Chapter Seven

The Enchanted Forest

"Where have you been?"

Regina cringed at the sound of Snow White's voice questioning her the moment she stepped foot in the palace. "What?"

"You've been gone for hours," Snow accused, following Regina down the corridor as she attempted to make her way toward her bed chambers. "You missed dinner. My father is angry."

"You're father couldn't care less whether I dine with you or not."

"You missed my riding lesson. I thought you were in the barn."

Regina stopped and turned to face the girl, bewildered. "And what difference does that make? You'd never listen to me if I gave you riding advice anyway."

"Where were you?" Snow asked again.

"That's none of your concern. Snow, you're fourteen years old now, you don't need me by your side every waking moment, you know."

"You were with that imp again, weren't you? I saw him in the barn today."

"Don't talk about things you know nothing about. Now leave me alone. I'm tired and I'm going to bed."

Regina didn't wait for Snow to protest any further before she spun on her heel and heading toward her bedchambers. It was the only place in the palace where she got any peace. The King didn't afford her many liberties, but he did make it clear to Snow that she was not to enter Regina's rooms without permission, and even if Snow was an entitled brat, she followed her father's wishes unwaveringly.

Still, Regina made a point of slamming the door shut, lest Snow think it wise to try knocking.

Once she was in the quiet of her own space, all thoughts of Snow and the King and even Rumple were long gone from her mind, as Regina took a moment to stop and think back to her afternoon at the Forbidden Fortress. Nothing in Maleficent's spellbook - which she'd read cover to cover, more than once - had prepared her for what she had experienced, and though every fibre of her being was screaming at her that it was wrong, she couldn't bring herself to regret it.

Regina sat down at her vanity and began pulling the hair pins from her hair, as she stared at her own reflection. Was it just her imagination, or did she look different now? She wondered if it showed on her face. Was that possible? Would people know?

Of course, she knew that was silly, and there was no way anyone could tell what she'd done just by looking at her, but she could tell. She could see more experience in her own eyes. More intensity. A thrill and lust for life that she'd thought had long since died out.

She thought back about Maleficent's spellbook, and reading about how she'd created fire from nothing. Regina could make pathetic little fireballs, but what Maleficent could do, it was so much more. And she'd created fire within Regina that day, she was sure.

One thing Regina knew for sure, she needed to get herself back to the Forbidden Fortress. Maleficent had said she could come back once she learned how, and she knew that could only mean one thing: she'd have to get herself there by magic.

Regina spent the next several days working on her teleportation skills every moment she got. The King tended to ignore her for days on end, which never particularly bothered her anyway, but now she was extremely grateful for that fact, rather than just indifferent to it, as it meant she had lots of free time.

She started with small objects. It only took an afternoon to master moving a hairbrush from one side of the vanity to the other. By that evening, she could move it all the way into another room. She thought about how Rumple had spent months attempting to teach her that and she just couldn't seem to get the hang of it. She guessed she hadn't had strong enough a motivation before now.

The next day, she upped the ante. Instead of the hairbrush, she moved the entire vanity. It disappeared and reappeared on the other side of the room like nothing, and Regina practically giggled at how quick she'd managed to pull that one off. At this rate, she'd be back in Maleficent's bedchambers by the end of the week.

By the third day, Regina was a little more restless. Her magic was tripping her up, and when she'd attempt to move something, it would end up a little off of her target. She fumed, berating herself for how easily this came to her yesterday, and now she seemed to be losing control of something she was sure she was mastering the day before. What if this happened when she attempted to transport herself from one place to another? What if, instead of the Forbidden Fortress, she ended up in the the middle of the woods someplace, lost and alone?

She tried in vain to make herself focus, but the more she tried, the worse it got. Hairbrushes ended up suspended from the ceiling rather than on the table across the room. Her vanity appeared on its side rather than upright. Regina's hands shook with agitation, and she sat down on her bed in a huff, trying to calm herself down.

