(Part 6)
Regina sat down next to Bellatrix, much closer than she truly wanted to be. The witch absently toyed with her curls. Twisting strands around her pointer only to unravel them again. As she stared out the window, her body seemed to tense up in anticipation with each flash of lightning. Bella, as Regina came to notice, was unusually still and lacking her hyper nature. And she felt somehow strangely compelled to offer a comforting hand. The kind of comforting hand that no one ever offered her.
Bellatrix looked over her shoulder, Regina took that as her cue to move closer. And acting upon the same force that compelled her to sit on the bed in the first place, Regina tugged the other woman into an awkward embrace. The witch slung her arm around Regina's middle and positioned her head in the crook of her neck, her every exhale falling warmly over Regina's collarbone. Thinking and saying nothing, Regina stroked the woman's thick, tangled tresses.
This gentle motion elicited Bellatrix to let out a soft humming noise.
So she continued to run her hand over the woman's hair. She'd keep it up all night if it would prevent the witch from acting out. Regina fixed her eyes on the window, watching drop after drop tap rhythmically on the pane.
Without so much as a warning, Regina felt Bella's lips brush up against her collarbone. Without hesitation the woman trailed her kisses up until her mouth met Regina's ears. "Thanks for letting me stay in your room luv." It was no more than a whisper. "It's so much easier to ignore a storm when you have something much better to focus on." And she pressed another kiss onto Regina's ear. The former queen felt Bella's touch drop down to her waist.
"What are you doing?" Regina sputtered.
"Nothing." Bellatrix spat. "Never mind." She pulled herself away from Regina.
As she had been doing all night, Regina acted without thinking. She took the witch by the wrist and pulled her back. And they were back to where they had begun—Bella simply leaning against her. Regina first chided herself for killing the mood and then chided herself for wanting a mood in the first place. No, Bella is the last person I want to be stuck with, she reminded herself. And yet the woman was so intriguingly beautiful.
The witch wormed her way out of Regina's grasp once again, so that she could stretch her arms above her head, the straps holding her nightgown loosening at the motion. If she puts her arms down now… before Regina could finish that thought Bella let her arms down. And with them came the left strap, leaving her left breast to Regina's viewing pleasure. That couldn't have been an accident, Regina speculated to herself. The witch cocked her head and offered Regina a coy smile, making off as if she intended to cover herself back up. Perhaps a friend with benefits wouldn't be so bad. Regina wrapped her hand around Bellatrix's wrist and with her free hand pushed the other strap down.
Bellatrix, in turn, slipped her hand under Regina's satin night shirt. Her hand had an unusually cool feel to it, a kind of chill that almost made Regina want to flinch away when it slid up her belly. She felt the woman's thumb brush the underside of her breast, sparking a warmth in her cheeks.
Before could allow herself to have second thoughts, Regina worked each button on her nightgown free, allowing for Bella to push the cloth down to the bed sheets and away from Regina's body. In one fluid and graceful motion, Regina wrapped her arms around Bella's neck and pulled the two of them into a laying position.
From above, Bellatrix's locks fell into Regina's face, tickling her still flushed cheeks. Regina reached up and ran her finger along the other woman's right cheekbone.
For a moment the two women just lie there. Bellatrix's head resting on Regina's chest, listening to the rhythmic beat of her heart, wishing that her own was still in her chest. She felt the longing from somewhere now distant to her. Bella moved her hand over the woman's heart, her nails pressing semi-uncomfortably into the flesh above. Regina curled her fingers around the witch's wrist, noticing for the first time, the fading tattoo inked onto her pale flesh.
"What's this?" Regina thumbed the mark.
It seemed to the former queen that the witch would not speak up, and for a good while Regina just took in the feeling of the woman's chest rising and falling against her own. "Something that was very important to me." Bellatrix spoke at last, eyeing the finger that continued to probe the mark. "It connected me to him—to my master." She declared, with eyes welling up and a strange sort of smile.
"Your master?"
Bella nodded, her hair scratching softly at Regina's exposed skin. Bella's hand, the one that wasn't on her breast fell again to Regina's navel and then over to her side. The witch seemed content to keep it there, which was perfectly okay by Regina who had been given just enough time to realize she had jumped into something all too quickly.
