Chapter Text
Another world is her only choice. That's what she had decided.
That would be here only means of escape now.
The thought had been dancing in Regina's mind for a few weeks now, just itching to be acted upon. And finally Regina had, had enough. Between all attempts to revive Henry's memories failing (resulting in a return to New York for a happy mother and son) and Zelena's murder of Robin Hood. The witch had been sure to make the deed as excruciating as she could in ripping the thief's heart out and crushing it, leaving him to die in Regina's arms just as her mother and Daniel had. The woman finally snapped, she had to get away from this hell, from the people who still shot her dirty looks and accusing glances despite all the effort (and if she must say so herself) success she put into changing herself for the better. The mayor was completely and utterly fed up with the town she'd wasted a chunk of her life making. With Henry and Robin both lost to her, it was time to leave it all behind. With nothing and no one to stay for, she'd go to another world…
One where no one knew the Evil Queen, or even Regina Mills.
Silently thanking herself for bargaining with Rumple to fix Jefferson's hat, Regina gave the headpiece a light twirl. She gazed into the portal spawned from the formal headwear. She honestly had no clue how to operate the thing and could guess with 85% certainty that she wouldn't even end up in that strange room with all the doors.
Oh well, anywhere was better than her current location—alone in a mansion much too big.
She took a leap—one she may have even been able to call a leap of faith—into the spinning vortex. The sensation of fluttering butterflies worked its way into her stomach as soon as the more rational thoughts set in; what if she just banished herself into oblivion? Into an eternal nothingness where she'd be forced to wait for hunger and thirst to claim her.
•• ◘ ••
Diagon Alley was abuzz with Hogwarts students—from first years to irresponsible seventh—bustling to snatch up some last minute school supplies. A first year Ravenclaw nearly knocked Hermione over in her rush to reach Ollivander's. With a sigh the witch continued her stroll down the road. She herself had to pick up a book or two—of course the books she had in mind were for entertainment sake, she'd never forget to buy her school supply in advance.
It was just outside Flourish and Blotts where Hermoine found the woman. She was lying face up on the sidewalk—Hermione was absolutely appalled by the number of people just stepping over her without sparing her a second glace. The young witch crossed the street, her books would have to wait. Upon closer examination Hermione noted a sweep of elegant shoulder length hair (the color of dark chocolate) covering a sizeable patch of blood on the woman's temple. She must have taken some kind of fall Hermione concluded. Hermione knelt down beside her, the woman's unconscious expression akin to one of fear and hurt. But on a lighter note, her breathing was soft, regular, and by all means, reassuring.
Hermione drew out her wand set to cast a minor healing spell when the woman awoke. Her eyelids fluttered open, a dazed look clouding their bright brown color. She let out a soft, pained moan and put a hand to her throbbing head.
"Er…good morning." Hermione greeted.
"Is it really?" Asked the other, rather bitterly.
"I could help you. If you don't mind." Hermione offered. "I'm Hermione. Hermione Granger."
"And I'm fine." The other woman muttered.
"Fine? You look like you just had a run in with the Death Eaters." Hermione sputtered, taken aback by the woman's harsh mannerisms.
"The what?" She asked knitting her eyebrows.
"You're a muggle aren't you?" Hermione asked.
"A what?"
"A muggle. Someone who can't do magic…"
"Hardly!" The woman remarked sounding rather offended. "I'm one of the most powerful sorceresses in my land."
"Your land?" It was Hermione's turn to question.
"Never mind." The woman pulled herself to her feet with a huff. Her heels clicking against the ground as she strode hastily away.
What an odd woman. Even for Diagon Alley.
•• ◘ ••
It had been a good month or so since the defeat of her master. Bellatrix had bribed her way out of the harshest of punishments. Those greedy bastards over in the ministry could never turn down a spare gallon—or in this loathsome case a few thousand gallons. Of course, in a sorry attempt at avoiding public outcry they had sentenced her to a wandless…magicless existence under the watchful eye of her sister. Bellatrix couldn't even recall a time when she felt this 'optimistic'.
When she got her magic back those fools would suffer. All of them. The ministry, the dweeb with the lightning scar, the mudblood, the ginger…every single last one of them.
But for now all the pureblood could do was follow Narcissa down the road snarling and hissing at those who dared stare at her the wrong way.
•• ◘ ••
Regina ran a hand through her hair. What a poor way to start. But she couldn't help it, among her many flaws was a knack for snapping at a helping hand. Not only was she stuck with a gushing head wound but she was stuck in a foreign land in a much too crowded town. She was beginning to regret making that jump already. Just what the hell had she been thinking. She hadn't even bought any money along. Did these people even have the same currency?
The thought was cut short when she slammed into something…or to her misfortune, someone. A someone clade in a dress very much like something she'd have worn back in the Enchanted Forest—darkly colored and complete with a corset. And this someone look even less joyful than Regina herself.
She had maybe two options here; get into a lowly fist fight with a rather startling woman she did not know, or spark up a conversation about how dismal life has been.
The woman stared Regina down with coal black, heavily lidded eyes, her messy dark curls fluttering wildly in the wind. Her lips twisted in a nasty scowl, she seemed to have the first option on her mind…
Chapter Text
Regina felt the sting of the slap before the woman's hand made contact with her already bleeding temple and she had every desire to return the favor. Eyes glowing with irrational anger and a need to take it out on someone, Regina landed a blow upon the woman's jaw. Regina hissed in pain her knuckles probably took just as much of a hit as the other woman's face. I should just stick with magic, Regina mused semi-regretfully.
Her opponent was very clearly not a woman of reluctance, before Regina could even finish her thought, the woman in question shoved her more than roughly into the nearest alley and pinned her to the wall. Regina scowled, this woman was strong. On the small side, but strong no less.
"You want to watch where you're going?" She hissed in Regina's ear. "I don't think you know who you're dealing with."
"I don't think that you know who you're dealing with." Regina spat back.
"Oh. Then do let me know." The woman cocked her head.
Her interest couldn't be any more insincere. And yet Regina, falling prey to her own anger, let herself take the bait. "I am the Evil Queen. I've slaughtered villages…"
The woman cut her off, "and I've tortured the innocent and slaughtered a good many muggles." She stated haughtily as if that had settled something. "I was Lord Voldemort's right hand woman."
Regina ran over the list of awful things she'd done, suddenly the things she had once felt guilt over were becoming things to be prideful of. "I killed my own father."
The woman's lip curled into a twisted half smile. "Well I killed Sirius Black and…"
"I do hate to interrupt your little pissing contest Bella," appeared a man with long and ridiculously pampered blonde hair, "but your sister is waiting quite fitfully for you."
"And she can wait a little longer," Bella half growled, "I have business with this one." She jabbed her pointer painfully into Regina's chest.
For a second Regina had thought that the pompous man would actually do her some good. But instead he shrugged and nonchalantly told Bella not to take too long. The Queen could still feel the woman's nail digging into her chest. The woman had taken to clawing at her upper torso with an animalistic ferocity.
Her eyes lighting up lustfully with each blood droplet that wept from the scratches.
With a rather ugly snarl, Regina plunged her hand into the woman's chest, feeling for her heart and hoping that they'd work the same in her world as Regina's own. At last Regina found the familiar pulse and yanked. The woman offered her a soft whimper, from the look on her face Regina couldn't tell if it was born of pleasure or pain. She had an unsettling feeling that it was indeed pleasure.
And yet she held Bella's heart—a small dark thing, not unlike her own—up to her face. "I presume you know what this is."
