The Swan and the Queen

Chapter 4

That's when she saw the stream of blood trailing down the front of Regina's nightgown.

"Regina, what happened?" Eala asked again, this time with more urgency in her voice. "Did he do this to you?" Regina simply nodded as tears ran down her face.

"He came to me this morning and...forced himself on me. He wouldn't stop, even when I started screaming that he was hurting me. He just held me down and forced himself on me harder. He didn't stop until he was...satisfied..." Regina cried, causing Emma to hold her closer.

"Come on, let's go inside. You should lay down for a while," Eala said with anger in her voice. If I ever meet the man who did this to Regina, I'll kill him with my bare hands! she thought to herself as she gently encouraged Regina to go inside and lay on her unmade bed.

"Will you lay with me for a little while?" Regina asked, her voice shaky, on the verge of tears.

"Of course!" Eala said, laying behind Regina, wrapping her arms around her, holding her tight.

They stayed like this for a while, with Regina crying in Eala's arms until she eventually dozed off.

"May I look?" Eala asked about a half hour later, after Regina woke from her short nap, her voice soft and soothing. "To see if your wounds need attention. You can say no if you don't feel comfortable."

"No. It's alright. I trust you," Regina said after a few seconds. Eala slowly unwrapped herself from around Regina and made her way down to the foot of the bed. Carefully, she moved Regina's nightgown, lifting it just enough to get a good glimpse at Regina's injuries.

There was dried blood running down the inside of Regina's thighs, leading from her labia. After asking Regina's permission, she gently spread Regina's labia to reveal the source of the bleeding. Small cuts littered her labia, and Eala feared they didn't stop there, based on the small drops of blood that still trickled out of Regina's vagina.

"I know of a salve that I can make to help heal and soothe your wounds. Will you allow me to make it and help apply it for you?" she asked as she covered Regina back up.

"Yes, please," Regina whispered. Eala smiled sadly as she climbed off the bed and made her way over to the other side of the room.

Regina watched as Eala moved quickly around the small house, pulling out herbs and other ingredients, crushing and mixing everything in a small wooden bowl. Once the salve was ready, she poured some warm water into a larger bowl and pulled a clean rag out of a drawer.

"If it's okay, I'm going to clean off the blood before I apply the salve. May I?" Eala asked, making sure to respect Regina's body.

"Sure," Regina said as she rolled over onto her back one more time.

Eala slowly lifted Regina's nightgown once more, then began gently wiping the dried blood off Regina's legs and labia, making sure to apply the smallest amount of pressure needed to get the job done. The last thing she wanted was to hurt Regina more.

"I'm going to apply the salve now. It might be a little cold, but you should start feeling better right away," Eala explained before she began to gently apply the salve to Regina's injuries.

"I think you have some injuries...internally...would you like me to apply the salve there as well?" Eala asked, her voice low and calm.

"Yes...please..." Regina said, her voice so weak and small it broke Eala's heart. "Just go slow."

"Of course," Eala said, shifting on the bed to give Regina a comforting kiss before returning to the task at hand.

Gently and slowly, she began to apply the salve inside Regina's vagina. Eala expected Regina to shudder at her touch, but instead she seemed to relax as she quickly but gently soothed Regina's wounds.