The room is quiet except for the soft ticking of a clock. Regina stands by the window, her posture rigid, eyes scanning the town below. The weight of the curse’s (of course Snow White and damned Charming couldn't just let live after everything – every insult thrown her way now is written on that soft skin) aftermath hangs heavy in the air – her body marked with cruel words, a constant reminder of the town’s hatred. Every morning, she painstakingly conceals the inked insults with layers of clothing, a ritual of shame she never imagined would become her daily life. The first days after the curse broke were a blur of accusatory glares and whispered threats. Each hateful word spoken aloud seemed to manifest anew upon her skin, a living testament to her past sins.

Nights were the worst. Standing before the mirror, she would peel back the layers, confronting the grotesque tapestry of loathing that now defined her. "Evil," "Witch," "Monster" – each word a brand, searing into her very soul.

Sleep offered no escape, haunted by nightmares of her past and the venomous eyes of those she had wronged. She had expected retribution, perhaps imprisonment, but this… this was a torment designed to strip her bare, to expose the ugliness she had tried so hard to bury.

But today, something different catches her attention: amidst the chaotic scrawl, a single word on her chest, written in a delicate, familiar hand – "Regina." A ghost of a memory flickers – a time when that name wasn't a curse, but simply… her. Before the darkness consumed her, before she became the Evil Queen.

She turns slowly as the door creaks open. There you stand, young and gentle, the same sweet face she once knew in the Enchanted Forest, now her assistant in this fractured town. You, who once served her with a blend of fear and reluctant loyalty, now a figure of innocent curiosity in this landscape of hate.