Untitled Pt 1

Untitled Part 1

"Meeting adjourned." Regina declared as the mallet came crashing down on the table with a bang, resonating within every core in the room.
"Regina, you know you don't have to smash that thing into oblivion, right?" Emma said, looking slightly alarmed.
"I am well aware of that fact, Miss Swan. But I find it's a good way to let my anger out."
"Anger?" Snow White repeated.
"Well just because I split myself from the Evil Queen, doesn't mean that I don't get angry sometimes."
"What are you angry about this time?" Zelena asked.
Regina frowned and shook her head. "I don't know. Something's gotten under my skin, but I have no idea what. It's infuriating."
Emma's heart went out to her friend. She knew that whatever it was that was bothering her, it had been doing so for a while now, but with Regina being Regina, Emma knew she would rather eat dirt than open up about her troubles.
"Well, whatever it is, you can forget it. We have a very important celebration coming up, and Snow and I need to get down to the bakery to look at the cake." Zelena chuckled. Her eyes twinkled with excitement as she and Snow left, followed soon by Ella, Henry, and the rest of the family, leaving Regina alone in her office once more. Despite being the queen, she couldn't help but feel like an ant among giants, with a heart as empty as the room she stood in. Even though Snow was constantly reminding her that she was forgiven, she knew deep down that they would never truly see her as a hero. Her heart was just too dark. After making sure everything was packed away, she left for home. Once she arrived, she sat down heavily on the side of her bed, but no matter how hard she tried to calm it, her mind was a whirlwind of activity. Needing to clear her head, she decided to go for a walk in the park for a breath of fresh air. The breeze was like ice as it carried the final leaves of autumn away from their trees. As she walked, she saw the rest of her family were out enjoying the rays of warmth before the daylight died away. She could see Emma and Hook with baby Hope. Henry, Ella, and Lucy all running around together. Even her niece Robyn had found a love with Alice. Her heart lurched with sudden sadness at the sight of them. No matter how many times she told herself, she knew that she would never be as happy as they were. They had each other. She had no one.
"You're majesty?" a voice called from behind. She turned to see Grumpy and the Blue Fairy, their faces wrought with worry.
"Blue, Grumpy. Is everything okay?"
"No, I'm afraid it's not." Blue began. "Last night two dwarves went out to get dinner from Granny's and check on the mines to make sure those thieves hadn't been back there."
"They didn't come home, and when me and the others went to go check, all we found were their pickaxes, and two untouched meals." Grumpy finished.
"So they went missing?" Regina clarified.
"We think so." Blue replied. Regina huffed. This was the last thing she needed. Thieves in the mines, strangers on the border, and now two missing dwarves? Regina turned and yelled out across the park. "Emma! Can you come here?!"
Emma appeared a few moments later in a puff of white smoke. "Yeah? What's up?"
"Doc and Bashful have gone missing." Grumpy grunted.
"Really?"
"You're good at this sort of thing, Emma. Do you think you can help find them?" Regina asked hopefully.
"I can try." Emma replied.
"Oh, thank goodness. I don't know what I would do without you."
"Neither do I."

∞

"Look out!" Carmen screamed as she attempted to evade the barrage of bullets being fired her way. Her wings, as big as a man and black as midnight, were beating over time to get her out of danger. Exhaustion and fatigue were causing her eyelids to grow heavier and heavier, but she knew she could not cave. She looked around for her partner, but Lucas was nowhere to be seen.
"Carmen! Look!" a voice cried. Carmen looked up to see a cloud of green smoke come tumbling over the hills. She looked behind her to make sure the rest of her crew were nearby.
"Head for the smoke!"
All at once, they turned and began to fly towards the curse. Carmen turned and smiled at them. They were going to make it to the new realm. And she would finally be reunited with her family.
"Carmen, look out!" Lucas shouted. Carmen turned to see an angel of death looming in front of her. There was a flash of silver, and her stomach suddenly erupted with pain. She gasped and looked down. Her shirt was stained with her blood, while pieces of flesh hung by the smallest thread. She roared and drew her talons. Beating her wings as hard as she could, she launched herself at her assailant. The two tumbled around in a mess of claws, wings, and limbs as each tried their hardest to gain the upper hand. Carmen could feel her eye beginning to swell shut, and the pain on her stomach was growing. But she could also see that her opponent was hurting as well. Suddenly, in a flash of movement, her opponent had whipped around her, grabbed hold of her wing, and snapped it like a twig. Gasping with pain, her body began to plummet to the ground. She saw Lucas dive for her and panicked. If he stayed on his path, he would miss the curse.
"NO! Get to the realm! Find Regina! Then find me!" she roared before the darkness closed in around her.