A/N: Thank you to my beta. Otherwise Regina would be hissing and there would be an abundance of missing words (whoops!) and thank you to all the reviews! It really means a lot to know people are enjoying this.

2. A Fragile Path

The bed was warm. Intoxicatingly so. The desire to bury herself beneath the covers and remain in the blissful cocoon was almost overpowering. Regina could feel her eyes falling heavy again as she sunk beneath the covers, hiding away from the sunlight. Her hand splayed out, pushing over the bed for Daniel, only to come to nothing.

The bed was empty. Cold on his side.

"Daniel?" she whispered, her voice hoarse. When there was no reply, she tried again, clearing her throat to call out louder this time. "Daniel?"

Still there was nothing. Sitting up, she blinked tiredly around the room, yawning as she brushed the sleep from her eyes. The room was golden from the setting sun. To the left of the room, the small fire in the hearth flickered the last hour of its life as it sat on a bed of ash. There was more than enough light to know Daniel was no longer there. Even his clothes beside the fire were gone.

Climbing out of the bed, she stepped into the centre of the room, searching for any sign that might explain his absence. It was only when she glanced back to bed that she saw the bag he'd brought. The contents, too valuable to remain behind, sat against the bed's right leg where his boots should have been.

Vaguely she remembered him pulling away from her. A dreamlike memory of a hand smoothing down her hair as he pressed a kiss to her temple. But she didn't remember him telling her where he was going.

Making the decision to go after him, she changed from her nightgown into the dress by the fire. Her hands fixed a quick braid to pull hair from its mess, before she grabbed her cloak, only to pause suddenly as she realized she had no idea where to begin her search. Daniel could be in the stables, or having an evening meal. Or, she supposed, he may still be grabbing supplies.

But from the red and gold sky, Regina could see it was too late for the markets to remain open. She was sure that by now, the villages had returned home for their own evening meal.

However, there was still the whole village to look through. Her body froze at the possibility that maybe, when gathering supplies, Cora had-

No, Regina snapped. She wasn't here. Her mother wouldn't have travelled on horseback, she would have taken a carriage or have had people sent to look for her. And besides, they were unlikely to consider that Regina was here. Daniel and her had taken precautions to take an alternative route. Anyone else would have gone south, towards the nearby village only a few miles away from her home. From there they would have moved in a southerly-east direction, towards the closest kingdom.

But they had purposely chosen a strict west. Trickier in comparison and one they hoped would at least slow down the search party after them. If there even was one at all.

Shaking her head, Regina steadied her thoughts, focusing on the matter at hand. Daniel wasn't missing, he was just currently not visible.

The search would begin here, at the tavern, move to the stables and from there, search the village.

Fastening her cloak, she slid her boots on and rose up onto her feet. The woman's words from earlier echoed as Regina went to leave. Turning back, she looked at their belongings lying about and quickly cleaned the room of all their contents. Wherever her husband may be, she was sure he'd want to leave soon. If he didn't, then at least thieves wouldn't be able to take from her while she was searching for Daniel.

Opening the hallway door, Regina carried their two bags on her shoulders and entered the tavern's main area. It took only a few moments to find her husband, laughing and leaning against the bar, holding a bowl of food as he spoke to someone behind the counter.

A sigh pulled at Regina's chest as all her worry poured from her. It was anticlimactic to find him standing there, she'd readied herself to search the area when all she had needed to do was see if he was here.

It made her feel silly for worrying, but relief was evident. He was safe and she would make sure that next time, she checked the tavern before worrying.

Hoisting the bags higher on her shoulders, Regina studied who her husband was talking to. Daniel was certainly familiar with the man. Possibly the owner, she assumed, as he stood behind the bar. He was a tiny man, with grey hair and missing teeth. Speaking lowly, he shifted with large hand movements before suddenly erupting with laughter that even Regina could hear even over the tavern's evening crowd.

Regina smiled as Daniel's shoulders shook, humored. He was happier than she'd ever seen, light as if nothing could worry him. It seemed that once, it was only a dream that she would appear the same.

Pushing past the boisterous crowd, she walked up to them and set down the bags at their feet, taking the bowl of food from Daniel's hand.

"Hey! That's for- oh." Daniel blinked, recognizing her face before he grinned at her. "Regina, good day!"

