Chapter 2: Blood is thicker than water

In the end it hadn't been much of a contest. When Roland screamed himself awake again later that night Robin berated himself for ever having considered lying to Zelena. He needed his son's heart back.

'Shhh, you're safe now.' He whispered and as he rocked his son back and forth in his lap the little boy gave him a poignant look. Shame seemed to flood his exterior before he spoke.

'I want to go home, papa.' He softly whispered. It took a courageous boy to admit he was homesick. Robin smiled and kissed his son's forehead.

'We will soon, my boy.' He quietly stroked Roland's thick dark hair. His mother's hair. It was in times like these he wished she was still among them. To comfort their son. To comfort him and speak words of wisdom whenever he doubted himself, like now. She'd been good at that.


As he made his way to their customary meeting place his satchel only barely burned a hole in his side and he felt but a tiny twinge of guilt when he noticed how his own heart beat in perfect rhythm to hers. Thump-thump, thump-thump. What would the Queen do when she'd catch word of what he'd done? He shook the thought away, he had to remember that it was but a small price to pay compared to what he would gain.

The wind picked up. She was close, he could tell. She had the strangest effect on nature. It almost seemed to bend and respond to her in terror, as most things did with her.

'You're early.'

'And you're late.' He spat.

'Careful now.' She narrowed her eyes, but the smile on her lips didn't fade. To her he was nothing more than a defenceless tool, showing up at her every whim, doing her biding whenever it needed to be done. He resented how she made him feel like a puppet and though he wasn't in the assassination business for her he would gladly make an exception.

'I presume you heard how things ended between me and my little sister last night.' She continued.

'I heard rumors.' It was hard to keep the smugness from his features.

'It was only one battle.' She shrugged. 'I will surely win the war.'

'Modesty most definitely becomes you.' He murmured but she caught his words and a flicker of annoyance flared up inside of her. She caught herself just in time and a forced smile appeared in its stead.

'Tell me now.' She started circling him, her attention shifting to the satchel and he wondered if she could sense the beating heart inside.

'How receptive has my little sister been of a common thief such as yourself? I really do hope you have made some progress, I would truly hate to see poor Roland suffer as a direct result of his father's failure to execute a simple task.'

Coldness spread through his body and it took all of his self-control not to throw himself at her. Reason told him it would be pointless but blind anger fought for justice. Reason won this time, justice would win another day. He swore it would.

'As a matter of fact, I seemed to have succeeded where you have failed.' He put on a mock smile and crossed his arms, at least he had the satisfaction of outwitting her. He had outwitted them all.

'Oh?' She stopped and turned his way, raising a perfectly plucked eyebrow at him.

Without a second thought he opened his satchel and reached inside. Steady as the beating drum, he reminded himself as he revealed the Queen's black heart to the witch in front of him.

Zelena gasped, the greed in her eyes tangible. She lunged at him but he took a calculated step backward.

'Not so fast.' He held up his other hand.

'My son's heart. A heart for a heart, just like you said.'

She let out a low growl but remained where she stood, her eyes glued on her sister's heart. Unlike him she seemed to be most fascinated with the black lines and dark patches rather than the red bright ones. In silent amazement he watched her drink it all in, every inch she examined. They stood like that for a while; the witch scrutinising her sibling's heart, while he considered her greed filled expression. How could anyone so fair looking, be so wicked?

'Well, well, well.' She smiled and looked up at him, appearing sufficiently convinced of the heart's authenticity. 'Who'd have guessed? I knew my sister had a weak spot for you but for her to give up her heart so readily she must really like you, forest boy.'

'Roland's heart!' He demanded.

He'd done what she'd asked, now it was her turn to conjure Roland's heart, he wanted to be done with this. She took a step backward, the greed in her eyes dissipating as along with it.

'No.' She said.

Robin frowned, unsure of what to make of the swift in her demeanour.

'Take it and give me my son's heart!' He demanded more forcibly now.

Zelena shook her head.

'No.' she calmly repeated.

'Why the hell not?!' He huffed, exasperated. He took a desperate step in her direction, feeling the leverage he held in the form of Regina's heart figuratively slip from his grasp. Why didn't she want it anymore? What could have possibly triggered her to change her mind in but a few seconds time?

