Villains

Frustration

Her hand was twitching, contorting into a fist as she walked. She could still feel the tingle of her magic on her palms, eager to create fireballs. She had been right to disappear form that place. Honestly, she was not trusting her that much these days.

Not after the island.

So, she made her choice and with a wave of hand, they were gone. No longer she saw the peasant laid on the forest ground. The whole thing had been quite pathetic, really. She had not killed him, though.

Why hadn't she?

Deep down, she knew why. It was strange, this life. The sensation of being in a limbo hit her again. She no longer was the Evil Queen. She no longer was young and hopeful. She no longer was the Mayor.

Who the hell was she, then?

A monster.

Regina clenched her jaw as she stood from behind the great windows of the north tower of her castle. The peasant had called her a monster, obviously. Back then, she might have been one.

Then, the guilt hit her.

The queen rested her hands over the marble corbel decorating the window opening of the tower. Since when did she care about what others thought of her? Apparently, her reputation as the Evil Queen remained untouched. She was still debating if that was, in fact, a good or a bad thing.

Sighing, she moved back to her private chambers. As she walked the distance, Regina tried as hard as she could to remember the man's face. She did not remember him. Honestly, she had lost count on how many people she hurt in this life. Perhaps he was right, she truly was a monster. She got red in her ledger and no matter how much she tried to rip it out, she could not.

As Regina got into her room, she glanced at her reflection on her magical mirror, fixing her eyes at the cut on her cheek. If it were back then, she would have killed the peasant without much thought or consideration. Today, something stopped her. A conscience? Maybe.

Henry's, for sure.

Her heart clenched at the thought of him. That unconditional love she felt for her Henry changed her in ways she thought were impossible. No one have ever had such impact over her before and, somehow, it did not meter how much it hurt but she would never want to forget about him. She could not bring herself to. Not really.

That was the difference, she realized. Because of him she no longer wished to be the Evil Queen. She did not want to be someone Henry hated.

So far, she thought she was doing a good job at it but being in this infernal land was making it impossible for her to handle a few urges. Being stuck in Enchanted Forest made her magic grow unstable and the darkness would eventually take over.

It was all too familiar.

She hated this land with all her heart. That was the place for heroes and villains, nothing in between. No grey areas. In there, history urged to turn her into the bad option, no matter what. The past would always come to bite her.

However, as surprising as it may sound, being called the Evil Queen was no longer something she desired. The queen would not deny that she was no saint and loved feeling powerful once and a while, but the adjectives surrounding her title were no longer of use to her.

There was no point in being a villain when you had so much to lose.

It took several minutes until she decided to clean her wounded cheek and prepare herself a warm bath, feeling extremely grateful for the small luxury. Then, hours later, she decided it was time to take care of her things and, before getting out of her chambers, she took one of the empty boxes that she used to keep her enchanted hearts and carried it away with her. She was going to need it.