The Evil Queen's daughter.

Chapter 17

Nila looked around. She certainly wasn't in the dark forest anymore. The portal must have worked, Glinda must be here! She suddenly felt something cold brush against her cheek. Turning around, the girl saw fir trees covered in a thick layer of snow. It reminded her of the pictures she'd seen in the storybook.

"I thought she was supposed to be the good witch of the south?" She asked Snow. The princess shrugged, obviously just as confused. Suddenly, a woman appeared in front of the trio. She was dressed like royalty and was very beautiful, but also looked very sad. Nila realised the lady must be lonely, it didn't seem like she got many visitors.

"I was." She replied, clasping her hands together. "Before I was banished here."
"Where, where's Regina?" The prince asked, glancing at the small girl. Seriously? Of course he would assume she knew. Glinda looked down at the floor before confirming their assumptions. "I'm afraid your travelling companion has a heart heavy with vengeance. Only a good witch may pass through my door."

"I'm not a witch." Snow interrupted. "My name is-"
"I know who you are." Glinda replied, her voice soft. "And I wasn't referring to you. I was speaking to Nila."

The girl looked up, her eyes full of curiosity. How did this woman know who she was? The witch seemed to shift her gaze to the princess once again. "I've heard many tales about you and your bravery. And now you hold not one pure heart, but two. I sense powerful magic there." Snow smiled. Of course her child would have powerful magic! It was of course the product of the truest love.

"That's why we're here." The princess replied, a more worried expression on her face. "We were told your light magic could help defeat the wicked witch." Charming continued, "And so we've come to ask for your help." Glinda sighed.
"I'm sorry. But my magic isn't powerful enough to defeat Zelena." She shook her head, as if she was embarrassed. "It never has been."
The prince still looked hopeful though, if she'd faced her before perhaps she could at least help them this time? "You know her?" He asked.

"We were friends." She replied, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Sensing their confusion, she added "Long ago. When things were... different. But she made her choice, she gave in to her dark magic. I tried to stop her, but I failed." Snow shook her head in disbelief. No. There had to be a way to save her child. She was not going to lose another one. "Is there no way to stop her?" The princess asked, desperate.
"There is." Glinda sighed. "She was born with great power. Long ago, I gave her a pendant to help focus it."

Nila looked down at her chest, holding her own necklace in her hand. "Like this one?" She whispered. Glinda smiled before looking into the girl's eyes. "Yes. But yours is slightly different." The witch walked towards her, holding the pendant in her hand. "You see this?" She asked, drawing the girl's attention to the sparkles inside it. "This was given to you by someone you love. That's what these are. Sparks of the truest love." She stepped back, "It's what Zelena lacks. Which is why she can only be defeated by purveyors of the strongest light magic."

Snow nodded. "The strongest light magic." She turned to her husband. "Emma. Our daughter. She's the product of true love, she's the saviour!"
Glinda raised her eyebrows, "If she is as pure and powerful as you say, then yes. She can defeat Zelena."

The prince slumped his shoulders. "But she's not in this land. We can't get back to her."
"Well, then I'm afraid your quest is futile."

The couple turned away, ready to head back. Nila paused, the pendant still in her hands. "Maybe not." She turned to face Glinda. "You said it yourself. My magic is also the product of true love, right?" The witch smiled, sensing where his conversation was going. "My dear," she replied, "To be strong enough to defeat Zelena, you will have to be united with the person you love most."

Snow and Charming exchanged knowing looks. The person she loved most was Regina.

"But there is a great curse upon your mother's soul." Then it was. That word again: mother. "She cannot know who you are, because that would break it." The prince put his hand on Nila's shoulder. "Wouldn't that be a good thing? The curse, broken?" He asked. Glinda shook her head. "No. The price of the broken curse is a steep one. It would damage her soul entirely. It would be destroyed."

Nila gasped, tears forming in her eyes. Would she never be reunited with her mother? Snow gave her a sympathetic look. She felt sorry for the child; not being with your family was the worst curse possible. Something only she would know. They missed Emma so much, and the fact that she couldn't miss them too made it even worse. "Hang on." Charming began, "So Regina is Nila's mother? But she can't ever find out, or something bad will happen to her?"

The witch nodded, "I'm afraid you're right. The only other way to defeat Zelena is to break that curse. Unfortunately, I don't think your magic is strong enough just yet." She took the little girl's hand, comforting her.

Nila looked up from the floor, "You said 'yet'. You mean it could be?" Glinda looked into the girl's eyes. "Well, if your mother continues to teach you in the way she has done. With love." She added. "Would you be okay with that?"

The girl scoffed, "What's the point? Even if I do manage to defeat her, I'll never be able to tell Regina the truth."

"Sometimes, we do things that have no impact on ourselves. Some things we do for others. I promise I'll help you to break the curse safely. I'll find a way. But you must defeat Zelena first, otherwise I'll be trapped here forever. And so will you."

And with that, the witch vanished in a cloud of silvery-white smoke.

Nila had never felt so dizzy. Her brain was currently struggling to process the last ten minutes. Everything was circling around in her brain, like fireflies. What had she recently learned? She had a pure heart, her pendant only worked because it was given to her as a symbol of the truest love, she was the only one in the realm strong enough to defeat Zelena, Regina was her mother (?!), and she could never tell her the truth without paying the steepest price.

That was the last thing she remembered thinking about before she fell to the cold, hard floor.

* Author's note - Well there you have it! Hopefully all your suspicions have been confirmed! As always, leave a vote and comment down below! Lots of love ❤️ Sarah xxx

P.S go follow anaiyathakrar . She's  a great writer and I'm sure you'll love her story!  ❤️