A monster in the big apple (open)

[Regina Mills]

It wasn't at all difficult to tell that the possibility of having a place to live and other children to interact with thrilled Rose. Regina watched her little happy dance for a moment, a very strange sensation coming over her - one which she hadn't felt in quite some time, and its unfamiliarity alarmed her a bit. The sort of warmth one got from doing something to make someone else happy wasn't a feeling that the Evil Queen experienced particularly often anymore. She couldn't decide whether or not she liked it ( a part of her very much wanted to cringe), but Rose and the sheer joy she was currently displaying were making it very hard to feel very disapproving. Clearing her throat slightly, she allowed herself to be distracted by Naga's answer to her question.

And that solved that problem, Regina reflected as her gaze landed on the tentacle-like extensions on Naga's head. In addition, it seemed that Rose was no stranger to making journeys in this fashion - so she allowed this particular concern to slip from her mind. "Well then. That shouldn't be a problem. I have...ways of traveling quickly as well, so I'll be able to meet you there and show you the easiest way to get through town." Regina offered with a slight shrug, quickly steering away from having to explain what her methods of travel actually were. She would have offered to give them something of a tour as well, but...something told her that considering the state of things in Storybrooke now, that wouldn't end well. The reminder made her frown a bit more deeply. She didn't particularly wish to tell these two everything just yet, but thinking that she could allow them to walk into all of this without telling them nothing had been a bit foolish.

So she paused for a moment, biding her time by giving Naga slightly more specific directions. "Storybrooke is about forty miles south of Portland, give or take." she told them, her thoughts still mostly elsewhere. This was probably only going to heighten Naga's suspicions again, but...she didn't really want to be dishonest with him at this point. "There's...something you should know, however. The people of Storybrooke open-minded and typically fairly welcoming, but they are not exactly...fond of me. Perhaps, especially as a first impression, you shouldn't be seen with me there. It may..." Regina stopped, choosing her words carefully. "...reflect poorly upon you."

[naga]

At first, Rose was thinking that Regina would be traveling with them on the back of her father. The fun they could of had, maybe even catch a fish! But then she said that she was planning on meeting them there. Some of the wind that had been in Rose's sail of joy was stilled, but still happy that they had a chance at a good home with such a good person like Regina.

If only the little child knew the truth.

With the little bit of info from Regina, the large serpent had a good idea of where the small town was, and If he was of by a few hundred miles it wouldn't take him to long to correct himself. But the large snake-mans thoughts quickly landed on what Regina had said, and what she meant by them. Rose however took it all at face value.

"They don't like you? How can they not like you? Your the nicest lady I've met!" Rose piped up, her young eyes and mind only seeing the face that Regina had projected to her and her father. The large frame of Naga let out a small annoyed sigh. "Even in Paradise, there are barbs on the grass..........." Rose looked over to her father, a small look on confusion on her face. The snake gave a low chuckle at her expression. "We can handle whatever these people may think of us in relations to you Regina..... Now Rose, when we get there remember what I taught you."

Rose gave a small nod. "Yeah, don't judge a book by it's cover, nor a man by his actions. Cause you never know why he does what he does."

[Regina Mills]

The Evil Queen's eyes widened slightly as Rose proceeded to refer to her as 'the nicest lady she'd ever met'. Her first wry thought was that the child must've had the misfortune of meeting some very terrible people if Regina was among the nicest of them. Or perhaps she'd just not met very many people at all. At any rate, had the young girl known of half of the things Regina had done, she most likely would have changed her tune fairly quickly. But Storybrooke's former mayor had no intention of frightening Rose or shattering her innocence by correcting her. So instead, she merely gave a distant and slightly uncomfortable smile and a small nod. "Thank you, dear. I'm afraid some of them would disagree with you, however." And she did not make a point of elaborating further.

"But if you are certain," Regina went on, looking to Naga now, "then I shall see you both there." This would be the first time she'd be returning to Storybrooke since Emma had broken a part of the curse. It would give her the opportunity to check on Henry, she realized with a slight pang of longing. She'd have to do it without him seeing her, of course - because it was still a bit too soon to expect him to want her anywhere near him. She shook that painful thought away just in time to catch Rose reciting what her father had evidently taught her. The statement actually made Regina pause for a moment, looking between the pair with an oddly unreadable expression.

...Such a strange thing to teach a child at such a young age. Or perhaps strange wasn't the word, exactly - unusual was more apt. Unusual in Regina's experience, at least - she doubted very many of the much-beloved fairytale heroes had ever paused to wonder why the villains they loathed so much were the way they were, but there was no changing that. Regina wasn't about to make a play for their revolting pity. It was simply...intriguing to know that Naga would teach his daughter such a thing. No doubt he had his own reasons to - and it did make her respect for him grow a little. "I think you'll find that in Storybrooke especially, things - and people - are not what they immediately seem. Keep that in mind." With a small smile, Regina tore her gaze away briefly to glance around the park, making sure they were not being overheard. As if anyone would linger around a giant, ferocious looking snake to eavesdrop...but still, even with the curse fractured, Regina didn't want Storybrooke becoming common knowledge.

