Villains

Friendship

It was settled. They were going to the castle.

Regina couldn't manage to use her magic and transport everybody at the same time, so she made series of trips bringing small groups of people. Apparently, her power wasn't quite as stable as she thought.

Nevertheless, the peasants agreed on her use of magic after a long talk about hope and second chances with Snow and Charming. Of course, they were loved by the entire kingdom and everybody trusted them. It seemed reasonable that if they wanted people to feel safe around the queen, there was no one better to provide that other than Snow White, the one who had suffered the most by her hands.

Passing the issue with the peasants, another one came up. Usually, the Merry Men lived in the woods, but with Maleficent's threat they appreciated the castle's shelter. However, the group still refused to travel by magic.

"We'll prepare our horses and we'll be there as soon as possible." Robin guaranteed.

"This is pointless. Why deny my help? If I wanted to kill you all, I would have done it a long time ago." Regina responded rolling her eyes, annoyed.

"This could be some twisted evil plan. The only thing I know about you is what your reputation tells me! Snow said you know this witch. Why should we trust you?" Peter questioned angrily, raising his voice.

Regina could fell the magic pulsing inside her body, a response to her irritation. "Can't you fools see? I am trying to help!" Regina exclaimed, angrily.

"I already told your majesty, we're walking. We're not far from the castle, it shouldn't take long." Robin said in almost a pleading tone, trying to stop the queen from arguing even more with his friend.

He didn't like magic and knew his men felt the same way.

Regina stared at him with lifted eyebrows. She didn't know exactly why Robin's reluctance bothered her so much, but she wasn't about to insist any longer.

"Fine, do as you please. I'm not stopping you." She said icily and in a blink of an eye was gone, leaving a purple smoke behind.

The queen reappeared at the entrance of her old castle. She hated that place.

The thought of living there again made her stomach ache. A great deal of her worst memories haunted those old stoned walls. Regina felt like she was eighteen all over again. Memories of her wedding day with king Leopold rushed in her mind like a flash back, making her face twist into a disgusted expression. She had never loved him. He had never loved her.

This palace was her personal hell-hole, constantly reminding her of all the terrible things she had done in her life. A real prison of memories.

Regina could still hear her mother's voice in her head: "You are a queen now. You have to be unbreakable, my dear."

Regina sighed, she needed something to hold on to. At least last time she felt hatred and used that anger to end her enemies. Now, she hadn't an evil plan to think about. She didn't even know if she wanted to have one. After Henry, being evil wasn't as fun as it once was, and even in times she caught herself travelling through dark areas, it wouldn't take long for her to feel ashamed.

"Here we go again." She said to herself and took a deep breath, walking into the great halls of her castle.

--|¥|--

At night, there was a consul meeting between Granny, Regina, the Charmings and the dwarfs. They had much to discuss now that everybody was somehow safe.

"Did the princess say anything about what that witch wanted?" Grumpy asked, playing with his thick fingers.

"Aurora doesn't know what Maleficent wants, but giving their history, it's safe to say she's up to no good." Snow answered.