Chapter 4

Regina

I want nothing more than to be spending time with Snow. But instead, I'm roaming around the palace, trying to distract my mind from the beautiful Princess.

At first, Snow was a friend I so desperately needed. Someone to spend time with and help pass the long hours of the dreadful days trapped within these walls.

Then, I started growing dependent on seeing her every day. If I couldn't, it would bug me. When I finally saw her, I was excited and happy.

It wasn't until we took our little adventure into the village that I realized my feelings for her went beyond friends.

She told me we could run away together, that she would risk it all to bring me with her. That's when I knew I was falling in love with the sweet, kind, raven-haired Princess.

Who just so happened to be my stepdaughter. How fucked up is that?

Of all the people I could have fallen for, why did it have to be her? Not that it would matter if it was someone else. I'm destined to be forever trapped in a loveless marriage.

The sheer idea of letting the King have sex with me makes me want to puke and claw at my skin. There's only so much longer I can avoid him.

That's also why I'm off on my own right now, not wanting to stay in one place long enough to be found.

But even as I explore the endless amount of rooms—rooms that are filled with art and sculptures, weapons and firearms, or the ones with endless amounts of books—my mind keeps drifting back to Snow.

What is she doing right now? Is she enjoying herself? Is she doing something fun that I'm missing out on?

I just want to be near her, hear her sweet laugh, see her stunning smile. Fuck, that smile always makes my heart skip a damn beat.

She cares about me, wants what's best for me. I've never had that before. Someone who cares about my needs, my wants.

She meant it back in the woods when she said my body was mine to do with as I please, that no one should force themselves to have it. Only thing is, my body wants her.

And I can't have her.

Whenever I'm around her, all I can do is watch her. There's this pull I feel towards her, something almost magical. Every little thing she does drives me wild. And she doesn't even know it.

"Always looking for love in the wrong places," I mutter to myself as I head up the stone steps towards the roof. I'm not sure if I should be in this part of the palace but no one said I wasn't allowed to.

The stairs go up, up, up. They feel endless, but finally, I reach the top, where there's a door.

When I go to open the door, I find it locked. "Are you fucking kidding me?" I mutter in annoyance. "There is no way I climbed all those stairs for nothing." Seeing that the door handle is a simple key lock, I grin and pull my homemade lock-picking kit from my pocket.

Hey, you never know when you're going to need it. I came prepared to snoop.

It takes a few tries but I end up getting it to open. "Yes." I grin as the lock clicks, and I twist the knob. The door opens slowly, a long, loud creek ringing through the air as it does.

Stepping inside, my nose wrinkles at the stale smell that hits me hard. Slowly, I take in the room. I'm surprised by it because out of this whole place, this room is the only room that reminds me of an actual castle, like from the medieval times. The walls are a dark grey stone, the room large and empty, except for something that sits in the corner, covered by a sheet.

The only light in here comes from the window next to the object, bright light illuminating the space around it.

"Well, this isn't creepy as fuck or anything," I mutter to myself as I creep towards it. Grabbing onto the sheet, I prepare myself for something horrifying, especially since it's locked up here in this empty room alone.

But when I pull it off, all I see is a big Victorian mirror propped up on a stand. "Huh."

Why the hell is there a random mirror locked away in a dark, empty room at the top of the palace where no one goes?

You see, a normal person would turn around and walk away because clearly something isn't right here.

But not me. I'm bored and too damn curious for my own good.

Reaching out, I run my fingers along the elegant black frame. "Why are you in here? What is your purpose?" I muse out loud.

My eyes snap to the glass as what looks like white smoke starts to swirl on the other side of the glass. Jumping back, my eyes go wide as my heart starts to pound. "What the fuck?" I whisper as an image appears on the glass as if it were a screen.

"What the fuck?" I repeat as I see the King. He's in what looks like to be his study. But he's not alone. A man I've never seen before stands next to him as the King sits in his desk chair, looking down at something on his desk.

"This can not be real!" he snaps angrily at the man.

"It is. I did as you asked and searched for anything your late wife might have left behind. I found this in a safe. It is real. It's legally binding, too."

"No." He shoots up to his feet. "No. This cannot happen. Has anyone else seen this?"

"Not that I know of," the man replies. "But I can't be too sure until I do some more digging."

"Find out. Now!" he growls as he starts to pace back and forth. "If there is anyone out there that knows about this, they must be taken care of."

"And by taken care of, you mean..." the man asks.

"Dead. Dead men can't talk." The King grins cruelly.

"That's a little much, don't you think? To end someone's life."

"There is no way on Earth or in hell am I letting anyone find out that in less than six weeks when my daughter turns twenty-one, she will legally own this throne. I'm not letting anyone take what I've worked so hard for away from me. A few lives lost is worth it."

"A few? Who else would need to die?" The man looks alarmed.

