The In-Between: 180 years ago
A dark shadow passed across the nursery wall, the figure it belonged to stopping in front of the bassinet, peering at the newborn inside.
"Well, look at you, aren't you just precious?" He sneered, reaching down to run his finger down the little girl's cheek gently. He may be here to do a horrible task, but that didn't mean he was going to be cruel to an innocent baby. He raised his hand, and everything lining the shelves across the room crashed to the floor. The infant starts crying at the noisy intrusion to her peaceful slumber, and an older lady comes rushing inside, gasping and covering her mouth with her hand at the sight of the eerie figure. The man growls at her and takes a step closer. He eyes her up and down in disappointment. She takes a step back, taking in the tall figure cloaked in darkness.
"Y..you can't be in here, sir." She stammers. He chuckles at her, and she shivers in fear.
"And you're not who I expected to come running. Where might the dear queen be this evening, hmm? Already shirking her motherly duties? King Stefan sure did fall for a wonderful bride." He mocks with disgust. She could tell from the disdain dripping from his voice that he held no love for Queen Amanda. The old maid feared for her life if she didn't tell this man where she was, but she also knew that if she did, her Queen wouldn't survive the encounter. The stranger was growing angrier and angrier the longer she took to answer. Finally, his patience wore out, and he held up his hand, and she began to rise off the ground. She began to choke and grasp at her throat, feeling a strong force crushing her throat.
"You can tell me where she is, or you can be a needless casualty. Just because you're a servant here doesn't mean you deserve to die for your Queen." He said with a bored drawl, as if slowly squeezing the life from a person was a mundane daily chore. Her eyes widened as the gravity of her situation finally sank in. Her eyes doubled in size, and she nodded her head, trying to signal she would tell him. With a smirk, he dropped her and gave her a few moments while she gasped for air into her lungs painfully.
"She's in the birthing room still, sir. There were complications, and the midwife had to stitch her up, so she is resting." She said, silent tears streaming down her face at her betrayal. He walked over and set his hand on top of her head gently.
"I can see it pained you to tell me this, but I do thank you. I must complete my task, but you need not worry about what is going to be done." His hand began to glow a bright blue, and the old woman's hair began to ripple. "You won't have to bear the pain of this betrayal; you won't even remember you saw me tonight." With that, she blacked out, and he made sure she lay safely on the ground. He ran his hand to her forehead as the light began to flicker through different shades of blue and grey before dimming back to nothingness. He walked back over to the crib and stared at the newborn, who had fallen back to sleep. He smiled as he took in her raven black hair. He looked at the old woman and concentrated. Soon, the bottoms of her shoes began to glow, and a shimmery fog began to flow across the floor, illuminating the woman's path into the room. It soon began to flow through the door and into the corridor. The man gently picked up the princess, cloaked her in a protection spell, and tucked her snuggly inside her cloak. He disappeared down the hall, following the glowing trail to a large doorway. Putting his hand on the door, he felt for energies inside the room and could sense only one. Entering the room, he saw the queen lying in the bed, appearing to be sound asleep. He approached the bed and looked down at the pale woman lying before him.
"I told you one day, you'd regret what you did. I waited until you were the happiest you could be before I began to break apart what you love so dearly. I watched as you married him, loved him, and started a family with him. Where is he now, hmm?" He leaned in close to Amanda, her eyes suddenly popping open to stare into his cold, grey eyes. Panic set in for a moment before recognition flashed and was soon replaced by fear.
"J..j..Julius..." She mutters around her fear. He places his finger over her lips gently.
"Shh, my pet. No need to waste what little time you have left. Besides, I wasn't done, and it's so rude to interrupt." He opened his cloak to show her the tiny baby tucked safely into his chest. The Queen tried to reach out, but she was too weak from birth and blood loss. She stared up at the man weakly.
"P..Please don't hurt her," she pleaded with tears in her eyes, "She's innocent in all this. If you ever loved me, please don't hurt her." He scoffed and looked at her, pain clear in his eyes.
"What kind of monster do you take me for? I want you and my darling half-brother to pay for your crimes. This darling princess will not be harmed, but she will never know you or Stefan in her life. See, you won't make it through the night, and as for dear Stefan," He leaned in close and sneered, "He's been locked away with a special mirror to keep him company. He's been forced to watch your every move, while he's chained up, unable to be with you through these horrible pregnancy pains you kept getting. And now, he's going to be forced to watch you die, my darling." He growled, laughing, pointing his hand at the bed as green flames shot out and engulfed the Queen and the bed. He watched her squirming as the flames burned, tears silently falling. He finally destroyed the 2 people who had betrayed him the most, and he didn't feel anything but more pain. He waved his hands and the flames disappeared, leaving behind no trace that the bed and Amanda had been burned. Amanda lay still in the bed, her skin grey and cold. With one final look at the woman he loved and lost, he strolled to the window and leapt into the night, disappearing with the young princess. However, he should have been more aware of his surroundings as a cloaked figure steps from the shadows. Stepping to the bed, they wave their hands, and a soft white glow envelops the Queen's body. In a flash of white light, they are transported to the Fae Realm and directly in front of the Fae Queen's shrine. The stranger picks up the Queen's body and steps inside. As the door closes, the shrine vanishes, leaving only an empty field of flowers.