Chap 11

Being raised by someone as cruel as Cruella, or as wicked as Maleficent still did not prepare a person for the Queen of Hearts. The Bridget they had known wasn't reflected in the woman before them at all. Her hair was blood red with a black underneath that was darker then Maleficent's scales. Her eyes were surrounded in shimmering red eyeshadow that put even Cruella's eccentric tastes to shame.

While their eyes were on the Queen, Red's were on the pink haired man standing sheepishly behind her. Maddox's face was drawn down in a guilty apologetic expression as he met her confused eyes. There was no opportunity to explain as the Queen began to speak.

"Well. . . well." she said slowly eying each of the four teenagers in front of her. "Where do I begin?"

She stepped down from the stage and approached them, "Is it with. . . vandalizing the royal plaza? Or, stealing Hatter's experimental time machine? And you." she turned her attention to Chloe, "What to do with you."

The Queen looked Chloe up and down no doubt noticing she was wearing something different then what she'd been in last she saw her. Red too looked different, her hair no longer in its twin buns. How many days in the past had they been through, the Queen couldn't help but wonder.

She had summoned Maddox to Auradon and like the good servant he was he told her everything. Most likely out of the fear that if he didn't Red might never return home. The Queen knew Hatter cared for the Princess, like he had cared for the Queen once. They had been as close as she'd ever let anyone. Maddox was always understanding, sympathetic to the humiliation she had endured in Merlin Academy. When she had returned to Wonderland demanding to go back to being homeschooled, Maddox was the only one who stayed by her side, while she cried and as the tears dried and turned into a promise of vengeance - he stayed. He was the only one in Wonderland who she knew did not fear her, but truly respected her.

His affection for Red had made it easy to get him to open up. And once she knew what she was dealing with, bringing her daughter back had been simple. But where and when she'd pulled Red from was still a mystery, and knowing her daughter Red wouldn't simply tell her. Her eyes flashed to Chloe Charming, then to the pair of faces she did not recognize. She walked past Cinderella's brat and examined the pair. The boy reminded her of Maleficent, and she sneered. Remembering the role the dragon witch had played in her humiliation. The girl though, while she looked like the infamous Cruella de Vil the Queen of Hearts had never the displeasure of meeting the woman.

But, if they were with Red, if they were aiding her, then they were very likely enemies of the Queen.

She raised her hand and with two fingers beckoned her guards, "Take them to the dungeon until I decide what to do with them."

"Mom-" Red tried to intervene.

The Queen held up her hand, "You. Come with me."

She turned on her heel and Red looked desperately to Maddox, but he only gave her a sad look and turned down to his shoes. She sighed as her friends were pulled away, none of them putting up a fight, probably still too discombobulated from traveling through time to have any plan of what to do to save themselves.

She followed her mother into the castle, the walls washed pink from a red light that Red knew must be from magic, since she saw no source. And it wasn't a bright, cheerful pink that reminded her of Bridget, it was darker, with tones of grey from the clouds that were now hanging over the academy.

"I must admit." her mother said as they walked, the carpet turning red under each step the Queen took. "I'm conflicted." she stopped walking and turned to her daughter. "When you sentenced Cinderella for a moment I saw a glimmer of the queen you are destined to be. Now, after hearing what Maddox testified. . . I'm not so sure."

"I don't want to be the girl you want me to be." Red said, her voice soft and weak. To her credit she had just finished a fight with a top villain, she didn't have it in her to go toe to toe with her mother just yet.

"You will." the Queen replied.

Red gave an exasperated sigh, "Why are you so insistent that I become like you? Why do you ignore everything I say when it comes to my life?"

"Because it is your destiny. And the sooner you realize that the sooner we get our happy ending."

"By executing all these people?" Red asked, "By living every day only to see the fear in their eyes and have nothing else?"

Her mom tilted her head, "You say that like it's a bad thing."

"I don't want people to fear me."

"If they don't fear you Red, then they will step over you." her mother's voice dropped into a soft but serious tone, "They will crush you under the heels of their boots if they don't fear you."

Red took a deep breath, "I know why you think that."

