From Knight to Night

Chapter 1: Regina

PART ONE

A young girl, eight years old to be exact, with long brown hair and deep chocolate-colored eyes, stared through the crack in the door, peering in to watch a man and a woman argue.

"Cora, be reasonable. A prince would be just fine. It will still give Regina a chance to be a part of royalty, and will secure all of our needs, just as you wanted," an older gentleman stated to the woman across from him. The man had kind eyes, the same color as the young girl, and gentle features, seen in the lines surrounding his eyes and mouth, carved there from moments of laughter in his lifetime. His hair was the color of a stormy sky, gray with white flecks dotted throughout.

The young girl smiled when his face came into view through the tiny crevice. She loved the older man dearly, and often referred to him as "the thing she loved most."

"Henry," Cora started, catching the young girl's attention and pulling her gaze away from the older man. "A prince is not enough. What if..." She paused. "What if he isn't the first heir? What if she falls in love with the third son of a royal lineage, and not the first one to guarantee her status?" She began to pace across the room. "What if the prince were to die, and then where would that leave Regina?" Cora stopped and began to shake her head fervently. "No. It cannot be a prince. It will not be prince."

"But Cora..." Henry stated, breaking the woman of her reverie.

"No, Henry. I have made up my mind. Regina will marry a king, and only a king."

The young girl gasped from her spot behind the door. A king?

"But how?" Henry questioned. "How will she marry a king? There are not many kingdoms surrounding this area. And of those that do exist, their kings are already wed. Some already with children of their own. How will this come to be?"

Cora's face twisted into a haunting grin. "You just leave that to me. I will ensure that, once Regina is of age, a king will be ready and waiting to take her hand."

The young girl gasped again, but this time in echo with Henry.

"Cora, please do not do anything you shall regret," Henry pleaded.

"I will do what is best for my daughter, Henry. I will never regret that."

And with that, she walked to the far side of the room and out through the open doorway, leaving Henry in the dark room, looking bewildered and heartbroken. His gaze fell from where Cora had exited, and turned back. As his face moved across the room, his eyes fell on where the young girl was hiding. He squinted slightly, and cocked his head to peer towards the young girl's hiding place.

"Who's there?" Henry asked, keeping his voice calm but infused with authority.

The young girl didn't move at first, but left only a few seconds behind her before she pushed the door open so she could step through. As she came into view, Henry's face softened and his eyes closed as he realized who it was.

"My Regina," he called out to her as he dropped to his knee and opened his arms to beckon her over with the promise of an embrace. "How long have you been standing there?"

But Regina didn't answer. She felt tears begin to pool in her eyes, and before allowing them to fall, she rushed to her father and wrapped her arms around his slender frame, burying her face in his shirt and coat. His arms wrapped around her and held her close to him as the tears she tried to hold back splashed to his waistcoat. His hand moved to her head and began to stroke her hair, attempting to calm the young girl.

"Daddy," Regina started, pulling her face away from her father to look him in the eye. "I don't want to marry a king."

Henry looked into his daughter's eyes, and formulated something of a response in his head before Regina spoke again.