She glanced back to them after a moment or two. "Do either of you have any other questions?"

[naga]

The large serpent shook his head lightly. "There is not much to ask about until we actually see the town itself, from what you have told us so far it meets all of our requirements and then some......" Although Naga had to wonder, how he would provide for his daughter in a town that would possibly accept him instead of treating him like the monster he appeared to be. He had almost become accustomed to taking what he needed for himself and his daughter, but now he might actually have to work for the goods that his daughter needed. Not really a fear, but more of an action that brought up memories that he would rather keep buried.

The large serpent lowered his hand down to his daughter, who quickly hopped on to be lifted up to his head. With a quick hustle Rose was now sitting on her fathers head, the large plate acting like a saddle in the small spot she had settled on. "I guess..... We'll see you later Regina......" Rose seemed a little sad from her spot on her fathers head. "Um......" She piped up, slightly unsure of herself. "A-are you sure you don't want to come with us? I know the people of the nice town you said might not like us if they see us with you...... But I like you, and daddy sorta does too..... And well...... Even with daddy here long trips do get kinda lonely......" Rose looked hopeful for a moment, her childish eyes widening a little with a small puppy dog look. "So maybe...... Come with us instead......... Please?"

[Regina Mills]

With no further questions from Naga and at Rose's hesitant farewell, Regina gave a brief nod, intending to depart as soon as she saw them off - but the strange, sad note in Rose's voice actually made her pause. Its softened, forlorn quality reminded her of times long past - the earlier days of Henry's childhood, long before he'd discovered that she was the Evil Queen, when he would pad into her room with big sad eyes to tell her that he'd had a nightmare and ask if he could have just one more story to help him sleep. She'd never been able to summon up much defense against such a tone in a child's voice, especially since then...and Rose speaking of the loneliness she endured on long trips didn't help matters much.

Regina was unsure of how to respond to the young girl's request that she join them on their journey. It would be so much more efficient to teleport, and traveling over miles of ocean water with a young girl and a giant snake did make her a bit...uneasy. Though she would never admit it, of course. But neither in this world, nor the Enchanted Forest had Regina much experience with deep, open water and she didn't much like the idea of her freedom being restricted by such travel. Not that she, the Queen, was afraid, of course. These were just...unfamiliar and uncertain circumstances. And Regina didn't much like not knowing how to react to them. Magic was so much easier for her, so much more familiar, so much more sure. So under any other circumstances, she might havbe refused such a request.

But...Rose. With the look that the young girl was giving her now, Regina just didn't think she had the will to disappoint her - not after everything that had happened with Henry. She frowned slightly, considering for a moment longer. And then, relenting, she let out a quiet sigh. "Very well. If you'd like me to accompany you, I shall." She agreed with a small nod, before turning her gaze on Naga once more. "If it's alright by you, of course."

[naga]

With those words, Rose's puppy dog face had melted into a face splitting smile of joy in under a second. The small child then quickly bolted over to Regina, her small arms wrapped around her in a hug. The embrace was quick, Rose remembering that her father still hadn't said yes or no yet. She turned about, facing her large reptilian father. "She can come with us..... Right daddy?"

The large snake man gave his daughter a small smile, and expression rather difficult to see on his scaled muzzle. "Of course Rose, our new friend is more then welcome with us." The serpent man slowly slithered over to both Regina and Rose "Although she will not be used to our mode of transport like you are." Naga's left hand lowered to the ground, allowing little Rose to hop on the large hand to be raised up to her fathers head. The tendrils that made up the serpents hair shifted about, taking a semi-half bowl shape. The small child took a seat, looking rather comfortable up there on her fathers head. The snake man lowered his hand once more, but this time beside Regina. "I assure you that the trip will be smooth." Naga spoke, a more visible smile on his scaled lips.

[Regina Mills]

...What...what was....the child was hugging her?! It was so completely unexpected that Regina stood stock-still, allowing herself to register what was happening. Hugs weren't really a big part of Regina's life save for the days when Henry had been younger - or when she'd had to endure the affections of a much, much younger Snow with gritted teeth - but she certainly hadn't prepared herself for this. After a slightly awkward pause, she managed a slight but genuine smile as Rose released her, and then quickly refocused her attention on Naga. Showing softness of any sort for more than an instant was still considered a weakness - she couldn't go about forgetting the things she'd learned so thoroughly simply because a child was managing to be cute.