She soothed herself by thinking back to the time she'd spent with Maleficent, reminding herself of what her goal was. She replayed the scene in her mind - the blindfold, Maleficent removing her clothes and retraining her to the bed, touching her, kissing her - and she began to feel an unfamiliar sensation between her legs.

Regina shifted on the bed, trying to relieve the feeling, but found that the movement only served to heighten whatever it was she was feeling. She bit her lip and shifted again, and gasped at the way it felt. It felt good, and she hadn't expected that.

She thought about that feeling that Maleficent had given her. She'd called it an orgasm, and though Regina wasn't entirely sure what it was, it did make her wonder…

With all thoughts of practicing magic long lost from her mind, Regina jumped up and locked the door to her bedchambers. Neither Snow or the King had ever barged in on her when her door was closed, but if there was going to be a first time, she certainly didn't want it to be right now.

Regina abandoned all thoughts of how this was wrong, or unladylike, or unbecoming of a Queen, as she quickly disrobed. Once she was naked, she scurried under the covers of her bed, and lay on her back for a moment, trying to breath and build up her confidence for what she was about to do.

Though she was alone, she couldn't help but blush as she began to run her hands over her own body. She'd never thought it capable of the feelings Maleficent had given her - she'd never known such feelings even existed - but now that she knew what she could feel, she wanted to feel it again.

Her self-consciousness faded away as she ran her fingers over her own breasts, slowly, exploring. She ran her fingertips over her taut nipples and bit her lip as she felt a stronger pull between her legs. She played with her nipples for a while, squeezing, tugging, rolling them between her fingertips, paying attention to what each manipulation felt like. She'd never thought of them as a source of pleasure before.

Regina drew in a shuddering breath as she finally allowed her fingers to leave her nipples, and continue their exploration. Her skin felt warm as she allowed her hands to travel downward. She spread her legs as she reached her destination, and paused for a moment, as nervousness overtook her.

In her head, she could hear her mother's voice, telling her what a disgrace she was. Of course, her mother had never talked to her about any of this, but Regina knew enough to know her mother would never approve. Her face burned hot with embarrassment again and she wondered if she should just stop right now.

Then again, she reasoned, her mother wasn't here. Her mother no longer got to tell her how horrible and bad she was. Her mother was gone and Mal had said she was good. Mal had told her she was good, and then made her feel good, and that was the feeling that Regina sought to recapture.

With that thought in mind, Regina let her right hand dip lower, sliding over the slick flesh between her thighs. She'd never touched herself there before, and the sensation caused her breath to hitch in her throat. She wasn't exactly sure what she was supposed to do, so she let her fingers roam freely, exploring herself.

Her left hand found its way back up to her nipple, and she began to play again, as the fingertips of her right hand found the spot that seemed to produce the most intense feeling. Her focused her fingers there, rubbing small circles over and over, and she began to feel the same sensations building up as she'd felt in Maleficent's bed.

It wasn't long until Regina felt that small explosion of tingling euphoria again, starting low in her belly and expanding outward. It wasn't exactly the same as when Mal had done it, but still, it felt good and Regina relaxed against the mattress beneath her, sated.

As she came down from her orgasm, Regina rolled onto her side and wondered what Maleficent would think of what she'd just done…

Once Regina had made the discovery that she could, in fact, give herself orgasms whenever she should so please, she found that her magic became less frenzied and she had more control. She wasn't sure if it was the confidence boost, or the fact that every time she touched herself, it just made her want to be touched by Maleficent again all the more, but either way, by the end of the following week, her transportation skills were vastly improved. She'd even managed to transport herself, more than once, to different areas of the castle, and even outside.

The evening of the new moon, Snow White and her father left the Kingdom. They'd be travelling for a fortnight, and Regina could barely contain her glee as they set off in the royal carriage.

There was a time where she'd find herself growing jealous every time the King chose his daughter as a travel companion over herself, but as time had gone on, she'd grown indifferent to it. The King and Snow White being away meant that no one was tracking her comings and goings - the staff didn't care enough to report back to the King what she was doing - and today she was exceedingly grateful for that.