"Good evening," she smiled back before taking a spoonful of the food. As soon as the spoon entered her mouth, she felt herself almost sigh mournfully at it. It was a porridge like substance, void of all taste, not that it mattered. It was edible and warm, if on the cool side. But bread and cheese would have been a more tasteful meal.

"That's yah bride?" the tiny man bellowed. Regina flinched, blinking at him as she swallowed hard on the food. His voice should have belonged to a burly old sea captain, not a tiny man no bigger than herself.

"Yes. This is Regina, my wife. Regina, this is Gerald. The man I told you about."

"Good evening," she greeted, bowing her head.

He peered at her with one brown eye before turning back to Daniel, "She's a noblewoman," he accused spitefully.

Regina stilled, waiting for what would happen next. Perhaps she shouldn't have brought such nice clothes if she was going to stick out so obviously. But before she could explain, Gerald had clapped Daniel's shoulder, roaring with laughter. "You did good, lad. A lovely woman. It's a shame about the money she'll lose." He turned then, laughter dying away as he pointed to Regina, "You however, chose poorly."

"I don't think so," she replied politely. "Daniel is more than I could ever have dreamed of." Gerald frowned, looking between Daniel's soft smile to Regina's proud, hopeful gaze at her husband. Frowning at them, the man's face twisted in disgust.

"She ain't very bright, boy. Are you sure she's right?"

Daniel laughed, "She's wonderful."

But the man didn't laugh, looking at Regina with suspicion. "Women don't run away from a life of wealth for a common dwelling. They're always after something."

Regina bit back a scoff, setting down the bowl as she instead smiled sweetly.

"Regina's-"

"It's alright Daniel," she said, taking his hand to squeeze it gently. "Daniel makes me happy. Nothing else matters."

"You say that now, girly. But soon enough, that happiness will fade and you'll be left with screaming babes while he works hard to keep a roof over your heads. Then you'll be missing that sweet bed you once shared and you'll turn to some nobleman, crying that you were stolen from your home."

Regina's smile vanished. It was only the hand in her own, clenching worriedly that stopped the cold shiver long enough to clear her mind. "I'm sure we'll manage," she said not unkindly before turning to Daniel, "If you'll excuse me, I need to ready our horse for travel." Kissing his cheek, she let go of the hand before picking up their bags and leaving with a polite: "It was good to meet you," directed at Gerald.

Daniel stared after her, conflicted but unmoving.

"Yeh should follow her, lad. When a woman leaves like that…" Regina didn't hear the rest. Didn't care for it. Stepping outside, she breathed in the crisp air and closed the door behind her. The man's words meant nothing to her. He'd been making a joke, a poor one, but a joke nonetheless. She truly would be stupid to take offense to such ridicule.

The sky was clear outside with the clouds leaving towards the horizon. The storm had left a muddy incline towards the stable, puddles of brown water lay in unexpected holes, making her steps slick. She was careful not to slip. She didn't need anyone to see her covered in mud, least of all Daniel.

He would spend days laughing about it, unless she could throw him into a bigger puddle of mud. The idea of doing so certainly amused her.

Entering the stable, she set down the bags against the stall and walked over to Rocinante. He sat still, curled against a pile of hay in his stall. "Hello, boy," she spoke softly, watching as he rose onto his legs when she opened the door. He blinked at her, tilting his head to stare directly at her with one eye before he walked over.

Her hand reached out, making him aware of her intended movement before she stroked down his nose. "I know the stable boy's not Daniel, but he's been good to you, has he not?" she asked. "It's all right though. We'll sleep with the trees next time."

There was a tail swish before Rocinante's head rose, pulling away so he could walk to where a large bucket of water sat. Sighing, Regina turned to their things, placing her bags underneath the hooks.

Already on the hooks sat two tattered, well-mended bags. Above them, Rocinante's saddle hung over the stall. "Did Daniel buy those?" she asked, bending down to peek inside.

Rocinante gave a short short, instead turning to food he'd been given hours earlier. Whenever Daniel had time for that, Regina didn't know. But the bag's contents contained skins of water, a few days food and a bedroll each.

"Come here," she spoke, turning to face her horse. "We should leave before the sun finishes setting." No doubt, Mother would be on her way soon and Regina wanted to put as much distance between her and Daniel as possible. If they kept off the main path and instead took the woods a few miles up, it would make following them that much more difficult.

If, Regina shuddered, her mother didn't have magic to track them. But she'd never known her mother to have such magic. Hers usually was about containing, entrapping, pressing. Things that reached out and wrapped around you like a giant's hand and squeezed or contained until you cried mercy. She'd had no need to learn anything else.

