Regina knew that what she was doing was dangerous. If someone saw her they'd ask questions, and then how was she supposed to keep her secret? But she had to see her, she'd only been here for a day and it was already driving her crazy. She regretted her choices, especially the one that led her to her current predicament.

The elevator was a two-man job, designed that way specifically so that no one would be able to find her. But it was the elevator that caused her problem. She was only one woman, and with no magic she couldn't run the elevator once she was inside. It definitely wasn't one of her better ideas. Deciding to leave it be, she exited the library, making sure to lock it back up, and drove across town to the mining shafts.

A genius always had a back-up plan, hers was just a little more complicated than she'd care for it to be. Grabbing a flashlight, she trudged across the empty space until she reached the boarded up entrance of the tunnel. With a few firm pulls and tugs she had a big enough entrance for herself, and she slipped inside. She let instinct guide her, as she had no clue where the chamber was. After a dizzying series of twists, turns, and a few dead ends, she found herself in a large underground cave. And there, curled in the middle sleeping, was her goal.

She crept up to the slumbering beast quietly, unwilling to startle her lest she get roasted. She laid a hand on the dragon's side lightly, beginning to stroke the hide as she remembered the woman liked. A low growl was heard, and when she looked up she was met with the extremely furious gaze of a very large dragon. A dragon who was calling up fire if the red glow blossoming in her chest was any indication. Gulping, the brunette held up her hands where the beast could see them and began to slowly back away.

Fire volleyed over her head and she yelped, diving behind the closest cover, which just so happened to be Snow White's coffin. The next blast hit it, liquefying the glass, and she cursed that irony that the vessel meant to end a life had saved hers. She rolled behind a stone pillar as the next blast scorched the ground she had been crouching on.

"Maleficent! Cut it out!" Regina screamed as fire slipped around the edges of the rock she was hiding behind. Her answer was a roar, and she knew she'd have a hard time explaining that to anyone who heard it. "I'm sorry! I was wrong!" she screamed, waiting to be burned to death.

The fire never came, instead when she opened her eyes she was met with a large green orb staring directly at her. She sighed, relieved to still be alive. She knew that under normal circumstances Maleficent would rather take a sword to the chest than harm her, but she did just curse her to eternity as a large scaly reptile. She reached out a hand to touch the dragon's snout, but she drew back and Regina tried not to show the hurt the gesture caused on her face. Maleficent growled as if to say "Get on with it".

"I shouldn't have trapped you as a dragon. I realized the second I did it how wrong I was, but I couldn't have you here, not as a human." The dragon cocked her head, obviously confused. "You are my weakness...because I love you."

Understanding, hurt, and longing shone from the reptile's eyes, and tears glistened in Regina's own. They had discussed love many times over the years, both agreeing it was a weakness not worth the pain it brought. But Maleficent had gotten a pet, learned to love again, and it was that weakness that landed them in their current predicament. If only she hadn't gone soft Regina never would have gotten the curse, because they both knew that no matter how black her heart became she would never intentionally hurt the sorceress.

Maleficent moved closer, allowing the ex-Queen to lay a hand on her snout. Regina sobbed at the touch, missing the feel of warm flesh beneath her fingertips. She launched herself forward, wrapping her arms around the dragon's face. Maleficent didn't move, keenly feeling the pain the other woman radiated. She allowed her to wet her nose with her tears, a few of her own sliding down to the ground.

"You were right, you know," the brunette whispered when she had regained control. "I feel so empty, and I've only been here a day."

And to be honest, she wasn't sure if the emptiness was because of the curse or because she had trapped her love as a dragon.

She slept there that night, wrapped securely in her love's front legs, warmed by the dragon fire beneath the scales.

She continued to visit Maleficent, the desire to be with her too strong to ignore. She couldn't go every day, and on the nights spent apart she tossed and turned fitfully, unable to sleep for more than a few minutes at a time. And if the townspeople ever felt small earthquakes as a certain dragon paced restlessly around her cave, they never mentioned them. She tried to visit at least twice a week, more if she could slip away. She spent her time with the dragon describing the new world they inhabited, all the wonders there created without magic.

She spoke of her days running a town full of idiots, and Maleficent always listened, not that she could do much else. Regina of course knew what her days entailed. Sleeping, pacing and staring at the entrance waiting for the brunette to return. She felt a pang of guilt every time she descended into the bowels of the earth, but pushed it down so she could enjoy her time with the dragon.

Maleficent was getting restless. Regina hadn't come in several days, at least, she thought it was several days. It was hard to tell the passing of time not only because she was an animal, but because the cave was always submerged in darkness. She hadn't slept in a long while, that was how she tracked time's passage. She lay facing the small doorway Regina always entered through, hoping to see her, worry increasing when she didn't.

A sound caught her ears just as she strongly considered trying to fit through that doorway. It sounded like coughing, or something similar. Fire burned just beneath her skin as she waited for the visitor to emerge. The flames died abruptly when she saw Regina, looking pale and huddled in a black coat, come stumbling through the door. She gave a low growl, concern surging to the forefront of her mind.

