#❖ ̨ ⠀ 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 ⠀ — ⠀ main verse ⠀ .

[stablesowned]

They say that evil isn't born; it's made. Regina likes to think that's true. Some have come to believe that Regina's heart turned to stone after Daniel's death, but that is simply not true. Regina loved him but not nearly as much as the child that had been conceived due to their union. The babe was born & snuck to the stables by Regina a mere 4 hours after birth. Trust no one. Her brain had told her that the last time that she had intrusted someone, they betrayed her.

At the moment, her daughter left her arms, and Regina's heart became stone. Henry, her adoptive son for the past 10 years, had chipped away at the stone of her heart. It was no work of art from Antonio Canova, but still. As the curse lifted across Storybrooke, Maine, things seemed to be falling to pieces. Every carefully constructed lie came tumbling down around her.

Regina was currently on house arrest as leaving her home was filled with the anger of everyone that she had screwed over to get a shred of happiness for herself. But even her brief glimpses of happiness had always floated away. Every milestone with Henry left Regina wondering about her other child.

When did her daughter talk for the first time? Did she say, mama? Was her daughter happy? No one could answer those questions for her. Regina had invited the child that she mourned behind closed doors to her home. A glass of Château Cheval Blanc poured long before a flimsy attempt at an apology started. The girl had a spark in her. Regina could admire that. Because as soon as the "I'm sorry" was out, the other was sharp-tongued with her remark. Not willing to bend & accept something so weak. You have my strong personality. Regina muses to herself.

❝ No, dear, I thought it would be a starting point for a conversation. ❞ Regina turns toward the other. The glass of red in hand as she gracefully walks toward the other. In her other hand was a wine glass filled with sprite. The bubbles from the carbonation could be seen as Regina sets the glass in front of Ariana.

Where is my happy ending? Regina steps back as black heels click against her dining room floor. Even in times of stress, the Mayor of Storybrooke seemed to always be put together. It was a lie that she told herself to get through the day. ❝ I'm assuming that you have questions. ❞

Ariana had lived a perfect life in Mist Haven. She was loved by two parents, Maren and William Colter. The three of them worked the stables of Mist Haven, from the wealthiest families all the way to the royals. Life was perfect until her father was murdered at the hands of the Queen.

It wasn't long after the death of William that the young stable girl learned of her troubled origins. The man who she thought was her father the past ten years was actually her paternal uncle. Her biological father was also murdered, and his death caused her uncle's death. Ariana could only blame one person for their deaths: the Queen, @fallsheavy .

When the dark curse hit Mist Haven, Ariana and her adoptive mother were still together in this new land without magic. She was happy with her mom. She missed her dad, but she loved this little life she had in Storybrooke.

Now that the curse was broken, Ariana didn't understand why the mayor of Storybrooke was inviting her over. She didn't know the mayor personally, only that she used to be known as ... the Evil Queen. She was the reason her fathers (both her biological and adoptive) were killed. The mayor was responsible for all of the girl's heartbreak and trauma. What was so important that she be invited into her private home?

Anxiety took control over Ariana's emotions as the mayor apologized. Did she think a simple apology would fix everything? There was so much trauma. Wait —

❝ Of course, I have questions. ❞ She took a moment to collect her thoughts and control her nerves. ❝ You're trying to tell me that you're my mother ? But you're the reason why I grew up without a father ... either of them. Unless I'm missing something ... ❞ It was definitely a lot to take in, yet Ariana couldn't picture herself leaving the mayor's home anytime soon.

[stablesowned]

"I believe in you. You can do this. And I'll be right behind you."

it was time to face the music . the town hated her mother , although she was trying to be a better person and leave the evil queen behind . ariana was trying to believe that her mother was good ... but she was always going to be the evil queen in her eyes. " what if i can't do it ? what if i can't face the past ? " the young female had already tried to reconcile with regina . but reconciliation was not going to change the fact that she was now father-less . " i don't want to be reminded of my childhood . are you sure you won't leave me , killian ? " in a way , it was as if he was the father figure she never had . the father-daughter relationship that she had longed for throughout her teenage years . he wasn't her father , but she knew - somehow - that he wasn't going to fail her .

[stablesowned]

〝 𝑓𝑢𝑐𝑘 , 𝑓𝑢𝑐𝑘 , 𝑓𝑢𝑐𝑘 ! this can't be happening again ! mom's gonna kill me ! 〞 the horse ariana had been caring for , 𝐵𝐸𝐴𝑈𝑇𝑌 , had escaped her clutches again . 〝 beauty , get your ass back here ! 〞 she ran from the storybrooke stables all throughout town . if @wildbloomed caught her again , she would be done for . even if she didn't think sheriff graham would actually do anything to her or the horse ... aside from tell her mother that beauty got loose again .

