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Red had been repeatedly told by her host she was free to roam the castle. A month and a half later, Red finally found the courage to take Maleficent up on the offer. Maleficent and the young Queen were out for another of Maleficent's 'lessons'. Where Regina learned magic and, on those days when it was Red's turn, Maleficent aimed to teach Red how to control her wolf. Sadly, there were still so many lessons to learn. Because for Red, controlling the wolf was like water poured over an open palm, impossible to grasp. The thought of being without her cloak was enough to send the girl into a blind panic.
But, Maleficent was patient, always patient. The young Queen (because the entire realm knew of the woman who'd fled King Leopold's castle), Regina, she was.. nice.
A full moon. Red, completely turned and cornered by a party of King Stefan's best hunters. Everything after was a blur. Red rarely remembered her time as a wolf. But, she did remember waking in the warmest of baths, the gentle hand sweeping the hair off her forehead. The other hand softly pressed to the center of Red's chest, the healing magic radiating from the fingertips and spreading outwards like liquid warmth through Red's body.
"Shhh.." Gentle, brown eyes and an inviting smile filled Red's blurry vision. "You're safe now."
She and Regina were different in many ways, but, in other ways Red quickly learned, they were also the same. And as Red began her new life in Maleficent's castle, she found herself drawn to Maleficent's other pupil. Which was why Red found herself here, in the corridor leading to Regina's chambers.
Cautiously, quietly, she opened the door, peeked inside. She'd never been inside Regina's chambers. Similar to Red's with a bed, a fireplace, an ornately crafted wardrobe. But, it was the vanity that caught Red's attention.
Red swallowed as she sat down on the padded chair, staring forward, eyes widening. She'd never seen her own reflection before, not in an actual mirror; a pale smear on a roughly polished metal plate, the blade of a sword, or in the stream by her grandmother's cabin. But not in a mirror, a real mirror. Red didn't recognize the person staring back at her until she lifted a hand and watched the fingers as they drew down a cheek.
"You're beautiful."
Startled, Red whipped her head towards the now opened door. Internally cursing herself for not hearing the footsteps coming down the corridor. Regina stood in her riding outfit. The color a pale violet that accented the cheeks still red from the day spent riding.
"Your Majesty?" Red swallowed nervously, trembling with fear. To sneak into a Queen's chambers uninvited, Red could only imagine the punishment for such a crime.
"Regina," she answered back with a correcting tone. Stepping inside and closing the door behind her, Regina pulled off her gloves as she stood behind Red, their eyes meeting in the mirror. "Such lovely skin and wonderful hair." She ran a hand down the back of Red's head. Then turned, reaching for a brush. "Do you mind?"
"I.." What was she supposed to say? "Yes, your.. Regina."
Regina's smile was soft, relaxed. She began drifting the brush down from the top of Red's head, gentle and soothing. Like that day after Red's rescue, there was a kindness to Regina's touch, a kindness that felt safe. And Red found herself relaxing, thinking about the times Gran would do the same.
Fascinated smile on her lips, Regina watched Red's reaction. "You are beautiful, you know. Did anyone ever tell you that?"
Red's shoulders sagged as her eyes drift downwards. "All the time," she whispered, remembering a lifetime of catcalls and wolf whistles, leers and lascivious gazes. Beautiful. A single word used like a weapon, where the flatterer expected to be rewarded for such lavishing praise; starting long before her first bleed, continuing almost daily ever after. Even if there were no mirrors in her small village, Red had been made painfully aware of the ways in which her looks garnered attention.
She dared to lift her eyes, meet the Queen's reflection. Regina's smile was gone, the slightest tinge of darkness in her eyes. Red remembered the talk around her village when the King married his young bride, how *proud* the men sounded towards their King for having claimed such a young, beautiful and fertile prize. How those very same men began to look at Red differently, began adding new words to go with the always constant 'beautiful'.
"My Gran," she forced a smile onto her lips. "She says she moved us into the woods because of my wolf, to protect the villages from me. I actually think she was protecting me from the villagers."
"I'm sorry." Regina placed the brush back onto the vanity. Straddling the small bench, she sat down next to Red, hand at the small of her back. "Hey!" Fingertips to Red's chin, she pulled until their eyes met. "When Maleficent said no one in this castle will take what you do not freely give, she meant it. We both mean it. Do you believe us?"
"Yes," Red found her smile, "I believe you. Both of you."
"Good." Regina smiled back, this time, the smile reaching her eyes and Red felt a warmth seeping across her chest. Regina quickly rose, extending her hand and wiggling her fingers. "Let's go."
"What? Where?"
"Maleficent said she saw apples growing in the orchard." Regina wagged her eyebrpws. "And I have a taste for apple pie."
Red's grin matching Regina's, she took the offered hand, the two bounding out of Regina's chambers and running shoulder to shoulder through the castle and out into the sun.
**
There was a wolf on Regina's bed.
The nightmare was always the same - stale breath on her face, a weight pressing down her chest, knees muscling open her thighs. Regina awoke as she always did, jerking upright, scream clenched in the back of her throat. Except, this time..
There was a wolf on her bed.
Standing on all fours, it lowered onto its hind legs, gazing at Regina with glowing yellow eyes.
Regina swallowed. The wolf was scarily large, taking up a third of Regina's bed. But, Regina knew this wolf. Didn't she? "Red?"