Her mother stared at her waiting for her to continue.

"Because of what she did to you. . . Uliana-"

"DON'T. Say that name in my presence." her mother suddenly snapped looking enraged, "You know nothing about her."

"Yes I do." Red replied just above a whisper and her mother's gaze turned, cautious. She looked, scared. Scared at what Red might have seen back in time. "I know how you tried to befriend her, I know about the flamingo feathers."

The Queen shook her head and turned her back to her daughter. And when she spoke, Red wasn't sure if her mom was talking to her, or aloud to herself. "I often wondered. . . how someone could be so cruel. After that dance. . . and while I wondered, I was alone. Ella never came, never sought me out to see how I was." she turned sharply and looked back at Red. "Which is why you must become feared, don't you see? They're all like Ella, each one made their own villain. Poor Aurora, cursed as a babe, yet no one shed a tear for Maleficent losing her wings. Poor Ariel, but no one had sympathy for Ursula being banished. Or Peter Pan, who they cheer on even after he mutilated James Hook. Hades being cast out from Olympus, Mother Gothel's flower stolen, Yzma, stripped of her station. And every other villain you can think of - wronged by someone else. And then told they are the problem, that they deserved it, they had it coming. I will not allow that to happen to you and I will make the people pay who did the same to me!"

Red sighed, "Let's just go back to Wonderland." she tried to plead, maybe she couldn't save her mom, but she could still save Auradon. "Get away from them all, who needs them? We can go back to Wonderland and it'll be just us, ruling side by side like you want."

Her mother's gaze softened and she stepped forward, she gently ran her fingers down her daughter's cheek, "That would be. . . wonderful."

The barest hint of a smile played at her lips and Red did her best to return it. If she could just get her mother out of Auradon, her life would be the same bleak miserable future she'd always dreaded, but at least she could be comforted knowing she saved an entire kingdom. "If only it were that simple."

Red's smile fell.

"Cinderella is in the dungeon, I can't just release her without looking weak -"

"You'd look merciful." Red tried, "And it could make you better then her. To have her life in your hands and decide she's not worth your time, show everyone she's so meaningless you can't be bothered."

"When you and I leave Auradon, that will be my mercy. But after Cinderella has paid for not only the past, but for her treason in the courtyard."

"Mom-" Red continued to try. Despite everything, this was her mom and she wanted to save her from herself. Maybe it wouldn't be in the way she had hoped, maybe it would be in smaller ways, but she couldn't just give up on her.

The Queen lifted a single finger silently shushing her daughter. She took another step closer so they were barely a breath apart. Red wasn't sure if it was meant to be intimidating, but it was.

"I have made my decision." she said, "And I will keep you safe from them."

She leaned in and gave Red a kiss on the cheek, leaving a red heart stamped on her cheekbone. Red's eyes fluttered and she felt like something heavy was pulling her down. Like when you're so tired you start falling asleep and can't fight it. Her mom smiled. "Remember, everything I do, is for you."

Drac, Camilla and Chloe were led down a set of stone steps as the air turned colder and colder. The red light from above had seeped throughout most of the castle it seemed, as even down here everything was painted in an eerie red light. They were roughly shoved and grabbed at the bottom of the stairs as they were tossed into a cell and the door slammed shut behind them. The guard was stony faced as he locked them in, pocketing a key whose teeth looked like a pair of hearts.

Drac stumbled across the cell and rested his forearms on the sill of the barred window. He took several deep breaths, still feeling a dull pain in his lower back and he was starting to feel the exhaustion sink in.

"Drac, you okay?" Chloe asked worried.

He panted, "Am I still bleeding?"

She approached him and lifted the back of his jacket before cringing at what she saw. Carefully, she poked at the scabbed holes in his shirt and tapped at them with the pad of her finger.

"It's dry, but your shirt is stuck to the wounds."

He exhaled again and nodded, "Okay. As long as it's not bleeding I can manage."

"Good." Camilla said leaning back along the bars, "Because you're our best shot out of here."

