Once on Instagram III

The Black Fairy (Part Three)

June 7, 2018

Regina took a deep breath. "Okay, okay. Ella, I need you to—"

"Stop calling me that!" Ella interrupted. "You're supposed to call me Jacinda, not Ella."

"Fine. Uh, Jacinda, I need you to tell me where Drizella and her mother would keep prisoners they wouldn't want escaping under any circumstances."

"...Why?"

Regina pursed her lips. She needed Ella to just agree and do whatever Regina asked, but that was clearly not going to happen since Ella couldn't even remember Regina. "Okay. Okay. This is fine," Regina muttered to herself even though she didn't believe it. She cleared her throat. "Okay. Drizella and two others kidnapped two innocent people from my realm, and I'm here to get them back. I don't want to harm anyone, I just want my people back home and safe."

"Why were they kidnapped if they were innocent?"

"I'm still trying to figure that out. It would help if I knew who, exactly, Drizella was working with. ...Do you happen to know?"

Ella looked down. "I..."

"Please, this is important. I can save you from this life and take you back to the Land of Untold Stories with me, but I need you to help me."

"She's working with the Dark Lady and the Black Fairy," Ella whispered. "And the prisoners must be in the dungeon. I can take you there, but I can't free them without the keys."

"I don't need keys," Regina assured her. "Just show me where they are."

~

Violet was lying on her back, looking up at the ceiling (because what else is there to do when you're in a dungeon?) when she heard footsteps. Robin clearly heard them too because he looked over at the door.

"It's like 2:30 in the morning," Violet whispered. "Who could that be?"

Robin shrugged. "I don't know." He slowly stood up and walked over to the door. He tried to look through the window, but he couldn't see much. "It looks like two people, but I don't know who."

As soon as Robin spoke, the taller person froze. She looked around before zeroing in on Robin. "Robin!" She whisper-shouted.

Violet perked up. "Who's that?"

"I... don't know."

The two people hurried over to the cell where Robin and Violet were. The taller one lowered her hood and snapped her fingers. A wave of magic washed over her and revealed it was actually Regina.

"Regina?" Robin asked.

Regina nodded. "I had to use a cloaking spell to get in here—" Regina stopped talking when she saw Robin's face. "Okay, you're not sure you believe it's really me, and honestly that's fair, especially considering who Drizella is working with. But we gotta get you out of here. Is Violet in there with you?"

Robin nodded as Regina unlocked the door with her magic. It swung open and Robin stepped out, Violet close behind him.

"Is it really Regina?" Violet asked.

"Who else would remember the time I woke up crying because I dreamt Flynn Carsen died?"

Robin rolled his eyes. "Yeah, it's really her." He lowered his voice. "Do you kno where Ella is?"

Regina glanced back at Ella, who was standing a safe distance away from Regina, Robin, and Violet. "Yes, that's her. Except..." Regina looked down. "She can't remember."