"Do you mind?" Regina asked, motioning to tug her top back on. For once Bellatrix was compliant, and busied herself with re-positioning the straps of her own lacy nightgown. Eyeing the witch carefully, Regina wondered just what she had gotten herself into and how she had gotten into it.
Once both women were again decently clad, Regina dropped herself back to the pillow and made room for the witch to lie beside her. But Bellatrix didn't fill the space. Instead the woman made some final adjustments to her nightgown, and like the passing of the storm, made her way wordlessly out of the guest room.
Leaving Regina to ponder upon how, on that night she could have sworn she came close to actually caring for the witch who had tried to kill her in a dark alley.
(Part 7)
Regina ran a comb through her hair for the third time that morning, and yet it still wasn't tamed to her satisfaction. She irritably set the comb down with enough force for the sound of its fall to echo briefly around the room. With the comb suitably punished for not doing its job, Regina moved into the walk in closet where she sifted through hanger after hanger. Again, nothing seemed to satisfy her tastes. Which was particularly annoying considering she had made special plans for the day. Scowling she decided to consider her clothing options over breakfast.
She seated herself at the far end of the dining room table and waited for the house elf to come by and take her order. As she waited Regina tried mulling over what to wear, but her thoughts kept drifting to the night before. So she instead opted to focus on something of more importance—her plan to get rid of the loathsome Charmings and their pesky followers. Again her thoughts shifted to last night; the feeling of Bella's hair pressed on her chest, the woman's surprisingly soft skin, the scent of black raspberry and vanilla hanging about the dark woman…
Softly growling to herself Regina tried to refocus, but the sound of Narcissa's agitated finger tapping (from across the table) somehow managed to snatch her attention. With a more conscious effort Regina forced her plan to the front of her mind. But it would seem that the harder she tried to maintain concentration the louder Narcissa's tapping seemed. Louder and louder still until Regina snapped her head up and shouted—much louder than she intended—"will you knock it off!?" The look on Narcissa's face soured to the consistency of a lemon.
"How dare you speak to me like that? And in my own house. My husband and I have been kind…or foolish enough to play along with Bella's games and allow you to stay here."
And in this, Regina assumed that her presence was what had initiated the woman's uneasy tapping in the first place.
"I can just as well escort you out." She finished. "I'm sure Lucius would be content with that." Narcissa had chosen her words diplomatically as always. But Regina knew what the woman really meant; "my husband would love to kick your ass out of here…and so would I."
Before Regina could abandon breakfast altogether, another figure flounced into the room. And despite the cold his company always bought, Regina hoped this figure belonged to that of Lucius Malfoy. Though, as always, her luck was slow to show itself. And so it was that Bellatrix Lestrange seated herself at the table.
Right next to Regina.
Naturally at an uncomfortably close distance.
"Exactly how long is our...guest" she spit the last word out with a degree of verbal venom, "going to be with us?"
The blonde's question left Regina to wonder what she had done to acquire the Malfoy woman's heated emotions. The woman lived with Bellatrix, what could she have possibly done that the dark haired witch hadn't?
The witch in question sparred Narcissa a blasé glance. "Today, tomorrow, maybe a moth. Maybe a year. Whenever I grow tired of her." She flicked her hand lazily and dismissively. "Of course there is a chance that I may never grow tired of her." Bellatrix smiled a devious smile and out of nowhere Regina felt the woman's touch on her outer thigh. Regina quickly swatted the offending hand away giving the Bella a sharp look to match Narcissa's own.
"Cut it out." Regina hissed.
Bellatrix answered with a sing-songy imitation of Regina's words and then laughed cheerfully, delighted at the opportunity to resume her childish antics. She turned her attention back to Narcissa, leaving the former queen to her thoughts.
It was as if the witch had forgotten their stormy night encounter. She was refreshed and ready to peeve Regina some more.
She certainly showed no sign of appreciation, or that anything had changed between them at all. And maybe it didn't, Regina pondered. Perhaps she was reading too much into the late night happening. It was very likely that her sleep clouded brain had let something a fully awake Regina would have never let slide. It was very likely that Bella's childish need for comfort from the storm had gone too far in her sleepy haze. I'm over-thinking it, Regina decided. She looked to the messy haired witch who was, much to Narcissa's annoyance, rocking happily from side to side in her chair. Clearly she was unbothered, so Regina herself should just let it go.
"Bellatrix, you know how Lucius feels about having people in the house for so long. You know how I feel! After what happened with Volde—"
Regina heard Bella's low and dangerous hiss.