Rocinante was, for the most part, calm as she saddled him. Daniel had a better hand with animals, horses in particular, but Regina knew how to ready a horse better than most. She'd been doing it for years, even with stable boys. There was no better way to bond with a horse than to do everything yourself. It was one of the few lessons her first riding teacher had taught that Daniel didn't disagree with.

However, her mother stood a strong opponent. She believed that Regina should have little to do with the horse. It would only create an inevitable weakness the further she bonded with the horse. Sooner or later, Rocinante would die, something she took on herself to remind Regina often, almost as a threat.

Quickly Regina learnt to school her feelings about him, referring to Rocinante as it when talking to her mother. It seemed to satisfy her enough that she moved on to telling her other lessons.

Regina lifted her hands from the saddle and touched Rocinante shoulder fondly. Sensing something, he turned to face her, only to look away again as she begun to finish saddling him. "I'm sorry," she whispered, running a hand over his neck.

By the time she was tying the bags to the saddle, Daniel had arrived.

"Next town over I thought we'd trade a few more items for gold," he said. Regina turned away from her horse to look at him strongly. "If that's all right with you," he added quickly.

"It's fine."

Daniel frowned but chose carefully not to comment. "So I thought we'd try and cover more ground by cutting across the river. The morning's rain shouldn't make the river too difficult getting across."

"If that's what you want," she replied shortly.

"It just means we'll avoid the bridge further on. Which could work in our favor."

"Good."

Confused about her behavior, Daniel leant over the stall and studied her quietly. "Are you upset about what Gerald said?"

"Of course not. He knows nothing of how I feel towards you."

"Or how I feel for you." Daniel allowed the quiet to settle over them, watching Regina move around the stall before he spoke again. "I know you well enough to know something is bothering you. If it's not Gerald, then what is it?"

Regina looked at him before turning away again, her hands brushing over Rocinante's neck. "It's nothing. Don't worry."

"Is it your mother?" he asked. She didn't reply, her eyes avoiding his and looking forward at the stall. "Regina, tell me so I can fix this."

"You can't fix this, it's fine. I'm just-"

"Don't lie to me, Regina. Please."

At the plea, she sighed, turning to look at her husband's boots. They were dirty, muddy and well-worn. The leather, though expensive, was starting to wear. If she'd noticed before, then maybe she would have made her father buy new ones. He'd be stuck in those shoes for a while now. Probably forever with only constant repairs to stop them from falling apart.

"Regina?"

Swallowing, she shifted on her feet nervously before raising her head to look at him. "It's not just her," she admitted. "I'm scared. I'm scared about so many things and you're calm and peaceful as if this isn't frightening."

"But it's not!" He said, climbing over the stall to move beside her. "Regina, you have nothing to be afraid of."

"Don't I?" she shook her head, turning back to their horse and double checking that everything was buckled accordingly. If she kept busy, Daniel wouldn't see her shake. "My mother will come after us. How doesn't that scare you?"

"Because I have you."

"I can't defeat her!" Regina cried out. Rocinante flinched, backed away from her. "I don't use magic, Daniel. I won't."

"I didn't mean that," he reached out to grab her hand, only for it to slip away as Regina snapped back, moving around Rocinante to block his path. Trembling, she forced herself to continued double checking everything. "Regina-"

"We won't be able to travel as far with the added weight," she deflected. "We shouldn't make him run either."

"I know."

"There's enough food for three days, we can probably stretch it a few more. But you're right about trading a few items. I have some jewelry and dresses that are worth a fair amount. They should be more than enough gold for a new life if we can sell them."

"Regina," he said softly as her voice began to waver.

"I'd like to keep the hairbrush. At least for a while. Hopefully we can keep Rocinante for-for a while too." Swallowing, she steadied her voice, "Unless you'd prefer we travel by horse and cart."

"Regina."

"If so, there's a city we can travel to, outside of King George's kingdom. There we could sell...sell Rocinante and buy our way to Agrabah...or...or…" Regina breathed out, dropping her shaking hands away from the saddle. Daniel grabbed her shoulder, suddenly appearing beside her, only to spin her around to face him. She hasn't heard him step around Rocinante, but here he was, looking down at her with a frightening mixture of frustration and worry. Blinking furiously, she shook her head, casting her gaze away from him.