Head lowering, nose rubbing against Regina's forearm, Red let out a tiny whine.
Regina blinked away the salt stinging the corners of her eyes, reaching out to scratch behind the wolf's ear. "I'm okay, Red. I'm okay," Regina whispered with shaky breath as Red eased her way forward, forehead rubbing against Regina's shoulders as Regina drew her arms around Red's wide neck, then eased the two of them back down onto the mattress. Red on her side, Regina cuddled against Red's back, arms still wrapped around her neck. "I'm okay."
Then, with eyes closing and breathing returning to normal, Regina slept peacefully for the rest of the night.
**
Today, it was Red's turn for a lesson from Maleficent. To the clearing a mile outside the castle, the ground still scorched and barren.
Maleficent stood in the center of the clearing, waiting as Red approached. "Interesting night, wasn't it?" Smirk spreading on her lips, she arched an eyebrow. "Tell me what you learned."
"What?" Red tilted her head. Maleficent was always so cryptic when it came to their lessons. "That Regina has nightmares."
"Don't we all." The Dragon Queen's eyes narrowed, examining her pupil. "Haunted by the things we've done. The things that were done to us."
Lips pursing, Red's eyes darted towards the ground. Her thoughts meandering, conflicting and confusing, as she thought about how word spread when the young Queen fled the honorable King Leopold, remembered the tales she'd heard of the Dragon Queen. As the villain of those tales, Red knew what Maleficent had done. King Stefan. Briar Rose. A tree burning an eternal flame. Yet, the stories never mentioned any awful things done to Maleficent. Things Red thought she could see in that ancient gaze.
Red now knew - even Dragon Queens could be haunted by nightmares.
"Red?" She lifted her eyes at the sound of her name, Maleficent standing straight, standing tall. "Tell me what happened."
"I.." Red swallowed, thinking about last night. "I heard her. Regina.." A corridor away and Red heard - the hard tossing and turning, the crescendo-ing whimpers. "She sounded afraid."
"How did that make you feel?"
The memories of the wolf filled her head, a gathering circle of hunters, torches and spears and bows pulled taut. The roar of a dragon, fireballs thrown by a witch. A witch with soft brown eyes, a warm inviting smile, a bathtub, healing magic. Regina had not only saved but healed Red that night not so long ago. And then, months later, there was that frightened whimper coming from Regina's chambers. "It felt like she needed protecting."
"Good girl," Maleficent smiled, stepping closer. Fingertips to Red's chin, she lifted until their eyes met. "The shift isn't about power or control. It's about emotion. Regina needed help and you gave it to her." She drifted her fingers down, hand pressing to the center of Red's chest. "Show me."
"How?"
"Remember how you felt when you heard Regina's cries? Channel it." Maleficent blinked, blue eyes turning gold. "Give it to the wolf."
"I don't.." Fear. That's what Red remembered. Regina's fear, the sounds and the smells, her own growing desire to make it go away. A shudder ran down Red's spine, a familiar tension. Her vision gone to black and white as she lifted her head, gazing upwards at the woman standing before her.
"Good girl." A dragon smiled back at her.
**
"Red?" Regina swallowed nervously.
There was a wolf in the study, Regina's study. Curled on the lounger, it rose onto all fours before jumping to the floor then bounding towards Regina, thick tail wagging furiously.
The nervousness abating, Regina relaxed, lips curling into a smile as she lowered to her knees. "Red?" she asked again, as the wolf leaned into the hand scratching behind its ears. And then..
The wolf shifted into Red.
Smile broadening, Regina beamed, "You did it!"
Red beamed back. "Maleficent taught me."
"How?"
Red bowed her head, shyly peering upwards at Regina as the slightest hint of blush colored her cheeks. "It's easier when I think of you."
Regina gasped, blinking in surprise. Because she remembered her hand was still curled behind Red's ear. Remembered the wolf on her bed and the way the nightmares disappeared.
Like a cloud drifting before the sun, Red watched the smile erase from Regina's lips. The shift is not about control, it's about emotion. And all Red wanted to do was put that smile back on Regina's face. Guided by emotion, instinct, Red leaned, closing the distance between them, until it was lips pressed against lips. Regina tensed, hand to Red's shoulder and softly pushing.
"I'm sorry," Red swallowed the whimper crawling up her throat. "I should have asked."
"Yes, you should have." Brows pinching, eyes narrowing as she examined Red's face. She was like Regina; different, wounded, carrying a weight threatening to crush her. But, Red could turn into a wolf. A wolf that chased away Regina's nightmares. A wolf inside a woman who had a tendency to make Regina feel safe, like she was no longer alone. Maleficent's pupils, teaching each other in their own way. Not her first kiss from a woman, that honor belonged to Maleficent (along with several other honors), but different, the kiss tentative and shy. Puzzled, Regina tilted her head. "Why did you do that?"
"Because.." Now, it was Red trembling with nervousness. Regina was a Queen, and Red had taken without permission. "I wanted to make you smile again."
And there it was, that smile on Regina's lips, the one that met her eyes, lit her entire face. All that damage to Red's psyche and still it hadn't stripped away her need to please. Not out of service or duty, but desire, the desire to please Regina. The wolf shining through the girl, all wounded puppy guilty. Now, it was Regina who wanted to put that smile back on Red's face, as she curled her hand around Red's neck, leaning in and closing the distance between them.
"Permission granted."
END