"What happened with the Dark Lord." Narcissa decided to tread in safe waters. "And besides, Draco will be home soon and…"
"And he can make a new friend." Bellatrix replied as if that settled something.
"He has enough adjustments to make as it is, without the extra company."
Regina felt a tingling in her stomach. A certain anger flaring up upon listening to them talk about her as if she wasn't sitting at the table with them. "Worry not." She spoke. "Bellatrix and I will be leaving today. You and Lucius and…"
"Draco." Narcissa was quick to fill in.
"Will have the manor to yourselves again."
"Leaving?" Narcissa was practically on her feet, hands slapped firmly onto the hardwood table. Her voice had raised tenfold. "To where?" She asked Regina. And to Bella, "and just when were you going to inform me?"
Bellatrix nonchalantly lifted her glass, hand atop the rim, and stared at the grape juice swirling with in. She sighed, "oh relax Cissy it isn't that big a deal. You wouldn't have missed me."
"Bella!"
The dark witch bought her pointer to her lips. "Hush Cissy. We'll be there and done with it and back again before the ministry can detect a thing."
Regina listened intensely pick up on vague points that had to hold some sort of importance. In that short exchange she had managed to pick up on plenty of problematic issues. Issues that could very much hinder her plan. She a desire to address them all promptly but had no clue which angle to press from first. "You didn't tell her?" Regina turned to Bella, finding that, that was a good place to start. It was probably best to show Narcissa that she was just as surprised about Bellatrix's lack of communication. Yet all the same she wasn't shocked at all.
Bellatrix downed her grape juice. "Oh please. Cissy doesn't need to know of my every coming and going. I'm the eldest if anything Cissy should be reporting to me."
"Perhaps I don't need to know. But the ministry…" She trailed off.
"The ministry?" Regina decided that this was good point of concern. "How much trouble are you in? Are you supposed to be confined to this manor?"
Bellatrix being as helpful as ever replied, "more or less."
Regina pinched her brow, succumbing completely to her aggravated mood. She had finally run into someone powerful and void enough of sympathy to help her carry out her revenge. And the help was under house arrest!
She could always allow the witch to live with her in her mansion. However Regina wanted to leave the option to flee back her open, should all else fail in Storybrooke. And besides, the last thing she wanted was for the crazed witch to run amuck in her beautiful, organized, spotless home making a mess of it. She could already see the crayon markings on her pristine walls.
"Enlighten me." Regina requested. "Tell me just how much and what kind of trouble you are in. You can skip the deeds that got you into whatever this mess is," she motioned about the room, "I already know that much."
The start of Bellatrix's response came out in a blend of actual words and an exaggerated sigh, "perhaps another time luv. I think we should get right to it."
It was Narcissa's turn to ask the questions. "What is this 'it' I keep hearing about? How about you run over this plan of yours before embarking on your quest."
"What? You want to join the two of us?" Bellatrix slung her arm over Regina's shoulders. "It can be just the three of us, frolicking happily through a new land, having a bit of girl time." Clearly the witch had no intention of explaining her situation to the imploring mayor.
"Our plan is simple really. We're going to my home, Bellatrix is going to help me take care of some business, and we'll be right back." Regina stated.
"Is this business going to make my sister a wanted woman in another land?"
"You're wanted?" Regina snarled softly.
Bellatrix inwardly flopped between two responses. The first would be to say "of course, everyone wants Bella, I know you do." She decided the at the second was simple enough to annoy Regina far greater. "More or less." She shrugged.
The former queen ran an exasperated hand through her chocolatey hair. Ignoring Bellatrix's oh so informative reply, Regina answered Narcissa. "If we do things right, no."
"Bella knows, believe it or not," Narcissa started, "that she can't draw any more attention to herself in any land." The blonde ceased her pacing and seated herself once more. "So why? Why oh heavens why, did she agree to this?"
Regina stirred, her nerves ready to fail. She didn't have the witch's heart to keep her from outing her secret.
"Why I'm just looking for a bit of fun." Bellatrix smiled innocently. "Things have been so drab around here." Her expression dropped into a pout.
What are you playing at? Regina wondered. You had a chance at freedom, why waste it? Could it be possible that the witch just didn't care? Or in her sick way, did she want Regina to have her heart. The implications of that startled Regina.