A sick feeling fills my stomach as he says the next words. "My daughter needs to be taken care of. I can't risk the little brat taking my throne."

"You're going to kill the Princess? Your highness, you can't."

"I can if I so choose," he snarls back.

"What if I can find another way? A way Snow will not be any trouble," the man urges.

"I don't care what you do as long as she is no longer an issue. The sooner, the better, but as long as it's done before her birthday."

The mirror goes black again, and I stumble back. This can't be real. It has to be a lie. I know the King isn't a good man, but there's no way he would kill his daughter?

Chest heaving, I stare at the mirror before stumbling back over to it. "Wake up!" I tap the side. "Show me the King."

I bang on it again and again, but nothing happens. "Shit!" I hiss, spinning around on my heel and rushing out of the room. I slam the door shut behind me, not bothering to lock the door, and rush down the stairs.

"Fucking hell!" I pant after a while. Damn stairs. I'm never coming up here again. After what feels like a lifetime, I finally get to the bottom. I only take a moment to catch my breath before taking off again.

Trying not to draw attention, I take the servants' way to the King's study. Skidding to a stop, I lean back against the wall next to the door and close my eyes as I struggle to catch my breath. I just need to see, to make sure no one is in that study, to show myself that the mirror was lying.

But then I hear voices in the room, and my stomach sinks. "You know what to do." I hear the King say.

"Consider it done, your Highness."

"Shit, shit, shit," I hiss as I hear footsteps approaching. My eyes go wide as I push myself off the wall and duck around the corner, then take a peek to see who just left the room.

It's him, the guy I saw in the mirror I saw talking to the King.

"Fuck," I murmur to myself. If what I saw was real, that means Snow's life is at risk.

Taking off the opposite way the guy went, I make my way through the palace. I don't stop until I get to Snow's door.

After I look around to make sure no one is watching, I knock frantically on the old wood. "Come on!" I whisper, gaze darting around as if that man is on his way to kill Snow now.

"Regina?"

I force my way inside and shut the door behind me.

"What is going on?" she asks, her voice filled with worry as her wide blue eyes search my face.

"I don't even know," I breathe out, panic starting to set in. I begin to pace, running my hands through my hair. "I don't know, Snow, I don't know."

"Hey, hey." She steps in front of my path, forcing me to stop. "You're scaring me. Please, Regina, tell me what's going on."

"Okay." I blow out a breath. "So, I was snooping around the palace, exploring the different rooms, trying to pass the day away."

"Okay..." her brows furrow.

"I ended up finding a stairwell that went upstairs. I thought it would lead me to the roof because I was already on the top floor, but it didn't."

"Where did it lead you?"

"To a locked door. I picked it, of course." I wave it off like it's no big deal. "But when I went inside, there was nothing."

"So it was just a locked door to an empty room?" she asks, confused.

"No," I groan. "It was empty apart from this random mirror."

Her eyes widen. "A mirror?" she whispers. "Was it big with a black frame?"

"Yes. That one."

"I thought he got rid of it," she whispers, more to herself.

"Well, one moment, this mirror was showing a reflection of me, then the next thing, it started to swirl with white smoke." I wave my hands around dramatically; I'm so wound up right now. "Then the next thing I see is your dad in his study with some man."

"What were they doing?" She doesn't sound like she thinks I'm crazy, so that's good, right?

"They were talking. The King seemed pissed. I guess there was something left behind by your mother that pretty much left everything to you—including the throne."

"W-what?" I didn't think her eyes could get any wider.

"Yeah, and he said that it all becomes yours when you turn twenty-one in a few weeks."

"Wow," she says in a daze moving to sit on the end of the bed. "This is big. I'm going to be Queen? Regina, do you know what this means?" She smiles so brightly that I know it's going to hurt to be the one to make it disappear. "We could change everything back to how it used to be when my mama ruled."

The way she worded what she just said makes me pause. "Wait, what do you mean by we?"

Her smile turns soft. "You don't think I would forget about you? I'd be honored to have you by my side, helping me change everything for the better."

Fuck. Damn it! I'm not supposed to be falling for this girl, and here she goes and says shit that makes me fall harder.

Swallowing hard, I'm left speechless. At least on that topic. "It's not that easy. Your dad isn't just going to hand over the throne to you."

"You're right." She nods and stands again. "We need to get that paper, bring it to the courts, and show them. They have the power to enforce it."

"Again, not going to be easy. Your father has it. He made the guy he was talking to promise he would find anyone who knew about the agreement, will, whatever it was, and force them to keep quiet. Even if it means by death."

"He wouldn't!" she whispers in horror.

"He would. He said as much himself. But Snow..." I take a step forward, true terror for her life hitting me like a bag of bricks. "He doesn't want to take any chances. He wants to get rid of you so that there's no risk of you taking his place."

