Storybrooke- Present day

Regina had been reading this damn book at least a thousand times, and she still couldn't find anything, any clue that could lead her to this damn author. Not a single word that could have led her to him. She was starting to feel like Operation Mongoose was a dead end. How can you find someone with that kind of unimaginable power when they don't want to be found? With a sigh, she returned to her endless reading.

She was re-reading the chapters about Oz, hoping that at the same time she could understand a little bit more this strange sister of hers, who preferred killing herself rather than accepting the second chance Regina had offered her.

"You shouldn't have told me all your tricks, Rumple. I'll see you again, dearie. And, next time, you will choose me…"
Clicking her heels three times, Zelena had disappeared in a cloud of green smoke.

Regina turned to the next page before remembering those last few words. Zelena's slippers could travel between worlds; they could lead Zelena wherever she wanted, whether she was asking for a place or to a person. Perhaps they could find the author, too. And, perhaps she left those shoes behind her…

Less than half an hour later, Regina was at the farmhouse's doorstep, attempting to gather enough of her courage to go in. For some reason, she was feeling afraid; maybe just the ambiance that resulted from going into her dead sister's house. Or, maybe she feared that if she couldn't find the slippers, she would be right back from where she started…
Or it was just the thought of entering into someone's house without permission, but she seriously doubted that. When you used to be the unrelenting Evil Queen, trespassing becomes somewhat of a minor issue.

While thinking about that, she came to the door, and was about to open it when she noticed a flash of movement to her right, through the window to the living room. A slight, tiny, little movement, but still. There was somebody in there. Somebody who now knew she was there, too. She took a deep breath, mentally slapped herself for not checking that in the first place, and softly pushed down on the handle. In a creaking moan, the door opened, giving way to two panicked, blue eyes fixed at her.

"Who are you?" asked the little girl on the other side, watching her with eyes almost as wide as the moon. Regina observed the girl. She was probably about ten and definitely pretty, with long, red locks and big, blue eyes. Her clothes clearly had seen better days, and from the looks the girl was giving to the apple Regina always had in her bag (you never know when you can use it), she was also hungry. The woman gave her the apple and tried to smile at her. "Don't worry dear, I won't do you any harm. What are you doing here, all by yourself?"
The girl crossed her arms and frowned.
"Who are you?" she repeated, with a moody expression. There was no way she would answer without Regina telling her name first, that, at least, was clear. The queen sighed.
"My name is Regina; I'm the mayor here, and I'm here to help. Who are you? And where are your parents?"
The girl relaxed slightly and looked a little relieved when she got her answer, but she still didn't seem overtly comfortable.
"I'm Jade."
"Why are you here, Jade? Did you run away?" Regina asked her.
The girl shook her head no.
" I used to live here with my mother, but, one day, she didn't come back. I don't know where she's been; do you know why she isn't home?"
Regina started with a sudden realization. Her sister had a child?

"You mean you're Zelena's daughter? And you've been all alone here ever since…" She interrupted herself. 'Since your mother tried to go back in time, failed, and killed herself' was definitely a bit too harsh. Luckily, the child nodded, seeming not to notice that Regina hadn't finished her sentence. She gazed right into the former queen's eyes, a serious expression on her face, and she asked, "Regina, where is my Mum?"
She saw the hesitation into Regina's eyes and continued. "You know where she is, right?"

With a sigh, Regina kneeled down to look the child in the eyes. How do you explain a ten-year-old that her mother committed suicide?
She decided to deal with that later. "Listen, dear, you're going to come with me, okay? We can talk about this later. For now, I'll take you with me, I'll make us dinner. Does that suit you?"
Jade nodded and grabbed Regina's hand to follow her home. Fine. Now, she just had to explain what had happened to Robin, who was supposed to come for dinner tonight…

"I couldn't just leave her there! If you'd seen her, she was all dirty and hungry! She needed me, you can get that!"
"That's not what I'm saying, Regina! I just think you should have left her at the Sheriff's station. That's what you're supposed to do in these kinds of cases! Plus, she needs to leave Storybrooke as soon as possible. She's the Wicked Witch's daughter! People won't just welcome her with hugs and smiles!"
"So you've already forgotten? We can't leave Storybrooke, or we can never go back! And we're not gonna abandon her on the side of the road!"
Regina paused. "Maybe we don't have to tell them… We can pretend she's just a lost girl. "
"Oh, please, Regina; she looks just like her! Her whole face says, 'I'm the daughter of the witch who tried to steal a baby to go back in time!'"
"Robin, stop it. Please. I can't just leave her! Can you imagine how hard it must be? She's all alone, surrounded by people she doesn't know, people who are going to judge her because of who her mother is. Her mother, who just killed herself and left this girl behind, by the way, which she has no idea of yet!"

Behind the door, a small silhouette, eyes full of tears, stopped listening through the door and ran back upstairs without a noise, except for tiny little hiccups shaking her narrow shoulders. Shivering, Jade got back into bed and buried her face in her pillow to smother her sobs.

"I know you wouldn't have given up on me, Mom. You promised," she whispered through her tears. "I know it. And I will find whoever did this to you, I swear."
She wiped away a tear rolling down her cheek and flicked it off her fingers.
"And, whoever it is, I'll kill them."

AN: Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it! I'll try to update as soon as possible. If you have any question or feeling about what I wrote, please let me know, I'll be glad to answer you ^^