Cursed Hearts

Love is in the Air

She woke up the next morning to hectic sounds coming from downstairs. It was soon evident why- her clock read seven forty five, which meant she only had a few minutes before she had to leave for school.

Tossing on a fleece top and a pair of jeans, Caroline could only run a brush through her hair before rushing downstairs. Further down the hallway, she could hear her mother busy in the kitchen.

"How come you didn't wake me up?" The girl asked, fetching a plate and dishing up some hashbrowns.

Regina smiled and gave her head a shake. "I did! And then you muttered something and I left. You must've fallen back asleep. Rough night?"

That didn't even begin to explain it. Caroline couldn't let herself sleep without seeing the look of pure hatred in her brother's eyes.

"Yeah, a little bit," she admitted, beginning to pick at her food. "Where's Roland?"

Beside her at the table, her father blew out a sigh. "I've tried to wake him up three times... He won't budge."

"He has to go to school!" Regina told him, "I won't let him miss another day."

Robin gave her a look, trying to come up with a way to talk to her without their daughter hearing.

"He's got, uh..." The outlaw quickly gestured towards his eye, telling his wife that Roland had a dark, ugly bruise around one of his eyes.

'Unfortunately, his gesture wasn't subtle enough for Caroline not to catch.

"Henry hit him that hard?" She exclaimed, shock evident in her voice, "what's he gonna do?"

Regina sighed. "I'll go talk to him- maybe there's something I can do about it."

Before she began down the hallway, she noticed what day it was on the calendar. February fourteenth.

"Oh yeah," she said, a smile forming on her face, "happy Valentine's Day guys."

Caroline hadn't even realized that that day a holiday- every year it signified a week and a half before her birthday came.

Upstairs, Regina gave Roland's door a few hard knocks before announcing her entry into his room. The fifteen year old knew very well that he couldn't fight against his mother, but, the thing was, he was just as stubborn as she. He was still in bed when she walked in; Regina sat down on his bed and glanced at his clock.

"You have about seven minutes before school starts, you know." She said, "and showing up in your pajamas probably isn't the best idea."

He groaned, sitting up to give her a vengeful stare. Robin sure wasn't kidding about the bruising- it was grotesque to say the least, dark shades of brown and purple.

"I seriously don't want to go," he replied, too tired to make his statement more convincing. "I don't want anyone to see me like this."

His mother sighed. "You mean you don't want anyone to know that your brother beat you?"

Roland's face toughened slightly. "And, of course it has to be Valentines Day."

Regina couldn't help but suppress a smile. "Hey, I could try my magic on you and see if I can get rid of that," she encouraged, "nobody needs to know it even happened."

That did sound promising to him. Still, no about of magic could make him feel any less terrible about himself. Henry didn't have a scratch on him- it was almost too easy.

She leaned forward and gently touched the bruise with her index finger, hoping the spell she had in mind would be able to fix it. Thankfully, after a moment of heavy concentration, the blemishes vanished completely from his skin. Smiling at her work,