Regina sat down next to Bellatrix, much closer than she truly wanted to be. The witch absently toyed with her curls. Twisting strands around her pointer only to unravel them again. As she stared out the window, her body seemed to tense up in anticipation with each flash of lightning. Bella, as Regina came to notice, was unusually still and lacking her hyper nature. And she felt somehow strangely compelled to offer a comforting hand. The kind of comforting hand that no one ever offered her.
Bellatrix looked over her shoulder, Regina took that as her cue to move closer. And acting upon the same force that compelled her to sit on the bed in the first place, Regina tugged the other woman into an awkward embrace. The witch slung her arm around Regina's middle and positioned her head in the crook of her neck, her every exhale falling warmly over Regina's collarbone. Thinking and saying nothing, Regina stroked the woman's thick, tangled tresses.
This gentle motion elicited Bellatrix to let out a soft humming noise.
So she continued to run her hand over the woman's hair. She'd keep it up all night if it would prevent the witch from acting out. Regina fixed her eyes on the window, watching drop after drop tap rhythmically on the pane.
Without so much as a warning, Regina felt Bella's lips brush up against her collarbone. Without hesitation the woman trailed her kisses up until her mouth met Regina's ears. "Thanks for letting me stay in your room luv." It was no more than a whisper. "It's so much easier to ignore a storm when you have something much better to focus on." And she pressed another kiss onto Regina's ear. The former queen felt Bella's touch drop down to her waist.
"What are you doing?" Regina sputtered.
"Nothing." Bellatrix spat. "Never mind." She pulled herself away from Regina.
As she had been doing all night, Regina acted without thinking. She took the witch by the wrist and pulled her back. And they were back to where they had begun—Bella simply leaning against her. Regina first chided herself for killing the mood and then chided herself for wanting a mood in the first place. No, Bella is the last person I want to be stuck with, she reminded herself. And yet the woman was so intriguingly beautiful.
The witch wormed her way out of Regina's grasp once again, so that she could stretch her arms above her head, the straps holding her nightgown loosening at the motion. If she puts her arms down now… before Regina could finish that thought Bella let her arms down. And with them came the left strap, leaving her left breast to Regina's viewing pleasure. That couldn't have been an accident, Regina speculated to herself. The witch cocked her head and offered Regina a coy smile, making off as if she intended to cover herself back up. Perhaps a friend with benefits wouldn't be so bad. Regina wrapped her hand around Bellatrix's wrist and with her free hand pushed the other strap down.
Bellatrix, in turn, slipped her hand under Regina's satin night shirt. Her hand had an unusually cool feel to it, a kind of chill that almost made Regina want to flinch away when it slid up her belly. She felt the woman's thumb brush the underside of her breast, sparking a warmth in her cheeks.
Before could allow herself to have second thoughts, Regina worked each button on her nightgown free, allowing for Bella to push the cloth down to the bed sheets and away from Regina's body. In one fluid and graceful motion, Regina wrapped her arms around Bella's neck and pulled the two of them into a laying position.
From above, Bellatrix's locks fell into Regina's face, tickling her still flushed cheeks. Regina reached up and ran her finger along the other woman's right cheekbone.
For a moment the two women just lie there. Bellatrix's head resting on Regina's chest, listening to the rhythmic beat of her heart, wishing that her own was still in her chest. She felt the longing from somewhere now distant to her. Bella moved her hand over the woman's heart, her nails pressing semi-uncomfortably into the flesh above. Regina curled her fingers around the witch's wrist, noticing for the first time, the fading tattoo inked onto her pale flesh.
"What's this?" Regina thumbed the mark.
It seemed to the former queen that the witch would not speak up, and for a good while Regina just took in the feeling of the woman's chest rising and falling against her own. "Something that was very important to me." Bellatrix spoke at last, eyeing the finger that continued to probe the mark. "It connected me to him—to my master." She declared, with eyes welling up and a strange sort of smile.
"Your master?"
Bella nodded, her hair scratching softly at Regina's exposed skin. Bella's hand, the one that wasn't on her breast fell again to Regina's navel and then over to her side. The witch seemed content to keep it there, which was perfectly okay by Regina who had been given just enough time to realize she had jumped into something all too quickly.
