Part 7

REGINA

She felt a whiff of magic and suddenly her eyes opened. But she didn't like the sight before her. It wasn't Emma's soft blue eyes that looked at her, but eyes full of regret and hatred. She gulped, realizing the situation immediately.

"Looks like her, but where are those clothes from?" Maleficent said coldly to Mulan standing behind her. Regina noticed the woman holding her bloody nose and suspected it was Emma's doing. She smiled slightly in satisfaction. Looking around discreetly, she did not see the blonde anywhere and this observation brought her relief and disappointment at the same time.

"I told you I found her in the woods. I don't know where she was before. I grabbed her right away and brought her here." Mulan shrugged. "Where is Aurora?"

"Outside." Maleficent replied, turning to Regina. "Leave me with my baby." She said sharply and Mulan immediately left. Regina cringed at this phrase. And even more to the touch of Mal, who ran her long nails gently along her cheek. "You've been gone a long time." She murmured, and Regina watched in horror as Mal's face drew closer. The woman kissed her, but the Queen felt nothing. Not like when Emma kissed her. She didn't want to kiss back.

When she lived in the Enchanted Forest before the curse, she and Mal had been friends, and they would sometimes spend nights together, killing loneliness and boredom... but there had never been any feeling in it, and certainly not love... And this Maleficent, who now spoke Wetting Regina's lips she looked like a love-sick puppy.

"Oh, you must have forgotten me... don't worry baby, I'll remind you what it's like to love me. And you'll stay with me forever. I won't let you go again." Maleficent said sweetly, though Regina shivered. It wasn't a promise, it was a threat. "Don't look at me like those peasants... I won't hurt you... as long as you behave yourself..." The witch continued. "I missed you."

And she kissed her again, casting a spell to loosen Regina's bonds and pull her to her. Regina felt a chill on her wrist. She pushed her importunate lover away and raised her left hand up. On it was a silver bracelet with a dragon.

"What is this?" She asked immediately.

"Precautions, baby." Maleficent replied, pulling Regina to her and kissing her neck. "It's a tracker and something to stop your magic. Only I can take it off, baby." She purred.

Regina groaned inwardly. She was in serious trouble.

"I'm fucked." She cursed under her breath, squeezing her eyes shut, trying to hold back the familiar sensations in her lower body. She had always been attracted to Mal, but it was only a sexual attraction. Although immediately before her eyes appeared Emma's face, her eyes, smile, fit body. And suddenly everything became even more inappropriate. She missed being touched like that, she hadn't been with anyone since Robin died. But she felt that for some reason being with Mal was wrong.

"Indeed, you are." Mal whispered in her ear.

After a while, she broke away from her.

"Let's take you home." With one 'poof' they found themselves in the dragon's castle. The maids ran to them and immediately led Regina to her chambers. Mal said she'd join her for dinner.

With a sigh, Regina plunged into the prepared bath. She had nothing to do anyway. Without magic and in Maleficent's Castle with a tracker on her hand, she was useless. She could just be waiting for Emma to come get her. After all, she was the Savior. Regina knew the blonde wouldn't leave her. Especially after their conversation. It was all wrong. She had the impression that somehow Emma had feelings for her. Her heart sped up at the thought. But there was also Captain Guyliner. Regina knew Emma well enough to know that she would want to please everyone around her. Apart from herself.

And Regina was too exhausted from the constant pursuit of true love to give hope to a poor chance, especially when she couldn't define herself. Maybe time with Mal won't be so scary?

She was only worried about whether her dark side would return in the Dragon's surroundings.

She sat down to dinner with Mal, dressed as of old in a low-cut black dress. The maidservants had now pinned her short hair up, and Mal was looking at her from across the table as if she were a snack. And the usually confident Regina suddenly felt insecure.

"Don't eat too much, honey. It could hurt you tonight." Mal said seductively.

Madame Mayor pushed the plate away from her.

"Good girl. Today I'm going to show you some love."

"What are we doing here Mal?" Regina asked, carefully looking at her old friend. "We were friends, when did that change? When did we...become like this?"

Mal set the cutlery aside and put her hands under her chin.