And now that she'd agreed, she no doubt had a particularly...interesting journey ahead of her. Naga was right about one thing; she most certainly wasn't used to this method of travel. Fear or apprehension were simply not options she was willing to consider, however, and regally as ever, she lifted her chin slightly as she regarded the hand Naga held out to her. "I do hope I won't regret this." she muttered lowly under her breath, trying to maintain some sense of dignity as she stepped onto his hand much more calmly than Rose had. It could be worse, she supposed. Heights weren't exactly something Regina was very fond of, which was a thought she'd managed to ignore up until now. It frustrated her, made anger burn deep down inside what still remained of her heart, that her mother's actions could still affect her in this way.

But she showed no fear and resolved to focus on the journey ahead. They'd be in Storybrooke soon enough...and then, there'd be plenty to distract her.

[naga]

The serpent man slowly raised Regina up to the back of his head, right beside little Rose. Although Naga's scales where tougher then most body armor, the tendrils that made up his hair had some give, so it was semi-comfortable up there. Like sitting in a bean bag chair made of leather. He then brought his upper frame lower to the ground as he slithered up and out of the bush, closer to the edge of the park. "Since we shall be departing, and I have no real plans of returning to this city any time soon. We shall be making a hasty, albeit not very subtle exit......." A pair of tendrils rose up and in front of Rose and Regina, as the bowls edges rose to almost wrap about them, leaving enough space for some movement and gaps for air. "Wouldn't want you to end up on some lucky camera....."

And then he surged forth from the park, top speed down the main road towards with river. Compared to the vehicles on the roads, Naga wasn't that fast, only going 40 miles an hour he easily matched the inner city limits of the cars on the roads. Of course there was mass panic at the sudden and quite obvious emergence of the massive serpent. Plowing through anything that had been abandoned or those too terrified or stupid to move. The massive snake took advantage of his ability to corner quite well to dart through wide ally ways, taking the most direct route to his destination.

Sirens were beginning to fill the air as he easily went over the cement barricade that prevented normal cars from taking the steep incline to the river. And as Naga's body made splash down, his speed quickly went up. And all through this, with all the sharp turns and going through and over obstacles, the bundle of tentacles that shielded both Regina and Rose had not been disturbed much at all, it was like riding in a new car on a freshly paved road.

The serpents color made it nearly impossible to spot from the air at this time of the day, even without diving. The sounds of the city quickly died as the serpent swam from the river to the open waters, staying close enough to the coast that they could still see it. It was then that the tendrils that had risen around the two on his head finally fall back and to the side, opening up quickly passing ocean and coast to the two on board. "It will be about five to six hours until we reach this town you speak of, I suggest you get comfortable like Rose has."

And indeed Rose had gotten comfy, her small head now resting on Regina's lap. Her eyes closed softly as she slept soundly, the sounds of the passing ocean putting her to sleep.

[Regina Mills]

It was a bit jarring, the sudden speed with which Naga took off - after all, this wasn't exactly like riding a horse - but for the most part, Regina remained outwardly unfazed. They were obviously making a bit of a scene, as expected, but she tried to pay very little mind to the sirens that were beginning to distantly follow them and focus more on trying not to be too rattled by the twists and turns and ups and downs of their journey. Rose, at least, seemed to be quite used to it all, and a part of her envied the small girl's fearlessness. Not many children her age possessed it. Another clear way in which living on the run and having to keep hidden had affected her - regardless, it wasn't any sort of life that a child should have to grow up experiencing, and Regina hoped that in Storybrooke Rose would find...if not a more normal life, then at least one with much more stability.

As they hit the water, the journey suddenly became much more smooth - the increase in speed didn't bother her much now; Naga was in his element and she knew that they were probably safer here in the water than anywhere right now. Some of the tension eased from her posture, and as she took in the scenic display around them, she was almost in a state in which she could have taken Naga's advice with ease. But then, as he finished speaking, his words drew her attention back to his daughter...who, as it happened, was already drifting off to sleep, her head resting in Regina's lap. For a moment, the Evil Queen merely gazed down at the little girl, her expression unreadable.

For the briefest of moments, the occurrence triggered something within her, a touch memory. It took a moment for Regina to even realize what the emotion really was, what Rose's actions had reminded her of - of brushing hair, riding horses, taking long walks through the palace gardens and watching a young girl not too much older than Rose chase butterflies around the courtyard. Even through all the anger and pain and hatred, there'd been moments - moments which Regina had always been quick to bury or brush aside - when the whole mother-daughter act she'd been putting on for Snow had almost felt real. These days, especially when she had Henry to think about, it wasn't often that Regina gave these things much consideration. But Rose, she realized now, reminded her of things that could have been - perhaps should have been - but that were far, far too long gone to change now.

Not wanting to disturb the sleeping girl in any way, Regina ignored the slight tug at her heart and remained silent and mostly still, save for the instinctive, occasional moments of brushing her fingers lightly through Rose's hair. Quietly, she turned her gaze outward and focused on the scenery they blurred past instead.

After all - this wasn't something you saw everyday.