That annoyingly smug and oddly childish grin didn't waver from Bella's face. If anything, Regina could swear that the woman's delight was steadily increasing. "So Queen Queen enjoys playing with Bella's heart does she?" She let out a joyful laugh, her eyes filling with an unhinged sparkle.
There is something very wrong with this woman. Regina didn't know how it had taken her so long to register this. She felt Bella's hand tighten around her neck.
"You squeeze, I squeeze." Regina declared. She pressed down on the woman's heart just hard enough to give her a tester.
Again Bella winced, but her grip didn't loosen. Rather the woman decided boldly to squeeze Regina's neck more intensely. In turn Regina tightened her hold as well; if it labored Bella any, it didn't show on her face.
The pair locked eyes, light brown eyes blazing into dark brown. And Regina couldn't help but notice how dark, almost soulless, the only hint of life in them was that gleam wild fury. One of Bella's thick tangled curls made its way into her face and swayed with every harsh exhale the woman gave.
For seconds that seemed more akin to minutes they stood like that, oddly captivated by one another.
Regina should have crushed the woman's heart then and there. But a fresh idea came to her mind. Perhaps it wasn't a better idea. Or a good idea at all really, but Regina raised the woman's hear to her lips. "You will let go of me."
The look on Bella's face alone as her grip unwillingly loosed, alone, made it seem like a good idea. With the ability to keep Regina pinned against the wall now lost to her, Bella let her hands fall to her sides. Though they didn't stay there for long. This time Regina was quick to add, "And you won't resume our fight until I say so."
With no other options, Bella settled for furiously eyeing Regina with murder on her broken mind.
Regina tossed the woman's heart from one hand to the next. "I do believe you understand what this means?" When Bella didn't respond Regina continued. "It means you are going to do what I tell you to. Evidently I have no allies in this land so I'll take what I can get. A few moments ago aside, you seem like the kind of person who could offer me protection I can't get elsewhere." She hoped that her smug smirk outdid Bella's.
The woman in mind seemed to relax, but in a way that was equally as unnerving as her enraged frenzy. "Alright then luv. You can have Bella." She licked at her smiling lips, leaving Regina to wonder just what had rendered in the Bella's mind.
Chapter Text
"Well I'm glad we could settle that." Regina muttered, her eyes still fixed on the woman in front of her. Exactly what to do with Bella, Regina still didn't know. The only thing she knew for certain is that the woman could never get her heart back, lest Regina find herself dead.
"Such unusually dark magic." She heard Bella whisper. The woman was staring at her heart, a heart that was still beating in Regina's palm. "However do you do it?"
Regina scoffed, "even if I told you, you probably wouldn't be able to manage it."
"How dare you!?" Bella shouted.
To Regina's ever hard to come by luck, a figure shuffled into the alleyway before Bella could continue. She quickly tucked the woman's heart into her jacket and folded her arms across her chest to keep it from falling out of place.
"Bellatrix," hissed a voice. "What part of don't take too long do you not understand?"
Bellatrix chuckled gleefully, apparently forgetting her discontent. "The don't part!"
This Bellatrix is truly amazing, Regina pondered to herself. How can someone who just had her heart ripped out be so excited?
"Who is this?" The man asked, motioning to Regina with his cane.
"Why she's Bella's new friend." Bellatrix answered with a wicked grin as she curled an arm over Regina's shoulder. She squeezed just tight enough to make Regina snarl and twitch uncomfortably. "And of course she'll be staying with us, Lucius."
"And here I thought I'd be seeking out a hotel." Regina mumbled. Truly she hadn't expected or even wanted Bellatrix to offer her a place to stay. On the contrary, she rather dreaded the thought of being in the same house as this woman. "What a lovely offer."
Bellatrix shrugged, "I have to make sure my heart is in safe hands. That you don't lose it."
Regina half-snorted, "lose it? How daft do you think I am."
Bellatrix grabbed her wrist and tugged her along. She followed Lucius out of the alleyway, falling intentionally behind. "You and I have much to discuss when we get home."
"What's to discuss. I have your heart. You do what I say."
"You underestimate me. You see, I'll play along for a little while. But of course I will have my turn eventually."
Still safely out of earshot Regina drew Bellatrix's heart out once more. "You won't dare to tell anyone that I have your heart."
Bellatrix rolled her eyes, "but of course not. Where's the fun in that?" Regina could have sworn she detected a hint of sarcasm. And yet the woman skipped happily ahead of her as if the conversation hadn't happened at all. She watched Bellatrix catch up to a blonde woman. Quite beautiful—Regina noted—with her sleek blonde hair, her fair skin, and her pale blue eyes.
A very sharp contrast to her sister. Gorgeous thing really. Regina observed. Or at least she assumed this woman was the sister Lucius had been referring to.
Her eyes fell upon Bellatrix again, out of the darkness of the alleyway Regina decided that the woman was rather beautiful herself. With enticingly sharp, nearly hollow facial features and skin much lighter than her sisters—or perhaps the dark color of those strangely elegant yet messy curls that created an illusion of paleness. She had likely once been a wonder to see. And indeed there was something oddly alluring about the visages of the woman's former perfection. Regina wondered what had managed to dilute such a former beauty.
"Cissy!" She heard Bella call. "Narcissa, why don't we just apperate?"
Regina shook her head, grateful that Bella had snuffed out that train of thought. That loathsome woman was the last person she wanted to find attractive.
"Does your new muggle friend even know how." Narcissa spared her a slanted glance.
"She's no muggle Cissy." Bellatrix's voice dropped to a hoarse whisper. Regina focused in on her but between Bella's hushed volume and the chatter of passerbys she could make out no more.
"Can you apperate?" Both sisters asked at once."
"Apperate?" Regina cocked an eyebrow.
"Teleport. Get from one place to another using magic." Bellarix sighed as if Regina was supposed to have picked up on all of the rules of this land within a short stroll down what she presumed was a shopping district.
"I would need a visual for that."
"So your magic isn't much different from ours after all." Bellatrix tapped her chin. "I'll meet you at the manor, Cissy." She turned to Regina and held out her arm. "Hold on to my arm and don't let go. You mess this up and lose my heart I will find you between dimensions and I will kill you." She paused, "and for the love of Dark Lord Voldemort, don't vomit on my shoes afterwards."
"You'll find I am rather adapt at 'apperation', thank you." She took hold of Bellatrix's arm. Without another word the witch whisked them away.
To Regina's dismay this apperation was nothing like her own ability to teleport in a soothing cloud of purple smoke. No, this method was disorienting and dizzying—seeming to bend and twist and constrict her body and her breathing in ways neither should be. But for the sake of maintaining dignity she was determined to keep it to herself. Once finally settling upon solid ground a wave of nausea overtook the former queen. She felt truly sick, and based upon Bellatrix ever-smug smile she assumed she looked the part as well.
The burbling fountain did little to ease Regina's spinning world.
"Welcome home luv." Bellatrix said with a wide arcing gesture as if to display the grandeur of this place. "Shall we get inside or would you like to make friends with the shrubbery?"
"I'll leave that to you." Regina delivered the comeback weakly. She followed Bellatrix through the gates hoping that she wasn't still wobbling like a drunk.
"My heart?" Bellatrix asked.
"Is fine." Regina replied.
"Good, good, then dinner will go well."
Regina stepped into the foyer onto a marble floor richly carpeted with expensive rugs. Covered just as thickly as the floor were the walls, the entire expanse of them all was covered in portraits, suites of armor, and other lavish things. The place looked even more dank and dismal than her own castle. "Welcome home indeed."