"Regina." She kept her eyes away, her muscles suddenly too weak to pull away. "Regina, will you look at me?" he asked her softly.

Slowly she looked up from wet eyelashes to see his fear. She wanted to look away, to run, but she didn't. "Where are we going?" Her throat ached with the spoken words.

"Anywhere."

"But where? To the countryside, to the forest, do you want to live by a river, or-!"

"Regina. I will live anywhere you want." Taking her hands, he pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her. Slowly, she relaxed under his grip, dropping her head against his chest. There was a small shudder at first, her hands clenching before she breathed in. "Where do you want to go?" he asked her softly.

"We need...we need to see someone."

Daniel frowned, "Who?"

"A witch...or...someone who can hide us. We need to find someone who can give us a talisman, or a potion - anything to hide us from my mother."

"Regina-"

"No! You don't understand, Daniel. I can feel it. I know she can find us. She'll spend every moment of every day looking for us and she has magic," Regina stretched the word, hissing it between her teeth. "She will find us and I don't know what she'll do when that happens. I don't know if…" blinking again, she tried to pull away but Daniel hold wouldn't let her.

Instead he crouched down enough to reach eye-to-eye, cupping her face as he steadied the fears in his hands. "We'll find someone," he assured. "But we ran, we escaped remember?"

"For now," she whispered.

"No. Forever."

"Don't say that." She pulled away, sniffing as she wiped under her eyes. "Forever is a long time and unless you're a seer, you don't know what will happen. You can't tell if tomorrow we'll get attacked by bandits or if..."

Running his fingers through his hair, Daniel sighed. Everything he said seemed to make Regina only more panicked as she saw more terrifying possibilities. They had a night of travel ahead of them and he couldn't allow this to become any worse.

Making a decision, Daniel gently reached out and took her hands, lifting them to his lips to press a kiss against her knuckles. Slowly she allowed her shoulders to drop before smiling at him. Her lips curved weakly but she understood that he didn't want to fight her any more. "I'm sorry," she told him. "I'm a mess."

"You are," he agreed. "And so am I."

"You are no-"

"Even if you can't see it. We'll get through this."

"But-"

"No buts. No ifs, no maybes. You once told me that you thought what we have is true love. If that is true," he chuckled, pleased as her smile warmed, "then you have nothing to fear. We'll get through this and anything else that can be thrown at us."

Regina breathed out, pulling her hands away so she was able to step forward and press her lips to his. The kiss, though brief, allowed her to finally exhale and allow the worries in her chest to loosen. She couldn't run on her own, but she could with him. Maybe she could fight against her mother too if Daniel was by her side. Lifting her hands, Regina brushed her thumbs over his cheeks and pressed her forehead to his.

"You're right."

"Of course I am." Daniel's hands held loosely on her wrists before he let go. "How do you feel?"

"Better," she replied, stepping back. Clearing her throat, she smiled at him and allowed the exhale to run through herself once more. Seeing her calm, Daniel pulled away and walked over to Rocinante, settling him. Regina and his emotions tied had made Rocinante more than a little discomforted, but as it settled down, so did he.

"We should leave before the moon rises," Regina told him, doing a last check on the reins.

"As you wish, my lady." Mocking her status, he bowed low, grinning as he'd done a hundred times before.

Regina laughed, shoving his shoulder playfully. "You're terrible to me."

"To you? Never. I'm your charming stable boy."

"And I love you," she whispered.

"As do I, you. Even when you've got mud in your hair."

Regina blinked, reaching up to touch her head. Sure enough there was a streak of dried dirt clumped into her hair. There was no use trying to get it out. She'd end up making it worse.

Ignoring her hair, she unlocked the stall door and watched as Daniel lead Rocinante out onto the road, rubbing his shoulder idly where she'd hit him. "I didn't hit that hard," she scoffed, closing the stall behind them.

"Tell that to my shoulder."

Rolling her eyes, Regina stepped forward and before he could protest, she climbed onto their horse first, taking lead. "I'll ride him, you can get up behind me," she informed Daniel, adjusting her skirt. It wasn't the first time she'd ridden in a dress, but she'd hoped it wouldn't be necessary again.

"You're acting tall, all of a sudden."

"Must be true love's kiss," holding out her hand, she waited until Daniel grabbed it before hoisting him up behind her. There was a moment as he adjusted himself in the saddle before his hands sat warmly on her hips. "Don't get any ideas," she warned, pressing her heels against Rocinante's side to lead a trot off the muddy path, onto the road.

