Ingrid said. "Again."

Elsa all but burst out of the kitchen to hug them. She was swiftly followed by the dragons. Lily nearly strangled Regina, but Mal's embrace was soft and tender and her purring only increased in volume. Zelena came to give her a hug as Elsa slipped through a portal, returning shortly with Anna, who pulled them both in a hug as well.

"Is Mal the godmother of these children too?" Ruby asked.

"Yes." Mal said, watching as Regina came to sit next to the wolf, accepting Livia into her arms.

"Did you guys just find out? Do you know what you're having? When will they be born?" Anna was a bundle of questions.

"We technically just found out today but we had suspicions since it happened."

"Was it the night of the assassination attempt?" Mal asked, arching one perfect eyebrow and smirking mischievously.

"Yes." Regina answered. "And we don't know what we're having. I believe it's too early to know anything concrete yet."

"Ha ha." Lily grinned. "That means you can't drink that wine Mom got you."

Regina whipped around. "You were not going to give me a bottle of DragonFire."

"I was going to give you two." Mal grinned again.

"What's that?" Ingrid asked.

"Mal used to make her own wine called DragonFire. It is absolutely delicious. She keeps what's left of it in her vault. I had to pay her three hundred gold bars for the last one." Regina glared at the dragon before turning her attention to her daughter. "You're going to be a big sister again, my dear."

"Hopefully, she's better than her Mom's." Lily said, ducking the swing from Zelena.

"Leave her alone. She's been very good this year." Regina smirked at their bickering. Truthfully, she was quite excited to meet her new children. They weren't planned either but she would love them all the same. Once again, she was grateful to have friends with them. Otherwise, this would be almost impossible. She had no need to worry though. Lily was more than happy to help and she was great with the children. And Mal would do anything for her godchildren. Those two alone were gifts from the gods. She was surprised Zelena was invested in helping, although nowadays she was either spying or teaching. Ruby and Belle tended to stop by after they were done working and Tink loved to be at the Mills villa. Knowing that she wasn't alone was a weight off her shoulders. Especially because they were going to be needed.

/

The first months of this pregnancy was a breeze for Regina. In the later months she found her energy being drained. She couldn't use her magic at all around the eighth month and she was nearly bedridden with how tired she was. Ingrid didn't have that problem. As soon as the baby could move, it didn't want to stop. So she had to deal with that for almost the entirety of the pregnancy.

Luckily, Regina went into labor first. She had a bad feeling about this one and she asked Ingrid to stay in their private room during the birth. The blonde was reluctant, but agreed seeing as how Mal would be there. The dragon was just as calm as before and she was already sharing her energy with Regina, knowing that this pregnancy had taken a lot out of her. She was having a baby boy that they'd already named Rune. It was Mal who said that she felt a strong magical aura coming from Regina but it was separate from her own. Regina couldn't feel it, but she decided to take the dragon's word for it and they went with a name that had a magical theme.

"Are you alright, Regina?" Mal asked, giving the brunette a concerned look that Regina couldn't see. Her eyes were closed and she was too busy gritting her teeth. The contractions had stopped being contractions a while ago and the only thing she was aware of was the pain, a deep, ripping, tearing pain. It was as if Rune was trying to cut his way out of her.

"No." She gasped out.

"Breathe, Regina. Remember to breathe."

Regina sucked in a shaky breath. Sweat was already dripping from her forehead and she already felt weak. "I'm not going to be able to do this."

"Don't be ridiculous. Of course you will."

"I can't, Mal!" She roared. "I feel like I might pass out. I can't-"

"Regina Mills, you are the strongest, most resilient woman I have ever met." The dragon's blue eyes burned into hers until she was forced to look away. "You can do this and you will. Your children await their mother. Ingrid awaits you. You must do this, Regina." She gently dabbed Regina's forehead with a towel before touching her shoulder. Regina grit her teeth even harder feeling the dragon's magic working to help her. The pain only increased and she screamed for Mal to stop.

"Stop it! Please!"

Mal stopped the flow of magic and instead touched her stomach. "His magic is working against mine. Fascinating...and concerning." The dragon raced out of the room, her place taken up by the doctors and nurses, but their presence wasn't helping.

