Part 8

REGINA

She was naked in bed. Her body was exhausted and full. And while she felt satisfied after her wild nights with Mal, she felt nothing. Maybe because her heart stayed in Storybrooke? Maybe because she couldn't erase the image of a certain pair of green eyes while making Mal cum. Even from the heart she felt remorse for Emma.

"I'm so stupid!" She growled to herself under her breath. "How can I feel something for her? Of all people..."

"What are you whispering there baby?" Maleficent appeared out of nowhere, immediately snuggling into the bed, next to Regina, and passionately kissing the slightly startled brunette.

"Why do you have to sneak like that?" Regina huffed, slightly annoyed.

"Do I have to announce my presence in my own home, in my mistress's chamber?" Mal purred ferociously. Regina felt the warmth radiating from the woman, and it was the warmth of an angry dragon. Dangerous.

"No..." Regina replied with a sigh, not wanting to annoy the woman. She did not hide that she was a little afraid of this crazy Mal, who was now grabbing her breast violently, teasing the nipple with a long nail. "I just need some privacy sometimes."

"No privacy here, my darling." Mal said in a dangerously low voice. "We can't let you disappear again, can we?"

Regina moaned, but Mal probably mistook it for a moan of pleasure as her long finger brushed the woman's inner thighs.

And Regina thought the idea of spending time with Mal was the dumbest idea ever. And she wished Emma was a Dark One again. They would like to see Emma in a leather suit fighting the dragon with a wave of her hand.

"Oh, someone's turned on here..." Mal murmured with satisfaction as she dived between Regina's spread legs.

The Queen bit her lip, imagining another blonde eating her upside down.

Who was she trying to deceive?

She had feelings... for Emma.

She was lying on the bed when the maid came into the room and started cleaning up the scattered feathers from the pillows scattered around. Behind her came another one who didn't even dare to look at Regina, telling her that a bath was waiting. The brunette stood up and walked naked to the bathroom with a full bathtub waiting. The maid was still busy setting out candles and towels.

"Is there anything else you would like?" She asked shyly.

Regina thought for a moment, listening to see if Mal would suddenly appear.

"I would like to explore the castle freely."

"Oh." The maid squealed in fear. "The lady wouldn't let you leave the room."

Regina gritted her teeth. Thinking about your situation. She was a prisoner of the Dragon. How could she help Henry, trapped in the castle? There was only one way - to gain Maleficent's trust. Just thinking about what she had to do made her feel sick.

"Tell the lady I'd like to have dinner with her in my room." She instructed the maid.

Mal ate slowly, all the while watching Regina. Her gaze was disturbing the brunette, who was trying to remember what the Dragon was like when they met. They shared such different stories now. After everything Regina had been through, she didn't know if she would find something in herself that could bring her closer to the witch.

"You were usually taciturn, my dear, but now you are even less talkative. And there is so much I would like to know." Mal said, putting the silverware down and staring at her.

"What would you like to know?" Regina asked, wiping her mouth with a tissue and immediately reaching for the wine. She needed to numb herself before another night with Mal. She was still sore from the previous one. And she knew that the Dragon would not give up quickly.

"How did you disappear? How did you come back? What did you do in the time in between?"

"I do not know I do not remember." Regina shrugged, feigning sincerity. "I remember that slant-eyed savage found me. She pinned me to the wall and then you showed up."

"So you had nothing to do with breaking the curse?" Mal asked in an innocent voice, though Regina sensed the threat.

"I don't know what curse we're talking about."

"You don't know? You don't know?!" Mal stood up quickly and immediately her sharp claws were on the brunette's neck, tightening slightly. "I'm talking about the sleeping curse that I finally managed to cast on Aurora! I killed her beloved prince, so my revenge was complete until you showed up, my dear... And while I'm happy to see you back, the sight of Aurora awake It pisses me off so much."

"You said you killed her prince, so what does it matter? Now you're even better, you can watch her cry her eyes out over his grave..." Regina said calmly, feeling the fingers around her neck relax. She immediately reached for the glass and drank a large gulp.

"You're right. Even though I preferred her sleeping, I didn't have to watch her..." Mal said bitterly. Regina suddenly realized something... She could never figure out why Mal hated Aurora so much, she didn't consider that maybe the Dragon had any feelings for the princess beyond the desire for revenge... However, she decided to abandon this thought, not wanting to endanger the dragon.

"I would like to see the castle and garden if you don't mind?" Regina decided to be brave.

"You don't like the room?"

"I like it when we're out there together." The Queen turned to Mal, pulling her in with her hand and kissing her lightly on the lips. However, the dragon didn't know the concept of gentle. She grabbed the brunette by the chin and bit her lip until it bled, meanwhile sticking her tongue deep into her mouth as Regina gasped.

"Interesting..." Mal muttered, pulling away from her and looking at her suspiciously.

"You've been gone all day... I'm bored." Regina continued as if nothing had happened.

"Hmm... maybe I'll find something to entertain you since you're so bored... if you're a good girl, of course."

Regina smiled, feeling that she was in for a rough night.

The next day she woke up sore in bed, self-loathing after what Maleficent had told her to do to her body. The maid ran into the room and, seeing her, started rummaging in the wardrobe and threw her dress on the bed.

"Please get dressed. A guest will be brought to you in a moment."

"Guest?"

"Yes, Ms. Maleficent asked me to show you a guest. She said you might enjoy the conversation."

Regina raised her eyebrows and, curious, hurriedly dressed and followed the maid into the living room, where breakfast was already waiting for her.

She was enjoying her coffee when the door opened and two guards walked in, leading a prisoner with a bag over his head. His hands and feet were chained. The guards forced him into a chair across from Regina, took off the bag and left the room. Regina looked at the man sitting in front of her, who had dirty, long, messy dark hair and his head down towards the floor. After a moment, he shook himself and raised his face to her. Regina gasped.