Chapter Text
Regina held Bellatrix's heart up, trying to find a safe place to hide it. Dinner had been a challenge between Bella herself and the Malfoy couple. None of the three seemed to be pleased by her arrival—the Malfoys had been even less thrilled to hear Bella making snide and snappy remarks. "If you don't like her then why the hell is she in my house?" Lucius and complained. To which Bellatrix only shrugged. The woman didn't have an excuse prepared, not even a poor one.
So Regina had sat at the table silently watching as some strange creature—a house elf, or so Bellatrix called it—set food and drink before her. She had watched the wrinkly, big-eared things with a sense of unease. They'd take some getting used to.
It was around that time when Bellatrix decided that she wanted to make a scene. She had apparently forgotten to stop at Gringotts along the way home. And apparently this was Regina's fault. Again Lucius grumbled something about how Bella could very well "just throw our 'guest' out." And how "living with you, Bellatrix is becoming tiresome."
Much to Regina's annoyance, Bella had naturally brushed off those directly offensive words to pick a fight with her. At some point during that verbal sparring match Regina had considered just whipping the woman's heart across the table just to be done with it—and she hadn't even had it for more than a few hours. She wondered momentarily if this woman was only acting so impudently because she is without her heart. But then she recalled what prompted her to take the witch's heart in the first place and decided that Bellatrix was innately a brash person.
It didn't take long for her to decide that she could endure no more. Between the narrow-eyed glances from Narcissa, Lucius' carefully disguised insults, and Bellatrix's blunt expression of her opinions Regina had retreated. Bella alone was enough to drive her away.
She looks like the type of woman who would start kicking at my legs under the table. Regina mused to herself as she lie on the bed that the house elf had shown her to. And Regina had a striking feeling that the kicking was about to start, hence her hasty departure. The woman was honestly exhausting. How the Malfoy couple managed to put up with her was beyond Regina.
Even from in the semi-comfort of the upstairs guest room she could hear Bella's infuriating shrieking laughter. She's louder than Swan, thought Regina bitterly. More childish too. It was as if someone had thrown a child into the body of a grown woman, just one more unsettling thing about her new alley. She looked at the heart in her palm.
She set the still beating thing down on the window sill, it glowed faintly behind the curtains. She stood to inspect the room for somewhere better to put it. No loose floorboards, no holes in the wall.
Of course not. These people had money to spare and then some. The a drawer would be a choice to obvious. The wardrobe equally so. She could hide it in one of the vases, but what if it got used. That would be Bellatrix's problem, she answered herself. Her eyes then fell upon an ancient looking gothic jewelry box. That would work of course it was also a rather obvious hiding spot, but she could better keep track of it. She slipped Bellatrix's heart into its new home and mumbled a quick protection spell.
She set the box on the nightstand beside her bed.
The beating from within it kept her from sleep.
.oOo.
Dawn had just arisen and Bellatrix was already hassling her. Regina had woken up to the woman's voice—"WAKE UP ALREADY! WE HAVE THINGS TO DO!" Followed up by a few swears and the bang of the door as it was kicked in.
"You could have used magic." Narcissa pointed out, pinching the bridge of her snooty nose.
"Hmmph, magic's not as loud as the slamming of a door against a wall." Bella answered dismissively. She turned her attention back on Regina, who lie in the bed with her eyes closed, still pretending to be asleep. "You will come with me to my vault in Gringotts! After all, it is your fault I wasn't able to get there yesterday."
"My fault?" Regina sneered, she looked around to make sure no one else was in ear shot. "I took your heart not your brain."
"Don't you want a tour of the Wizarding World…or at least Diagon Alley?"
"Diagon Alley?"
"The place where you decide to run into me." Bellatrix shrugged.
"Decided? You think I woke up in the middle of the street and decided that I wanted to run into you specifically." She rolled onto her other side and shut her eyes again.
"You will come to Gringotts with me!" Bellatrix demanded again.
"Are we forgetting who's in charge here?" Regina smiled smugly and gave the jewelry a quick and dainty drum of her fingers.
For the briefest moment it was Bella who seemed to look mildly vexed, but her look irritation quickly transformed into self-satisfied smirk. She drew her wand out, "imperio."
A sort of dreamy haze fell over Regina. It was a pleasant feeling really, as if all of the weight that had been piled onto her since Daniel's death just fell off and fluttered away. It felt to her as if she could flutter away. Smiling warmly, she welcomed the feeling and let it take her over.
"Now let's get to Gringotts, shall we?"
Regina followed Bellatrix with a foggy mind until the pair was decently far down Diagon Alley. It was only when they were coming to the intersection of Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley that she released Regina from her curse.
Regina sputtered out a few curses of her own before asking "just where the hell am I?"
"Why I brought you to Gringotts with me, remember luv?" Bellatrix asked pseudo-sweetly, her face aglow with a delighted smile.
Regina merely glowered.
"It's only fair." Bellatrix continued. "You play with my heart, I play with your head." She pressed the tip of her wand to Regina's head at her temple. "Now let's go visit my vault." She nodded her head in the direction of the bank.
Insistent on making this as difficult for Bellatrix as possible, Regina folded her arms of her chest and declared, "you go on ahead, I'll wait out here." To drive her point in she found one of the marble pillars holding up the structure of the bank and leaned upon it.
Bellatrix chuckled. "Oh you're a tricky one aren't you? Alright then luv, just don't get yourself into trouble."
"This is coming from someone who looks like she causes trouble religiously." Regina dismissed the comment.
In response Bellatrix shrugged and made her way through the crowd looking back briefly only to call, "well if you want to cause trouble go ahead, just tell them that Bella sent you."
Regina sought out a nearby bench to sit on, hoping Bellatrix would make her trip quick so she could become acquainted with more interesting parts of the town. The wand shop—Oliver's was it? She couldn't quite recall—looked intriguing. She spent the first few minutes of Bella's absence pondering about the shops. In the next few she began to feel awkward just sitting there without a purpose. After another ten or so minutes she began wondering if Bella had simply ditched her. Feeling even more awkward she slipped her phone out of her purse, the device still didn't have a signal so she couldn't even pretend to be interested in it. She put it back down and settled for drumming her fingers on the arm rest.
"Oh hey! You're okay." She heard someone shout. She didn't look up. "I'm talking to you." Came the voice again.
Regina pointed out herself.
"Yes, you." The girl sat next to her.
"Right you're…" she tried to recall a name, remembered that didn't pay attention when the girl had said it, and settled for "the one who found me laying in street."
"Yes, Hermione Granger." The girl introduced herself again. "I take it you found an adequate place to stay?"
"Well it's a place to stay. I don't know if you could call it adequate." Regina shrugged.
"You seem like you are in better spirits." Hermione pointed out.
Regina sniffed, "hardly."
Apparently Hermione hadn't much to say to that, for she let a silence befall the pair and occupied herself by pretending to be interested in taming her curls. Regina took a sudden interest in finding shapes in the clouds.
"Say, what do you know of Bellatrix Lestrange?" Regina asked finally.
Hermione's eyes widened, but only for a moment. Regina couldn't quite make out what the girl was feeling, she just knew that it was something negative. "Her? Why?" She answered at last.
"It's just that." Regina paused. "I have heard the name come up on more than one occasion now."
"I'm not surprised. She's as infamous as Harry is famous. And she's honestly quite dreadful."
You're telling me, Regina thought bitterly. "Exactly what makes her so infamous?"
"Well, I don't even know where to start." Hermione began.