Once the sun had set, and most of the staff had retired for the evening, Regina headed outside into the courtyard. She donned her favourite dress; one that she never got to wear as it was rarely appropriate for any situation. It was deep red velvet, and tight - tighter than any other gown she owned. The back was intricate black lace and the neckline in the front plunged low.

The King had fired the dressmaker who'd presented this dress to her, and he'd thought the dress had been destroyed. But Regina had kept it, and from time to time she wore it for herself, in front of her mirror, imagining a different life where she was free to do as she pleased and dress how she wanted.

She'd left her hair long and loose, cascading down her back in waves, and she was sure Maleficent would be pleased to see her like this.

At least, she hoped she was, because she couldn't bear the embarrassment if Maleficent laughed at her attempts to be alluring.

Travelling to the Forbidden Fortress would be a challenge. It would be the furthest she'd ever moved herself with magic, and she would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous. But, she'd had success with every attempt thus far, and she was sure she couldn't last another night without seeing Maleficent again.

So she stood in the middle of the courtyard, bathed in starlight from the clear skies above. She closed her eyes as she felt the magic building up inside her. She summoned it forward, and focused on her destination: the Forbidden Fortress.

She'd considered attempting to appear right in Maleficent's bedchambers, but she'd decided that getting close enough to walk up to the palace would be good enough. She could focus on more specific locations once she'd mastered this move.

She felt the magic at its peak inside her, and she knew it was time. With a swoosh of magic, she felt herself transport, and she opened her eyes with an expectant smile, hoping to have landed right at the entrance of the palace.

Regina blinked as the magic cloud dissipated around her. She wasn't at the entrance of Maleficent's palace. She spun around, looking in all directions. She wasn't anywhere near the Forbidden Fortress, as far as she could tell. All she could see around her were trees.

"Oh no, oh no," Regina whispered to herself, as her eyes darted from tree to tree, panicked. Her biggest fear had been ending up lost in the woods someplace, and now here she was.

"No no no no no," Regina repeated, shaking her head in disbelief. She tried to summon her magic again, but in her panicked state, it was no use. Even if she could access it, as afraid and upset as she was right now, she knew she'd likely end up doing more harm than good if she tried to use it now.

No, she was going to have to get herself out of this the old-fashioned way. She couldn't see the stars for the trees above her, so it was impossible to get her bearings. But the woods couldn't go on forever, she knew. So, on a whim, she chose a direction and started walking.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed before she felt a familiar buzz in the air. She'd been around magic enough in her life to know it when she felt it, and sure enough, the buzz was immediately followed by a swirl of purple smoke.

"Hello, Little One," Maleficent said, before she'd even fully materialized.

"You found me," Regina breathed, an immediate wave of relief washing over her as she ran toward Mal. She was shaking as Mal wrapped her arms tightly around her. She hadn't fully realized just how scared she'd been.

"Shh, it's alright. Of course I found you. I could feel your panic all the way to my castle. What on earth are you doing all the way out here?"

Regina wiped a tear from her cheek as she pressed herself harder against Mal, as though she were afraid the woman might vanish as suddenly as she'd appeared. "I was trying to get to you. Apparently my trajectory was a little off. But I really tried."

"You did well, Little One. Perhaps a little more practice before such a big move next time, though?"

Regina nodded. "Yes. I promise."

"Alright. Now let's get you home, shall we?"

Regina shook her head quickly. "No, I don't want to go home. The King is away. I was trying to get to you."

Mal smiled as she place her hand on the back of Regina's head. "Of course, my darling. I meant my home."

Regina breathed a sigh of relief as she felt Mal's magic encompass her, and in an instant, they were back at the Forbidden Fortress.

"Now, my dear," Mal said, taking Regina's face in her hands and wiping the last of her tears with her thumbs, "the King is away, so that means it's time for the Queen to play."

Regina smiled. "Well, that's what I was hoping…"