"Henry?" She asked shyly, recognizing her son's eyes in the dirty, unshaven face.

"Mom?"

Emma cursed under her breath at all the bushes she had to wade through while following Drizella. Fortunately, she had a guide, otherwise she would have fallen into traps set for ogres and game several times. The landscape was very poor, they walked through a huge overgrown meadow, slowly approaching a dense forest. Although the blonde was tormented by doubts, she stubbornly walked into the unknown, she had to trust her guide and she had no other options. She also thought about Regina, hoping the brunette was safe.

"We'll make it before dark." Drizella said turning to her. "Their home is close."

"They built a house in the forest?" Emma was a bit surprised, unable to imagine Henry living in such a place. After all, he was Regina's son, a prince...

"For safety reasons, they made a hole in the hill. You'll soon see for yourself."

Sure enough, after another two hours of struggling through the dark forest, they found themselves in front of a small hill. Emma looked around for an entrance as Drizella pushed aside the ivy that was cascading down the almost flat wall and a circular door came into view.

"Creative, like a Hobbit's hole." Emma stated admiringly.

"What is a Hobbit?" Drizella asked confused.

"Never mind. Let's go inside."

The middle would probably be nice and inviting if it weren't for the fact that someone turned everything upside down. There was broken furniture and pieces of paper lying around. The beds were in disarray, the contents of the drawers were empty.

"What happened here?" Emma asked, picking up the pages and immediately recognizing the pages from Henry's book of fairy tales.

"Maleficent." Drizella replied briefly, quickly checking each room, then took off her backpack, put away her bow and quiver and went to the kitchen to put some water on for tea. "We'll stay here for the night. The forest isn't safe at night."

Emma was glad that she could stay longer in the place her son had called home lately. Here he lived with his family. She felt closer to him, and looking at the scattered things and children's clothes, she felt like crying. She wished Regina was there. She needed the brunette more than ever in this unknown world.

"Hey, it'll be fine. Look around, maybe you'll find something that will help us get to Lucy." Drizella said, squeezing Emma's shoulder.

The blonde started collecting the pages of the book, some of them were torn. However, there was no doubt that each of them was written in Henry's handwriting. She folded them on the floor, taking a mug of hot tea from Drizelly, who sat down in the armchair, also looking at the pages, although with an expression of disgust and even hatred.

"You don't like my son, do you?" Emma asked with a sigh.

"No... he brought these possibilities to us unnecessarily. He thought that by writing new stories he would make Maleficent a good fairy. Each new page worked against his intentions. All the stories became a nightmare."

"Why?"

"I don't know." Drizella shrugged. "It all started with Snow White. She took away true love from the Evil Queen, and then everyone who wanted to find their true love couldn't find it, only suffering was left."

"I can't believe that even in this world my mother would do everything to separate me from Regina." Emma shook her head thoughtfully.

"Are you Snow White's daughter?" Drizella looked at her with new interest.

"Lately I'd rather say no."

"I see. So Emma... do you see anything that might help us find Lucy?"

"I'll try reading these Henry stories. You can get some sleep."

Emma rubbed her eyes, trying to shake off the sleepiness, but the candle was burning out and it was getting darker inside, Drizella was snoring lightly in the next room. In the faint flame, the blonde flipped through the pages and saw a crumpled page, she brought it closer to the candle. She saw the faint outline of a map on the yellowed paper. She immediately woke up her companion.

"I know where Lucy is hiding."

Emma showed the drawing to her companion and Drizella immediately recognized the place.

"You better take it away." Drizella handed Emma one of her swords. "Where we're going is swarming with ogres."

"How did Lucy get there?"

"Ogres are blind and she's seven. It's easier for her to slip through." Drizella replied and left the house. Emma looked around the interior again and followed her.

They were making their way through the forest, and although it was morning, according to Drizella, the forest was dark. The trees protected themselves from the sun's rays with their crowns. Emma strained her ears and eyes, preparing for any danger. Drizella walked in front of her.

"How much longer?" The blonde asked quietly as she drank water from Drizella's waterskin after several hours of walking.

"Can't you smell it? We're close to the ogres. I think we'll make it to Lucy before dark."

Emma sniffed, and sure enough, what she thought was a bad sewage smell intensified. Besides, where would the sewage system come from?

They moved on. Drizella spotted the first ogre. It was well camouflaged, despite its huge size. They didn't even come closer, lest he accidentally hear them. With a chuckle, Drizella led them sideways, wanting to delay the fight as long as possible. It got even darker in the forest, so their chances increased.

They rested for a while under a tree, where in the dim candlelight Drizella examined the drawing once again, comparing it with the landscape.

"It's here." She gestured to a clearing surrounded by trees.

"Where?" Emma looked around, seeing nothing in particular.

"Underground. Look for a trapdoor. Just be quiet."

Emma knelt down next to Drizella and began to part the leaves and moss with her hands. After some time, she cursed when her finger hit something sharp and hard.

"Here." She said to Drizella, carefully spreading the rest of the leaves apart. It was a wooden trapdoor. They immediately moved it away, unfortunately making a lot of noise. There was a roar and without a moment's hesitation they slid into the opening and closed the hatch. Darkness enveloped them.

Drizella lit a candle and they looked around the low tunnel. It only went both ways. Emma, guided by a premonition, went left. Even though she was already tired, her legs carried her on their own. She rounded a few corners and found herself in a small room with a bed and lit by candles. However, what interested her most was the sight of a small, dark-haired girl sitting on the floor and drawing with crayons on pieces of paper scattered around. The girl looked up at her with large green eyes and smiled sadly.

"Hi Grandma."