〝 annnddd i'm screwed . 〞 busted , again . she could see the cop car across the road . ariana stiffened up her posture , hoping it wasn't obvious she was looking for a lost horse . 〝 howdy , 𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐅𝐅 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐇𝐀𝐌 ! how are you today ? 〞

[stablesowned]

when you come from an enchanted forest full of mystery and fantasy , nothing ever comes easy . now , the young girl from the stables found herself in a land where she never set foot before . 〝 𝑖 𝘩𝑎𝑑 𝑖𝑡 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑙 , 〞 she could remember telling the other female in her partnership . 〝 i'm sorry if you thought otherwise , 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐒𝐒 . 〞

@thyhaunts liked for a starter .

being alongside royalty was somewhat triggering for ariana . the queen of mist haven took so much from her kingdom , including her father . now any royal member that crosses her path is automatically on the do not trust list . ariana was a strong girl, and she knew what she was capable of . 〝 are you certain we are headed the right way ? this path looks a little .. weary . 〞

[stablesowned]

𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑢𝑛𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑠 .. where had she heard that saying before ? was it from her father while growing up in mist haven ? william colter used to be full of wisdom and advice , but there was only so much that ariana remembered . she was ten years old when he lost his life at the hands of the evil queen . there was not a whole lot she remembered of him nowadays .

@thyhaunts liked for a starter .

𝐃𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐃 𝐍𝐎𝐋𝐀𝐍 was a father to a son and a daughter . although , his daughter was practically the same age he was . ariana wanted to have a father-figure in her life again like neil and emma had . whenever she was around david , she would ask all of her questions that she wished she could ask her own father . 〝 mr. nolan, how are you so brave all the time ? i don't think i could ever be as brave as you . 〞

[stablesowned]

tag drop.

❖ ̨ ⠀ 𝗢𝗢𝗖 ⠀ — ⠀ anne speaks ⠀ .

❖ ̨ ⠀ 𝗢𝗢𝗖 ⠀ — ⠀ promos ⠀ .

❖ ̨ ⠀ 𝗢𝗢𝗖 ⠀ — ⠀ inbox prompts ⠀ .

❖ ̨ ⠀ 𝗢𝗢𝗖 ⠀ — ⠀ answered ⠀ .

❖ ̨ ⠀ 𝗩𝗜𝗦𝗨𝗔𝗟𝗦 ⠀ — ⠀ regina mills ⠀ .

❖ ̨ ⠀ 𝗩𝗜𝗦𝗨𝗔𝗟𝗦 ⠀ — ⠀ daniel colter ⠀ .

❖ ̨ ⠀ 𝗩𝗜𝗦𝗨𝗔𝗟𝗦 ⠀ — ⠀ mirror ⠀ .

❖ ̨ ⠀ 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 ⠀ — ⠀ main verse ⠀ .

❖ ̨ ⠀ 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 ⠀ — ⠀ descendants verse ⠀ .

❖ ̨ ⠀ 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 ⠀ — ⠀ modern verse ⠀ .

❖ ̨ ⠀ 𝗥𝗘. ⠀ — ⠀ regina mills ⠀ .

❖ ̨ ⠀ 𝗦𝗧𝗨𝗗𝗬 ⠀ — ⠀ musings ⠀ .

[stablesowned]

losing not one, but two fathers to the evil queen surely put a damper into the young female's life. there's a saying somewhere that every girl needs her father, and ariana barely knew hers ... either of them. a ten year old shouldn't have to grieve the loss of her father only to learn he wasn't her father all along.

ariana bit her lips slightly, angry at the conversion. ❝ if you were only responsible for my dad's death, then who killed daniel? tell me everything. ❞ she took a deep breath. if everything she was being told was true, then she grew up on nothing but lies. the evil queen was just that ... evil. why should ariana believe anything @theceruleanskye was saying now?

❝ all i ever wanted was the perfect childhood. just like other girls my age. everything was perfect .. until my father was murdered by the quee — you. i then learned i was adopted, and the father i knew was actually my uncle. my whole world had been a lie. a fucked up lie. ❞ tears began streaming down the girl's face. she wanted to go home to her mother. to maren.

Rage. Regina was expecting the pitchforks to be out at this meeting. If Ariana took after her, a poisoned piece of rich, healthy fruit would be offered out. Luckily for Reginia, there were just some things that one doesn't dip their toe in with the right about of nurture. Maybe if Cora had been a more maternal figure in the Queen's life, Regina might have turned out differently.

❝ Well, the one father wasn't my fault. ❞ Even if Regina blames herself for Daniel's death, it isn't for anyone else to blame her. Cora is the one who holds his fate in her hands. A small sip of the liquid dances on her tongue as Regina tries to savor the taste. Her eyes stared intensely at her child. Trying to find any bit of herself & Daniel in the mix. Daniel was more important to find than herself. ❝ The other one was. ❞

Regina doesn't need to admit to her child that there is no sorrow for the death of William. She never wanted her children to see her as evil & yet, that is all they will ever know. Henry wouldn't know the soft girl who read poems & fantasized about fairytales herself. Ariana will not know the girl she loved so hard that it ruined her.

Backing up slowly, Regina's hands find her seat. If I blink, this moment will be gone. The chair grinds against the floor as Regina pulls it out one-handed. ❝ I'm sure that the story you have heard isn't my side. ❞ No one but Cora knew what had happened at the stables. Only Regina could answer about William, either.

But Regina wishes to hear the story that either Ariana was told or had concocted in her head. Tell me the story of the EVIL QUEEN. Regina wasn't a good person & even she was aware of that fact. But she has twisted her reasoning for everything up in her head. Tell me everything. Eager to hear any details about Ariana, even if it would cause her pain deep inside her chest.