Once Upon a Midnight: Audrina

Chapter 00: Prologue

Many Years Ago, in a World Created by a Wish:

The Evil Queen paced the length of her private chambers, a foreign feeling pinging beneath her breast and gnawing at her stomach. It was something she hadn't felt in a long time, she'd almost forgotten its name.

"Regina." Her father watched her pace, his expression kind and paternal. He shook his head, silently conveying the same message he'd repeated with his words. "...I'm sorry."

The Evil Queen shook her head, her face contorted hatefully though one glance into her eyes showed it was a lie. A mask to hide the horror and the uncertainty waging inside her.

"That curse requires you to sacrifice the heart of the one you love most." Her father, King Henry, said soft but steadily. He smiled, subdued, his gaze shifting towards the bassinet even before the weak cries started. "...you know that isn't me anymore."

The Evil Queen scowled, even though she didn't hesitate approaching the bassinet when the cries had started. She did pause briefly, as though trying to pull herself out of what she felt, but the cries and small fists reaching out pulled her back. Her lips twitched as she picked up the baby, cradling the three-month-old gently.

"Regina..." King Henry studied his daughter, noting the look in her eyes with a mix of sadness and hope.

"...I should have left you with your mother..." The Evil Queen mumbled to the baby, not loud enough for her father to hear but enough for the infant. The tiny thing opened its button-cute eyes at her voice and giggled, reaching out its tiny hand towards her face. She smiled back, even though her seeped-in-vengeance brain yelled at her. This would never bring her her revenge.

"Regina, look at how happy you are." King Henry approached a few steps, overjoyed by the smile he'd noticed on his daughter's face. "Don't you think it's time to give up on your revenge and take a chance at a new beginning? I'm certain that..."

The Evil Queen stiffened and rounded on her father. "Give up? I'm not giving up on my revenge on Snow White. Never."

"But the curse...you can't be willing to sacrifice a baby for it."

The Evil Queen swallowed, holding the infant so much more gently than what her body language would expect one to expect. She glanced down at the baby, her eyes softening for that brief moment, before scowling at her father. "I'll get my revenge without that curse. I never needed it anyway."

King Henry smiled sadly, though relieved. His daughter had given up on the curse, at least. And perhaps, given time, the happiness he saw in her eyes each time she glanced at the child would suffice for her.

"Here." The Evil Queen approached her father, handing over the infant. "Why don't you watch her? I have plans to make."

"Regina..." He started, but then nodded and took the baby, his adopted grandchild. Before he could give one more try at convincing his daughter to reconsider her revenge, the Evil Queen had already left the room. He smiled down at the baby, holding back his worry for his daughter.

"Mmmh grahh." The baby burbled, not as comfortable as when the Evil Queen had held her, but not discomfited enough to cry. Her tiny hands balled up, and her eyes - a hazel mix ranging from gray to blue, depending on the lighting - stared up at King Henry.

"Don't worry. Your mo...Regina will be back soon." King Henry smiled warmly at the infant, his expression faltering briefly as he thought of the child's real parents. He knew, based on how his daughter had been so flustered when she'd first brought the babe to him, that something had happened to the birth mother. He recalled how Regina had complained about the newborn at first, and that he had asked about the birth mother.

His daughter had simply scowled and mumbled that the birth mother had died during labor, leaving the newborn mother-less. He'd then asked about the father, only for Regina, who'd been complaining nonstop about the newborn, to grow silent. He'd seen how her scowl deepened in silent contemplation before lighting up, the smirk on her face chilling him.

"He's...not in the picture." The Evil Queen had replied, studying the newborn with a devilish smirk. Her annoyance quickly morphed into satisfaction, as though something about the father had bemused her.

"Regina, you can't just take a child from its parents." King Henry had scolded, refusing to hand the newborn back to his daughter after she'd handed it to him. "You must give her back."

"Give her back to whom?" The Evil Queen snapped, not expecting the rebuke. "Her mother is dead. She died giving birth. And the father...he's not really free to raise her. Besides, I doubt he knows she exists."

"Regina, that's..."

"Trust me, daddy, I'm the only one who can raise this child. Anyone else would be under-prepared." The Evil Queen had replied and magicked the newborn into her arms, her eyes and smile filled with some secret she refused to divulge. "Yes...she needs a name. A powerful name, worthy of royalty. Um. Sadie, means princess. Or maybe Estelle. No, that sounds too similar to..." She paused, mumbling to herself different names and meanings. "I know: Audrina. 'Noble strength.' Perfect for a future queen." The Evil Queen left the room, holding the newborn, completely ignoring her father's feeble protesting.-

King Henry sighed at the memory, his conscience mixed. Though he knew that the baby he held, whom Regina had elected to raise as her own, should be returned to her own family, he couldn't bring himself to betray his daughter. Especially not after realizing just how attached Regina had become to the child.

"I hope..." Leaving the rest of his words unspoken, he glanced down and kissed his adopted granddaughter's forehead.