[center][img]http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d94/Malfoys_one_and_only_girl/Signatures/240x160Regina.gif?t=1407701155[/img][img]http://i.imgur.com/IaKKrnd.gif[/img]
[h1][color=MediumOrchid]Regina[/color] and [color=Silver]Ahzidal[/color][/h1]
[h3]The Enchanted Forest Outskirts ~ The Dark Palace[/h3][/center]

"Famed is thy beauty, Majesty. But hold, a lovely maid I see. Rags cannot hide her gentle grace. Alas, she is more fair than thee. Lips red as the rose. Hair black as ebony. Skin white as snow."

"Snow White." Regina's red, painted lip curled up into a snarl over her white teeth, the reflection from her mirror staring right back into her meeting her very own dark brown eyes in an intense moment of connection. "Show her to me." she snapped bitterly to the voice that followed her wherever mirrors were available, unblinking towards the face of the tyrannical Queen that was staring right back at her. "Show me Snow White. I need to see it."

There was a pause but then the surface of the mirror began to wave and pulse, defying the very laws that made glass what it was. Regina's reflection slowly began to fade away, twisting and warping with the movement of the glass until it began to settle once more though her reflection did not remain. Instead, the mirror in which she had been standing in front of in the comfortable confines of her bedchamber took on the traits of a window, showing Regina exactly what it was that she wanted to see; an image she had been watching for weeks now.

Snow White lay unconscious, protected by a feeble preservation spell from The Blue Fairy and a glass coffin in which the Dwarves had laid her to rest within on a cozy little green hill next to their cottage. Really, Regina had assumed the Dwarves would have moved her back to The Royal Palace by now, though, she supposed that without their faux Prince Charming there to tell them what to do, they were nothing more than scattered rats without a den mother to answer to.

The thought alone had her snarl of detestation towards the young woman who had ruined her life transforming into a rather attractive smile, though the burning passion of hatred gleaming in her dark eyes threw whatever sincerity from the gentle smile which then slowly turned into an airy laugh.

Raising a hand, she waved it from the wrist, letting her fingers follow the motion in a lazy flourish, watching a very thin puff of purple smoke taking over the image of Snow White fixated in the Sleeping Curse to then disappear revealing another image; the very Prince in question.

She had abducted Prince James long ago, a rather fair trade-off with King George that set everything Regina had ever strived for in motion. With Snow's Prince Charming in her clutches, imprisoned within Regina's makeshift castle after being exiled from The Enchanted Forest, precious little Snow had no choice but to comply to Regina's demands and bite into the poisoned apple, putting her in a forever sleep, believing that she was doing the right thing by keeping her false Prince safe.

Well... Regina never actually [i]said[/i] she would be letting Charming go... There was too much risk. No, the only way Regina would be able to [i]ensure[/i] that Charming and Snow could never be reunited, to never be able to break this curse, Regina would have to cast the most terrible curse in all the lands; The Dark Curse - a curse that would guarantee a happy ending for no one - a small price to pay for even a sliver towards Regina's own happiness which was keeping Snow from having hers.

Regina's internal musings were interrupted as a sudden fluttering of wings drew her attention to the nearby open view of the balcony. The large black shape of a bird sitting atop the guardrail detouring her thoughts, ruffling itself before looking up and cawing, a loud, coarse noise, the consistency of sandpaper. 

The raven cocked its head to the side, as though silently imploring something from its Queen, but otherwise made no other noise as it seemed to look past her with its beady black orbs. 

Smirking, Regina turned her lithe body towards the Raven sitting on top of the balcony railing. She raised her hand, fingers twitching as she watched the bird take flight towards her, it's impressive wingspan keeping it hovering at her chest level with such a delicate grace that not a single sound came from the fowl. 

"I was wondering when you'd flutter back on home to me..."

Just as the bird looked as though it might intercept the Queen, Regina twisted her wrist, watching as a dark plume of purple smoke encased the bird entirely.

Writhing and swirling for longer than a moment, the purple smoke turned a jet black, fading away as the remaining tendrils formed bird-like shapes for only a brief moment before dissipating in their entirety, leaving a completely different figure in its wake. 

Tall, dark, and powerful, Ahzidal stood at least seven inches taller than the Queen herself, making no initial movements aside from the subtle rising and falling of his chest, his piercing eyes the color of steel searching the Queen, piercing past her smirk, her clothes...her skin. 

The Raven stood incredibly close to her, almost intimately so, her rather ample bosom very nearly pressing into his own chest, though this closeness did not seem to affect the palpable silence in the air, with Ahzidal not even seeming to notice the lack of space....it was duty. 

"You summoned for me." He finally spoke, the words being uttered more as a declaration or affirmation as opposed to an inquiry. His voice itself was cold, harsh, with a raspy hint to it; as though any warmth or humanity had been extinguished long ago. 