Regina eyed the doors to Gringotts, searching the ever moving crowd. Somewhere in her mind told her that she didn't want Bellatrix to catch her talking to Hermione. And that she didn't want Hermione to see her with Bella.
"She's er… not very stable for one. She has killed people for the sake of killing people…"
Been there myself, dear.
"…her own cousin."
"What about him? I'm sorry I missed what you said."
"She killed him." Hermione repeated herself. "Torture usually always makes her smile. I have a friend named Neville, she tortured his parents until their minds went so hectic that they couldn't recognize him."
Regina shot another nervous look at the bank and considered ending the conversation. Come to think of it, Regina thought, she had mentioned this during our squabble hadn't she. She'd let Hermione help her sort the truths from the lies.
"She's a death eater." Hermione added.
"This is the second time I've heard that word." Regina snapped, annoyed by her own lack of knowledge. "What…who are they?"
"They're Voldemort's followers. They hate muggle borns and half bloods." She explained, "people like me." And for Regina's sake added, "people who were born to one muggle and one pureblood or in my case two muggle parents. It's somewhat complicated."
"In other words they are elitists?"
"That's correct." Hermione confirmed. "And some time back they, led by Lord Voldemort, tried to kills us all off. Only purebloods deserved to exist in their perfect, twisted world."
"And Bellatrix was one of them." Regina asked for further confirmation.
"She was one of them yes. More than one of them really. She was his…Voldemort's right hand woman. Frighteningly loyal she did anything he wanted her to do and then some. She devoted herself whole heartedly to his cause. I'm fairly certain that Bellatrix disowned her own sister after she had married a muggle born." Hermione replied.
"That's truly lovely." Regina stated sarcastically.
"Unless you're a pureblood I would avoid her at all costs." Hermione concluded.
Regina gnawed nervously at her cheek. Her mother had indeed been a magic user, though the same couldn't be said for her father. She herself didn't really have that spark for the longest time. "Thank you Hermione."
"You're welcome. If there's anything else you'd like to know you can send me an owl." She offered with a quick explanation. "You can buy one at the Owl Post."
Regina nodded, before catch a glimpse of Bellatrix's slender figure slinking out of Gringotts. Hermione looked like she was about to say something else. "If you'd excuse me I have to leave."
"Oh. Um, alright. I do hope to see you again." Hermione smiled.
"Yes, perhaps." Regina replied before slipping hastily into the crowd, leaving Hermione quite baffled at her sudden departure.
Regina glanced back to make sure the girl hadn't been fool enough to follow her and managed to slam into someone.
"You really have a knack for running into me don't you?" Bellatrix grumbled. "What were you doing anyhow?"
"You took too long so I went exploring." Regina lied.
"Oh good, so that means we can just go right home?"
"You dragged me all the way out here so you will take me out to see the town. Should you decide go back to the manor, I will speak into your heart and we will end up right back over here." Regina declared.
Bellatrix let out the most melodramatic sigh Regina had heard in a while. "Alright fine, follow me."
"Besides, there is something I would like to discuss with you Bella."
Chapter Text
Regina had to confess that she had been paying only half attention as Bella listed off the names of the shops and restaurants rooted to the sidewalks of Diagon Alley. She was more or less preoccupied with wording what she'd soon say. How she would bring the topic up without disclosing where she had found her information.
"Do you have a preference? You strike me as the picky type." Bellatrix broke through her stream of though.
"Preference for what?" Regina asked.
Bellatrix let out a hiss of irritation. As if the woman doesn't have problems paying attention herself, Regina thought bitterly.
"Where would you like to eat?" Bellatrix rephrased.
"That last place you mentioned." Regina shrugged.
"The last place I mentioned was Ollivanders. If you fancy eating wands we could always find you a nice man, maybe Cissy will let you borrow Lucius."
"The last food place you mentioned." Regina corrected, making a point of ignoring the other woman's crassly snide innuendo.
"You know what, fine, I'll pick. And here I though losing my heart would cost me my freewill." She tapped her wand to her lips, mulling over her options. "Perhaps I'll show you Hogsmeade." She thought out loud, more to herself than Regina.
As she went on listing the different eateries Regina found herself drifting back into her own thoughts, only to be removed for them once again by an inquiring Bellatrix. Regina assumed she was asking about food again. And once more Regina simply told her "that last one."
"Hog's Head?" Bellatrix snorted with laughter. "You eating at that tactless place? No, no, I'd better take you to Madam Puddifoot's. You seem like a prude tea shop kind of woman."
Regina felt her anger stir venomously for about the fifth time that day and it had only just begun. "Prude? I am not—you know what, forget it." She started over, "look, I don't care where we eat I'm not all that hungry anyhow."
Bellatrix shrugged, "Madam Puddifoot's it is. All the couples go there and I know how much you love me."
Regina scoffed but opted to follow Bella anyhow, after all there is no better place to discuss revenge and murder than a dainty tea shop.
Bellatrix pushed her way past a small group of people and made her way to a table. She insisted on placing her order first, which was fine by Regina who had planned on saying "I'll have what she's having" anyhow. She found that Bella had become unusually quiet, allowing her to take in the atmosphere. An atmosphere that was uncomfortably gushy and lovey. She felt rather out of place sitting across the table with a woman she barely tolerated. The woman in question began to fidget with the silverware placed before her.
Regina waited for the waitress to deliver their food before finally speaking. "I've heard a thing or two about you." She paused, dropping her voice to a low hush. "Namely that you have a knack for torture." She drummed her fingers on the table and watched Bella take a bored sip from her cup. "What if I told you I had a whole group of people I'd like to see slowly dead?"
The witch set the cup back onto the table, her eyes alit with glee. Regina didn't allow her time to agree or disagree. "But in order to do that, we have to get back to my land."
Bellatrix waved her hand dismissively, "a simple task."
"Simple? Have you tried traveling from world to world?"
"It can't be much more difficult than getting back to the manor from here." Bellatrix finished off her drink. "Speaking of. Do you want to walk back or shall we apparate?"
"It doesn't matter." Regina replied, remembering just how much she hated apparition only after Bellatrix took hold of her hand. She could already see the delight Bellatrix would express at her disoriented state. In a drawn out second, the pair appeared just outside the looming gates. Without so much as a glance back at Bella, Regina retreated into the guest room. She had acquired a certain determination to make up the hours of sleep Bellatrix had cost her.
Her sleep being so filled with dreams most unpleasant, had her waking up with regret that she had given her mind the extra time to concoct such dreadful images. Images of Henry standing over her, a bloody knife in hand. Swan had been there too, coaxing the boy to run his mother through once more.
With her desire to sleep once again depleted, Regina moved to the widow and peered through the curtains, a deep and nearly starless night had fallen upon the manor. From above a think coverage of clouds, a ray of moonlight filtered through the newly parted curtains falling across the floor and settling on the jewelry box she had hidden Bellatrix's heart in. A light rain had begun to tap itself upon the window turning into a near down-pour loud enough to drown out the sound of Bella's beating heart. The thick dark clouds swirled in to obscure the light of the moon. But they were polite enough to provide light of their own, accompanied by bangs noisy enough to set even that large manor atrembling. Regina almost didn't hear the knocking at her door over sky ruckus.
She pulled the door open to see Bellatrix filling the door frame, her dark bed-tousled curls spilling over and covering her pale face. Caught momentarily off guard, Regina flinched the woman looked like something out of a horror film. The witch looked up at Regina.
"Oh don't tell me…" Regina was cut off by Bellatrix pushing past her. "You're not afraid of storms are you?"
"No." Bellatrix mumbled. "Of course not."