The brunette struggled over to her, collapsing against her forelegs and erupting into a coughing fit. A sound akin to a whine escaped the dragon as she observed her love's pain. She wished more than ever she was human so she could properly cuddle the woman and take care of her.

"I'm sorry I'm late for our visit," Regina wheezed, congestion deepening and roughening her voice. "I wasn't feeling well, but I couldn't miss a whole week."

The growl the dragon gave was both concerned and disapproving. She was glad the woman had come to see her, but disappointed she had jeopardized her health to do so. She readjusted so that the brunette was cradled against her chest, the dragon fire coursing through her veins warming her. Even unnaturally warm as she was she could tell the ex-Queen was running a fever, and voiced her displeasure.

"I know you're upset with me, but I couldn't sleep, I needed to see you," Regina said.

Cuddled against the older woman she relaxed immediately and felt exhaustion swim over her. She was sleeping peacefully in minutes, and Maleficent took comfort in her soft snores. Though she herself was tired from her lack of sleep, and felt complete enough to rest now that her love was by her side, she remained awake, guarding the woman as if she were a treasure. It wasn't until she noticed a sheen of perspiration on the brunette's forehead and heard her breathing clear that she allowed herself to rest, head lying beside Regina's body.

The years came and went, and Regina continued visiting Maleficent weekly. Things continued on as they were, minute changes the only things hinting at the passage of time. The curse kept everyone in stasis, so no one aged. It was a quiet, calm life. Until one day it wasn't. A small baby, the first outsider to ever enter the town, was brought to his new mother, one Regina Mills.

Regina missed several meetings with Maleficent after she received her son. She was so nervous about being a good mother that all thoughts except how to take care of her child left her mind. The yearning for her love was still present, though it was dulled, soothed by the love for the tiny being she had adopted. She slept now, albeit restlessly, only because her son didn't yet have a regular sleeping schedule. She had someone to look after now, she couldn't just go running off to the mines whenever the fancy struck her. At least, that's what she told herself to stop the guilt from eating her alive.

Maleficent, for her part, grew worried beyond belief. Was Regina okay? Was she so sick she couldn't move? Had she been killed? These thoughts and more raced through her head as she faithfully waited for the visit that never seemed to come. Finally, after several weeks of isolation and loneliness, her resolve broke.

Despair overwhelmed her, her heart very nearly breaking as she thought she had been abandoned. She now kept her back to the cave's entrance, spending her time sleeping or staring listlessly into space. Her own mind began to drive her into depression, thoughts of Regina finding someone better, someone human, to love filling her subconscious in sleep and consciousness during waking hours. It grew to the point where she hardly slept, barely breathed. Her heart was slowly shriveling, cracking, shattering. She honestly considered throwing herself down the gorge that ran along one wall of the cave and not using her wings to save herself. What a relief that would be, to end the hell she was living. She'd finally be free and Regina could be happy with her new lover.

...

Regina woke with a start, unsure what had caused her to return to consciousness. It wasn't Henry, the baby monitor was silent. She considered the possibility of a nightmare, realizing she was covered in sweat with adrenaline still flooding her system. But she didn't remember the nightmare as she usually did, so she ruled that out. It was then she cried out and clutched her chest, her heart feeling as though it had just simultaneously burst into flames and been shredded into a thousand pieces.

She didn't know it, but it was at that precise moment that Maleficent completely gave up hope. It had been over five months since Regina's last visit, verging on six, and she could no longer believe she'd come back. Luckily for the pair, Maleficent decided to wait until the next morning to complete the deed, deciding to spend the last few hours of her life thinking about the woman she loved. Regina panted as the pain ended, another layer of sweat covering her body, the cries of an infant echoing through the mansion in response to her scream. But for the first time since she'd adopted him, she didn't go running to his side.

Instead, she recognized the pain as the sign it was, and stared blankly at the wall in front of her. Her hand absently rubbed over her heart, an emptiness settling there. She felt as though she'd lost something she could never hope to regain.

"Maleficent," she whispered, the full consequences of her actions resonating in her soul. She threw the covers back, rapidly stripping and redressing, before rushing into Henry's room to calm and dress him as well. "Shh," she cooed as she bundled him into his car seat, "shhh. We're going to meet someone very special, someone you should have met long ago."

She almost sped to the mines, almost. The only thing that stopped her was the baby in the backseat. She slid to a stop just outside the entrance, nearly ripping her seatbelt in frustration. She was considerably gentler with Henry's buckle, lifting him into her arms and supporting him. Switching on her flashlight, she began to familiar trek down to the cave.

Her son whimpered in the darkness and she shushed him, hoping she wouldn't have to deal with a meltdown in the middle of the earth. Finally hushing him, she emerged into the chamber, expecting to see the dragon staring intently at the entrance as she usually did. What she saw nearly made her drop the baby. Maleficent lay completely still, back facing Regina, and the woman couldn't make out any breathing. She rushed over to the dragon's still form, quickly locating the head.