"Ideas?" Daniel mused innocently. "I have no idea what you could mean."

Regina giggled as his hands slid over her stomach, curling the fabric of her dress around his fingers. "Stop it," she scolded, making no attempt to remove his hands. Her heart still ached with worry, but it was easier to laugh when Daniel was holding her.

"You've come a long way as a rider since I met you in the last few years."

"I was a fine rider before you came along!" she replied haughtily. As if proving it, she lead Rocinante into a canter, moving from the muddied decline from the stable onto the well trodden road.

"Whoever taught you to ride that freckled grey pony was terrible. And you know it."

"To be fair, he only taught me to ride sidesaddle. I taught myself how to ride properly-"

"Ah, that explains it then."

Regina turned her head, twisting to look at him. "Excuse me?"

"You almost broke your leg when I first saw you. It was a miracle you hadn't before." Regina gasped in surprise before Daniel kissed her, taking any protests from her mouth. His hands slid over her, holding onto her waist firmly in the kiss until she pulled away.

"You're terrible," she whispered, kissing him again, briefly this time so that she may have the last word. "I don't know what I will do with this marriage."

"Kiss mercilessly."

"You can't kiss your way out of everything," she said, smirking as she turned away..

His hand lifted from her waist and pressed down on her thighs, sliding over them before pulling her closer. "No, but there are others things," he counted, teasing her as he slid his hands higher.

Regina's eyes fluttered briefly. They would diverge from the road onto a path further ahead. Around them the light was being lost which would make the path more difficult to see but for now it was still clearly set ahead. In the distance the trees would grow thick but a steady stride wouldn't require her constant attention.

She breathed in slowly, letting the air fill her lungs as she listened to him tell her what other things they could do in their marriage.

Lengthening her back, she felt hands spread out wide on her legs, the heat pressing through her dress.

"Daniel," she murmured. His hands curled, scrunching into loose fists and edging her dress above her riding boots. "Daniel," she said again. He hummed in reply, and her eyes slipped shut. In her belly – as he kissed her neck, teeth sliding against her pulse – she felt warmth spread through her, twisting nervously. "Daniel…"

"What's wrong?" he asked as she tilted her head to look at him.

"We…" her voice caught, arousal fogging her thoughts as he moved closer. "Daniel."

"Yes?" He breathed against her lips, his nose brushing against hers as she watched his mouth edge closer. Regina could feel his breath against hers, soft and slow but she knew she could change that. Knew that she could make him breathless.

"We…" she tried again. Daniel took that moment to kiss her, one hand moving from her leg to slide over her hand. He pressed between the gaps of her fingers, entwining their hands and drawing it back over the saddle.

Regina moaned, pulling her lips away. "We need to travel," she told him. Daniel's eyes rose from her mouth and blinked at her own. Breathing ragged, he nodded and sat back on the horse, his hands moving from her to hold onto the back of the saddle.

Regina shivered at the newfound cold, feeling exposed as she smoothed down her dress and took hold of the reins again.

"You're right," he said finally. Regina's shoulder's tensed at his hoarse voice. "I'm sorry."

Turning away, she bowed her head over the saddle and sucked in a breath before straightening her neck. "I wish I wasn't." The warmth she'd felt inside of her had melted away, leaving only a dull ache between her legs. She hadn't felt this frustrated since she'd began learning to ride sidesaddle.

Biting back a groan, she held her head high and looked forward. It was going to be a long night and in the past hour of emotional roller coaster, she felt exhausted.

"Tell me a story," she demanded.

"A story?" he sat up properly again.

"Well, if we're going to find someone to hide us from my mother, we're going to need a heading. So, do you have any stories that could lead us to someone? For a talisman."

Daniel cocked his head, thinking over the question. "The villages do talk of someone."

"Oh? Who is she?"

"Not a she."

Regina shook her head, "it's just wishful gossip then," she dismissed.

"Why do you say that?"

"Only women have magic."

"Sorry?" Daniel laughed, disbelieving what he'd just heard Regina say. "Why do women only have magic?"

"Magic carries down through the mother's line. Men are unlikely to be born with magic, or are corrupted by it and turn into monsters."

"I think that's a little sexist."

"It is, but it makes sense doesn't it?"

"No. It doesn't."

