A Thief and a Queen

Breaking the Curse

Written for Spooky OQ Day 5: Curse

Inspired by the movie "Penelope" starring Christina Ricci and James McAvoy

Regina Mills looked at herself in the mirror, sighing. She wore a white strapless ballgown with flower appliques at the waist. The dress was cinched tight to "accentuate" her "assets," per mother, and made it difficult to breathe or move. Her dark hair had been straightened and twisted to be pinned against her head. The veil was then pinned inside the twist, allowing the lace to flow over her hair and down her back. With light makeup, Regina was every inch the spring socialite bride.

Well, except for the pig's nose she had possessed since birth thanks to a curse laid on her family centuries earlier. The only way to break it was for one of her own kind—a blue blood of noble descent, the elite of society—to marry her. So she was about to walk down the aisle to James Spencer, whose family had blue blood about as old as Regina's. It was to be a grand union of two established houses and everyone was excited for the wedding.

They didn't care that her groom couldn't bear the sight of her. Or that he had vilified her in the press, calling her a monster and suggesting that scientists experiment on her. James had campaigned against her since he first laid eyes on her, running from the house in disgust. The only reason he was marrying her now was because his campaign had backfired. Regina had been embraced by the people, becoming a beloved celebrity. The Spencers face a hostile public and so George had ordered his son to fix. James proposed and Regina accepted after her parents convinced her he was her only chance to break the curse.

Yet she couldn't help but think of another blood blue, one with kind blue eyes and thick dark blond hair. Unlike other men of their station who remained clean-shaven, his chin and cheeks were covered with scruff he liked to rub as he joked about wanting to look dangerous. Regina thought he looked sexy but she never told him in the hours they spent talking, where they discussed everything under the sun. She felt she could tell him anything as he never made her feel like her opinion wasn't valid or that she was stupid for her beliefs. He did challenge her, made her see things in different ways and she did the same for him. They matched each other in intelligence, creativity and sass and made her feel alive in ways she hadn't before.

When he spoke of the world she hadn't seen because her parents kept her hidden due to her nose, she could almost picture it. He had promised to show it to her and she had believed him, falling hard for him. She had worked up the courage to show herself to him and unlike other suitors, Richard Lyons didn't recoil from her. He had stared at her with awe and for the first time in her life, Regina had felt beautiful.

But then he had turned around, leaving her with only a weak "I can't give you what you want" explanation and broken heart. Her last memory of him was watching as he paused at the door, looking at her with pain and regret. "Don't let them keep you imprisoned here, Regine. There's a wide world out there and you deserve to see it."

Then he was gone.

Regina took his advice though. She realized that if Richard Lyons couldn't free her of the curse, no one would and so it was time to start living. After her parents had gone to bed, she packed a suitcase, grabbed her father's credit card and left to experience the world. It had been a crazy ride that involved her revealing her full face but it had been worth it. She had gotten a job she loved in a bakery—baking had been one of the few pleasures she had in her house—and found good friends in bails bond person Emma Swan and pub owner Killian Jones. Regina went to street festivals, got drunk, sang karaoke, went to the movies and even to a burlesque show. She felt as alive as she had when she was with Richard.