Hi everyone! This is my Fillory and Enchanted Forest entry for OQ Realms Week, the beginning of a crossover fic that I'm excited about. Cover credit goes to eqchemistry on Twitter, check out all of her amazing manips and videos! Enjoy this first chapter, and let me know what you think!

The women who called themselves the Queens of Darkness stood around a fire in the Dark One's castle, plotting how to enlist the Evil Queen to aid their efforts.

"I still say we should use our appeal to her, darlings," Cruella grumbled. "That would be far easier than this approach. We all know what those creatures are like, getting what we need will be next to impossible." She glanced at Maleficent. "We all know she's had a soft spot for our dragon friend for a very long time."

The dragon pondered her words. "True. And there is a part of me that still misses her. However, with the way things ended, I doubt that I would be able to persuade her to do anything."

"Then what do we do?" Ursula asked.

"Ladies, ladies, why do you doubt me?" Rumplestiltskin said. "My plan will work. You'll simply have to trust me."

"Rumple, you've been saying that for days now," Cruella scoffed. "It's time we put the plan in motion. Or are you leading us on? Do you really believe that your plan will work? Do you even have a plan?"

"All right, all right!" the Dark One replied hastily. "I'll see what I can do…"

Maleficent shook her head firmly. "No. It's time we took matters into our own hands. Stand aside, Rumple, I'll handle this."

With that, she turned and walked away from the other villains, leaving them speechless in her wake.

The Evil Queen paced her chambers, contemplating what she must do. She felt trapped in her life, unable to see a way out. She had never wanted to be queen, let alone a queen who was seen as evil. But thanks to Rumple, she had discovered that her kingdom saw her as nothing but a monster, and the knowledge had shattered her. She had only turned to Rumple out of desperate necessity, to see to it that her mother was cast out of her life for good. But Rumple, manipulative imp that he was, had used her thirst for control over her own life to turn her into someone that she could barely recognize as herself.

Not to mention she dreaded to think of what Daniel would say if he saw her now. While he would understand her desire to revive him and get revenge on Snow for what she had done, he would have never understood her thirst for revenge. His heart was pure, never darkened by loss as hers had been. Apart from her father, he had been the one bright spot in her life during the years when her mother's cruelty had been at its worst. For so many years after they had met at the tender age of eight, he had been her anchor, the one who helped her hold on to the hope that she could have a better life. When that hope had died with him, she had been not only devastated, but desperate for revenge against the ones who had torn away her chance at happiness. The effort had consumed her, blinding her to everything that didn't help her achieve her goal.

Even when she had broken the balcony rail and fallen and that fairy had rescued her and told her about her "soulmate," she hadn't seen any point in going into the tavern to meet him. The vision of Daniel's face as Cora had torn his heart out of his chest and crushed it to dust had been too fresh in her mind's eye for her to even fully contemplate Tinkerbell's suggestion that she could have happiness with someone else, let alone act on the possibility. The man with the lion tattoo had seemed to be nothing but a dream, the delusions of a fairy who had never known loss. It was so unlikely that she would find happiness with him that she had slammed the door and fled before she even saw his face. Even if she had been ready for a second chance at romance, she didn't want to risk someone else's life. If her first love had died, who was to say it wouldn't happen again? Despite her quick escape, however, the outline of the tattoo that tied her to him had remained in her mind's eye ever since.

Now, years later, she was still certain that even if she had gone into the tavern, there would have been a price, one that he would likely have to pay. After all, she had lost one love, who was Tinkerbell to suggest that this man would be different? She not only wanted to save herself from getting her hopes up, but didn't want to drag him into a relationship that was doomed. After all, they may be destined to be together, but history had taught her that that didn't necessarily mean that they would stay that way. So to protect not only her heart but his as well, she had spared them both the heartache of a relationship that was doomed to fail and walked away before they even had a chance to begin.

Her musings were interrupted by the sound of a door opening and closing behind her. "Who dares disturb me?" she shouted, her voice filled with an anger she found it difficult to conceal.