She stood in front of Maleficent's face, directly in her line of vision as her eyes were open. Unlike her usual self, the dragon didn't look at her with love, instead continuing to stare right through her. Green eyes once filled with passion and emotion were now dull and lifeless, and that perhaps terrified her more than anything.

"Maleficent," she called, adjusting her hold on Henry so she could place her hand on the dragon's face. There was no indication of acknowledgement on Maleficent's part. "Maleficent," Regina called a little louder. Still no response. "Mal, so help me if you don't look at me this instant I will never speak to you again!" she screamed in frustration, successfully setting off the baby.

It wasn't Regina that caught the dragon's attention, as she was too absorbed in her memories to differentiate between memory and the real thing, but the wailing of a baby. There was no child in her memories, and so she came back to herself abruptly. Upon doing so she was greeted with the sight of an extremely concerned Regina and a wailing baby. The sight hurt her already broken heart further, and with a groan she turned her face away so she wouldn't have to witness the physical evidence of Regina's love for another person. Confused, Regina bounced Henry and studied the other woman before realizing what was wrong.

"You think he's mine? Is that what this is about? You think I left you for another man? Oh Maleficent, how could you think such a thing?"

She rounded the woman until she was once again in her line of sight.

"Maleficent, you listen and listen good. I will never leave you. I love you so much that sometimes I don't get any work done at all because all I do is think of you and imagine a life we share. Henry is adopted. I found him in need of a mother and I was lonely without you so I took him in.

I haven't been to see you because he is a baby and I can't leave him alone. He's only six months old, Mal. I can barely stand to leave him with Granny while I work. I have a child now. We have a child.

I have to take his best interests to heart. Perhaps when he's older I'll be able to see you regularly like old times, but until then I will see you when I can. I'm sorry my love, but that's the way it has to be."

Maleficent listened, her heart slowly mending at the brunette's words. Though she ached for the other woman's company, she understood her reasoning. Her child's, their child if what Regina said was true, needs came first. She would always long for the brunette's company, but at least her heart hurt a little less knowing Regina would always come back to her.

"Would you like to see him?" Regina asked softly.

The dragon nodded, and so the ex-Queen, with tenderness Maleficent had only seen once, pulled back the blanket revealing a cranky little boy. He was beautiful. Brown hair, green eyes, skin just a few shades paler than Regina's. Maleficent loved him immediately. She gave a low growl that Regina understood to mean she was pleased.

"His name is Henry," she said, and didn't miss the recognition in her love's eyes. "Yes, after my father. If it would have been a girl I would have named her Mallory, after you. That way you would always be close to me."

The dragon nudged the woman's shoulder gently, happiness once again present in her eyes. Henry cooed, catching both their attention. He was looking right at Maleficent, and if dragons could smile she would have. A rumbling echoed out from her chest, the equivalent of a purr in Regina's opinion. The boy laughed, sending waves of pleasure throughout the two.

Regina yawned as she stood there, exhaustion catching up to her. Maleficent saddened, understanding her love was about to leave and it could very well be the last time she saw her for several years. She growled softly, and the brunette frowned, pain flashing in her eyes. She reached out, laying a hand on the dragon's face and slowly stroking what should be a cheek.

"I know, I don't want to leave either," she whispered.

They stared at one another for a few emotion filled seconds, their eyes communicating what they would never be able to put into words. The ex-Queen then leaned over and placed a kiss between the dragon's eyes, the first she had ever given her while in that form. A ripple of magic spread around them, and for a moment both dared to hope. Nothing happened, and both hung their heads. If true love couldn't break the curse, what could?

Regina then backed up, tears in her eyes, and strode out of the cave, desperately trying not to cry. A dragon's roar followed her out of the mines and to her car, filled with sadness and pain. To her credit, Regina didn't begin to sob until she had reached her mansion and put her son back to bed. It was then she felt her heart break, curled in her large bed alone, and so she cried until sleep took her to a place where there was no curse and Henry was their son and all was perfect.

Maleficent hadn't seen Regina in so long she had almost forgotten what the woman of the present looked like. The lines of her face were blurred, and she could no longer hear her voice. She was, not depressed exactly, but somewhere between sad and despaired. She was definitely lonely, but she managed that as best she could, thinking of random things to keep herself sane. Most of all she waited. Waited for Regina to come back to her as she'd promised.

Regina was going insane. Granted, it was an incredibly slow descent, but she could feel it. She had heard stories from the servants as a child of what being separated from your true love could do, and she had to admit they were completely correct. Her chest constantly ached, each heartbeat a dull throb, she was dizzy more often than not and it felt as though a part of her soul was missing. Henry was the only light in her life, and he was growing up so fast. He didn't, couldn't, replace Maleficent in her heart, but he did give her something to love.