Royal Blood

Chapter Fourty-Three: The Dungeons

"Well isn't this a nice change in scenery." Regina growled as they turned yet another corner. Shadows danced on the walls surrounding them as a bright orange flame flickered from the palm of the queens left hand. A pair of white gloves hovered six feet above the grimy cobblestone that paved the way into the stomach of the palaces dungeon.

"Regina," Graham sighed as he strode in front of his component. "Please. It's been hours." By this time, the sun was due to rise over the orchards soon and Regina still hadn't slept.

"And that's my point. We're getting no where." The stench of dirty water and ripe bodies made her stomach churn.

But then the idea of seeing Zelena sparked a new kind of determination from within. Regina was no longer under the oppression of her mother and her terrible fiancé. She had lost too many and needed the gain of family.

Leaping over a large puddle of fluid, Regina stopped walking; the flame in her hand faltering. There, looking back in the muggy reflection, stood an empress. A woman who tore hearts out for fun and made grown men quiver at the mention of her name. If Regina was to be reunited with her sister, she couldn't be seen like this. Neither Zelena nor Robin could know about what had happened in their absence. They couldn't know what she'd become.

Her signature purple smoke quickly swallowed her up, transforming Regina back into the young girl her family would be able to recognize. A simple red dress with soft features.

"Regina." Graham prodded. "We're gonna loose the gloves."

The young queen glared over at her huntsman, taking but a second to compose herself. "I want her to feel safe when she seems me. I want her to see me. Not the Queen." Graham chewed on his lip, cocking an eyebrow. "A lot has happened this past year."

Turning her attention back to the hunt for her sister, Regina made her way down the dank hall before hesitating at a split section. The white gloves had disappeared completely from sight, leaving Regina and Graham lost in the dungeons.

"Great..." He muttered. Regina closed her eyes as she listened to the stillness that surrounded them. "How do we-"

"Shh." Regina barked, holding up her hand. "Listen." She commanded.

An echo. A faint command followed by the mumbling of another. It was all Regina needed to hear before setting her path in that direction. Her legs moved with increasing pace until she couldn't help herself from jogging.

The queen had lost all poise.

Her heart pounded heavily in her chest as she began to feel the panic rise within her. This was it. She was to either see her sister or-

"Regina?"

Regina froze, retracing her steps until she stood beside yet another hallway. Turning to her right, Regina almost fell to the floor at the sight of her sister.

Zelena stood, hands gripping the bars that kept her locked away from the world. Her face was thin and smudged with dirt, her hair knotted and matted down. The green dress she wore had become a filthy brown from sitting in damp hay for who knows how long.

To her left, in another cell, stood Will in the same conditions. He looked up at the floating gloves that now hovered over Zelena's head, then back at Regina. He squinted his eyes before looking past her at Graham. Regina's stomach twisted with the knowledge that he knew about her. About the magic and the kingdom and the death. Fear rose like a fever within her. If Will were to turn on her, to tell robin, Regina would be left with no one.

"Regina!" Zelena reached her arm out through the bar, tears welling in her eyes. "Oh, Regina, look at you." Regina stepped forwards, clasping her sisters hand in her own. Everything felt like a daze. Like she wasn't really there. That Zelena would learn what had happened and that she'd turn against her.