We're All Mad Here (Jefferson x OC)

Chapter Fifty-One

Cora didn't let Serena out of her room until the day before the wedding when she had to do the dress fittings. No matter what Henry tried, Cora's magic was too strong. No one could get in or out.

When she finally was able to leave, the damage had already been done. Cora killed him. Daniel was dead. Regina wasn't the same. She had turned cold and distant, barely saying anything to her sister.

"Wow." Snow smiled as she walked towards Regina and Serena. Regina was standing perfectly still while the seamstresses worked on her wedding dress. Serena was sitting off to the side, unsure about what was going to happen. Regina turned to the young girl as Snow continued. "You are most certainly the fairest of them all!"

"Thank you, dear." Regina gave her a soft smile before turning back to look at Serena. Snow smiled, staring off into the distance as she thought about the future.

"I hope for my wedding day I will be as beautiful."

"I'm sure you will be." Regina said, wishing Snow would just go away so she could silently mourn the loss of Daniel.

"I know you and Daniel will be so happy together." Snow said, confusing Regina. She turned to her, her brows furrowed in confusion.

"What?"

"Well, I just knew your mother would let you marry him once she knew how happy it would make you." Snow told her as Serena sighed. "Once she knew how much you love him. You have such a wonderful mother. She would do anything for your happiness."

Regina looked over at Serena as she stepped off the pedestal, silently asking what had happened. "Snow..." She excused the seamstresses and they let go of her dress, leaving the room. "Did... Did you tell her about me and Daniel?"

"Yes."

"But I told you," Regina snapped, quickly collecting herself. "Very specifically not to."

"I'm sorry." The girl apologized. "I just didn't want you to lose your mother. Like I've lost mine." Regina turned to Serena, looking for one reason not to scream at Snow right there. Serena didn't need to hear her sister yelling at a child for telling their mother a secret. "Are you mad?"

Regina turned back to Snow, taking a deep breath and giving her a fake smile. "No. I'm not mad at all. You were just trying to help me. However I'm not marrying Daniel. This dress is for your father."

"But I thought you were in love."

"So did I." Regina lied to her. She was young. She wouldn't understand what happened to Daniel. "But I was wrong. Daniel has run away. What I had with Daniel wasn't real. It was an infatuation. See, that's the thing about love. It can come in the most unexpected places. Your father and I have something even more special. Because it's not just about the two of us. It's about all of us. We're going to be a family."

There was an eeriness in Regina's tone, one Serena had never heard before. Regina had always been so kind, so motherly. It was odd hearing the way she spoke about family with Snow.

"We are?" Snow asked her.

"That's right." Regina let out a fake laugh, one that sounded more like Cora's laugh than it did Regina's. "I'm going to be your stepmother and I couldn't be happier."

"Me, too." Snow smiled, giving Regina a hug. Regina stiffened at the contact before Snow pulled away, not sensing that something was wrong. Serena looked up, noticing Cora standing in the doorway with a smile.

"Snow?" She said, getting the girl's attention. "You need to go to your room and help with the packing. Your father wants you ready for the journey and we're heading to your castle first thing in the morning."