Regina hadn't expected her to admit it. She felt compelled to kick the woman out and force her to deal with it, instead she watched Bellatrix sit herself down at the foot of the bed. The former queen had to admit that Bella was good at hiding her apparent phobia—perhaps to save herself some face in front of the Malfoys. Imagine that, a dark witch afraid of a little thunder.
The clouds parted momentarily, and in the moon rays that beamed through the window Regina took in the dark marvel that was Bellatrix Lestrange; her thick long lashes, her nearly-black eyes, her thin slightly parted lips. The way the moonbeams outlined her tall and slender frame.
Regina pulled her gaze away.
Bellatrix beckoned her closer.
And without thinking she moved towards the bed.
Chapter Text
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.
Chapter Text
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.
Chapter Text
"Alright we'll make this quick." Regina stated flatly. Her vow didn't move Narcissa even slightly. "And I won't let your sister get caught." She added as an afterthought.
"I appreciate the gesture." Narcissa muttered sarcastically.
"I'm sure you do." Regina tucked some clothing into the handbag Bellatrix had given her the night before. It was a useful thing made of grey velvet and embroidered with elaborate black flowers with tiny pearls in the center. The handbag itself was tiny thing but in it fit much more than the average suitcase. She wondered briefly if she could enchant a purse in her world to do such a thing.
Narcissa edged towards the jewelry Bellatrix had gifted to Regina some days ago. Without so much as a word, she dropped it into Regina's purse. "I'm helping you pack." The blonde declared in such a way that indicated that there was little room for debate. Evidently this was fine by Regina, the sooner she could depart the better.
It was fine that is, until Narcissa's hand fell over the box holding her sister's heart. "What lovely gems did Bella shower you with this time?" Ignoring Regina's adamant protests, she unhooked the latch. A warm red glow fell upon her face.
"Is this…a? A heart?" Narcissa very nearly dropped it—box and all.
"A fake one, yes." Regina spoke instantly up. "A little treasure of my own." She added as an extra precaution.
"A curious thing to be carrying around with you." Narcissa set the heart back in its box.
"What I carry with me is none of your concern." Regina gruffly snatched the jewelry box and stowed it away in her new handbag. She gave the room another quick scan before deciding she had what little she had brought with her and acquired over the past few days.
"And what is this?" Narcissa questioned.
Regina quirked an eyebrow. "A hat. Do you call it something different here?" She made another quick grab at Jefferson's hat, leaving the other woman no room to prevent her from doing so.
Narcissa's face bunched up as if she had place something sour on the tip of her tongue. Apparently this is the woman's favorite expression. She makes it so much that it ought to be. Regina thought. The former queen strode past her and into the dining room. Bellatrix sat at the table pushing a small quartz ball across the tabletop from hand to hand.
"Well that too long enough." Bellatrix declared.
"I assume that means you're ready to go?" Regina posed it as a question as she placed Jefferson's hat atop the table. She glanced up at the witch, half expecting her to repeat her sister's question.
Instead she asked, "what's the hat for? We gonna play dress up before we leave?" Somehow Regina knew that the woman would rather enjoy that.
"It's how I got here." Regina explained. "It's how we're getting back to my land." She added just in case Bellatrix hadn't caught the meaning.
"Well that's an unreliable travel method if I've ever seen one." Bellatrix stretched her arms out and sprawled her legs over the two chairs next to her, taking up as much space as one woman possibly could.
"You have any magic beans?" Regina asked.
From within her pocket Bellatrix whipped out a pouch of Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans, "these count?"
Regina placed one in her mouth, kiwi, she observed. "No."
"Hey!" Bellatrix snapped, "these are mine I didn't say you could have one!" She tucked them protectively back into her pocket. "Do you even know how to use that?" She jerked her head in the direction of the hat.
"Do you think I'd be using it if I didn't know how?"
Bellatrix tapped her pointer against her lower lip. "Yes." She picked up the hat eyeing it curiously. "If you knew how to use it how'd you end up here in a land you'd never heard of?" She set it back where Regina had placed it. "We could always apparate."
"Is it even possible to apparate from world to world?"
"Guess we'll find out luv. Do take my hand."
Regina curled her fingers around Bellatrix's hand. The woman returned the gesture, her long nails digging into Regina's skin. The Queen thought momentarily of Bellatrix's touch on her waist. The same chilly feel now ebbing over her palm.
"I swear if we land somewhere more dreadful than here, I will murder you with my bare hands." Regina declared, pushing her first thought aside.
Bellatrix frowned to herself. "I just can't win can I? If I don't take you home you'll crush my heart. And if I do, you'll murder me with your bare hands."
"There's a difference between landing somewhere dreadful that I hadn't intended on visiting and landing somewhere dreadful that I sought to get to, dear." Regina replied impassively.
Bellatrix shrugged, "I ain't worried. There aren't many places as God awful as here now that the muggles are free to roam about…And besides you have to do this anyhow, since I don't know where we're going." She looked towards the horizon, shielding her eyes with her arm. "Anyways, I suppose we should get on with it then. I'm quite eager to murder a few sorry souls."
"I'm sure you are." Regina responded.
"Now, I've seen you…poof around from place to place in that purple cloud of smoke, so I have no doubt that you can do it our way too. But listen carefully, if you do his wrong you can kill us both before we even get to the magical meadow."
"Enchanted Forest." Corrected Regina. "And we're going to Storybrooke, not—"
"Whatever." The witch huffed out before continuing. "If you do this wrong you can also lose anything from an eyelash to an entire limb. So you best visualize your destination well and good and focus on getting us there…all of us. And in one piece."
Regina closed her eyes and hoping that magic worked the same way in the wizarding world as it did in Storybrooke. She felt a considerable whack on the back of her head."
"I wasn't finished yet!" Bella snapped.
Regina tensed and clenched her fists, taking a noticeable effort not to back had the witch.
"As far as I learned there are three D's to apparition; Destination, Determination and Deliberation. In order to make a successful apparition you must have an absolutely sturdy will to get there and—as I stated before—a clear visual of your destination in mind. And you mustn't get yourself in such a rush, apparition requires some planning." Bellatrix made a point of emphasizing the 'don't rush' bit.
"I know what to do!" Regina hollered. There was just something less than thrilling about the other woman lecturing her on magic. This time Regina left her eyes open, calling the image of her pristine mansion into her mind's eye. Throwing all of her willpower into the spell, the whisked away with a loud pop.
Narcissa fixed her gaze on the spot where her sister had once stood. With a faint feeling that something had gone terribly wrong on her mind.
Chapter Text
Regina woke up several feet from Bellatrix, her head throbbing and arm searing. She ignored the pain invading her senses and dragged herself towards the witch. Her slow and weak crawl was cut short upon realizing that the sharp sting was being produced by a deep and jagged gash running from her elbow up. Her blood ran warmly and messily down and across her arm. Regina looked away from her own ailed arm to see Bella lying there face down and nearly motionless.
She swallowed hard expecting to turn the witch over and see an even bloodier mess than the one on her own arm. Slowly she reached out and turned the witch on her back, relieved to find that the witch wasn't bleeding any—not that she could see anyhow.
But still the usually energetic Bellatrix didn't stir. Perhaps the woman was messing with her, so Regina gave her a soft shake. It received no response other than a barely audible, dazed hum. "Bella wake up, we have things to do."
To Regina's surprised the witch opened her eyes, but only partially against the sun beaming down on her face. She murmured something, looked up at Regina, and moved her hand so that it rested over her stomach. And to the former queen's annoyance she shut her eyes once more her head falling limp. Regina opened her mouth to wake the witch up when something else caught her attention; between Bella's fingers oozed the steady flow of blood Regina dreaded to find.