'My sister humiliated me yesterday.' She resumed her pacing. 'She needs to be punished first.'

'Punished? Isn't taking her heart punishment enough?'

'No.' She stopped and stepped closer to Robin, her face inches away from his and he had to suppress the urge to back away. If envy had a scent it would smell like her.

Her eyes lit up, his disgust so poorly hidden she revelled in the feel of it.

'I want to destroy her,' She breathed, one finger stretching out to touch the heart. Intrigued she traced the black lines with a long black nail. 'And I will. But before I do so, she needs to suffer for what she did. And you -' she brought the same finger up to trail along Robin's cheek.'- are the key to her suffering.' Her lips split apart revealing the wickedest smile he'd ever laid his eyes upon.

'We had a deal!' He caught her hand and tried to force the heart in her palm, but she backed out of his reach and before he knew it the Queen's heart slipped from his grasp and fell on the damp leaved ground between them. Its beat intensified and for a moment he feared he'd broken it, killed her, but then its steady thumping returned, falling in sync with his own again. He let out air he didn't know he'd been holding.

Zelena laughed out loud.

'Careful, forest boy. If you break it before you're done, I won't have much use for your son's heart anymore.'

'What do you want from me?!' He pleaded, his resistance fading.

'I want you to take my sister's heart, convince her to put it back where it belongs and make her fall in love with you.'

It had been their original plan.

Zelena's original plan. It had made sense when she'd wanted him to acquire the Queen's heart. He had told himself that he had had nothing to lose back then. He hadn't been a supporter of the idea but the Evil Queen was called evil for a reason. When push came to shove, he figured that he would be doing the world a favor, one that morally compromised him but a favor nonetheless. It could have been worse. He could have been coerced into hurting someone he truly cared about. But that was before he'd ever met her.

'We've been through this. I already obtained the heart.'

'Then she's in love with you?'

He hesitated, was she in love with him? He could hardly say so. She hadn't burned him to a crisp, that was for sure, and he had to admit that there was something about her, an irresistibly pull, she felt too. But love?

'She trusts you, that doesn't mean she loves you.'

'I don't see what you could possibly gain from this.'

Zelena stepped forward, bend down and retrieved the Queen's heart from the mossy ground. Her fascination with the blackness still clearly visible in the way her eyes travelled over it once more.

'Don't you?'

She took his hand and pressed it back in his palm.

'I'll tell you.' Her finger returned, tracing a lazy circle over the bright core.

'Do you see that red little core inside of my sister's heart? That core stands for ones hopes and dreams, for life's infinite possibilities, all that is still good. It is the essence of a person's life.' Her voice drifted but then returned a whisper as she bent closer to him.

'Regina still has hope and she still has dreams. I want you to become that core.' She pressed her finger down, the beat growing faster again and he pulled away, a scowl on his lips. 'I want you to make her want for nothing but you and once you've become her hopes and dreams, you will betray her. You will tell her it was all a lie and you will take her heart and you will give it me.'

She backed away then and reached for her broom.

He remained silent, the air thick as he pondered the destructive nature of what she was asking him to do.

Her plan was wicked, but also clever, because it was true, the best way to make a person suffer was to take away the things they loved most. Now he was supposed to become the thing Regina Mills loved most and it wasn't even a question, it was a demand.

'What makes you so sure she will love me?'

'Let's just say that the one who casts the curse gets to keep the memories.'

There it was again, that godforsaken forgotten year. Zelena had alluded to it more than once now. It was the reason she'd taken Roland's heart, it was the reason she'd picked him and not some random dwarf to seduce the Queen. He'd been blocking it out. He hadn't want to waste time on things he couldn't remember. In truth part of him also feared what it all meant. There was something there. Something that connected him to the Queen and that lost year. He couldn't phantom what it could be. Surely, he hadn't been on friendly terms with her? Then again, it was possible. Right now he found he liked her considerably more than he did before he only knew her by name.

'If I do this.' He hesitated, unsure of what exactly he was signing up for.

'You will give me Roland's heart.'

It was more of a statement than a question.

'Yes.' She confirmed.

'How will I know you won't break your promise again?'

'You don't.' She readied her broom. The wind picked up again. The forest shuddered all around her, preparing itself.

'You're just going to have to trust me.'