"He wouldn't hurt me," she counters, but the way she sounds, even she doesn't believe it. She looks towards her window, biting her lower lip.

"He would." Every word of this conversion is killing me on the inside. "So, you have to go."

"What?" She whirls around. "I can't. I'm not ready. I don't have everything in place yet."

"You have to," I urge, striding over to her. "If you don't leave now, hell, even tonight, you risk getting hurt. And I can't let that happen. Please, Snow. You have to go. You have to save yourself."

"What about you?" her voice cracks. "I can't leave you behind."

My eyes sting as emotion clogs my throat. The thought of leaving Snow, the possibility of never seeing her again, it feels like something inside me is being twisted.

"You have to. If we both leave, it will draw too much attention. I have to stay behind to find out what he has planned and make sure you have enough time to get as far away from here as you can."

"Regina." She's crying now, tears spilling down her cheeks. "I don't want to leave you. Please, just come with me. We can run, we can go anywhere. I have money."

"I know," I whisper, pulling her into my arms. She clings to me, and I squeeze my eyes shut, demanding the tears not to fall. "I'll find you. When I know you're safe, I'll join you."

"Promise?" she sobs into my dress.

"I promise." I die a little inside because it's a promise I'm not sure I can keep.

"Thank you, Regina." She sniffs, wiping at her eyes. I hate seeing her upset. I hate every fucking thing about this. If I could, I'd kill the King myself. "Thank you for being the friend I needed, the friend I didn't think I'd ever find. I want you to know how much you mean to me. Leaving you here isn't going to be easy." She searches my face. "Are you sure you won't come with me?"

I shake my head. "No, I can't, not yet."

"But soon?" I can't answer; I can't lie to her again. So I don't.

"Come on." I pull away from her, unable to meet her eyes in fear I might break. "Let's get you packed."

I feel numb the whole time we shove clothes into a bag for Snow. I feel numb as I sneak down to the kitchen like a thief in the night to grab food for her journey.

With a bag full of fruits and crackers, a few bottles of water, and a first aid kit I snatched from above the stove, I meet Snow at the tunnel entrance.

She steps out of the darkness when she sees me approaching. She's dressed in a deep red dress with her moss-green cloak pulled up over her head. I should have found her some pants to wear. Damn it. Fuck, there's no time. She has to go now, while it's dark, while everyone is asleep. She will have more time that way. I'm not sure how long it's going to take before someone realizes she's gone, and there's only so much I can do if that man who's working for the King is planning to deal with her now rather than later.

"Here." I hand her the bag. "It's all I could find that would be good to shove in this backpack."

"It's perfect." She gives me a sad smile. "I'll see what Mrs. Bark can do to help when I get there." Mrs. Bark will be the only one to know where Snow is going. And when the time comes, she will be the one to tell me so I can find her.

"I have something else I want you to take." A heavy feeling presses down on my chest, knowing this is our goodbye.

Quickly, I pull up my dress and remove the holster with a few daggers from my thigh.

"Oh," she whispers as I look up at her.

"I need you to have these, something to defend yourself with if needed."

"Okay." She nods and gathers her dress up then holds out her leg.

If it was any other time, I'd be admiring her body right now. But now is not the time for that. Securing the holster in place, I make sure everything is good before standing.

"I guess it's time for me to go now," she whispers.

"Yeah." I swallow hard, then grunt as she throws herself at me, hugging me so tightly I can't breathe.

I don't care and hug her back. Needing this more than I thought.

"Please, be safe," I tell her, trying not to break right now.

"Please, find your way back to me."

"Hey!" a shout from down the hall has us both jumping back in panic.

"Shit. Shit, you need to go. Now!" I hiss and dive forward, pulling on the candlestick.

Snow just gets inside before I see the person who called out.

"What is going on here!" the guard's booming voice is too loud. He's going to draw attention.

"Go!" I shout, knowing she needs to pull the candle on the inside in order for the door to close.

She gives me a devastated look that very well just might haunt my dreams before the door slides shut.

Spinning back around, I yank my dress up and pull a dagger from the holster on my other thigh.

He saw the passage door, he will tell the King. I can't let that happen. If he does, it's a promise of Snow's death.

"Where did the Princess go?" he demands, jogging to a stop in front of me.

"None of your business," I spit.

He sneers at me. "The King will hear about this."

"I was afraid you were going to say that," I snark back before launching at him and swinging my dagger.

His eyes widen in shock as it lands in his neck, hitting his carotid artery. He tries to scream, but it comes out as a gargled sound, his hand going for his neck as he drops to his knees. I take a step back, chest heaving as I stare down at the man who's quickly running out of blood.

I've just killed a man. His blood is on my hands.

Yet, I can't find it in me to feel bad. If this means Snow has a chance, then I'd do it again. I'd kill anyone who gets in the way of her freedom, even if it means losing mine.