This would definitely put a hinder on her plans; how could the witch be of any use if she bled to death? Regina hoisted Bellatrix into her arms, scowling upon realizing that Bellatrix was much heavier than she looked. Or perhaps it was she who simply struggled to lift remotely heavy things. Deciding that it would be a waste of time to walk the entire length of the forest, Regina transported the two of them home in a cloud of purple smoke. She released a relieved sigh, it was so nice to use magic her way again. She lie Bella down on the nearest sofa and cringed when a droplet of blood fell upon it's unblemished cushion. Pinching the bridge of her nose she berated herself; the couch isn't important, I can clean it or get a new one. The same couldn't be said for the witch lying upon it. Bellatrix muttered another indistinguishable string of words and let one of her arms dangle limply off of the sofa.
"Come on Bella don't do this…believe it or not, I need you."
"Oh good, that's all I needed to hear!" Bellatrix sprang up.
"Are you serious!?" Regina shouted.
"Nope, he's my cousin." Bellatrix smiled.
"I thought you were hurt." Regina scowled.
"I am." Bellatrix agreed, "but no more than you." Yet she grimaced all the same. And the expression, however brief it was, was not lost on Regina.
"Bellatrix, you are hurt." She hissed.
"We've established that." Bellatrix shrugged
"Let me see it." Regina commanded.
Bellatrix turned away with an abrupt 'no!' She continued clutching at the bleeding wound. She gave a sharp hiss of pain but followed it up saying, "relax I was only trying to bother you."
"Bella. Let. Me. See. It." Regina urged. But Bellatrix still refused to turn back around so Regina moved to face her. Naturally this was another game to the witch, for she turned to face the direction Regina had just been in.
"I'm fine." Bellatrix insisted. "If I can walk, I don't need help." For what seemed to be the hundredth time, Regina found herself questioning the other woman's nature. How is it that she came to have that mentality? Regina thought of her own mother and the way she'd insist that she hide her pain and weakness at all costs. Perhaps Bellatrix had grown up learning the same. And for the first time Regina had connected the dots—the woman was from a high class family, they probably had more in common then she had ever thought.
"Bella it's fine, just let me…" Even if the witch decided to comply Regina didn't know what she would do, she was only good for dark magic and inflicting pain. Apparently that made two of them. "Bella please."
"I said no!" This time Bellatrix was practically shrieked it. Regina impulsively flinched back. "Since when does it matter to you anyways. I'm just a means to an end aren't I?"
Regina's heart sank. "That's not—" she started. But it was true wasn't it. She may not know what the other witch planned to do with her, but Regina knew what she had planned. She had planned on using the woman's exotic murder methods and her broken morals to extract revenge and then she planned on discarding her like everything else she no longer needed.
That was still the plan.
After all was said and done Bellatrix would probably just be a burden. A burden that followed her around, annoying her at every opportunity.
Fine, help yourself then, Regina thought. The words were on her tongue and ready to slid off when she noticed that Bellatrix had turned towards her after all, her hands working at her corset. Upon freeing herself of its binding she cast her top aside too, slinging it carelessly to the floor. Silently Regina hoped that the woman planned on cleaning up after herself.
"Lay down." Regina instructed, still not entirely sure what to do. Taking the woman to the hospital was obviously out of the question, her return would not be made public. Glancing up at Bellatrix she came to notice that the witch had grown at least a shade paler. Perhaps a trip to see Whale was necessary. No, I won't let her ruin this for me. She already is ruining this. Regina flinched at her own harsh thoughts and flinched again upon reminding herself that she was the reason Bellatrix was bleeding out in the first place.
"How glad I am to have such an attentive doctor." Bellatrix clicked her tongue.
"I don't have to help you."
"But then who will do whatever you say?"
"There are a million other people whose hearts I can rip out."
At that Bellatrix's expression dimmed considerably. For what reason, Regina couldn't place. So she instead began inspecting Bellatrix's abdomen. Regina had mangled it pretty good if it was as bad as it appeared. Regina moved to the bathroom and fetched herself a towel. After wetting it at the kitchen sink and washing her own hands, she began gently wiping at Bellatrix's middle. If the process had stung any, Bella gave no indication. Finally Regina had a clear view, un-muddled by blood she could see a thin but rather deep line curving from the woman's hip to her belly button. Regina swore softly.
"That bad?"
"No, not if we take you to the hospital. They could fix that really quickly. But that's not an option." Regina frowned.
"That's too bad, I guess you'll have to replace me sooner than you thought."
Again Regina cringed, so that's how it sounded. How else could it have sounded? She knew in her head that, that was exactly what she had meant too. So why did it hurt so much to hear bluntly.
"I can fix it without help." Regina brushed off the comment. And she hoped that she wasn't lying, surely she could close minor lacerations. Bellatrix stared at the ceiling, awaiting the fulfillment of Regina's words.
To heal a person was a difficult task for someone whose heart was so shrouded in darkness. A long time ago all Regina would have had to do was picture the wound closed and let the magic flow. Now it took a painstaking amount of will power and focus. Finally, after some time a magical glow began to dance on the tip of her pointer. She pressed her pointer at the tip of the gash and followed it down, ignoring the hiss of pain the action elicited from Bellatrix. She withdrew her finger and inspected the former lesion. Normally she'd follow this up with a habitual scolding to be careful as she did with Henry, but she'd have to skip that bit this time. "You should be fine now."
"Joyful." Bellatrix muttered, lacking her usual excitement. Clearly Regina had good and pissed her off. The reason for her anger was just another question on the list. She had every intention of asking the witch if she wanted to be shown to her room but between the snarls and vicious looks she decided to let the witch occupy the sofa and let her ask on her own if she sought a bed. Or perhaps it would be good to anger the witch as much as possible before sicking her on the Charmings.
Chapter Text
Regina came downstairs to see Bellatrix sitting on her loveseat with her arms folded over her chest. The glare she fixed on the former queen was just poisonous enough to have her reaching for the dark witch's heart.
With alarming speed, Bellatrix's hand curled over Regina's wrist. "Aw there's no need for that."
"Isn't there?" Regina frowned. "Trust me I know that look, I've seen it out the faces of so many after my curse was broken."
"Well maybe you're just a hateable person then. Just like me." Bellatrix spat. She got to her feet—paying only slight attention to the residual throbbing in her side—and moved herself into Regina's dining room with an expectant look on her face.
"You shouldn't be moving around so soon. You'll hurt yourself again." Regina scolded.
"Right, can't have me wasting energy on things I want to do." Bellatrix muttered. "But of course you'll have me moving nice and quick when it's time to do whatever it is you want me to do."
Regina glowered to herself. Bella was just full of bitter and sarcastic quips today. Regina, not in the mood for cooking fixed herself a box of cereal. She hadn't even lifted her spoon halfway to her mouth when Bellatrix made her demand, "I want a pancake." It was the most simple and most grumpy command she'd ever been given.
"How about you make it yourself?" Regina snapped despite being fairly certain that the pampered pureblood didn't even know how to pour herself a bowl of cereal. She probably puts the milk in before the cereal, Regina snickered at the thought. "Look, I don't know how to make pancakes and I don't even have pancake batter. Your options are eggs or cereal."
Bellatrix drummed her nails irritably on the tabletop. "Get me a bowl of cereal. And make sure it has marshellows in it."
