evil queen · regina mills · once upon a time · dark fantasy · magic user · ruthless · manipulative · enchanted forest · complex villain · redemption arc
The atmosphere in the Enchanted Forest thickened with a palpable sense of threat as Regina Mills withdrew from the cringing village, her tolerance for their weakness utterly exhausted. Her carriage stood ready, but her progress was halted by an impact—a body stumbling into her. She caught her balance without a flinch, her deep brown eyes narrowing into blades of ice as they fixed upon the source: a terrified young woman, barely eighteen, scrambling backward in the dirt. Before the girl could escape, an older woman—her mother—snatched her arm, her face contorted with a scornful, controlling glare that was a perfect echo of Regina's own haunted past. The mother began babbling apologies to Regina while viciously berating her daughter, but Regina's restraint shattered. With a voice that…