"Do you mind?" Regina asked, motioning to tug her top back on. For once Bellatrix was compliant, and busied herself with re-positioning the straps of her own lacy nightgown. Eyeing the witch carefully, Regina wondered just what she had gotten herself into and how she had gotten into it.
Once both women were again decently clad, Regina dropped herself back to the pillow and made room for the witch to lie beside her. But Bellatrix didn't fill the space. Instead the woman made some final adjustments to her nightgown, and like the passing of the storm, made her way wordlessly out of the guest room.
Leaving Regina to ponder upon how, on that night she could have sworn she came close to actually caring for the witch who had tried to kill her in a dark alley.
(Part 7)
Regina ran a comb through her hair for the third time that morning, and yet it still wasn't tamed to her satisfaction. She irritably set the comb down with enough force for the sound of its fall to echo briefly around the room. With the comb suitably punished for not doing its job, Regina moved into the walk in closet where she sifted through hanger after hanger. Again, nothing seemed to satisfy her tastes. Which was particularly annoying considering she had made special plans for the day. Scowling she decided to consider her clothing options over breakfast.
She seated herself at the far end of the dining room table and waited for the house elf to come by and take her order. As she waited Regina tried mulling over what to wear, but her thoughts kept drifting to the night before. So she instead opted to focus on something of more importance—her plan to get rid of the loathsome Charmings and their pesky followers. Again her thoughts shifted to last night; the feeling of Bella's hair pressed on her chest, the woman's surprisingly soft skin, the scent of black raspberry and vanilla hanging about the dark woman…
Softly growling to herself Regina tried to refocus, but the sound of Narcissa's agitated finger tapping (from across the table) somehow managed to snatch her attention. With a more conscious effort Regina forced her plan to the front of her mind. But it would seem that the harder she tried to maintain concentration the louder Narcissa's tapping seemed. Louder and louder still until Regina snapped her head up and shouted—much louder than she intended—"will you knock it off!?" The look on Narcissa's face soured to the consistency of a lemon.
"How dare you speak to me like that? And in my own house. My husband and I have been kind…or foolish enough to play along with Bella's games and allow you to stay here."
And in this, Regina assumed that her presence was what had initiated the woman's uneasy tapping in the first place.
"I can just as well escort you out." She finished. "I'm sure Lucius would be content with that." Narcissa had chosen her words diplomatically as always. But Regina knew what the woman really meant; "my husband would love to kick your ass out of here…and so would I."
Before Regina could abandon breakfast altogether, another figure flounced into the room. And despite the cold his company always bought, Regina hoped this figure belonged to that of Lucius Malfoy. Though, as always, her luck was slow to show itself. And so it was that Bellatrix Lestrange seated herself at the table.
Right next to Regina.
Naturally at an uncomfortably close distance.
"Exactly how long is our...guest" she spit the last word out with a degree of verbal venom, "going to be with us?"
The blonde's question left Regina to wonder what she had done to acquire the Malfoy woman's heated emotions. The woman lived with Bellatrix, what could she have possibly done that the dark haired witch hadn't?
The witch in question sparred Narcissa a blasé glance. "Today, tomorrow, maybe a moth. Maybe a year. Whenever I grow tired of her." She flicked her hand lazily and dismissively. "Of course there is a chance that I may never grow tired of her." Bellatrix smiled a devious smile and out of nowhere Regina felt the woman's touch on her outer thigh. Regina quickly swatted the offending hand away giving the Bella a sharp look to match Narcissa's own.
"Cut it out." Regina hissed.
Bellatrix answered with a sing-songy imitation of Regina's words and then laughed cheerfully, delighted at the opportunity to resume her childish antics. She turned her attention back to Narcissa, leaving the former queen to her thoughts.
It was as if the witch had forgotten their stormy night encounter. She was refreshed and ready to peeve Regina some more.
She certainly showed no sign of appreciation, or that anything had changed between them at all. And maybe it didn't, Regina pondered. Perhaps she was reading too much into the late night happening. It was very likely that her sleep clouded brain had let something a fully awake Regina would have never let slide. It was very likely that Bella's childish need for comfort from the storm had gone too far in her sleepy haze. I'm over-thinking it, Regina decided. She looked to the messy haired witch who was, much to Narcissa's annoyance, rocking happily from side to side in her chair. Clearly she was unbothered, so Regina herself should just let it go.
"Bellatrix, you know how Lucius feels about having people in the house for so long. You know how I feel! After what happened with Volde—"
Regina heard Bella's low and dangerous hiss.