Regina squeezed her eyes shut again. "It's okay, Rune. It's okay. Just get out of me and we can talk about this, dear." She half pleaded and half threatened, wondering if it would hurt more if she asked Lily to cut her open with an axe.

Soft hands touched her arm and Regina instantly turned to glare at Ingrid. "I know you don't want me here, but I'm fine. You're not." She laid her hand on Regina's stomach. For the moment, the pain lessened and Regina took a deep breath. Mal came to her other side, laying her hands on Regina's back and shoulder and filling her with healing energy. Ingrid took her hand and allowed her to squeeze. "I'm with you, Regina. Okay?" Regina nodded fervently.

She lost track of time before they told her to start pushing. Mal kept supplying her with energy and Ingrid held her hand, whispering words of encouragement in her ear. She was sure it was only because of them that she was able to continue.

"You're doing so good, Regina. You are the strongest person I know." Ingrid said. "I'm so proud of you. Our children will be proud of you. What do you think Rune will be like?"

"Strong." Regina gasped. "And handsome. He will look like you."

"I bet you he will look like you."

"Bet." Regina groaned, her senses being overwhelmed with pain. She lost track of time once again, only snapping back to the present when the pain suddenly went away, leaving her aching and empty. Mal's magic went to work instantly. She didn't hear any crying. "Ingrid? What's wrong? I can't hear him-"

"Sssh." Ingrid kissed her forehead and gently pushed her back. "It's okay. He's okay and so are you." She kissed Regina's temple. "I am so proud of you." She smiled. That smile disappeared when she looked away and Regina was instantly alarmed again when Ingrid bent over, one hand wrapping around her stomach. One of the nurses came to her side, urging her out of the room. Regina wanted to protest, wanted to keep her close, but she wasn't aware of how long she'd been here. Ingrid could've been here for hours. She was probably sore.

"Mal, I'm okay. Go with her."

"She's fine. She's going back with Lily. Get some sleep."

Before she could protest to that, the dragon put her to sleep. She slept deeply, dreaming of nothing. When she awoke, she was in the recovery room, bundled up on the bed. Mal was once again seated near the fire and Ingrid was laying across the couch, rubbing her stomach.

"About time." Regina's head whipped around but she relaxed when she saw it was only Zelena. The witch bent down and stood back up with a cold bottle of water. Regina drank half of it in just a few seconds.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Uh, about sixteen hours. You were in labor for half that time. You almost died." The witch stated nonchalantly.

"What?!" Regina's exclamation drew the attention of the others.

"Shit." Zelena whispered. "I wasn't supposed to tell you that. Ingrid or Mal was supposed to. They would've been gentler with it. But you're fine now. We wouldn't have let you die."

Regina moved to sit up and Zelena gave her push. "Where are the kids? And Rune? He wasn't crying."

Zelena hooked an arm around hers and helped her up. "The babies are back at the villa with Lily, Elsa, Anna and Tink. Ruby promised to bring us something when she gets off work so you'll have food soon." They moved towards the couch and Ingrid sat up, making room for them. It was only when she sat down that she noticed the small crib next to her.

Regina instantly made her way towards it. Rune was safely swaddled inside with a small blue hat on his head. He was such a tiny thing perhaps even smaller than August had been. It was amazing to think she'd almost died giving birth- "Mal, I need that birth control spell right now." Ingrid burst into laughter before letting out a groan and leaning to the side. "Are you okay?"

"Just fine. Little Sigrid is just very excited. Never mind that she's kicking my internal organs."

"It won't be long now." Regina assured her, turning back to Rune.

"Let's hope so. She has not settled down since she was conceived."

Regina smirked, staring at Rune. He was perfect. In every way. He did indeed look more like Ingrid in her opinion. She gently nudged up his hat and saw that he had tiny wisps of pale hair on his head. His eyes cracked open and she smiled at catching a glimpse of dark brown, like her own. There was something else about him too. She could feel his magical aura and it was indeed powerful. Time would only tell what kind of limits he had.

Deciding to let him sleep, she moved to the couch and sat next to Ingrid to take up the task of rubbing her belly.

"You should be resting." Ingrid chastised her.

"Thank you." Regina said. Ingrid looked at her, one eyebrow in puzzlement. "For staying with me."

"Of course."

