Cursed Hearts

Panic Cord

Eyes shot open in the dark. Suddenly the terror Regina had faced was replaced by pure tranquillity in the dead of night and a warm, comfortable bed. For a second, before she knew where she was, Regina truly felt like she felt nothing; dead.

Robin lay next to her, his breathing rhythmic and steadfast, just like it had always been. A few seconds ticked by. Regina could feel adrenaline coursing through her veins. If she didn't move fast, she feared her heart would explode in her chest. In quick, stunted movements, Regina sat up, careful to not make a sound as she moved one leg at a time over the edge of the bed. After that, she was on auto pilot: pants, shirt, shoes. Everything in her mind was direct and clear.

Starting down the hallway, Regina walked past Roland's room, then Caroline's. She was a ghost in the dead of night, unseen and undetected. Although it was pitch black, she paused directly in front of the hall closet, wrapping her hand around the doorknob and opening slowly. Kneeling down, she began sifting through objects that cluttered the floor: well-worn board games, loose files, coats that were carelessly tossed without a second thought. Behind all the clutter revealed an auspicious looking cedar chest. Regina used both arms to drag it towards her body, softening the creak as best she could as she opened the lid. The first items seen in the chest were pleasant ones, items that could easily fool a prodding stranger- Roland's adoption papers, Caroline's birth certificate, a few framed wedding photos. After that layer was removed, however, it revealed something dark and forbidding. Regina swore she felt a dull shock to her fingers as they grazed past a purple satin dress that once belonged to her mother. The thought of Cora was enough to send her out of her focused trance. She could never truly be free of her, nor rid of the demons that she passed on. Regina's own daughter felt just as betrayed and alone as she herself once did.

She forced the thought out of her head and continued digging, concentrating on the rhythmic sound of her exhale. The farther she dug, the nice, mediocre life she had foraged for herself became more and more disillusioned. Finally, her fingers found a worn piece of parchment paper. She pulled it out of the chest and directly pushed it into her back pocket, knowing exactly what the words on the parchment read. Uncharacteristically leaving the hallway mess as it was, Regina raced down the stairs, grabbed her keys, and headed out the door.

Headlights cut through the misty air, cold still hanging around in clouds of breath. Although Regina had created every cubic foot of the town of Storybrooke, she still found herself at a loss at where exactly to find the alluring red headed woman who lived somewhere in the woods. Anger continued to fuel her motivation to peruse the woman; if Caroline's safety was in danger, she would do anything in her power to put a stop to it. Her stress deepened with every blind turn, hardly noticing the increasing speedometer. In no time at all, she was surrounded by trees. Panic blurred her senses, unearthing a version of herself that had not been seen in a decade.

However, everything became suddenly clear when the outline of a farmhouse appeared at the end of the road, a single light glowing through the window. She exhaled, feeling a chill within her as she stared back at the ghostly house. What she going to do was still a mystery- the Evil Queen would surely know how to handle this situation. Sadly, Regina wasn't sure if she still existed. Living in suburbia took more of a toll than she realized. A shadow moved behind the curtain drawn front windows, snapping Regina out of her wary state- she found herself marching up to the front door within seconds.

The door opened, revealing a red haired woman in an emerald green blazer. She had been awaiting her arrival, clearly.

"Bit early in the morning for guests, don't you think?"

Regina withheld a response as she continued to analyze the person who was trying to sabotage her family. "I'm guessing you enchanted the soup? The hallucination spell?"