Trigger Warnings: Depression and Anxiety


"Pardon me." Helena responds. As she tries to walk away the lady grabs her arm and pulls her into a tight hug.

"My sweet darling." The random woman weeps with tears in her eyes.

Helena tries to break free, but the woman's grip gets tighter. As she suddenly starts to stroke her hair they were cut off with the voice of Regina.

"Mother?" A confused Regina says.

Cora looks at Regina, beaming with glee, "Regina, this is your older sister. This is Zelena."

Robin's hand tightens around Regina's.

A million thoughts run through her mind. That's impossible. It can't be. No. Regina shakes her head, "Mom, that's Helena not Zelena."

Regina notices the confusion in Helena's face. So she reaches for Cora's arm in order to pull her away from Helena's side.

But before Regina could even get her mother an inch away from her "sister* Cora swats her hand while her tears start to trickle down her face. Her heart slightly tense from the shock.

Helena looks at the woman intently, "I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about." She pushes Cora's arm away from hers and runs out of the lobby.

Cora's heart suddenly sinks. She whips her head towards Regina. "Go upstairs to the suite. NOW!"

Regina flinches at the tone of her voice. Robin detects her uneasiness since he can feel her slightly shaking.

Cora glances at Robin for a split second and rapidly walks towards the elevator.

Once Cora was gone, Regina let the unshed tears from her eyes fall.

"Are you alright?" He asks.

"I'm…" Regina looks for a proper word to say. She can't say she's fine or well, for the fact that they both know she's not. He's just asking for assurance that she's not about to breakdown or anything. There's no point in lying. "I'm…I'll manage."

Robin squeezes her hand once more to let her know that he's always there for her.

Regina appreciated the gesture so she squeezes back.

"Regina–"

"Don't, say anything. I should go now." Robin loosens his grip on Regina's hand.

Robin watches Regina slowly walking away and he lets out a sigh. This is going to be a mess.

As the elevator door shuts her heart clenches. It feels like someone is holding it, squeezing it. It hurts... It hurts so much.

She closes her eyes trying to let the pain go. She's confused and she doesn't understand anything. How? She asks herself. Helena can't be her sister, her sister has been gone for more than a decade, so how?


Helena came home with tears flowing down her cheeks. They're lying! I'm- I'm not- I'm not Regina's missing sister! It's impossible!

Once she opened the front door of her home she immediately ran upstairs. Diana follows her sensing something is wrong.

Her mom walks to her bedroom door lightly knocking, "Hunny, are you alright?"

No one answers.

Her mother was about to walk away until she hears the silent whimpers. She walks to the door and turns the door knob to enter.

Once Diana enters, Helena was on the floor trying to wipe her tears away. Her mother's heart shattered. "Oh sweetie, what happened? Did you tell Robin the way you feel? Did he break your heart?"

Helena shakes her head. "No." she whispers.

Her mother sits next her on the floor. She puts an arm around Helena's shoulder and hugs her tightly. "Hunny, you know you can tell me anything."

Big red rimmed blue eyes look up to Diana, "Am I- Am I adopted?"

Diana forgets to breathe for a moment. "What? Why would you ask such a thing?"

"Because I met this girl and while waiting for her in the hotel her mother pulled me and starting holding me tightly. She called me her daughter. So am I? Am I adopted?"

"I'm so sorry Hunny." And that's all that it took for Helena to know the truth.

Helena sinks further onto the floor. 'I'm so sorry Hunny. Your father and I were going to tell you when you were 18, but things changed when he died. I never found the courage to tell you without him. I'm so sorry."


The elevator door opens and she tries to pull herself together. She can't enter the suite and face her parents looking like the way she does. She's stronger than this. She's not someone who needs her parents looking after every little thing she does, criticizing, and judging.

She steps out of the elevator and walks toward their suite. As she pushes the door slowly she can hear her parents fighting.

"What do you mean you found Zelena?" Her father asks trying to calm her mother.

"There was this girl in the lobby. I can't mistake her for someone else! I know it's her! I know she's my daughter!"

"Cora! You have to relax! This isn't the first time you've thought someone was Zelena. How can you be so sure this time?"

Regina enters the suite, her parents oblivious to her arrival. She tries to escape to her room on the other side so she walks quickly trying to avoid her parents.

"Because I looked into her eyes. I felt it when I touched her. I felt all my love for her rush in. You have to believe me Henry!"

"I- I…" her father stutters.

"Of course you wouldn't believe me because you never understood the anguish and the pain of losing her like I did!"

"What? How can you- how can you say that? Zelena was my daughter as much as she was yours!"

"But she isn't yours, so you would never understand the way I felt. She's not your flesh and blood so you never felt the same pain as I did! Can you honestly tell me that you wouldn't have put more energy or money into the search if Regina was the one that was taken?"

Henry stood there silently. He knew his wife was right, maybe he could've put in a bit more extra effort for the search. He loves Zelena always have and always will, but the connection that Cora has with Zelena will always be stronger than his connection with her.

Cora fell to the floor and sobbed. "I- I did everything to make sure I would bring her into this world safely. I ran away from home to keep her away from the taunting of my family for being born without a proper family structure. I tried to keep her safe, but I couldn't. I failed. I tried so hard."

Henry kneels down to Cora. "I know." He comforts her.

He wraps his arms around his wife calming her down. "I know you tried and I'm sorry for not trying harder. If you believe that she's Zelena then what's the harm in trying to find out."

Regina finally shuts the door closed to her room and falls to the ground. She pulls her knees up to her chest and cries. She let's the tears fall to her cheeks. Her heart feels heavy and her mind is fuzzy. What the hell is going on?

After a few more tears she gets up to grab her phone and earphones. She quickly plugs them in and plays her music.

And she lies, tonight

Underneath a caving roof

And she cries, tonight

Wondering what she can do

And she tries, tonight

Remembering who she once knew

But they've died, inside

Another empty bottle takes a life

She listens and listens until sleep finally takes her tired self over.

In a few hours Regina wakes up with her eyes stinging a bit from all the crying. She flutters her eyes trying to focus on the clock. 3:34 am she reads.

She closes her eyes trying to fall asleep again but she can't. She twists and and turns. She fluffs and refluffs her pillows. Damn it! she thinks

She closes her eyes again and is taken away by sleep but sadly no more than 15 min later she is awake again. I guess I'm not sleeping tonight then.

Regina takes her ipad from the side table and waits for the sun to rise.


When Regina checks the time again it says 7:45 am. Well, I guess it's time to get up.

She puts her unicorn slippers on and was about to twist the doorknob until she heard. "Cora you can't just barge into Regina's room and ask her details about her friend's life."

"And why not? I've waited years for this day Henry. I am not about to lose my daughter again because of Regina."

"Cora!" Henry scolds, "It is not Regina's fault why Zelena was taken in the first place. It was an accident!"

Cora groans and shakes her head. "I know." She says solemnly "I just can't help it. I'm frustrated."

"Come on, let's go find some breakfast. We'll deal with this when we return."

She releases her grip of the door knob and slips back into her bed. She has always blamed herself for what happened, but actually hearing it from her mother makes the pain all too real. So she lays on the once again cold bed, letting all the demons in her head consume her. The thoughts that she's suppressed behind walls, suddenly breaking through. She lets out a sigh and wonders if everything would be better if she was the one who was taken instead. Maybe just maybe, they'd care for her too.


Thought?