"Of course you need marshmellows." Regina mumbled to herself. She hoped that she still had some left from when Henry was still living with her, God forbid she deny the witch another option. "Here." Regina placed the bowl before the witch. "Now may I get back to my breakfast?" Regina took her silence as a yes.
"Meet me outside when you're done. I'll take you to my vault. We can pick up a few useful things there."
Bellatrix set her bowl on the table, splashing milk all over the table. At this point the witch had to be doing that simply to annoy her, she was never this messy at her sister's house. "I'm ready now, let's get this over with."
"Very well then." Regina replied as she cleaned her table off. "Now, I have a collection of exotic potions. Each one can provide a different kind of ailment, which one you use is up to you."
"Yeah, yeah." Bellatrix waved her hand, "the less we talk the more damage I can do. Who's first?"
"You will start with Snow White…make sure Charming is there to watch. And then let her watch him suffer." Regina snarled.
Bellatrix laughed to herself. "My, my, what did this lovely couple do to you to get to have you fetching yours truly?"
"Long story."
Bellatrix shrugged. "I suppose it doesn't matter as long as I get to hurt them."
"The plan is simple, you will find the pair here," she handed Bellatrix a slip of paper with the Charmings' address scrawled on it. "Once you find them you will follow this map," she placed another sheet in Bella's outstretched palm. "It will lead you back to my vault and to a secret passage. This is where you will torture the Charmings. You will do so in disguise and you will not mention me. If they ask for a motive you tell them that you were collateral damage in one of their 'heroic' adventures."
"Sure thing luv."
.oOo.
Of all of the potions Regina owned, Bellatrix was enjoying this one the most. She turned the little pink-black speckled vile in her hand. In all her years of witchcraft and wizardry she'd never known a potion that could turn two perfectly happy and in-sync people against each other. Only minutes before, the boy toy was a sobbing mess, just begging her to stop hurting his precious wife. Now he was the one doing the fighting. Bellatrix loved dirtying her own hands of course, but there was something equally pleasuring about watching the princess plead with her lover to stop. "No, David. David it's me. Please, don't let this curse get to you."
Bellatrix snorted, nothing more powerful than true love's kiss huh? What a strange place this is, truly. If that actually worked… She looked at the clock. "Well I suppose I ought to stop you now." She roughly grabbed Charming away from his wife and threw him painfully over the nearest tabletop.
"You two are just precious, really I had a fun time." She slammed his head against the table.
"NO! STOP! Don't hurt him anymore." Snow cried out, her voice cracking and shaking.
Bellatrix ignored the woman's whimpering. "Your wife is just such a sweetheart. And I haven't heard someone sob that hard in a long time. It's exhilarating. And you…the fighters are always fun too. So brave, so noble. So helpless." She gave him a hard kick, sending him toppling to the floor. "But fortunately for you I have a schedule."
"Who are you? Why are you doing this to us?" He roared.
Gathering up her instruments, Bellatrix tossed a glance over her shoulder. "I was collateral damage. You ought to be more careful when you save the day."
.oOo.
Regina seated herself near the window watching the sun dip beneath the horizon with a glass of tea. Bellatrix should have been back from her mission by now. What was keeping her? Regina put her glass down and wandered into the foyer, pacing with her arms crossed over her chest. Perhaps the witch doesn't know her way home. Regina brought her pacing to a halt, a sense of dread growing in her belly. What if she had gotten herself caught?
At first Regina thought her fear was coming from her need to not get caught, but somehow that didn't seem to matter. She'd gotten caught before. They didn't trust her anyhow. What did it matter if she got caught? No, her fear was for the witch herself. There was something about not hearing that obnoxious laugh that bought her a sense of dread. Something about not hearing her awful jokes that had Regina nervously biting her cheek.
"Bellatrix where the hell are you?" Regina muttered.
The door crashed open, giving Regina her answer and causing her to jump a few embarrassing feet into the air.
Many greetings made their way into Regina's mind; 'thank goodness, I thought you'd gotten yourself caught', 'good to see you back', and so on. But what she vocalized was, "there is a doorbell for a reason!"
"Lovely to see you too. I had a great time luv, thanks for asking." Bellatrix tossed her sack of torture devices to the floor.
Regina sighed, "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself dear. Cider?"
"What is with you and apples?" Bellatrix took her seat.
Regina poured two glasses and handed one to Bella. "So, what did you do with them?"
"I blind folded them and kindly dropped them off at home." Bellatrix replied. "Trust me luv, I made sure that it sounded like I had a personal vendetta against them. I don't think they will know a thing unless you want them to."
Regina nodded and lifted her glass. "To a job well done. And another to come."
Chapter Text
Bellatrix stood outside of Regina's mansion. Of course the woman would have a fit if she caught her doing so. After all she couldn't get caught, especially standing outside of the mayor's house. Bellatrix had to admit that she would, for once, feel guilty if she got Regina hurt.
All the same, she couldn't stand being cooped up in that house. It was too spacey, just like the Malfoy Manor. And when Regina wasn't around all of that space made her feel all the more lonely. So she stepped outside, the outdoors always helped her think.
That night her thoughts circled around the couple Regina had sent her after. They had been a joy truly, but all the same they had made her feel empty. They were the kind of couple that would fight over who sacrificed their life for who. Bellatrix knew that feeling all to well—ready to die for her lover. Ready to die for her master. But they would never fight over whose life was put on the line, it would be hers, always hers .
Somewhere down the line, she had come to accept that.
Rather accept it as far as she could accept that she wasn't worth dying for.
She scowled. And it was happening again. While Regina sat upon her luxurious sofa with a glass of expensive wine, Bellatrix was out putting her well-being at risk.
The woman offered her praise for her hard work but that was only a single step up from what she had in the past. The very small sensible part of Bella considered wandering into the mansion, stealing her heart back while the opportunity was pristine, and going on her merry way leaving the other woman to her rage. But the other larger part of her told her to wait until Regina's Benz pulled into the driveway and await her next order.
Her fingers wrapped around the door knob and she let herself back inside. She slowly padded up the stairs and over to Regina's dresser. Her hand lingered upon the latch to the jewelry box. And then the what if's hit her—just as they did every time.
What if I do so well she'll admit that she loves me? What if she's already planning on how to tell me? What if…
And that was it.
That was Bellatrix's madness.
What could possibly be madder than seeing false hope over and over and still not recognizing it? Yes indeed, allowing herself to be a means to an end time after time had truly become her own special kind of madness.
All the same Bellatrix withdrew her hand, sauntered back downstairs, and sat upon the loveseat closest to the door where she'd wait for Regina to come home like a faithful good girl.
Just like she had each and every other time.
.oOo.
Regina found Bellatrix drumming her fingers of her loveseat. The one she had told the witch time and time again to stop sitting on. Of all of the chairs, sofas, and other places to sit in the mansion, Bella just had to choose her spot. Of course she did, the woman just loved to piss her off.
"What did I tell you about sitting on that couch?" Regina snapped, leaving the other woman pouting like a kicked puppy. Regina sighed; of course she looked like a kicked puppy, but then again she had just spoke to the woman as if she were a dog. She couldn't find a way to backpedal the conversation either so she watched Bellatrix slink off of the couch.
"So which one of your majestic fairytail friends am I tormenting today?" The witch asked losing any sign that she had been offended at all.
"They aren't my friends." Regina scoffed. "Today you will be tearing apart another lovely romance. You see I don't believe that Mr. Gold deserves a lover. If I can't be trusted not to abuse a lover then surely he can't be."
"You want a lover?" Bellatrix mused aloud, whether or not she had intended to was beyond Regina.