"I didn't believe it... men when he said he could bring you back. I was looking for an author, you know? After you disappeared ten years ago... I wanted him to write me a new ending... with you... And here you are now ..." Mal spoke and Regina raised her eyebrows.

"What man?"

"It is not important." Mal growled, ending the discussion. "I don't understand your questions?"

"I mean..." Regina hesitated. "We had casual sex but mostly focused on friendship..."

"Are you having memory lapses, honey? Why don't you explain to me where you've been these ten years?"

Regina was silent for a moment.

"I'm sorry Mal, but I don't remember. My last memory of us together was when you gave me the recipe for the dark curse." Regina admitted, bending the facts a bit, but relatively true.

The dragon raised her eyebrows.

"And you don't remember anything after that? THAT was thirty years ago, Reg."

"I believe so..." The Queen nodded.

"Okay..." Mal sighed, not hiding her irritation, and looked at Regina searchingly. "You tried to curse Snow White and Prince Charming, but you failed. I don't know the details, but one night you came to me distraught, not really knowing what to do. You said something about a child and that Snow had thrown it into a magical wardrobe, knowing who it was for something like that... You were in such a state that I got so mad at Snow and decided to take matters into my own hands. Fortunately, they made it easy for me."

Regina listened in horror... WHAT was this reality?!

"Meaning?"

"Catched them on the bridge on their way back to the castle. I killed them and the whole squad, then glided over the castle and ate those lousy dwarves." Mal spoke contentedly, and Regina paled.

"What happened next?" she asked quietly.

"Then you had some weird phase, you were looking for the Author, you were looking in thousands of books for information about him ... You were talking nonsense about your true love and that Snow White took it from you..." Mal sighed dramatically. "And one night you came to me and that's how it started...you came more and more and left later and later, until my chamber became yours too. Baby... you told me a hundred times that you loved me... and I believed you... it couldn't be a lie. Everything you did, you waited for me in the castle, we plundered the village together, we spent intoxicating nights in each other's arms, or rather between our legs..."

The brunette's eyes widened.

"That doesn't sound like me." She said.

Mal got up from her chair and walked over to her, pulling her hands to get up too. She was slightly taller than the Queen, though not as much as Emma.

"Of course... The Evil Queen wouldn't fall in love with me... But Reg, who has lost her love, would do anything for someone to give her affection." Mal licked her ear, and Regina was torn between her need for closeness and the derogatory image presented by the Witch.

Mal carried them into the bedroom and threw Regina on the bed, taking off her heavy dress with one wave of her hand and leaving her naked. She studied her carefully in the light of the candles placed in the chamber.

"You look better than before." Mal murmured lustfully, and though her gaze didn't sparkle with affection like Emma's, Regina felt wetness between her legs.

The dragon, who had all her senses heightened, felt it too, smiling with satisfaction.

"See baby, even after being apart like this, you still want me. We're meant for each other."

And she lay down on Regina, stroking the brunette's body with her hands, licking her nipples until they hardened and the Queen felt hungry and needy.

"Go lower." She murmured to the Dragon, who with a slight giggle diving between the brunette's legs, soon brought her to orgasm.

"This is just the beginning." Said the Witch undressing and joining the panting brunette in bed.

EMMA

She ran as hard as she could to the west, following the directions of the treacherous Mulan. And in this reality, the brunette betrayed them as she did when Emma moved to the Enchanted Forest with her mother. Only then did she have someone with her who knew this world, now she was alone. She was to find Henry, help him, and then rescue Regina from the clutches of Maleficent.

Regina...

Just thinking about it made her angry and frustrated. Involuntarily, she asked herself if the Queen would succumb to an old friend, had there been something between them before? She felt the green-eyed monster growing inside her, making her run even faster, just to take action, just to get Regina back.

Could this be how the brunette felt knowing that Emma was with Killian? Did she even think about it? Did she care?

She was also worried about Henry. If he lived here and knew who Regina was to Maleficent and asked for help anyway, then he was in real trouble.

A cabin appeared in front of Emma, in a forest clearing. Blondynka stood rooted to the ground. Lost in her own thoughts, she didn't notice that she had been running half the day because the sun was overhead.