Regina paused. "Think of it this way. We raise our sons to be powerful, to dominate, so they grow up trying to be that person. Their 'weaker' emotions are contained; love, sorrow, even pure joy at times. While stronger, more vicious emotions such as wrath, lust or even jealousy are loudly expressed. In that, we create boys who do not have the capacity to control magic, but instead allow magic to control them, therefore creating monsters."

"That can easily happen to women as well."

Regina nodded, "of course, but the chance of having it happen to men is much higher because of how their raised. That and it's difficult for magic to be carried onto the son. Sorceress' take magical precautions to having strictly female heirs."

"That's impossible." Regina could feel Daniel shaking his head, believing that this was some elaborate joke on her part. "This is all superstition, isn't it?"

"Go at it, then. Name a male sorcerer."

"Merlin. And his mother was just as magical as I, proving that he got magic from his father!"

"He's not human, his father was an incubus." At Daniel's scoff, Regina laughed, "it's true! We make sure that we only have daughters, mother said so."

"You're wrong," he dismissed. Regina chuckled, amused by Daniel's offense.

"Alright then, tell me of a male sorcerer."

"I did! Merlin, you just dismissed him on gossip."

"It's not gossip!" she said loudly.

"Then how do you know?"

Regina paused, a defense ready parted her lips, only to disappear as she realized that her mother had told her, and Cora probably only knew by word of mouth.

"See, gossip."

"Fine, but try and name another one."

"Rumplestiltskin."

"Rumplesh-?"

"Stilt," he corrected.

"Rumplestilshin-"

"Skin."

"I have no idea who he is," she gave in, setting herself back against him.

Daniel laughed, wrapping his arms around her again. "Ah, finally. I have a story of magic that's unknown to you." He chuckled, looking down to see her smiling blissfully, all previous edges of worry missing from her face. "Now I can tell you a story of someone you don't know."

"Yes, you can. Get on with it before I decide that it's just a legend as well."

He poked his tongue out from between his teeth, amused as she quickly returned the gesture before looking back at the road, leading their horse through the trees as the moon began to rise overhead.

"Well, I guess it begins with a man. Well, he's not quite a man-"

"See!"

"Settle down. Fine, you might be right about them only having daughters but that doesn't prove anything. He could still help us."

From the trees, Rumplestiltskin watched as the married couple traveled adamantly along the road. He'd been called by his own name been spoken by the Stable Boy. It'd seemed easy to dismiss it, it wasn't as much as a call but whispered story. However, when Cora's prodigy and child, Regina, had allowed that tongue to wrap around the name so clumsily, it become too hard to ignore the mistaken call.

Curiosity peaked his attention in a rather dreadful way. What was she doing going around saying his name? She wasn't supposed to know it for another few weeks.

He'd been watching her for a while now. Fragments of her life here and there in front of him, not always certain, not always taken. But always there. Paths laid out, paths created that he was sure he'd altered just enough to push her to him, but no. He wouldn't make that mistake twice.

But, he realized, a sudden edge of - was that worry? - seeping over him, this path was different, more difficult to manipulate than her others. That brat, Snow had decidedly kept her mouth shut and now the nicely laid out path he'd had for Regina was almost stripped away by a decidedly naive pair of sewn pink lips.

If he allowed her to continue with her true love, then everything was lost.

He couldn't allow Cora's plan to come to completion. Not to the way she had planned Regina's - or rather her own - legacy. He'd worked too long for this to end.

Walking over to a tree along the road, yards back from the two shortly entwined love birds, he pulled out a small dagger from his boot and wrote an inscription into the bark. It would give Cora an awareness of his plan, but nothing he couldn't fix. The way she abused her daughter's mind, that would be a simple repair. An easy offering of goodwill, in a big red bow, if nothing less.

Tying a scarlet ribbon around the branch to be spotted, he left. The future ahead of Regina was unclear, clouded. Something had happened to upset the balance and he only knew of one thing able to do that. The law of magic existed for a reason and the very powerful knew better than to manipulate it for their will. Someone had shifted the universe and all its realms in a very dangerous, unstable direction.

And he knew exactly who. The only question was, why had it been done? Every path had been manipulated to lead Regina into becoming his monster. Unloved, unwanted and ripe for what he needed.

Disappearing unnoticed, he returned to his books. He needed to consult the future before walking that fragile path.

Lest his curse becomes an uncast piece of parchment, locked away for too long.