The Evil Queen's Daughter - SEQUEL

Chapter 17

Regina strode into the vault, hands placed on her hips. With a flick of her wrist, a large mirror was revealed from behind the curtain, and a familiar face came clearly into view.

"My queen," He began, "What a pleasure to see you again, and to be back in form." She glanced down at her dress, noticing it was the same one she wore on the day she vowed to destroy the Charmings' happiness. It at least seemed fitting she wore it on the day she would give Marian the honours.

"Hello, Sidney. Long time no see."

The face in the mirror raised its eyebrows, "What do you want, my queen? I know you, and this little...chat, is not a catch up. You want something, otherwise you wouldn't have come to me. Now, what is it you desire?"

Regina debated telling him. Maybe she didn't have to kill Marian, maybe she could be happy without her revenge. Thinking about it, she'd had an entire curse to complete her vengeance and she hadn't been satisfied with the results, why would this time be any different? Nila. Of course. Her daughter was possibly the only person that believed in her, the only one who truly cared about her. Something the queen didn't have last time, unless you were to count her deceased father.

"Regina?" Upon hearing this, she turned around slowly. The last thing Regina wanted was to hear her mother gloat. She watched as the face in the mirror changed to one of horror, and disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. "Mother," She said, breathing shakily, "What do you want?"

"I wanted to see my daughter." Cora replied, taking a seat on the chair besides the fireplace. "What? Come to gloat? Come to tell me that you were right: that love is weakness? I can't believe you let me believe Robin really loved me." But Regina already knew the answer to the last question. She knew what they had was real, otherwise it wouldn't have hurt so much when they had to end it. She thought of how much had changed since three days ago, when all was relatively 'normal'. Before she came back.

The queen had got accustomed to waking up in the thief's arms each morning, hoping for a few minutes alone before their two children came wandering in. She missed Roland, and the way he could look past what everyone else saw and treat her as his own mother. He'd never do that again, not while she was here. And her daughter, the girl who truly believed in her, believed she could change, the girl she'd only let down time and time again. Though she was sure that Nila loved her, Regina also knew that she hadn't fully forgiven her for never searching for her daughter.

The truth was that the queen had been scared. Just like she had all those years ago outside the tavern when Tinkerbell led her there. She was scared the girl wouldn't see her as anything other than the 'Evil Queen', scared she would never accept her for who her mother truly was, and scared of never being forgiven, in the same way she had known Baelfire wouldn't ever forgive the Dark One. If Regina had learnt something from the time she'd spent with her daughter, it would have been bravery. Something she wasn't feeling now.

"My love, I'm not going to lie to you; it isn't worth it. I've lied to you for your whole life, and it got me nowhere. You've never trusted me the way others trust their mothers, and seeing the way Nila loves you has made me want to be different. For you to love me, too."

The queen scoffed, "I think it's too late for that, mother."

"Isn't that what Prince Charming said to you many years ago, Regina? They told you that you would always be the Evil Queen, but they were wrong. You proved them wrong, by changing. Who's to say the same fate isn't in store for me?"

The same thing wasn't in store for her mother, because they were two different people. This wasn't something the queen would be inclined to tell Cora, though.

"Mother, you've proved untrustworthy hundreds of times before, why should this one be any different?" Regina asked her mother, crossing her arms and studying her perfectly painted face. "Because you know I have your best interests at heart. I can help you be happy." She'd said that before. That she had her best interests at heart, that she was doing the best thing for her. Was killing Daniel really that? It seemed to hurt more now with Nila here. She reminded her of her lost love in many ways, her eyes in particular. When gazing into them, all the queen could see was Daniel.

The stable boy was her first love, and for many years she'd thought he was her last, too. But it seemed that was not the case. While Regina couldn't always imagine her future with Nila's father, it seemed easier with Robin. And so she let herself dream away about returning to Storybrooke as a family, with her three children and the love of her life by her side. She imagined dinners and parties at Granny's, fighting over closet space with Robin and teaching Roland how to tie a tie for his first day at school. All things she knew would never really happen.

"How? How can you make me happy, mother? Hm?" Cora laughed, a wicked grin appearing on her face. "By giving you what you want, of course! Isn't it obvious, dear?"

The queen leaned closer to her mother until they were just centimetres apart. "And what is it that I want?"

"Your revenge."

It was true, the one thing Regina wanted right now was Marian's heart, beating in her palm. She knew her demise would have to be handled with care, and the queen did not wish to cause the family any more pain. No. Her plan was simple. She would take the heart, and command Marian to break up with her husband. To tell him that she was not in love with him after all these years and that they had to be responsible co-parents.

Of course, Regina felt a little guilty about the whole idea, but had decided to use a memory potion afterwards, so she would not live her life knowing they were living a lie. And even if they were, she'd rather be under the spell of obliviousness anyway.

All the queen had ever wanted was her happy ending, and for once in her life, it had seemed like she was truly there. She knew she'd do whatever it took to be reunited with her family, even if it meant trusting Cora.

She grinned evilly before replying, grabbing a plain piece of parchment from a nearby shelf. "Okay, mother. Listen carefully, here's the plan..."

*AUTHOR'S NOTE - Awhhh, she's so conflicted :( Trust me guys, all I want is for Regina and Nila to have a talk about this, and maybe they will soon. But I need to write one between Marian and her daughter too..... As usual, hope you enjoyed and I'll see you tomorrow for chapter 18!! Please vote and comment below if you want to see more! Love you all so muchhh! And go check out the person I tagged below! Her writing is amazing and was inspired by mine.

ly @xxxCrOwNqUeEnxxx   <33333