A/N: Just borrowing the characters except for Ana/Anagke.
I find cell phones a necessary evil which is why both Regina and Emma always seems to either be losing theirs or leaving theirs behind.

Chapter 3

Emma follows Ana to the edge of the lake reaching for her cell phone. She searches her pockets for her cell and then runs her fingers through her hair in frustration as she discovers that not only has she left the Sheriff's office without her cell phone, she has also left her badge and her gun. "Great. With the way today's been going I should be thankful," she glances down at her fully clothed body, "That I'm fully dressed."

She looks around only to discover that Ana is no longer in view. "Really? What is it with this town. People seeming to appear and disappear with ease. It almost makes me believe the stories in Henry's book are real." She looks around almost expecting someone or something to jump out and yell, "You're on a hidden camera show and everything you've been experiencing is nothing more than a hollywood production."

With a shake of her head she walks in the same direction that Ana had until she comes to a seemingly seamless rock outcrop. Only a faint breeze against her face has her reaching out with her hand until she can feel where the breeze is emanating from. She hesitates and squares her shoulders in a move designed to make her feel more confident, "This can't be worse than stepping into the Lion's den better known as Regina's office." before stepping closer and slipping through the well hidden fissure.

Regina strides down the street with a confidence fitting her stature as the Mayor but in truth she is hiding behind the facade of her Mayoral mask, a mask of indifference that has been carefully crafted over the years. But if anyone had taken the time to look closer, which few were daring enough do and even if they did find the strength to study Regina, they would have never voiced their opinions to her, they would have seen the barely discernible tightening of her facial features. Some would scoff and say, "That's the way she always looks, always focused. She lets nothing bother her." Ordinarily, she let few things or people bother her, but today was proving to be anything but ordinary.

A sigh of disgust and a flicker of annoyance crosses her face when Mr. Gold emerges from an alley and directly into her path. She refuses to step back at the near collision. "Ah, Mayor Mills. I was hoping to run into you."

Barely stopping herself from rolling her eyes, Regina carefully answers in a tone of disinterest, "One more step and you would have run into me."

Gold glances down at how close they are standing, and smiling that smile that makes everyone feel like they need to take a bath to wash away the slime, he takes a slight step to one side. "How goes the search for Miss Swan?"

"Fine."

"I see. Then I'm sure that you have already been informed that she was seen riding the late Sheriff Graham's motorcycle." Gold studies Regina, chuckling to himself at the slight narrowing of her eyes, that most people would have been quivering from but simply intrigued Gold, at the mention of the late Sheriff.

"Someone did mention they had seen her."

Gold nods and starts to step past Regina when he pauses and leans closer as if they were sharing a secret that was to remain between the two of them. The almost taunting tone of, "I hope Miss Swan returns. Her leaving would be so detrimental to more than just your son." sends a cascade of loathing down Regina's spine that she barely keeps from being seen.

Regina leans forward until she is invading Gold's personal space. Her eyes confident as she refuses to acknowledge the loathing she feels for him, "Are you including yourself in that observation Mr. Gold?"

A sly smile, that always has Regina thinking he knows more than he pretends to, is opposite of the concern in his voice. "But of course Madam Mayor. After all I am simply a citizen concerned about our esteemed Sheriff. Are you?"

She fights to keep her tone as level as possible at Gold's fake sincerity. "Concerned? Of course I am."

Gold continues to smile. "We wouldn't want anyone to think different, now would we?"

Regina barely contains the snarl that is threatening to erupt from her. "No, we wouldn't."

"I will of course keep you informed of any relevant information on Miss Swan's whereabouts." Gold nods, steps past Regina and begins walking away. He stops, looking back to find her watching him, "I hope you find what you're looking for Madame Mayor." The snake charming smile that appears on his face almost has her stepping forward to remove it with a hard smack. He chuckles and resumes walking down the street, the tapping of his cane sounding like a hammer that is slowly driving nails against an impenetrable object.

Regina's hand unconsciously resumes its soothing motion on her chest as she tries to divest herself of the loathing she feels every time she has to deal with Gold and the facade that hides his arrogance. She turns and walks away wondering what involvement Gold has with Emma being gone and how he gathers information that she herself is unaware of.

