Once Upon a Dream:

Page 3: The Day Regina Cast the Curse:

Present day.

Emma took Henry to meet Neal at the diner while Dream went home. Dream stopped at the door, seeing something on the ground. She picked up a green and red key chain, seeing a note attached to it.

"She lied to all of us... The Evil Queen can't hide forever." 

Dream immediately looked around her, looking for anyone who could have left this note, but no one was around. "Who left this?" She called out, hoping that whoever left it would realize that it was her and come out of hiding. 

But no one came out. 

Dream sighed to herself when she put them in her bag before heading to find David or anyone who could help her figure out who left this. Her mother's life was in danger.

Thirty years ago (1983).

Regina opened her eyes when she was lying in a bed. She was just in Snow and Charming's nursery for their daughter whom they sent into a wardrobe, and now she was in a beige, dull room. She sat up, moving the cream blanket to see she was in silk, gray pajamas. 

Where did her all-black gown go? 

She slung her feet over the side of the bed when she let out a sigh, when she moved her hands to her head, feeling her hair was now in a sensible bob instead of her long, wavy hair. She smiled to herself, moving over to the window to see a whole town that was not surrounded by trees with tents and old shacks that had straw roofs. She noticed a clock tower in the distance when she smiled brightly. "I won..." She said, letting out a relieved breath and smiling widely.

She backed up from the window, looking around the room. She opened the double closet door to see a closet full of clothes, a counter with jewelry on it, and a big mirror on the wall above the counter. Regina ran her hands over the sensible pantsuits and dresses before grabbing a black dress and rushing out to the room at the full-length mirror. She smiled, holding the dress up to her body, before glancing at the vanity in the room when she saw a glass vase with a single rose. She walked over and saw a note that was tied around the vase. 

"Slowly fall to the tray; the more it grows, the more thorns come out to play. Dream, dream, dream... The light of the glow will gleam." 

She scoffed to herself, untying the ribbon before throwing the stupid little riddle into the trash and changing into the dress to explore what her curse did.

Regina put on the dress, black tights, black heels, and black trench coat before she walked out to just look around the town that seemed so empty. Leaves were all over the street, while the sky was cloudy from the cold autumn air in Maine, which Regina did not understand yet. Regina glanced to the other side of the street, seeing Rumpelstiltskin back to his normal skin instead of his scaly gold skin as the Dark One. He was with a cane in an all-black suit. Then, she saw Geppetto on a ladder fixing a sign about one of the shops called "Marco."

"I cannot believe you put me on the early shift!"

Regina turned back to look ahead of her when she saw Red and Granny; Red was in a very scandalous outfit, and Granny was setting a sign out in front of a diner. 

"Not my fault you stayed out all night. When I put "over easy" on the menu, I was talking about the eggs!" Granny spat, walking back into the diner, with Red following her.

Regina kept walking when Jiminy Cricket walked in front of her with a Dalmatian. 

"Morning, Madam Mayor." He smiled when Regina was still smiling from her victory of getting her revenge on Snow White's happiness. 

"Good morning, Crick-- Dr. Hopper." She smiled at him when he continued to walk, heading towards the other side of the street. 

"Beautiful day, isn't it?" He asked her, making her smile.

"Yes. Yes, it is." She said when they continued to walk away from each other.

"As we build our bird houses, remember, what you're making is a home, not a cage. A bird is free and will do what it will. This is for them, not us." Snow White said to a classroom full of kids while she held a bluebird in her hands. "They are loyal creatures..." She said before she let the bird out of the window, where it flew to a birdhouse in the nearest tree, just outside the window. "If you love them, and they love you, they will always find you." Snow continued to tell the kids before the bell rang.

The kids started to get up, taking headed out for recess. 

"We'll pick this up after recess. No running!" She said as the kids headed out of the room while Regina was walking into the room. "Miss Mills..." Snow said, sounding shocked when Regina noticed her short pixie-cut hair. "What are you doing here?" Snow continued to ask while she put her purse on her shoulder.

"Refresh my memory. How long have you been a teacher here?" Regina asked her, holding back the joy she felt from finally winning.

"Um... I'm not sure, as long as I can remember." Snow said, sounding really unsure as she tried her hardest to think about how long she had been teaching. But it was all a blur.

"Come with me."

Regina and Snow headed off to the hospital. Regina did not say anything, which confused the cursed Snow White. 

"Why are we in the hospital?" Snow asked Regina when Regina stopped, seeing a room with windows and Prince Charming lying on a hospital bed. He was unconscious with a bunch of monitors hooked up to him. 

"Tell me, do you know this man?" Regina asked her, waiting for the exact response that she wanted.

Snow walked closer to the window, staring at the man. But she did not recognize him. She just had a feeling as if he was familiar. "No..." She said, in a questioning tone, making Regina thrilled on the inside. "Why? Who is he?" She asked Regina, who turned to look back at Charming. 

"He's a John Doe... A coma patient. No one's claimed him."

"Maybe someday he'll wake up. Maybe someone who loves him will find him." Snow smiled, trying to be optimistic, but Regina smiled because she got her revenge. 

Snow does not remember her prince. 

"That would be nice for him. But I wouldn't count on it." She said when Snow kept looking at her prince, who she did not recognize.

~season 2, episode 17: "Welcome to Storybrooke"~

~1117 words~