Villains

Trust

Snow was talking to peasants, explaining them they had a choice: stay at Regina's castle or going to hers when it was rebuilt.

Obviously, they accepted her offer in a heartbeat. The princess knew none of them wanted to stay at her stepmother's palace for much longer - she was still feared by so many. However, Snow hoped she could change their minds. Her relationship with the queen had never been simple, but Regina meant something to her.

Something she could not describe with words just yet.

Snow thought it was best if Regina did not stay alone, but the queen's stubbornness was too strong. She would never accept the princess's invitation, and in all honestly, Snow had no idea how to approach the subject.

"Snow!" Regina's voice echoed in the room, startling her slightly.

The princess turned around as the object of her musings emerged, entering in the room.

Surprisingly, she was not alone.

"Regina, I didn't know you'd come back so soon." The princess said, frowning as she took in the queen's appearance.

A few locks of hair had loosened from her fancy up-do and her clothes were slightly burned. Snow took a few steps forward onto Regina's direction. Her expression was one of curiosity and concern.

"Is everything alright?" The princess questioned in a worried tone, quickly glancing at the woman next to her stepmother. "Who is her?" She added icily, though she had a rather good idea of who the stranger was.

Aurora's description had been meticulous.

Nevertheless, the princess found herself giving the woman a tight, polite smile.

The queen smirked. "Well, this is Maleficent, dear. We had a few setbacks along the way." She muttered, turning her head to face the witch.

Snow's smile faltered. "I'm Snow White. It's a... Pleasure to officially meet." She said in a wary tone, lifting her eyebrow nervously.

Maleficent chuckled and ran her eyes through the brunette, studying her up and down.

"Oh, I know exactly who you are." She said, pausing briefly to take a deep breath and narrow her eyes. "A few years ago Regina and I discussed many things. You had always been an interesting subject back then." She added, smiling at how the princess seemed to tense in front of her.

Snow glanced at Regina with a reprehending look and took a step back, nodding firmly. "I can imagine." She muttered, looking away.

Maleficent had always had the talent to irritate people and Regina almost felt bad for the princess.

Almost.

Suddenly, Charming entered in the room and spotted his wife almost instantly. Once he got close enough, he wrapped his arm protectively around his wife's waist. The prince looked straight into the witch's eyes angrily, quickly glancing at the queen.

Holding Maleficent's gaze, he took a step forward, staying in between the duo and Snow.

Regina saw his other hand moving down to stay on top of his sword. She rolled eyes involuntarily at his distrust. Her and Snow's relationship had had many ups and downs, but the queen no longer desired her death.

"Maleficent is going to stay here for a while." The queen stated, her voice cool and collected. "She shall bring no harm for those who live in here." She added, throwing at her friend a threatening look that told the witch everything she needed to know.

No killing, threatening, hurting, assaulting, or any other mean of aggression would be tolerated.

Maleficent looked back at her with surprise and chucked humorlessly.