Anonymous on CuriousCat prompted: Resurrected prompt: a flashback to Regina's life as Roni?
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1 Year Ago
The wig didn’t itch anymore. When she looked in the mirror, she didn’t see Regina Mills. When someone asked her name, she didn’t stutter.
She could easily look someone in the eye and say “Hi, I’m Roni. What can I get ya?”
Regina was becoming comfortable in her new life and she hated it. She hated that when she woke up in the morning, it no longer felt strange. She wasn’t expecting to roll over and face Robin. It was no longer a surprise that when she did open her eyes, she was staring at a Joan Jett poster that the previous tenant had left behind, to cover the hole in the wall.
There was nothing strange about the walk she took to the bar. The clothes no longer felt foreign. Heck, if someone tried to force a pantsuit on her, that would be the hard thing to slip into. The cut up rock t-shirts and skinny jeans were easy. Just as her smile was.
Yes, when Regina Mills looked in the mirror, she saw Roni Ramirez. She had auburn hair and wore darker tones of makeup. The only thing about her was the scar on her lip from when she was a little girl. That was a story she kept the same, she tried to keep them as alike as she could. As far as everyone knew, Roni Ramirez had lost both her parents, got a scar from saving her kitten from a neighbor’s dog and had moved to Seattle for safety. She had family, but she didn’t speak much to them. It was as close to the truth as she could get and no one seemed to question it.
Two years in, Regina allowed a man to flirt with her. He was tall, charming and had a great smile. Baron Samdi knew all the right words to say and actually made her smile. That alone made her feel guilty. She tried to avoid the feeling in the pit of her stomach for as long as she could.
Then she got word that another murder had occurred. Killian Jones, 35 years old. Same M.O as Marian and Neal. Throat was slashed, knife handle had been kelly green. The cops weren’t even looking at Zelena, apparently she had an alibi, but Regina wasn’t buying it. She had an in somehow, someone on the inside was protecting her and there was no way that she’d ever be caught.
Which meant there was a good chance that Regina would never be able to go home.
So, she gave into temptation. When Samdi asked her out on a date, she accepted. He showed up at her doorstep with roses and took her out to a lovely Japanese restaurant where he told her stories of his life and work as a real estate developer. She gave some random tidbits here and there, but mostly stared at him, wondering how she had ended up on a date. It was her first, first date in over a decade and it felt so wrong.
At the end of the evening, Samdi brought her back to her place. The roses dangled from her hand, as he continued to talk her ear off about what a lovely night he had. She smiled through all of it, trying to not throw up the tempura that she had ate. When he leaned in, she was so afraid he’d go for the lips, but instead he kissed her cheek.
“Until next time, mon amour.”
Regina nodded, the smile not leaving her lips. “Until next time.”
She walked into her apartment and poured some water into a glass big enough to fit the roses. She stood there for a moment staring at the petals, before touching the own that were tattooed into her skin.
The tears came out of seemingly nowhere. First there was one, followed by another. Soon, they were falling down her cheeks so quickly, she could barely see in front of her. Regina fell to the floor, pulling her knees to her chest. A sob escaped her lips and she let a scream follow it.