She approached the hut door cautiously. Reminding herself that she was totally defenseless apart from the gun she had on her belt, which wouldn't have helped her much here anyway since she only had one magazine.

She knocked, holding her breath. It was opened by a short blonde woman whose cheek was cut with a scar and her left eye was covered with a black blindfold.

Emma couldn't tear her eyes away.

"Are you here to hang out? What are you looking for, blondie?" The woman snarled, and only now did Emma realize that she was holding a crossbow aimed directly at her flat belly, so that the Savior could feel the blade against her belly.

"Are you Drizella? Mulan sent me to you." Emma replied quickly, and luckily the woman lowered her crossbow and gave it a more careful look.

"Mulan? That savage knows better than to send me aliens."

"Look, I need help. I'm looking for my son..." Emma said hastily.

"Do I look like someone who runs a missing persons bureau?" Woman snapped, interrupting her. "Miss, I live in the middle of the forest!"

"I'm looking for a boy named Henry Mills!" Emma threw up totally exhausted from all these talks and running away.

The blonde frowned, looked around hastily and grabbed Emma, pulling her inside.

"Henry? Why do you need this hunk?" The woman asked suspiciously, and Emma's mouth dropped open in surprise at the boy's term.

"He is my son. I have come to help him."

The woman laughed, a coarse, guttural laugh.

"A son? A younger brother at the most, lady. The man is about thirty, wife and child."

"What?" Emma said slowly processing the information.

"You must have lost contact with your "son"."

"Can you tell me what's going on? I'm from another reality." Emma said desperately. "My son left home about three months ago. Then he contacted his...me." Emma hesitated because her story was already strange enough to have a second mother thread in it. "Time flows differently here. He looked much older and asked me to help him save his daughter." The blonde looked at her strangely, as if waiting for Emma to say it was a joke, but the Savior fell silent and Grizella just shook her head.

"Strange times have come. It was already strange that this royal whore disappeared years ago, then the Dragon went mad with grief for her because she couldn't find her, she started looking for a way.... And then my stupid little stepsister found a boyfriend and got married even though I told her it was a mistake because the guy was weird..." The blonde grimaced.

"What's my son got to do with it?" Emma asked, not understanding.

"A man named Henry, from who knows where, is my sister's husband."

"Oh..." Emma murmured, understanding slowly dawning on her.

"Then Lucy showed up." Grizella smiled fondly as she said her name. "And then Henry brought misfortune upon them."

"How is it?" The Savior was concerned. The woman showed her a place on a wooden bench and Emma sat down hastily.

"He confessed to someone that he has a magic book with which he can change the endings of the stories we are supposedly in." The woman sighed and Emma wondered if he was really talking about her son. "Maleficent found out about this and started looking for him. She sent her guards, and believe me, it's worse than if they were pursued alone. The guards are ruthless." The woman hesitated, her face sad.

"Did they do this to you?" Emma asked cautiously, pointing to her cheek.

"Yes... my sister was hiding here, they killed her." Tears ran down the woman's healthy cheek.

Emma listened in horror.

"What... about Lucy?"

"Henry hid her."

"Where?"

"He didn't say. He didn't have time because he had to run."

"Did he made it?" Emma asked, holding her breath.

"No, the dragon kidnapped him."

"To write her a happy ending?"

"So it seems... it's a pity that villains don't let go, they always think they deserve happiness, that they deserve more without any sacrifices or redemption." Drizella said angrily.

Emma nodded absently.

"But that will change... now that the curse has been broken." The woman said and the Savior raised her eyebrows.

"Curse?"

"Yes, a wave of magic swept through the forest yesterday. My mother dabbled in magic, so I know a thing or two... It must have woken Aurora from her sleep. She is a real princess, the only survivor of the Royal House among all those living in the Enchanted Forest."

"Wait..." Emma thought about it. "Maleficent killed them all?"

"Oh yes... she suspected them of abducting her mistress, so she killed everyone."

"This is terrible." Emma gasped.

"That's how it works here. Before Snow White's death, it was a little better, the Evil Queen was a mouthful but she only spread terror for a show of strength... and Maleficent... well... she's just evil and likes the dark arts."