"What happened with the Dark Lord." Narcissa decided to tread in safe waters. "And besides, Draco will be home soon and…"
"And he can make a new friend." Bellatrix replied as if that settled something.
"He has enough adjustments to make as it is, without the extra company."
Regina felt a tingling in her stomach. A certain anger flaring up upon listening to them talk about her as if she wasn't sitting at the table with them. "Worry not." She spoke. "Bellatrix and I will be leaving today. You and Lucius and…"
"Draco." Narcissa was quick to fill in.
"Will have the manor to yourselves again."
"Leaving?" Narcissa was practically on her feet, hands slapped firmly onto the hardwood table. Her voice had raised tenfold. "To where?" She asked Regina. And to Bella, "and just when were you going to inform me?"
Bellatrix nonchalantly lifted her glass, hand atop the rim, and stared at the grape juice swirling with in. She sighed, "oh relax Cissy it isn't that big a deal. You wouldn't have missed me."
"Bella!"
The dark witch bought her pointer to her lips. "Hush Cissy. We'll be there and done with it and back again before the ministry can detect a thing."
Regina listened intensely pick up on vague points that had to hold some sort of importance. In that short exchange she had managed to pick up on plenty of problematic issues. Issues that could very much hinder her plan. She a desire to address them all promptly but had no clue which angle to press from first. "You didn't tell her?" Regina turned to Bella, finding that, that was a good place to start. It was probably best to show Narcissa that she was just as surprised about Bellatrix's lack of communication. Yet all the same she wasn't shocked at all.
Bellatrix downed her grape juice. "Oh please. Cissy doesn't need to know of my every coming and going. I'm the eldest if anything Cissy should be reporting to me."
"Perhaps I don't need to know. But the ministry…" She trailed off.
"The ministry?" Regina decided that this was good point of concern. "How much trouble are you in? Are you supposed to be confined to this manor?"
Bellatrix being as helpful as ever replied, "more or less."
Regina pinched her brow, succumbing completely to her aggravated mood. She had finally run into someone powerful and void enough of sympathy to help her carry out her revenge. And the help was under house arrest!
She could always allow the witch to live with her in her mansion. However Regina wanted to leave the option to flee back her open, should all else fail in Storybrooke. And besides, the last thing she wanted was for the crazed witch to run amuck in her beautiful, organized, spotless home making a mess of it. She could already see the crayon markings on her pristine walls.
"Enlighten me." Regina requested. "Tell me just how much and what kind of trouble you are in. You can skip the deeds that got you into whatever this mess is," she motioned about the room, "I already know that much."
The start of Bellatrix's response came out in a blend of actual words and an exaggerated sigh, "perhaps another time luv. I think we should get right to it."
It was Narcissa's turn to ask the questions. "What is this 'it' I keep hearing about? How about you run over this plan of yours before embarking on your quest."
"What? You want to join the two of us?" Bellatrix slung her arm over Regina's shoulders. "It can be just the three of us, frolicking happily through a new land, having a bit of girl time." Clearly the witch had no intention of explaining her situation to the imploring mayor.
"Our plan is simple really. We're going to my home, Bellatrix is going to help me take care of some business, and we'll be right back." Regina stated.
"Is this business going to make my sister a wanted woman in another land?"
"You're wanted?" Regina snarled softly.
Bellatrix inwardly flopped between two responses. The first would be to say "of course, everyone wants Bella, I know you do." She decided the at the second was simple enough to annoy Regina far greater. "More or less." She shrugged.
The former queen ran an exasperated hand through her chocolatey hair. Ignoring Bellatrix's oh so informative reply, Regina answered Narcissa. "If we do things right, no."
"Bella knows, believe it or not," Narcissa started, "that she can't draw any more attention to herself in any land." The blonde ceased her pacing and seated herself once more. "So why? Why oh heavens why, did she agree to this?"
Regina stirred, her nerves ready to fail. She didn't have the witch's heart to keep her from outing her secret.
"Why I'm just looking for a bit of fun." Bellatrix smiled innocently. "Things have been so drab around here." Her expression dropped into a pout.
What are you playing at? Regina wondered. You had a chance at freedom, why waste it? Could it be possible that the witch just didn't care? Or in her sick way, did she want Regina to have her heart. The implications of that startled Regina.