While Camilla and Chloe were limited in how much they could do, Drac had magic on his side. His only worry was, had the Queen enchanted the cells? If so, his best shot was to make a move before getting locked up – an opportunity that had already come and gone.

But then he also had to wonder about the Queen. Chloe had told him yesterday she was strong enough to destroy Fairy Godmother's wand, then the Queen was likely strong enough to destroy the scepter - and he didn't even have that. So even if he could get free from the guards, what hope did he have to face the Queen of Hearts and survive?

"What do we do now?" Chloe asked, her fingers pressing against her temples as she paced the length of the cell. Camilla crossed her arms and moved to the wooden bench provided and threw one leg over the other. She was a pirate, she should know how to get out of a brig. But without a weapon, or even a bobby pin, she didn't have many options for breaking them out. And her crew were a realm away. She leaned back and sighed blowing some of her side swept bangs out of her face. Drac trailed his fingers along the red metal bars feeling just the slightest bit of magic. Definitely enchanted, not enough to prevent a breakout, but enough to sound an alarm the second his spell would blast the window or door off. He sighed, his forehead hitting the metal as he realized the hopelessness of the situation.

"One of you must have a plan." Chloe said as she stopped pacing and looked between them, "You're VK's!"

Camilla turned to Drac, "The magic mirror." she reminded him, "What did it show you?"

Drac sighed and sat on the floor with his legs crossed and rested his elbows on his knees. "Red, but she looked like her mom."

Chloe's face turned horrified, "Red said her mom wanted to turn her into her mini me. . .You don't think?"

"My mom poisoned me with a sleeping curse thinking that's what it would take to keep me safe from myself." Camilla reminded them, "I wouldn't expect the Queen of Hearts thinking for a second that brainwashing is too far."

"That's bad." Chloe said resuming her pacing, "We're in here. And Red's out there, but, she's not really going to be Red once her mom sinks her claws into her."

"So we need a way out, sooner rather than later." Camilla said trying to find a starting point instead of the swirling mess of thoughts running through all their heads.

"That's easier said then done." Drac groaned placing his head in his hands.

"Well we can't just sit here and do nothing!" Chloe exclaimed in the same determined way as she did when her mom was being taken away on Red's orders.

"Chloe?"

She paused and her eyes grew wide. "Mom?"

Rushing to the bars, Chloe tried to press her face against them as much as she could to look out to the left. "Mom?"

"Chloe. Thank goodness." Cinderella replied sounding relieved.

Chloe had tears in her eyes that she tried to hold back, reminding herself that while yes she was grateful her mom was still alive, they still had a long way to go before they were safe.

"Where were you? What happened sweetheart?" Cinderella asked in a worrisome tone.

"It's a long story." Chloe barely got out as she swallowed back her tears of joy and pulled herself together. "But I'm okay, I promise. It's Red who's in danger."

"Red?" her mother questioned and Chloe almost facepalmed herself. Of course her mom didn't know the good person Red was, last time she'd seen her the Princess of Wonderland had just sentenced her to death.

"You were right mom." Chloe explained, "Before, when you told the Queen of Hearts even Red knew what she was doing was wrong. The coup, revenge, everything. Red and I were trying to fix it, trying to stop the prank from ever happening so Bridget wouldn't become evil."

There was quiet, no doubt as Cinderella put together the pieces of what her daughter was telling her. And of course, there were the new memories. Like most of a person's childhood they were fuzzy and nearly erased from her mind, but if she thought back hard enough some bits started coming back. Like a girl who looked just like Chloe, breaking a vase in her stepmother's home, going to her for advice about whether someone was good or bad. It gave her a bit of a headache, part of her knowing she hadn't had those memories at the start of the day, but another part feeling like they'd been there all along. The cost of time travel, she assumed. The timeline still trying to mend itself without too much damage from Chloe and Red's interference.

She took a breath, "So where does that leave us now sweetie? What danger is Red in?"

"Whatever her mom is doing to her right now, but we can't help if we can't get out of here. Do you know where they keep the key?"

"Each guard has a set, but they are fiercely loyal to Her Majesty. Even if they have good inside them, they're too afraid of her to act on it."

