Once Upon a Dream:

Page 5: Not Happy:

The following day, Regina woke up in bed, glancing over at Graham, who was still asleep. She got up, walking over to the window to see the same view of the town as yesterday. She smiled proudly. 

She had everything she ever wanted.

She headed to the hospital, seeing Snow, who had started volunteering. Snow left a small flower vase on the bedside table next to Charming, who was still in a coma. Regina could not hide the smile on her face. It was the smile of victory.

Then, she walked through town, and she watched the people living their new miserable lives. She looked over, seeing Rumple walk past Geppetto, who was on his ladder, fixing his sign again. She looked back in front of her to see Red and Granny arguing again.

"This is the last time I'm working the early shift!" Red spat while Granny set the sign down, lifting her hands up in frustration before heading back into the diner. 

The town seemed to be in a loop. The people were reliving the same day, just differently. But Regina just smiled to herself. At least they were miserable, is what she thought to herself.

"Good morning, Madam Mayor."

Regina turned to see Jiminy Cricket walking in front of her again with the Dalmatian. 

"Beautiful day, isn't it?" He repeated what he said yesterday when she continued to put on a smile. 

She watched the cricket walking across the street until she bumped into someone.

"Oh, Madam Mayor, I'm so sorry." Snow apologized, avoiding eye contact with her while she held her books in her arms.

"You should be! Watch where you're going next time." Regina said in a stern tone as Snow nodded, putting her head down and then walking away. Regina smiled, watching her walk away when she felt like she won.

The next few days were the exact same. The same routine. Over and over again. Regina would wake up, looking over to Graham, who was fast asleep, and then she would head to the hospital, seeing Snow White miserable. Then, she would walk down the street, seeing Rumple with his cane, Marco fixing his sign, Red and Granny arguing, then Jiminy Cricket walking the Dalmatian. Snow would bump into her; then, the day would continue to go the same way. It was getting so boring that Regina was not even satisfied with finally getting her revenge on Snow White. 

She felt like she had something missing from her life.

She was walking down the street, toning out all the conversation as she just sighed, getting tired of the same old day replaying. 

"Beautiful day." Jiminy smiled, walking in front of her. 

"Save it." She scoffed, sounding annoyed, which she was. She thought she would be happy after finally making Snow White miserable, but she was not.

"Oh!" Snow gasped when she stopped before bumping into Regina. "Mayor Mills, I am so sorry." Snow apologized, avoiding eye contact as she kept her head down.

"I ran into you. Why are you apologizing?" Regina asked her.

"No. I should have been looking where I was going."

'You're not even going to fight back?" Regina asked, sounding surprised. She knew she was cursed, but she had to admit that she enjoyed the back-and-forth between her and Snow. It felt like it gave her a purpose. 

"Fight back? Why would I do that?" Snow asked, before off, frustrating Regina. 

She had to go see the one person she knew she had to. Rumpelstiltskin.

Regina walked into the Gold's Pawnshop, seeing Rumple behind the counter, trimming off the thorns of a vase of red roses. They were in a similar vase to the one in her room, but she did not think twice about it. She had another issue. "I'm not happy," Regina spoke up, making him look at her when he put the rose back with the others that did not have thorns on them now. 

"I believe Dr. Hopper's office is down the street," Rumple said, making Regina scoff as he moved the vase to the side.

"I don't want to talk to him. I want to talk to you." She said as he furrowed his brows. 

"Very well, Madame Mayor, what is it you want to talk about?" He asked, moving to the other counter in his shop, where there was a glass frog on a lily pad that he moved under the counter. 

"This town... This isn't the deal we made." She said, making Rumple look at her with a puzzled look.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about." He said, making her sigh as she studied his face. He seemed to be telling the truth.

"You don't, do you?" She asked before turning to look around the shop. "I was supposed to be happy here." She said, turning to look back at him when he put down the antic that he was cleaning off.

"Well, forgive me, but, um, you're the mayor. You're the most powerful woman in the town. What is there to be unhappy about?" He asked, putting the antic under the counter before pulling out a little doll with a pink dress. 

It was as if he was throwing subtle hints out to her, but she was not catching on to it.

"Everyone in this town does exactly what I want them to!"

"And that's a problem?" Rumple asked, scoffing out a chuckle at her comment. 

"Well, they do it because they have to, not because they want to... It's not real." Regina sighed, walking over to him as they stood by a glass mobile of unicorns. 

"I'm sorry... what exactly is it you want?" Rumple asked her when she sighed, glancing at the doll in his hands.

"Nothing you can give me." She said before walking out of the store, looking at the keychain Owen gave her.

"Hello, Kurt? Mayor Mills... Good, you're still here. I would love to see Owen before you leave. Would you two like to come over for dinner tonight?" Regina asked, calling Kurt's room at Granny's bed and breakfast from the payphone booth. "Great." She smiled before heading home to get everything ready. 

She thought about Owen giving her the keychain. And about the doll that Rumple had. 

A child. That was the perfect way to feel a void in her life.

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

~1045 words~