Once Upon a Dream:

Page 61: Cora's Lies:

*Many years ago.

The Enchanted Forest.

Henry brushed his daughter's hair while Regina took her earrings off. Henry watched the look on Regina's face when they heard the sound of heels. "Cora! How... I thought..." Henry went to ask, confused about how he saw his wife. 

"Yes, hello. Get out, Henry." Cora said with no emotion, standing next to Regina's chair at her vanity.

Henry sat the brush down before leaving when Regina sighed, turning to her mother. 

"I have news. I found your man." Cora smiled, making Regina look up at her. 

"You found him?" Regina asked, sounding surprised at what her mother had just said. 

"He's on his way." Cora smiled when Regina got up, pacing a bit, before turning to look back at her mom.

"Mother!" 

"Come..." Cora chuckled when she held her hand out to walk Regina over to the big-looking glass that Regina had sent Cora through to Neverland. Cora watched as her mother waved her hand when Regina watched her black and red dress turn into a soft blue and white dress, and her hair that was just down was turned into a soft side ponytail. It was like the outfits she wore when she was younger and during her marriage to King Leopold. 

Regina picked up the skirt of the dress, looking at it through the mirror and down at the skirt. "You remembered... I love this color." Regina smiled when Cora moved to stand in front of the mirror. "I can't believe you did all this." Regina smiled when she thought that her mother was trying to be a good mother. 

"I told you, I've learned." Cora smiled, taking Regina's hands in hers.

"Thank you... for the dress." 

"You're welcome, darling." Cora smiled when she moved her hand to Regina's cheek. "Now, turn around and meet him," Cora said when Regina slowly turned to see an attractive-looking man, but she wanted and watch the tattoo that she saw him have in the tavern when she did not go in to meet him the first time.

"Your Majesty." The man said, dressed similar to how he was that day when Regina smiled.

The man reached for her hand when he placed a kiss on the back of her hand. Regina wanted to be happy, but there was something off. 

"I think I'll leave the two of you alone. Enjoy your evening together." Cora smiled before walking out. 

Regina smiled at the man when she thought that she was finding her true love, along with her mom trying to be a good mother.

"You know, this apple tree used to stand near where I grew up," Regina said after leading the man to the gardens of her castle, standing by a big apple tree. "There was this stable boy I liked once, and we used to meet underneath it." Regina smiled, recalling the memories of Daniel.

"Stable boy?" The man asked her while she leaned on the fence around the tree. "Well, you certainly have come up in the world since consorting with a lowly stable boy, I'd say." The man said, chuckling a bit.

"Have I?" Regina asked, turning to walk over to him. "I don't feel like I've gone anywhere but down." She sighed, confessing her true feelings to this man, who she wanted to be her true love.

"Oh... You just need some manly arms to lift you up. Now, you let me be the strong one so that you can be weak when you want to be."

"Weak?" Regina asked while the man placed his hands on her sides. 

"Well, feminine." The guy said that Regina hid the disgust she felt from that comment. 

"Manly arms..." Regina said in a sultry voice, moving closer to him and running her hands over his arms. 

"Oh..." He moaned in delight when Regina moved to hold up his hands, looking at the animal tattoo. 

"Like these?" Regina continued to say in a sultry tone.

"Hello, there." He smirked, going in to kiss her, but he stopped when he winced in pain as Regina held up the wrist of the hand that had the tattoo. "Oh! Glory! What are you doing?" He asked when the tattoo turned into a small glowing lion on his forearm. It growled, giving Regina the answer that she needed. 

"That's not a real tattoo. That's magic. Who put that on there?" Regina asked him, while the guy looked confused with his widened eyes.

"Stop it. Ah!"

"Was it Mother?" Regina asked as the glowing lion started to go up his sleeve. 

"Yes! Ah! She told me to pretend to be your soulmate, and then I could be the king. Just get it off me." The guy winced while the lion continued to growl. 

"What does she get out of it?" Regina asked, sounding angry while she held back the tears in her eyes. 

"Ow! Just stop it!" He yelled, trying to stop the lion inside his shirt.

"What does she get out of it?" She yelled, not going to stop until he answered her.

"She said that she wanted you to have a child." The guy confessed when Regina waved her hand to make the lion disappear. 

"What?" She asked him when the tears stopped, turning into frustration and anger. 

"She said she wanted you to have a child. And I don't know why. She had a scroll about it that she wouldn't let me see." The guy said when Regina knew what she had to do. Give her mother the opposite of what she wants.

~season 4, episode 21: "Mother"~

~915 words~