"Wait... Snow White is dead?" Emma felt her face turn pale.

"Oh yes, a long time."

"But how...?"

"Maleficent finished her off on behalf of her mistress."

Emma sat stiffly, her breathing quickening. It's true that lately her relationship with her mother has been chilly and they don't understand each other on certain issues, but she couldn't imagine a life without her perfect parents anymore. She was disturbed by Henry's behavior, this reality... seemed totally unreal to her, and yet she was sitting in a dusty hut in the middle of the forest, talking to the sister of the fairy-tale Cinderella...

What's worse, Regina fell into the clutches of the dragon... that drew her attention to something.

"What happened to the Evil Queen?"

Drizella looked at her.

"No one knows. Apparently she disappeared in broad daylight. One day she was there, the next she wasn't."

"I don't understand.. she didn't run away? From what you're saying, she was in love with that witch, didn't she?"

"People said the Evil Queen lost her love, that's why she was evil..."

"Yeah, her first boyfriend, Daniel..." Emma sighed, feeling slightly annoyed because she knew these facts from Regina's life so she didn't have to repeat it over and over again.

"No." Drizella shook her head. "It's something bigger. The Evil Queen supposedly paid a fairy to show her the future and she predicted her true love. This was the real reason for the hatred between Snow White and the Queen. It was supposed to be her own child who was supposed to bring happiness to the Queen... and Snow White couldn't stand it so used magic to send the baby away from here after birth."

Emma continued listening, speechless. And in this world, her mother did everything to thwart the intentions of destiny that led Regina to her?

"You know a lot for someone who lives in a cabin... in the middle of the forest." Emma noticed quietly. "And you easily share information with a stranger..."

Grizella shrugged, not at all confused.

"Except for the wolves, Mulan and the people scattered around the destroyed villages, there's no one to talk to. Besides, you don't look like someone who would hurt me... no offense." Drizella smiled slightly.

Emma nodded. She'd always done what was right, or at least tried, and at that point she decided it wasn't time to question the blonde, it was time to act.

"Where did they take Henry?"

"Probably to the dungeons..." Drizella shrugged, Emma didn't think the woman was a fan of Henry.

"Where?" She insisted.

"In the dragon's castle."

Emma thought for a moment before an idea occurred to her.

"Is the Dark One here? Rumplestiltskin or what's his name?"

Grizella shuddered, shaking her head.

"No... the Dark One left shortly after Snow White's baby disappeared."

"What happened to these people?" Emma asked angrily out loud. "They couldn't have vanished into thin air."

"I don't know. It's a mystery that no one has solved."

"Which way to the dragon's castle?"

"Don't even joke." Drizella smiled, but seeing Emma's expression, added: "The dragon has guards, the castle is fortified. No one can get in or out without Maleficent knowing."

"Good... because she doesn't need to know anything." Emma murmured. She had been in the business of finding people, tracking and rescuing loved ones long enough that she knew that no matter how strong the odds were, she could handle it, because Henry's life was on the line... and Regina's. "Which way to the castle?"

"Stop!" Grizzelda screamed, grabbing Emma's wrist. "You said your son asked you for help with Lucy! Maybe instead of getting eaten by the dragon, look for the girl?"

Emma sat back down, hesitating. Will Regina be able to cope without her? After all, she knew this world and Maleficent better than she did... She sighed heavily, turning her attention back to Drizella.

"What do you know about her? Where should I start looking?"

"We'll check their house first. I've been there several times, but I haven't found anything. Maybe something will catch your eye."

"You're coming with me?" Emma raised her eyebrows.

"I care about that little one. She's my only family." Drizella muttered. "I hope you won't harm her like your alleged son..."

"I know my son! He would never do something that would endanger his family." Emma stood up, agitated.

"But he did it. If you don't believe me, look in the garden." Drizella said, pointing her hand at the door behind her. Emma looked at her, then stood up and went into the small, weedy garden. She immediately found what the woman was talking about. In the center of the square was a freshly buried grave with a large stone carved with the name: Jacinda Mills.

Henry's wife lay buried at her feet. Emma was shocked. She swallowed and decided to go in search of her unknown granddaughter.