Standing in the shadows of the royal chambers, queen ingrith had watched and listened as her husband and son blathered on about love and unity. She had been glad that her face was hidden. At least the two men could not see her eyes as they rolled or the small grimace she bore when she heard she would grow to love Aurora in time.
All the time in the world would not be enough. To her, Aurora was only a pawn in a game of chess she had been secretly playing for years. Having heard more than she had wished, Ingrith slipped through the shadows into the sanctity of her dressing room. The space was off-limits to John and, for the most part, any of the castle staff. Besides a few very trusted maids, she kept the room empty of visitors, which was how she liked it. Walking into the center of the room, she exhaled deeply. This place calmed her. On either side, the walls were lined with lavish gowns of gray, silver, white, and black. Not one for color, she found the monochrome effect settling. Diamonds and other precious gems sat upon the shelves, and dozens upon dozens of shoes were paired together on a wall of their own. Against the far wall were several dress forms made to her exact measurements.
While Evie didn't like Ingrith,she had to admit the queen had taste.
The most fragile and lovely of her gowns adorned them. Ingrith held out a hand as she walked toward them. But instead of gently running her fingers over the delicate lace on one, she pushed against it. The dress form tilted back until there was a quiet click. Behind the form, a door slid open, revealing stairs that led down into darkness. The queen allowed herself the smallest of smiles. This was the real reason she loved her dressing chambers and did not allow anyone in. Or rather, the door led to the reason she kept her private rooms private. Sliding by the dress form, Ingrith slipped through the door and began to descend the staircase. Her footfalls echoed off the stone walls as she went deeper and deeper. Every few feet, a sconce illuminated the stairway, revealing ancient stone that was always damp and cold. But Ingrith didn't need the light to know where she was going. She had made this journey more times than she could possibly count. As she approached the bottom of the stairs, the space grew lighter and she could hear water bubbling. Every once in a while, a clink sounded, as though something was hitting against glass. Finally, she arrived at a landing. Ingrith stepped forward and into a huge cavernous space.
Mal looked at King John and asked"How did she built this without any of you notcing it?"
John sighed and replied"This was her private room, neither Philip or I was even allowed to enter.She must have bribed tbe builder,when this toom was being built."
There was small bridge and below was workers building iron weapons.Also among them was Gerda looking up at thr Queen.
Mal looking at Philip asked"Where all of them imprisoned?"
Philip nodded ans replied"I did a full sweep to locate every memeber of my mothers loyal soldiers and workers."
Mal nodded,she was slightly appeased with that.
The arched ceilings rose nearly fifteen feet, and several stone bridges dissected the room, revealing an even larger room below. Ingrith walked to it and peered down. Her reaction was the same as it always was when she looked upon her laboratory: a mixture of pleasure and pride. She had spent years making the space into what it was now.
Every piece of gleaming equipment had been handpicked. Every specimen was there at her orders. Every experiment was done at her request. Her eyes narrowed as she scanned the room for Lickspittle. Spotting the pixie hunched over a workbench, she made her way to him. He didn't hear her at first. His big yellow eyes were focused on the microscope in front of him. Long, thin fingers were wrapped around the black tube that led to the lenses. As he gazed into the eyepiece, his fingers tightened and loosened, reminding Ingrith of a spider making a web. Lickspittle's skin, which had once been smooth and the color of moonlight, had long since turned to a spongy yellow. It was mottled with spots and scars earned in various mishaps in the lab over the years. Even his clothes had taken on the same yellowish hue. The apron he wore over his chest was stained, and its large pocket was full of various equipment-none of which looked particularly clean.
Audrey spoke up"So he was one who we saw at the start?"
Mal,Jane, Evie and Carlos nodded,they were curious about who this was.
For people like Jaffar,Regina,Adam and Belle the fact this person didn't look human caught there eye.
Ingrith hated how dirty Lickspittle appeared. But she tried to ignore it. After all, she needed him to work, not escort her to a ball. Lickspittle was the only other soul who knew of Ingrith's lab. Captured years earlier by Ingrith, he had lost his wings-and his soul-and become her lead experimenter. He seemed to have forgotten over the years that he was even a pixie at all. He often referred to himself as though he were a human, and Ingrith had stopped correcting him.
Mal hearing Ingriths thoughts with slight shock shouted"Also,he is a pixie."
There was slight anger in her voice,after all seeing someone from one of your own species betray you isn't easy.
Maleficent nodded and explained"His name is Lickspittle,he is a prisoner himself."
This kinda suprised them,so Aurora added"He can only gain his freedom by following ingrith's orders."
Philip continued"He also lost his wings because of my mother.So he follows her every order to stay alive."
Jane and Fairygodmother felt bad for there fellow pixie.While many glared at Ingrith.
It served her purposes better if the creature did not feel any connection to the faeries and pixies he worked on in the name of science. Or rather, in the name of Ingrith. Without an ounce of remorse, he spent his days and nights hidden in the bowels of Castle Ulstead, performing crude trials on his own kind. He lifted his head from the microscope, and donning a pair of safety glasses, he turned his big yellow eyes to a glowing red flower.
He hummed as he continued to work, tapping the center of the flower over a dish, causing a gold powder to float down. The beautiful flower seemed out of place in the darkness of the room and in the spongy hands of Lickspittle. All around him were dozens of glass jars, and inside them were trapped faeries of every shape and size. This was where the Moors' faeries had been disappearing to-all by Ingrith's order. Hearing Ingrith's footfalls, Lickspittle finally looked up. He blinked his eyes rapidly as he bowed. "Your Majesty," he said.
Jane with sadness muttered"Poor fairies."
Her mother and boyfriend comforted her.
Mal looked at her mother and asked"They are okay,right."
Malrficent looked down in sadness , she knew the once that had the red powder used on them,were able to get back to normal.The rest were not so lucky.
Mal seeing this teared up, so did Aurora remembering the past.Maleficent quickly used her wings and wrapped it around both her daughters to comfort them.
Leah also joined in muttering"Don't worry Ingrith will get her punishment."
Mal nodded glaring at the former queen with glowing eyes.Which caused Ingrith to step back.
"You need to move faster, Lickspittle," the queen replied, not bothering with pleasantries. She hesitated and quickly looked at the flower before moving toward a nook in the back of the lab. Inside, the floor was piled high with all manner of mythical relics. More items had been placed carefully and intentionally on shelves that stuck out from the walls. There were wooden bowls filled with dusty objects long since rotted to unrecognizable, jars labeled "unicorn tears" and "Pegasus teeth," and even what appeared to be the skull of a dragon. It was like walking into a museum of mysterious objects from all over the world, all remnants of a longago time when people believed in myth and magic. In the heart of the nook, separated from the other pieces, was Ingrith's most prized possession. She had tracked down the item nearly five years earlier and secreted it away to the lab. Even now, in the dark and dank laboratory, it appeared to shine with untapped magic. She stepped closer, her eyes locked on the spinning wheel.
The Villians gussed her plan and had to agree it was a great one.
Whole some VKs like Mal, Jay, Adam and Belle had a hunch what it was and they didn't like it.