"Of course I do. No one wants to be alone forever. Why?"
Bellatrix's face flickered between a number of expressions, each as uninterpretable as the next. Regina took that as an opportunity to get them back on track. "As I was saying, I don't care how you do it, make sure Mr. Gold and Belle French do not get their happily ever after."
"People think I'd abuse my lover too." Bellatrix murmured.
Regina let out an impatient hissing noise, pressed her lips firmly together, and glowered at the witch. "Do focus Bella. Tell me what I asked of you."
Bellatrix drummed her fingers upon the nearest surface, which in this case just so happened to be a particularly expensive decorative marble figurine Regina had resting on her coffee table. With another scowl she wondered why the woman couldn't just drum her fingers on the table like anyone else would have.
"Can you repeat the question?"
"The question or my orders?"
Bellatrix hummed as she gently rocked back and forth, "both."
Regina held out two photographs, "this is Mr. Gold and this is Belle French. You will tear their romance apart. It shouldn't be too hard, their relationship has been on the rocks for some time now." She slipped the images into Bellatrix's hand. "He owns the pawn shop, hard to miss."
"Bella must get rid of Belle." She tasted the mantra on her tongue. The witch repeated it gleefully to herself a few times. "I can do that."
"Wonderful." Regina replied. "I'll let you get to it." She showed Bellatrix to the door. The woman stood there for a moment as if waiting for something—a wish of good luck perhaps. Regina opened her mouth to give it to her, but by the time she had decided to do so Bellatrix had left.
.oOo.
Starring at the clock, Regina had come to conclude that Bellatrix would probably be home late again and hoped that it was because she decided to exceed her expectations. But another hour slipped passed and the former queen was growing restless.
On that night her orders were clear enough. Find a certain one-handed pirate and be-rid of his beloved moldy-planked ship. And then toss that wretched Hook of his into the dark depths of the Storybrooke coastline. Frankly Regina didn't hate him quiet enough to do anything worse, she just wanted to drive a point home. Send a message to Emma about what would happen to the people she loves when she stole away the people Regina loves.
Bellatrix had gone above and beyond with Gold and Belle in producing a potion of forgetting. She slipped it into Belle's drink and then sent her over the town line with Gold's car and cash. Not before convincing Belle that it was Gold's fault that she couldn't remember anything. What she did to Gold himself after that she wouldn't vocalize, but the coppery smell of blood that lingered around her was telling enough.
Apparently she hadn't killed him though.
Regina eyed the clock once more. How long could it possibly take the witch to take on one single-handed pirate? She pitched the bridge of her nose.
By 11:30 Regina was at her wits end with the other woman. She stood up, deciding that she could do for a bit of fresh air. Naturally when Regina stepped outside the air was anything but fresh, littered with the gasoline aftertaste of cars long passed by and the greasy smell that Granny's diner always gave off. She didn't even know how the scent carried all the way to her mansion. Fanning her nose, Regina stepped off into the autumn night. It was just chilly enough for her to see a faint trail of fog spilling from her lips. She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered, already regretting her decision. And yet her feet continued to carry her to the park. She stood at the park's center for the longest time staring at one of the many apple trees she had planted. Its branches twisted and curled gracefully towards the night sky until they met a blanket of stars.
Once upon a time, Regina had taken Henry out to that very spot. It was his birthday so she let him stay up far past his bedtime. She had spread a picnic blanket out and the two of them lie there gazing at the distant cosmos. At that time Henry was in his astrology unit in science class so she tried to make it educational by listing off a few constellations and asking him facts about the stars.
She didn't notice her tears until they had significantly wet her cheeks. Why did Swan take Henry from her? What had she done? She thought she was doing good at keeping her own darkness in check. Regina roughly wiped the tears away with the back of her hand. And gave the most dignified sniffle she could manage before sinking to the ground, ready to weep again.
She hadn't even begun to cry when a figure came skipping into view, kicking up leaves along her way. It was a relief and a curse all at once to see the dark witch prance up. "And where the hell have you been?" She snapped.
"Just exploring the neighborhood luv."
Regina dropped her voice into a low hiss, "after torturing a pirate?"
"He didn't see me. He saw Mr. Gold. I heard Gold mention hating a pirate and thought I could use that. So I plucked his hair and used a polyjuice potion…rather I used your world's equivalent of it. The real thing takes months to make. Only problem is your version of a polyjuice only gave me a half an hour." Bellatrix complained.
"So what were you doing for the past," she looked at her watch, "three hours?"
"Just what I said. I've been exploring the neighborhood since you couldn't be bothered to show me around the way I showed you."
"I don't recall ever having asked you to do so. In fact I very clearly remember saying I didn't want to go to Gringotts but a certain witch cursed me into doing so. You wasted your own time." Regina snarled, letting anger fill the places sadness once occupied. "So don't you tell me that I owe you something."
"Did you sit on a fallen branch luv because clearly something is stuck up your ass. Something even the most potent firewhisky probably can't even remove."
Regina abruptly shot to her feet. She was growing extremely tired of Bellatrix's crude and inconsiderate outbursts. "It's you Bella. You know just how to get under everyone's skin don't you? You know just how to make a person loath your entire being. And here I was all worried about you. Wondering when you'd get home when I should have been hoping that the pirate fought back and…" she fell short at the sudden change in Bellatrix's demeanor.
Her childish smile turned into a mad and twitching frown. Her eyes gleamed with a fury Regina hadn't ever seen on the woman, leaving her suddenly aware of just how far out of reach the witch's heart was. She waited for the woman to pin her against the tree and claw her to shreds. What came was very nearly worse. "You weren't worried about me! You were worried about you and what would happen to you if I got caught." She practically shrieked. "You know what's funny luv? Even if someone caught me I wouldn't have kept my mouth shut about you. So yes your majesty, you're right I am insane, I have to be. Why else would I put up with your petulant moods and your lack of appreciation?"
Regina opened her mouth but Bella threw up a silencing hand. The former queen dared not dispute the gesture. "I've done everything you wanted me to do. I've tortured Snow White as the pretty boy watched, I tortured him shortly after, I ripped Gold away from his fragile little lady, I did so in secret…I've done everything you've asked. And I don't even get a thank you."
"You did it because I am…was" Regina corrected herself, "holding your heart."
Bellatrix's bearing shifted once again, this time more somberly. "Yes. You do. In more ways than one." she slumped into the nearest park bench. "I would have done it even if you didn't bring my heart into the equation."
Regina scrunched her eyebrows.
"You've never had someone who'd just listen to you because they wanted to. Have you? Well lucky for you, you finally have someone. I'd do anything you ask." She paused. "I had a master once…" she looked up at the street light. "I did everything he asked me to. I loved him with all of what's left of my soul. He couldn't even spare me a second thought. Are you like my master?"
"Bella…" Regina started, her face softening.
"Are you like him?" Bellatrix repeated more firmly.
"No." Regina answered quietly, "I don't think I am."
"Really? Because a few days ago you reminded me that I am replaceable. And that are many other hearts for you to steal and use. I'm just one of many." Bellatrix's fingers tightened around the edge of the bench.
Regina crossed her arms over her chest and pressed her lips together, throwing her head back to briefly stare at the light Bellatrix had been eyeing. She exhaled and, in a puff of purple smoke, drew out Bellatrix's heart. The sound of her heels meeting the pavement echoed softly around the park as she approached the witch. Without a word she firmly pressed the woman's heart back in place. "If you want to keep doing what I say, feel free. If not…well your sister is eager for your return."
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