**3rd Person POV**
Regina walked into Lady Tristan's room. The old lady was as sullen-looking and fierce as ever.
“Regina! How wonderful of you to join us,” she said upon seeing her granddaughter. Regina smiled at the old woman. Emily had told her that Lady Tristan had begun to lose her mind for real this time. She had told her that half the time, Lady Tristan was either seeing ghosts or mistaking someone for another person. Regardless, the old lady seemed to remember her.
“Grandmother! How do you do? I've missed you a lot,” returned Regina gaily.
“Regina! How wonderful of you to join us,” returned the old lady as though she had not just said those words to her. Regina plastered a cheery smile on her face so the old lady would not notice her crestfallen expression. Lady Tristan was really losing her mind.
“I was just letting Halle know that you will be coming to see us soon when you walk in,” the old lady said while pointing to a stuffed toy as Halle, her sister.
“Will you let aunt know that I miss her?” Regina's voice was sad. She had never gotten over Halle's death. The woman had taken her in when she had no place to turn to with two babies in her arms and she had never gotten the chance to express her gratitude.
“Tell her yourself, she's sitting right there,” the old lady pointed to the stuffed bear. Regina played along.
“Don't worry about it, Gina. She got what she deserved, I made sure of that,” the old lady said. Confusion marred Regina's face as she had no idea what Lady Tristan was referring to.
“Grandmother? Who deserved what?”
“Irvette, that is what she calls herself, right?” quipped the old woman.
Regina knew that George had kidnapped Irvette and they had been searching for her for a very long time. She was aware that even up till now, searches were made occasionally for her sake. She knew that even though the world had given up, Alison had not.
So for Lady Tristan to mention a punishment for Irvette… it couldn't be that Irvette was locked up somewhere in this very same palace, could it?
She could not forgive Irvette for what she had done with her twins even after knowing that she had been manipulated by George. Still, she had no wish to continue punishing her cousin.
“Grandmother, what are you talking about?”
“The vampires,” was all Lady Tristan said.
“Grandmother?” but the old woman did not respond to Regina after that. She just sat down absentmindedly without saying a word.
Regina kissed the old lady on her forehead and then went in search of Emily. Emily always had the answers. She doubted that there was anything that happened without Emily's approval. She had to get to the bottom of this. If Harlin had been denied his mother for twenty years in pursuit of some revenge she had to make things right immediately. She had kept the boy at arm's length but it was impossible not to love him. First, the child reminded her of Harlin, his father and her first love. The second reason was that he was the twin’s closest companion.
“Gina, come. Let's attend court together,” Emily said, the second she spotted Regina not giving her a chance to say something first.
“Em, we need to talk,” Regina pressed with as much urgency as she could in her voice. She understood that Emily was busy but she could not wait a second longer without knowing for sure if Emily was holding Irvette hostage.
“I know… I agreed to marry Thoma,” there was a bright smile on Emily's face. It made Regina a little sad that it was no longer a good time to broach the subject of Irvette. She was torn but she could not possibly ruin her cousin's joy with a conversation about Irvette.
“That's wonderful news, Em. Although, it's long overdue,” returned Regina. She was sincerely happy for her cousin.
“It is and we must discuss it. I have to step away from my duties,” the look on Emily's face caused a frown to form on Regina's face.
“You're not thinking of handing over the throne to me, are you?” Emily burst out in laughter at the look of horror on Regina's face. Regina relaxed when she saw her cousin laughing.
“You should see your face, Gina! Are you that terrified of sitting on the throne?” asked Emily. When Regina had returned home, she broached the subject with her. Then, Regina had said she wanted to focus on nurturing the children but now Emily knew that Regina had never even considered it at all.
“Of course not! But politics does not suit me,” returned Regina with a tight smile.
“When you are queen, you watch others play politics in order to prove their importance to you,” replied Emily.
“It's a good thing Charlotte has been named as your heir. She will make a fine queen,” said Regina with a toothy smile. It was in times like this she was grateful she had children. She was sincerely looking forward to the time they would rule; she knew they would make great monarchs.
“Would it be so bad to rule, though? Charlotte will make a fine queen but I do not think she is ready yet. She hates court and she's still very impulsive,” Emily disclosed her concerns to her cousin.
“She sounds like someone I know,” Regina replied.
“I am nothing like Charlotte,” refuted Emily.
“She will have your guidance. But why the rush? You are still very far from your death,” teased Regina.
“I want to be with Thoma when we get married. I want to travel the seas with him,” said Emily.
“You love being here, Em. Are you certain you won't regret stepping down so soon?” Regina was worried that Emily was making the decision for the wrong reason.
“I am sure, Gina. This is what I want.”