The Evil Queen's daughter.

Chapter 16

"Through the door, step inside. If pure of heart then she won't hide." Rumplestiltskin chanted in a sing-song like fashion. "He's not making sense." The queen turned to Snow and her prince, "He's gone mad, again!" The princess pushed past Regina and looked Gold in the eyes. "Rumplestiltskin, who is the 'she' you mentioned? And can she help us save our baby?"

He giggled maniacally. "Why, Glinda of course!" Nila raised her eyebrows. Just a few months ago, Oz had seemed like a fairytale.  A collection of stories that she had been told as a child. 'This must be what the people from the land-without-magic thought of all of us!' She thought.

"She's real too?" The girl asked.
"But of course!" Rumplestiltskin beckoned for her to come closer. Furrowing her brows, Nila did as she was told and walked towards the cage.
Rumplestiltskin was sitting at a small, wooden stool with a spinning wheel, and had been frantically spinning straw into gold before they managed to get through to him. Something was off, what had Zelena done to him? He barely recognised Belle, the love of his life! Let alone the Charmings and their baby.

"Listen to me, lassie." He said, in almost a completely different voice.  "Whatever Glinda tells you is true. It may be a shock to the system, but it's also the truth. But you mustn't tell anyone!" His voice converted back the strange high-pitched tone she'd heard at the start. "You mustn't tell anyone! Well, not anyone." He was now whispering. "Just not... her." He directed his gaze to the queen, who was at this moment conversing with the girl's father.

Usually, she'd want to hear what they were speaking about, to see what was going on. But right now, she was too distracted by the strange man in the cage. Rumplestiltskin saw Nila stare at the pair and immediately added, "Or him." She turned around, her eyes full of confusion. "It's simple really, dearie! Just don't tell your mother or father."

Her mother? What was he talking about? Regina didn't have any child, let alone a daughter, and it certainly couldn't be her. The curse had lasted twenty-eight years, and the girl was only twelve. The timelines didn't make sense. Or did they?

Nila almost didn't remember what had happened next. All she knew was that one minute she was in Rumple's castle, processing what he had told her. And the next? She was walking outside with Snow, Charming and Regina, apparently heading to find this 'Glinda' person. They were walking in silence, obviously some unresolved tension between them. The further the four seemed to venture into the forest, the darker it seemed to become.

Nila shivered a little; the temperature seemed to have dropped dramatically since leaving the castle. The queen placed an arm around the girl, before removing her fur coat and handing it to her. As Nila stopped to put it over her shoulder, she noticed Charming bend down to pluck a sort of flower.

He handed it to his wife, "For luck." He said. Snow held the flower in her hand, gazing at it lovingly. She hadn't seen one like it for many years, and it always brought a smile to her face. Regina, however, was not impressed and gave Snow a solid glare. "What?" The princess asked, innocently.
Could this woman just not judge her for once? In her heart, she knew she could sometimes be too 'princessy' for the Queen's liking - but it wasn't going to stop her from admiring the flower.

"We're at the edge of the dark forest," Regina replied, "Trying to find the one person who can stop our imminent doom and save your unborn child. And you two stop to smell the roses?" Nila snickered. The queen was certainly the best at comebacks, a skill she longed to learn.

Snow White glanced back at the flower, then to Charming - who was smiling proudly at his findings - and then to Regina. "Snowbells!" She exclaimed, hoping the name itself would be enough explanation.

The queen raised her eyebrows, "I don't care if they're dancing daffodils! I need to destroy my sister, and so do you. If that babbling man sent us on a wild goose chase, I swear I'll -" Luckily for the pair, she didn't have the chance to finish her sentence. Because there, in the middle of the forest, in the middle of absolutely nowhere, appeared a door.

She stopped. "What's that supposed to be?" Charming halted beside her.
"Well, it appears to be a door." He replied simply without a hint of sarcasm, as if he was the genius of the group. The glare he received in response could've frozen an entire lake.

The other two decided to investigate further. They discovered that the door led to nowhere. There was nothing behind it, and no sign of a portal. "That leads to nowhere" The prince concurred. God, if he wanted the prize for the group moron he didn't have to ask. The queen had been dealing with these idiots all day, and the last thing she wanted was to find that her suffering had been for nothing.

"Through the door, step inside. If pure of heart, then she won't hide." Snow recited. Nila looked at her in confusion. "It's Rumple's riddle. It's Glinda." The princess strode towards the door, doing what the riddle instructed and stepping inside. She was swiftly followed by Charming.

The queen scoffed, "A portal with a cheap cloaking spell." She muttered before following in their footsteps. Strangely enough, she came right out on the other side. Had the portal closed? Regina grunted before stamping her foot in the ground, for the second time in one day. She'd had to deal with the repercussions of her past.

The queen turned around to warn Nila not to follow. Unfortunately, she was too late. Curiosity had overcome the girl, and she'd already disappeared.

Great. She was alone. Again.

* Author's note - Oohhh! So, as you can see - The last few chapters have gone back to follow the main outline of season 3, now that all has been set up. So you may recognise some quotes. Especially the sassy bit towards the middle! Hopefully I'll be able to get chapter 17 out tonight! Remember to vote and leave a comment! Love you all ❤️ Sarah xxx