It was only a week later that Regina was able to return the favor. Ingrid practically leaped for joy when her water broke. If Lily hadn't stopped her she probably would've ran to the hospital on her own. Hers was merely a long wait. It took hours, but the actual birth didn't take long at all, which Regina was immensely thankful for. It was enough to keep her own thoughts from spiraling about that day, she didn't want Ingrid to have to go through that kind of pain. Within a night, little Sigrid was brought into the world. A very small, very loud, bundle of joy with blonde hair and dark, almost navy blue eyes that opened up in only a few hours. Very soon the mothers realized that she would fight to keep them open from now on because sleeping was one thing she absolutely refused to do until she had to. When she did go to sleep, she never stayed asleep for long.

Rune was an angel, even quieter than August. Other than the little grunts he made when he wanted something or was uncomfortable, he didn't cry at all. It concerned Regina for a little while, but she eventually let it go when she came to the conclusion that it wasn't hurting him or anything and considered that maybe he would grow out of it.

Dealing with five rambunctious babies on a daily basis was an exhausting task. Especially when two were as stubborn as mules. Even though Livia was the first child they had together, they lovingly called her and Bjorn the Firstborns and both had inherited her ruthless stubbornness. Within a month it got to a point that Regina wondered if the children were just that intelligent or there was some sort of magical bullshit going on. Ingrid found her confusion amusing. She wasn't laughing when at only nine months old, Bjorn started using a spell they called "The Icebox". Bjorn was a curious boy and if they took their eye off of him for longer than thirty seconds, he managed to crawl his way into trouble. When they caught him, he summoned a literal block of ice around himself to hide in. The only thing that would get him to come out was chocolate, something he wasn't supposed to have but was probably given to him by Anna or Lily. It concerned Regina how often he fell for that because they almost never gave him the chocolate. Livia meanwhile, was stubborn when it came to her magic. She wanted to use it all the time and considering fire was her favorite, that was a problem they needed to nip in the bud. They weren't worried about it at home because they couldn't destroy anything, but out in public, they could hurt someone.

While it was challenging and exhausting being a mother to so many babies, Regina would not have it any other way. She loved each of them so much that it scared her sometimes. Quite literally. She'd loved Henry like that before and while he would always have a place in her heart, it wasn't quite the same. That's why she made a point for her and Ingrid to visit Archie regularly and it was through him that she realized part of the reason she was so attached to him wasn't just because she was his mother, it was because that was the only thing she was at the time. For ten years under the curse, it was technically just her and Henry. They were the only ones unaffected and Regina didn't really need to do work as the mayor. She had no friends or family, just Henry. Now, she had more. More people to love and take care of, more of a presence in Storybrooke, more friends. She had to learn from her past and she promised she would be better. That would mean taking breaks from motherhood, such as going into the office instead of working from home, visiting Arendelle to advise Elsa, going for quick rides at the stables, etc.

That also meant taking Tuesdays off for date night unless circumstances caused them to go back home. They usually skipped the romantic dinner for a cuddle session and to catch up on sleep anyway. She didn't want Ingrid to feel forgotten so quiet moments between them were deeply appreciated.

As was the support because the next surprise came in the form of the whirlwind that was Sigrid. Apparently Mal has just been rocking her to sleep while watching an animal documentary on tv and the next thing she knew she was holding a white tiger cub. It took half the night to get her back into human form. It happened again but this time she turned into a meerkat. It took two days for her to change back. Needless to say, Mal couldn't watch animal documentaries anymore. At least, not when Sigrid was awake.

So yes, the first year was hell, but in a way, Regina enjoyed it. She enjoyed seeing her babies grow and seeing the bits of their personalities take shape. She enjoyed the camaraderie she shared with the dragons, who were the main ones to help them through this tumultuous time. Mal was genuinely amused anytime any magical mishaps happened and she never complained once about having to help. Regina liked to think the dragon liked being a part of a large family too and she noticed her and Zelena whispering over notes they were keeping. Lily was the same way, enjoying the shenanigans while trying to sneakily add to them. She ended up on diaper duty more times than Regina could count because of it.

Life was hectic, but good. And that was about to change because this was Storybooke. When did they ever go long without having some villain show up with a grievance to settle?

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