Chapter Six

Chest Infections are a joy

Evie peered out of the window, her eyes taking in the mellow pink and blue hue that was squeezing through thick, angry-looking clouds. Day number four. Still, she had little to no information about who their guests were; other than their names and where they came from. Not a clue did she have about how they got to Auradon, and neither, it seemed, did they.

She cupped her hands around the hot chocolate that Mal had brought up for them, sipping it warily to make sure it wasn't that stuff from the Isle. Yes, that was a prank often played between the VKs – AKs would feel too bad to do anything like that, after all. Evie smirked; the idea of an Auradon Kid playing any sort of prank amused her. Then again, she wouldn't put it past Lonnie to do something like that.

She only turned when someone knocked softly at the door, almost silently. Evie placed her cup down, walking over, her feet numb from the cold that had somehow found itself into the dorm room.

"Regina," her eyes widened slightly with confusion, "Can I help you?"

"If you don't mind," the older woman gently pushed past her, Evie closed the door, "I'm having a bit of a crisis."

"I can tell," Evie remarked, eyeing Regina's unkempt hair and insecure posture.

"It's Henry," Regina sighed, settling herself down on Evie's bed, "He's worried."

"About what?" Evie sat down beside her, her hands resting in her lap, "Is it about getting home? Because I promise you, we're doing everything we can to help you guys…"

"No. No, no it's not that," Regina shook her head, "He's worried about us."

"What do you mean?"

Regina scratched the back of her neck awkwardly, "Well, you see, I adopted Henry when he was a baby. But despite that, I love him even when it seems that I don't. Henry, however, is worried about us because there is a possibility that you're my daughter, due to my counterpart being your mother and all…"

"He's worried I'm going to take you away from him," Evie interrupted her, "That's what you're saying, isn't it?"

"I- yes. That's what I'm saying."

"You'll never be happy," Cora stared calmly at her daughter, shaking her head, "You don't know how…"

Regina glared at her mother, her hand clutching the top of a glass that sat on the little table beside the fire. Cora slowly walked towards her, "But you do understand power, and you're about to lose it."

A small, uninviting smile played on her lips, "Your people want Snow White to be queen, and unless you start building a dynasty, she'll take back the Kingdom and you'll lose it all."

Regina stepped closer so that their chests almost touched, "And when I die of a mysterious illness," she sneered, "You're the power behind the child-sized throne, right?"

Cora swallowed, avoiding her daughter's gaze briefly.

"Well guess what, mother?" Regina continued, raising the glass that she had been holding, "I found a way to keep that from ever happening…"

"What is that?" Cora asked, unnerved.

"A potion," Regina smiled, looking down at it, "To take away your future claim on the royal line."

Cora frowned, "But you're not pregnant…"

"And now I never will be."

"I keep getting these… visions," Emma explained.

She had walked in on the two, voicing her own problems, much to Regina's chagrin. Evie, however, seemed happy to listen. It almost made Regina smile, but sadly. She could see why Evie wanted to help people so much – she wanted to drown out her own sorrows, to tell herself that her problems were not as bad as everyone else's.

"About what?"

"Storybrooke, but they're all set in the same place," she nodded to Regina, "Regina's office."

Regina sat forward, "Visions that seem like memories?"

"Yeah, but I have no idea if it's that or-"

"-A dream…" Regina mumbled, "I'm experiencing the exact same thing…"

"What happens in these memories?" Evie leant back, resting on her elbows, "This could help us figure out how you guys ended up here."

"Well… I remember there being a lot of wind, like there was a hurricane in the room. Something was spinning in the middle of the room, something Henry had made."

"Yes," Regina nodded, standing up, "I remember him saying that he'd had a sudden inspiration to create it."

"Great. That's a start," Evie leapt up, clapping her hands optimistically, "Fairy Godmother should hear about this."

"Henry!" Regina yelled, "Turn it off!"

A gale had stirred from within the room. It blew up a vigorous force, sending stacks of papers spiralling into chaos. Killian and Emma clung to each other, his body protecting hers. Regina had reached over to Henry, her hands clutching his shoulders.

"Henry!" she repeated, "We need to turn it off!"

"I don't know how!" he screamed back at her.

The doors on the other side of the room slammed into the wall noisily. The gale that rocked them all back onto their heels had also managed to knock the machine from its stand, creating a piercing smash as the gem Henry had used shattered its contents onto the floor.

Regina covered her eyes with a steady hand, feeling the air escape her lungs as a force shoved her backwards. She grunted uneasily, expecting to feel her back strike the wall or perhaps even the window behind her, but it never came. For a few seconds, she felt like she was just floating in mid-air, her eyes refusing to open.

She let out another grunt when her back hit something soft yet prickly. The smell of morning mist flogged her almost immediately and she considered the worst. That the damn thing had destroyed her house. She clenched her fists, sitting up, her eyes still shut. Were they in the garden? No, that's not possible – she'd replaced the grass with tiles a few months back…

"Who's there?" she jumped when she heard someone call out, "Put your hands behind your head."

"Surely that's not necessary. I can't even see-"

Her skin went ashen, an uncomfortable, bruisy feeling appeared within her stomach. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she landed headfirst into the grass, limp and unmoving, any idea of what had just happened temporarily erased from her mind.