Let down your dark hair

38.

Regina was now 6 months pregnant while Snow was about 7 months along.

They both sat in Regina's chamber as Zelena was brushing her little sister's hair.

"You need a haircut. " the red haired woman stated as she looked at her sister's floor lenght curls.

"No! I don't want it cut. Mother always wanted to cut it." Regina complained like a little kid as Destiny ran into the room, dressed in a light pink night gown and her stuffed bear in her arms.

"Mommy? Am not tired anymore." The toddler mumbled and climbed into her mother's lap. Regina smiled and played with her daughter's long curls. She could do with a haircut but she was scared. She didn't want to cut her daughter's hair like her mother had done. She didn't want to make her sad. She supposed she could do with a haircut as well. She wasn't that young girl locked in a tower anymore. She was a mother now and her long hair just didn't fit anymore. It didn't feel right.

"How did you sleep, sweety?" She asked the toddler as Destiny laid her head against her rounded belly.

"Good, mommy. I dream about Hope again. Mommy? Do I get a brother or sister?" She suddenly asked and Regina chulked.

"I don't know. We will have to wait for when your sibling decides to come and meet us." She smiled.

"Destiny, do you think mommy needs a haircut? " Snow asked the little girl and Destiny nodded.

"I get haircut too?"

Everyone laughed at the toddler ' s answer but Regina was scared. Her daughter was so small and maybe it was too early to cut her hair. What if she hated it afterwards.

"You want to cut your hair? " She asked again to make sure her daughter really wanted this.

"Yes, mommy. It always in my face." Destiny stated and her mother sighed.

"Well how short do you want it?" Regina asked unsure and started playing with thick curls again. Her daughter looked so much like her but she was brave like her father. What would Robin say if they got their hair cut? He loved her dark curls and was so sad when her mother had shaved it off. Would he be okay with this?

"To here." Destiny showed her mother how short she wanted it and Regina gaspsed. Her daughter showed just above her chin which was really, really short. She wasn't sure she liked where this was going. Her daughter wasn't a typical girly girl, rather wanting to play in the forest with the boys instead of playing tea parties with her dolls. She would rather wear pants than pretty dresses and now she wanted short hair. Regina really wasn't sure she would be able to handle this.

Destiny noticed her discomfort and took her hand. " You don't like short hair?" She wondered and looked up to her mother with big brown eyes.

"It's just I had really short hair once and I hated it. Are you sure about this?" She asked with tears in her eyes as she remembered her mother cutting all her hair off because of her relationship with Robin.

"Mommy, don't be sad. I really, really want short hair." She pleaded and Regina finally agreed. She knew she couldn't force her daughter. She didn't want to be like that. Her daughter was her own person and if she wanted short hair she should be allowed to get it.

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An hour later Destiny sat on her mother's vanity as her Aunty Zelena brushed her hair and put it into a lose ponytail. "Ready? " She asked Regina who stood behind her grabbing Snow's hand tightly.

"Yes" Destiny smiled as her Aunty cut her ponytail off and handed it to Regina. Her curls now stopped a little above her shoulder and Zelena evened it out so it stopped right at chin lenght.

Regina wiped a stray tear away from her face. Her daughter was growing up so fast and again she thought about Hope. Where ever she was, was she experiencing the same thing right now? Was Cora also cutting her hair short? She wouldn't be surprised if her mother did. It was Cora after all but she still hoped her daughter would be save, not going through the same things she had to endure as a child.

"Your turn, Mommy." Destiny piped up shaking Regina out of her thoughts.

"You sure?" Zelena asked as her little sister sat down in the chair Destiny had just been sitting in and the brunette nodded. She was very nervous but her sisters and daughter were right. She really needed a haircut to make peace with her past and move on. She had her children to think about.

"How short shall I cut it? Surely not as short as Destiny's?!" Zelena smiled and Regina let out a nervous breath.

"To my hip will be just fine." Snow smiled at her and took her hand again as Zelena also put her hair into a ponytail and cut just to her hip. It looked very beautiful and mature and Regina was surprised that she liked it so much. She never thought she would willingly get her hair cut but she was a different person now. She was a mother.

"Pretty, mommy." Destiny jumped up and down, clapping her little hands and Regina smiled fondly as she picked up her daughter and kissed her forehead.

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At dinner the girls waited for the men to get back from the search that day. As Henry, Neal, Robin, Leopold and Rumple entered the dining hall Robin's eyes fell almost immediatly on his daughter's short hair. Then he saw Regina's hair and gaspsed loudly.

"You cut your hair? " he asked and Regina wasn't sure if this was a good or bad thing. Destiny ran up to her father and hugged his legs tightly.

"Don't mommy look pretty, daddy?" She asked and smiled brightly at him.

"Oh yes, she looks stunning, darling. Just like you do." He smiled and picked her up in his arms.

"You aren't mad?" Regina asked nervously but Robin shook his head smiling.

"You are beautiful, as always."