"Relax," a voice she had hoped never to hear again interrupted her thoughts. "It's only me."

"Relax?" the Queen repeated incredulously. "You chased me out of your life by turning into a dragon and breathing fire to convince me to leave you alone. I don't 'relax' around people who try to destroy me."

"I wasn't trying to destroy you, I just… wasn't ready. But I've done a lot of thinking, and I think you need to get away from here."

"And go… where exactly?" Regina asked apprehensively. "Everything I could ever want or need is right here." It was a lie and she was sure her draconian friend knew it, but she was never one to reveal any vulnerabilities. She had learned long ago what that would cost her. And what did Mal want, anyway? She had chased her away long ago- she clearly wanted nothing to do with her.

With a soft smile, Mal answered with a simple, "Somewhere where we can get away from all of this."

Get away? "But how will I get my revenge on that traitor Snow White if I'm not here?" she asked. "Finding a way to cast a curse doesn't just happen on its own, you know."

Mal smiled. "I have a friend who can help. I think you two will get along well, you have a lot in common."

"And what of my kingdom?" Regina asked. "Who will watch over it?"

Mal's hand settled over hers, turning it over so their fingers were intertwined. Hard as she tried to resist, the feelings she had tried so hard to suppress since Mal had chased her away started to resurface, and she extracted her hand, turning away. "I will."

Regina was skeptical. "And treat it the way you treated me? I don't think so," she scoffed

Mal's expression softened. "I never meant to hurt you. What we had… I've never had anything like it before. You are special to me, little one, and I'll treat your kingdom as if it were my own."

Regina frowned. She really did need a new angle to help her approach the Snow situation… maybe Mal was right. Maybe a change of scenery was exactly what she needed. "All right, fine. But if I come back and you've set everything aflame…"

"I won't," the dragon promised, her words laced with what Regina thought was true sincerity.

"Now how do I get to this place? And who should I look for once I'm there?" Regina asked.

Her friend snickered as she pressed a magic bean into her hand. "I've been saving this for just the right moment. I want you to use it now. You'll be going to a land called Fillory. And don't worry. You won't need to find my friend, I'm sure he'll find you."

Regina took the bean, knowing that it was indeed a rare gift, given that the giants had hoarded their supply of this crop for longer than anyone (except perhaps Rumplestiltskin) could remember. "I'll need more information than that," she informed her friend.

"He goes by another name in that realm," Maleficent responded. "I know him as Sebastian, though usually he likes for those closest to him to call him Seb."

Regina nodded. With one last sweep of the room, she gathered anything that she thought might be useful in Fillory. An assortment of potions, their ingredients, and assorted magical objects collected themselves in a bag that she had magically expanded long ago.

"Good luck," Maleficent told her, standing back as the portal opened. "And give Seb my best!"

With those words, Regina took a deep breath and jumped into the portal. She didn't know what would happen next, but knowing Mal, she knew that she was in for an adventure she would never forget.

Not far from the tall towers of Whitespire, the Dark King was casting a complex spell, one that he knew he had to cast due to a choice he had made centuries ago, a decision that had made him the man he was today.

As he worked with the magic in the air around him, he felt the air shift, as if another magician was using a type of magic that had never been seen in Fillory before. The magic interfered with his own as he paused to determine what new force had entered his kingdom.

Simultaneously, he felt something stir within him, something he had never felt before He knew he had to find whoever had brought this magic to his land- whoever it was could pose a threat to his kingdom, a prospect that he could not bear to contemplate. As his tattoo burned with an unusual heat, he sent out knights to find the magician who had invaded his land at once, and waited anxiously to discover what- or rather, who- they would find.

Meanwhile, in a cell in the depths of Whitespire, there was another who had felt something in the Fillorian air that was unlike anything that world had ever experienced. As his lion tattoo emanated heat, Robin looked up to the moon that he could see through the high window in his cell and wondered what exactly had come to Fillory, and how it would affect him. Somehow, he knew it wouldn't be long before he found out.