"Most of them." a new voice spoke up and Drac and Camilla headed for the bars looking out to catch a glimpse of who spoke. From the cell to their left a hand reached out and gave a slight wave. "Jack of Diamonds, at your service."

"What are you doing in a dungeon?" Camilla asked, "Bring the Queen cold tea? Plant white roses instead of red ones?"

"Failed to catch a rebel, who coincidentally I am also sworn to."

"Red." Drac spoke up, "She said she riots through Wonderland at night after curfew. That's a rock and a hard place."

Jack sighed, "The Queen ordered I catch the criminal, but to do that I would have to betray my Princess."

"And she didn't take your head?" Camilla asked still skeptical, what if this solider was part of a trap?

"She ordered the Princess to, but Red, sweet girl, couldn't. . . She saved my life - for now."

"Can you help us Jack?" Cinderella asked and they heard him audibly sigh.

His armor clanked a bit as he moved but none of them could see whatever he was doing, he could be sitting, or standing. However, he reached inside his armor and retrieved a key. He'd been saving it for the right opportunity. "If I get you all out of here, you only have one chance. You fail, and we all die. You succeed -"

"And we save Red." Chloe interrupted.

"But for what outcome?" Jack asked, "Red alone cannot stop her mother, I've witnessed her trying for years to change her. The Queen has no love in her heart, not even for her daughter."

"That's not true." Cinderella said surprising them all and coming to the Queen of Hearts defense, "All mother's love their children."

Drac remembered when Lonnie said something similar 'Even villains love their kids.' Camilla remembered the same words. For Drac, he saw the truth of that, in his father and his mother. But for Camilla, thinking of her mother, she wasn't so sure. If the Queen of Hearts was like her mom. . . then this whole thing was hopeless.

"And deep down, Bridget must love her. Or she would have cast her aside years ago. She's just too afraid to feel."

"So how do we defeat the Queen's fear?" Camilla asked, "We can't just take a sword to it."

"We'll need Red." Chloe said, "She knows her mom better than any of us, we don't stand a chance against the Queen until we free Red."

"And if she's mind controlled?" Camilla asked.

"Can you break a spell like that?" Chloe asked turning to Drac.

He shook his head, "If the Queen is strong enough to destroy Fairy Godmother's wand then any spell she casts will be too strong for me."

"Who is that?" Cinderella asked.

"Drac, your highness. Son of Maleficent. . . well, not your Maleficent. A different one."

"Could you do what Merryweather did Drac?" Cinderella called. "They said Maleficent's power was far too great for even the three good fairies to undo, but Merryweather altered the spell."

He was weary, he had two deep gashes in his back, and on top of it was still very drained from his fight with Hades. Drac wasn't feeling his most confident right now. "I. . . I'm not sure."

"Well instead of the Queen's fears, what about what Red fears?" Chloe suggested an alternate approach.

"And what's that?" Camilla asked.

"Becoming like her mom. If what you saw in the magic mirror was Red like her mom then the looking glass would show that as Red's future too. If we show her that -"

"It might be enough to snap her out of it." Camilla snapped her fingers with a smile, "So. . . where's the looking glass?"

"Bridget had it on her during the welcome ceremony." Cinderella piped up.

"She never goes anywhere without it." Jack confirmed.

"So we need to snatch it off the Queen and get it to Red without getting caught." Camilla said with a sigh, shrugging out of Red's borrowed jacket and tossing it on the bench, "Sure, that'll be easy."

"Jack can you get us out of here?" Drac asked and the solider held the key through the bars and unlocked his cell. Because he had a key the enchantment wouldn't trigger an alarm. Drac turned to Camilla and smirked.

"What?" she asked before he lifted a finger and zapped her with some magic, changing her clothes back into the dalmatian print vest and black pirate shirt. The first non-malicious smile – not a smirk – appeared on her face as she looked down at herself, "Oh, thanks."

Jack approached and unlocked their cell door.

"First, we need to split up Red and her mom." Drac said as they headed to Cinderella's door, "And I know the perfect diversion."