The Magic Within ↠ Once Upon A Time

[Chapter 22] Another Chance?

Once reaching the stiff body, which was concealed from both their views, Dr. Whales crouches down beside the white sheet. He grasps onto the fabric and looks up at the woman beside him. "Are you ready?"

"Can you just hurry this up?!" She yells.

He sighs, but complies with the mayor's demands. With that, he pulls the white sheet from the body, revealing the victim's face to the world.

In that blink moment, it almost seemed as if time had slowed for Regina Mills. She couldn't believe what her two brown eyes were looking upon. This couldn't be real. There had to be a mistake. Death must've been playing a cruel joke on her. But, death never lies.

Lying on the cold tar floor, the body of a young girl with long, black hair, that seemed to have blended with the shadows, was still. Her eyes were hidden behind its eyelids and her face bared no emotions, only the look of death itself. Her, now, pale skin was stained with her dry blood. Bruises were patched on her cheeks, forehead, and trailed down her neck, possibly latched on her entire body.

From the looks of it, the poor girl could've died a slow, painful, and agonizing death. She could've died all alone in the bitter cold darkness. And, now, her body was the last thing that her soul could leave behind. Without all of the painful bruises and sickly blood stains, one could believe that she was merely sleeping peacefully under the stars. But, there was no way to disguise Death's aura.

Regina let out one final sigh before her breath hitches and she was unable to take in anymore oxygen. She covers her mouth with her hands before she could let out any unsettling noises. Tears brimmed on her eyes. On the inside, her already broken heart was shattering into a million pieces, yet again. There was nothing that Regina could latch onto for support, so she had to force herself to stay up. She didn't want any unwanted attention to be brought upon her. She didn't want to show any emotions towards an unknown Jane Doe. But, she knew exactly who the person was.

She couldn't believe that Melody was the victim of this horrific crime. Her sweet little girl was lying on the cold floor, dead. And, there was nothing Regina would do to bring Melody back. Not even the most powerful magic could undo what Death has already done.

After all Regina had done, it was just flushed down the toilet. After all the struggle she's endured, it was all for nothing. Everything she tried so hard to protect was gone. It was taken away from her. She tried her hardest to conceal everything to protect the one she loved most. She tried to protect her daughter from the darkness, but her actions proved worthless. She failed to protect her daughter.

Then, Regina was taken out of her trance when a voices calls out to her. "Ms. Mills?" Dr. Whale asks.

She eyes down the doctor.

"Do you know who she was?"

She takes in a deep breath then drops her hands. It took all of her will power to keep a straight face. Fortunately, the doctor could not notice the tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. "N-No," she croaks. "I don't know who she is."

The doctor sighs. "Then, I suppose we'll have to take her to the morgue and wait 'til someone can I.D. her."

"A-Actually. I don't even believe she was a resident here... I've never seen her in my entire life," she lies.

"Well." Dr. Whale scratches his head. "I can't argue with that. She seems to be a stranger to us all. But, I still should report this to any near-by towns. Maybe they'll know who this Jane Doe is."