• • •

Fiona hated Storybrooke. It had been a strange turn of events as she had previously quite enjoyed the moments she had spent in the quaint little town, the town she had invented that had come about from the curse she had created. She had hated not having magic when she’d first arrived all those years ago to find her husband. Magic had become all she had known in the Dark Realm and she was so used to getting whatever she wanted on-demand that suddenly being without it was a difficult task to get her head around. Beyond her own magic, she had also hated the way that the Darkling slowly became drained and sick from not using his own form of power whilst stuck in the Land Without Magic and that she was unable to help or bring him back home. On the other hand, there had been things she had loved about being in Storybrooke with the Darkling during her first visit to the town. The pizza, for example.

The second time she had visited Storybrooke was the day she finally broke free of the Dark Realm with the help of her grandson. No longer a prisoner to the realm that had been her cell for millions of years, she had behaved somewhat foolishly in the days that followed, spurred on by a strange power she held and acted without thinking, ignoring her husband's concerns about what she was doing. She cast her curse, sending some of the town back to the Enchanted Forest while she made everyone left in Storybrooke live mundane lives while she and the Darkling retained their power. It was a battle for the Savior's soul, her belief, and it was one that Fiona had been forced to fight against her own will, a fight that destiny had decided would come years before. Her husband hated every minute of it, but Fiona got some sick kick out of making other people powerless without them even realising. It was something fleeting, however, and she soon grew bored, wanting an end to the curse and with it, the Final Battle. That second trip to Storybrooke cost Fiona her life, and after the Darkling saved her from hell, she allowed the town to believe she was dead.

Until she needed something.

Having healed from the Underworld, Fiona and the Darkling had set about creating their family. Fiona had been thrilled when her son was born, finally given a chance to actually be a mother, something she had desired for as long as she could remember. It was something she wasn’t entirely sure that her husband had wanted but once Adryk came into the world, it was clear that the Darkling loved him as much as Fiona did. When her son turned five months old and gained his first tooth, Fiona made the quick decision to save herself from any pain and switch to baby formula, before quickly realising that doing so would require a trip to Storybrooke.

Hesitantly, she stepped into the town. She had been here a few times since her death, but this was her first trip alone and without the Darkling’s nifty ability to manipulate the shadows to keep them completely hidden. As the light from the sun fell on her, making the sparkles in her dress twinkle like stars, Fiona stepped away from the haze of shadows that she used to move between realms, heading towards Storybrooke's Main Street. Where in this pathetic little town was she going to get her hands on baby formula? She eventually found the general store, a quaint little store with several items she didn’t recall seeing at all in her previous time in Storybrooke. What was an Oreo? Well, right now it was something she was going to take back to the Dark Realm. With her unique style of shopping which involved picking things off the shelves and ‘poofing’ them to the Dark Realm without ever paying, Fiona moved around the store, keeping the shopkeeper in her peripheral vision. She’d hate to have to kill someone for interfering with her outing, after all. Just as she found herself by the baby items and sent a shelf full of formula back home, she heard the soft jingling of the bell above the door and turned to glance in its direction, fearing she was about to come face to face with one of those dreaded heroes and have to explain her presence here.

Unfortunately, the person entering was someone far worse than the usual heroes. At least in Fiona's opinion.

“Fiona?” her mother's voice made her stomach turn, but the brunette forced a smirk to her face as she spun around to face Queen Clarion. She could see the confusion in her mother's eyes as they studied one another in silence.
“Surprised to see me, mother?” the Black Fairy eventually broke the tension, tilting her head. She assumed that everyone in Storybrooke knew of her demise, but none knew of her return.
“Well, rather. I’d heard you were dead.”
“Yes. Well. Sorry to disappoint.” her dark brown eyes glared at her mother. It had been three million years since they had stood face to face without Clarion being under a curse, and Fiona couldn’t help but wonder... Did her mother actually care for her? Or did she feel the same bitterness about Fiona that Fiona now felt about the son who had killed her? Had she always felt that way about the daughter she had had with the man she wanted to forget?
“No, I..” the fairy queen paused, before letting out a breath, as though she changed her mind about what she was about to express. Instead, she straightened up and cleared her throat. “You need to come with me.”

“No. I won’t hear it.” Fiona scoffed as she stared down at her mother. Clarion sat at her desk, a look on her face that Fiona wanted to slap off and a large book open before her. It was a book Fiona had searched for centuries to locate, the book of prophecy that she had intended to destroy but her mother rarely left it out of her sight. Fiona loathed that book. She held it responsible for every negative moment of her life, from her becoming the Black Fairy and being banished to the prison of the Dark Realm to her death at the hands of her son, and now it seemed it was not yet done with her.
“Fiona, I’m merely informing you of what it says. Your son is the product of True Love and he is destined to be a Savior”
“No.” the Black Fairy snapped, grabbing the book from the desk, staring down at the words. How was it possible that two of her children were meant to be Saviors? How could fate be so cruel to her? A Savior was meant to die to save others. She hadn't let it happen with Rumplestiltskin, she sure as hell wasn't about to let this happen to Adryk. The prophecy about Rumple contained within the book she held had caused her to lose him, caused her to be cast away, trapped for millions of years in a realm that had started as an empty void. She would die before she allowed it to take Adryk from her too. Breaking her son from his destiny didn’t work out well, she wouldn’t make that mistake again “I won’t let this happen”

“There is no way to change what appears in that book. You should know that more than most.” her mother's words cut more than they should.
“Oh, I know what this book can do. It has ruined my life enough times.” Fiona scoffed, slamming the book closed and storing it under her arm “I spent thousands of years looking for this book, but you always kept it hidden away, out of my reach. Well, you made a foolish mistake this time, mother.” She growled, moving towards the Fairy Queen. Before Clarion could react, Fiona plunged a hand into her chest, ripping out her heart. It almost seared her hand, the amount of light magic contained within it overwhelming, but Fiona could deal with the pain if it could finally get her what she wanted. Freedom from the ridiculous prophecies this book kept forcing upon her.
“Luckily, in my quest for this book, I found others. Books that told me how to free myself and my children from these prophecies you’re so keen on. Unfortunately for you... Adryk’s freedom means your death, but that’s a price I’m willing to pay” the Black Fairy snarled before disappearing in a puff of black smoke, taking the book and her mother’s heart with her.