Emma steps out of the fissure into the cave where a smiling Ana awaits. She looks around at the barren, yet smooth surface of the cave and sweeps her hand in a motion to encompass the cave, "This is what you wanted me to see? An empty cave."

Ana shakes her head in amusement. "Really Miss Swan, you of all people should know that nothing is ever as simple as it appears to be. Watch and learn." She claps her hands and a spindle appears on the cave floor. Ana slowly spreads her arms wide and as she does, a small wave of air becomes visible and grows in intensity until it bounces off the walls and spreads over the entire cave.

Emma watches in amazement and disbelief as the air around her swirls with waves and colors. The spindle begins to spin gathering the swirls of waves and colors, spinning them together creating fine strands of filaments that begin to bend, change shape and grow into what looks like a spider web. Some of the strands curl until they form what appears to be a solid node. The remaining finer strands attach themselves to the edge of the nodes. Each strand grows at a different rate. Some quickly thicken to the width of a pencil or some to the thickness of the graphite lead that each pencil contains. On each strand other strands have attached themselves creating an interlocking web of connections though some have narrowed to the thickness of a human hair with their ends fluttering unattached.

The strands continue to grow and connect with each other and begin to change colors. Soon the spider web that is being spun around Emma is a kaleidoscope of colors. Black, white, red, blue, green, yellow, purple and brown are coloring every strand and some strands are interwoven with multiple threads of color. Some of the colors are vibrant and pulsing with intensity. Others have dulled until they are almost invisible and only the fluttering of movement on the air currents reveals their continued presence.

Ana laughs at the myriad of emotions that are reflected in Emma's face that range from confusion to disbelief and everything in between. "Ask your questions and I'll answer them. Within reason, of course."

Emma starts to speak, stops, closes her eyes and shakes her head. She opens her eyes and still before her is the spider web of colors. "I know I'm going to regret asking this but who are you? And what am I looking at?"

"Right to the point." Ana steps closer to Emma. "My name is a Anangke and I control the fates and circumstances of all. What you are looking at are your fate lines, the choices you've made and how those choices altered your life. There are also the choices that you could have made, but didn't."

Emma rubs her eyes, "You expect me to believe that everything that has happened to me is contained in these," Waves her hand at the web of colors, "Whatever these are?"

"Yes. Is that so hard to believe?"

"Seriously?" Emma slaps her cheek to wake herself up from an obvious nightmare only to find that this is no nightmare. She takes a deep breath, "Fine. Lets say that I believe what you're implying, what do you want from me?"

"I want you to simply open yourself up to the possibilities of what may have been and could still be. And then choose the path you truly desire for yourself not what others think it should be."

"Then show me in these fate lines why my parents abandoned me."

"No."

"Why not?" Emma says angrily.

"This is not the time for you to discover who your parents are and why they were forced to give you up."

Emma takes a step towards Ana, her body tensing from the anger that is building within her. "They were forced? What the hell does that mean?"

"It means what it means. And you will understand fully when certain conditions are met."

"Now you're putting conditions on what parts of my past that I'm allowed to discover? She smirks and crosses her arms with a look of you've been busted and laughs. "I'm not surprised you refused. Because, how can you tell me something that you couldn't possibly know? But I can tell you that I," taps her chest, "Don't believe in fairy tales and magic."

"And yet a part of you does believe or at least wants to be given a reason to believe. Otherwise you wouldn't have stayed."

Emma angrily steps closer to Ana. "I stayed to be involved in my son's life."

"The son that believes his adoptive mother is the Evil Queen, that everyone in town is a fairy tale character and that you are the Savior that will break the curse and free everyone. That son?"

"Yes."

"You're lying to me and more importantly, you're lying to yourself. You do believe in magic or at least the possibility that it exists." Ana reaches through the threads on one of the nodes and slowly pulls forward a dark blood red thread, so vibrant in color and pulsating with so much life, that every colored thread around it pales in comparison. "Because you and I both know you have other, even though you haven't admitted it to yourself, more personal reasons to stay, besides being involved in your son's life."

TBC