"Yes..." Regina purred, drawing out the 's' for a few moments as she let her fingers play with the pointed black fabric on his shoulder, her eyes watching herself fiddle with it. "Two days ago I sent you out with a message. I need to know if it was recieved."

Ahzidal did not visibly react as the Queen toyed with his clothing, either too disciplined or too unattached to notice or care. 

"Those addressed are aware of the meet in the woods. They will attend, though whether their loyalty is secured or not is a different matter....do you require my attendance?" He explained in a composed manner, speaking in an almost robotic tone, measuring each word carefully without attention to inflection of mood or emotion. 

Regina tilted up her head to look up at him, craning her neck given the height difference between them and their close proximity but the white smile that split her painted lips showed that she was more than pleased.

"Any... complications?" She asked pleasantly, almost sounding like she [i]wanted[/i] to hear bad news. Taking a moment, she ran her hand down from his shoulder and over his chest, letting her head drop back down to watch her fingers at play.

"All apprehension was met with swift rebuke." Ahzidal replied brusquely, his head cocking down just a fraction to eye the ring wrapped around his finger. His leash. When on a mission he was free to use his magic to its full potential in order to accomplish the Queen's goals, but was once again muzzled in her presence. The Raven felt no opinion on the matter. His magic was a tool, he had no wish to use it on or against his Queen. 

Turning his head back to see her playing with his chest, Ahzidal seemed to move closer into her touch, if only a centimeter or two on instinct. How often had the Queen called upon his service in the bedchambers? Nearly every night now, it seemed. Ahzidal cared not...his actions brought the Queen pleasure, so he would continue to serve and obey until she no longer required him. 

"You continue to impress me, my dear Huntsman." Regina tilted her head back up, leaning into Ahzidal a fraction more until her chest was pressed into his where his weight could support her. Her parted lips, just a hairs-breadth away from making contact with the skin just below the strong line of his jaw, blew out a short breath of hot air as she let out a small chuckle. She let her eyes flutter closed for a moment, moving her head to rest ever-so-lightly against his shoulder, even nuzzling into him a bit. "You see how much easier things are when you obey your Queen?" she remarked, splaying her hand across his chest where his heart would have been had she not ripped it out all those months ago when he failed to kill Snow White for her.

"I live to serve." Ahzidal replied in a composed tone, yet an observant one could detect the ever-so-slight shake in his voice as the Queen continued to show affection for him. It was an interesting feeling....to be so detached and removed from emotions, yet experience the same prickling feeling of heat and excitement from the right touch - no matter how distant the feeling was. 

"What would you have of me?" He inquired next, showing no leeway in voice whatsoever. Whether she wanted murder, pleasure, investigation, or simply comfort (as was the incredibly rare case) did not matter. Obedience was everything. 

"Yes. You do." Regina agreed. With a barely audible huff, Regina pulled herself away from him, putting distance between their bodies as she turned to look back at the mirror she had been examining not moments ago, greeted once more by the sight of her reflection looking back at her with Azhidal standing in as her background. "I have another job for you." she stated after a long pause, her eyes looking from her reflection's to the reflection of Azhidal. Waiting for a moment, she turned her body back around, the tight black dress flowing at her feet in a velvety dance only to settle back down once the motion was carried through.

"My mirrors have lost track of the maid. In order to beat Rumpelstiltskin at his own game, I need her in my sights. Find her!"

"As you command." Ahzidal replied before turning heel towards the open balcony, his long robes flowing about him as he did so, giving him the appearance of an overgrown bat, almost. 

Looking down once more at the encapsulating ring, Ahzidal could feel his magic slowly start to return to him, like unlocking a part of himself after hiding it away for years. He felt whole again....or at least as whole as a man could without his heart. And yet....he couldn't even think of a reason [i]for[/i] a heart anymore. It was weakness, stood in the place of duty, clouded judgement. Ahzidal required only his mind and his magic. That was all he needed for his service to the Queen.

"Leave her be, when you find her." Regina told Ahzidal, watching him head back towards the balcony in which he had came in. "I only need information. This plan requires and air of... discretion..."

With a plume of black smoke starting to form at his feet, Ahzidal took one more look at Regina before the smoke enveloped him entirely, lingering on briefly before he once more hovered in the air as a large black bird. 

The bird cawed only once, as if acknowledging her commands before taking off across the horizon, becoming little more than a hovering black dot that grew smaller and smaller, intent on accomplishing its mission. 

Following Ahzidal out onto the balcony, Regina rested her palms on the railing of the balcony, bending her body forward a small ways and watching as the raven became nothing more than a black spec amongst the horizon. A flittering smile returned to her lips then as she straightened her long back and turned to head back into her bedchamber, however only taking a few steps, a plume of dark purple smoke overtook her body and with the blow of the wind, The Queen was gone.

She had a housecall to make.