Hello again! This will likely be my last update for the next two weeks, so I made it quite long. I'll start updating again toward the end of August. Thanks for reading!

I do not own Once Upon A Time or any of its characters.


Chapter 4

The Apprentice fought to keep his eyes shut. He was exhausted. He didn't want to wake yet. However, he didn't have much choice in the matter, given how hard Regina was shaking him.

"Wake up," she commanded. "Wake up, or I'll tell the Blue Fairy where you are!" That grabbed his attention.

"No. You won't," he grumbled. "If she finds out you hid me here, she'll never let you anywhere near that convent again. But I would wager you knew that already."

"Why would she care if I spoke to you? I spoke to you before, when Isaac tried to change the book. She knows that." She was holding onto the collar of his shirt trying to prevent him from falling back to sleep.

"Ah, but now we have a new author," he grinned, pushing himself into a sitting position. "You can remove your hand. I'll tell you what you wish to know." Regina released his shirt.

"What does Henry have to do with this?" Regina had forgotten all about her other questions as soon as the Apprentice had mentioned Henry.

"He certainly is a special boy, isn't he? Such a strong sense of right and wrong," the Apprentice smiled at her. He could see the concern spreading across Regina's face. "He even broke that enchanted quill that I gave him. Has he tried using it again? If he hasn't, he'll find out soon that it no longer works once it has been damaged." He could tell by the look on Regina's face that Henry had tried to use the quill; for what, he was unsure, but it was clear that the ordeal had not ended well. "The quill can still record, of course. It is a perfectly good writing implement, but it can no longer alter our reality."

"I know that," Regina said quietly. "He…he tried to save Emma." She started to say more, but the tears forming at the edges of her eyes were threatening to overflow, so she stopped.

"Ah. Well he'll be happy to know that, even if he hadn't broken the quill, that would not have worked." Regina looked up at him with surprise. So there was no reason for Henry to blame himself! "The darkness cannot be written away or controlled by the Author. Although the Dark One's actions can be controlled by what the Author writes, the darkness itself cannot."

"So what does that mean? There was nothing Henry could have done to save Emma?" Regina wanted confirmation that there was nothing Henry could have done. Perhaps that realization could help him recover if he ever returned to Storybrooke.

"More or less," he shrugged. "That is not important, though."

"Yes! Yes it is!" Regina was overcome by a combination of emotions. She was thrilled that Henry could no longer have any reason to blame himself, but she was also still dealing with the pain of having seen her sweet son fall apart in front of her eyes. "How can you even say that?" There was a chance that Henry could be okay now, and that realization had blocked out all of her concerns about other storybooks and the Sorcerer.

"I'm sorry, let me explain." The Apprentice began to realize that something quite serious had happened to Henry. He knew if asked her for details about the new Author that they would never get to discuss other matters before he needed to sleep again. "What I meant was, there are other matters which require your immediate attention. The Blue Fairy will eventually realize that I am missing. If she finds me, she may do something drastic to prevent me from telling you anything about her dealings with the Sorcerer."

"So she does know the Sorcerer," she said, her smile filled with venom.

"Yes, the two of them are the reason that both the Dark One and the Author exist at all."

"Wait, I thought the Dark One was created by the Sorcerer?"

"Yes…and no," the Apprentice shrugged. "It is rather complicated. That is not important now, though. Your friend, Emma, have you been able to summon her?" He was growing more tired by the second. There was something he needed Regina to find before he wanted to risk getting into the rest of the details about the Sorcerer.

"No," Regina sighed. Almost everyone in town had tried to summon her, but she never appeared. In the end, the town had unofficially decided that Regina should hold the dagger; after everyone else had started to give up on finding Emma, no one else could stand the sight of it. She kept the dagger hidden in a sheath that was secured under her left arm. Regina was not about to let the dagger out of her sight, for fear that it might fall into the wrong hands. "The Blue Fairy said that it might be because she's in another realm."

"That would certainly make sense," the Apprentice nodded.

"Why would that make sense?" Regina couldn't help but feel that she was missing something.

"The Dark One is not from this realm. Given the chance, the darkness will always try to return to its source." He could tell by the scowl Regina was giving him that she didn't understand. "The Sorcerer. The Dark One was created by the Sorcerer and is still, in many ways, tied to him. Although the Dark One may try to venture far from the Sorcerer, the darkness itself is always being pulled toward him. They are connected." He was fighting to keep his eyes open now. "Emma was already a powerful wielder of magic when she was consumed by the darkness. It likely used her ability to seek out the Sorcerer."

"So if we find the Sorcerer, we find Emma." Regina was starting to understand what the Apprentice wanted her to do. "Then how do we find this Sorcerer?"

"His name is Merlin," the Apprentice told her.

"Yeah, I know. I haven't been able to find anything on him in any of the books from our realm. He's not in Henry's storybook, either." Regina sat back, ready to accept that she'd hit another dead end.

"No, nor would he. Much like the darkness cannot be controlled by the Author, neither can the Sorcerer." He paused for a moment to catch his breath and muster up the last of his energy to finish his explanation. "Just like your son was not born in our realm, neither were any of the previous authors. The Author must be from a realm other than the one about which he or she writes. That way, what is written will not be swayed by any personal biases. The Author must also believe in magic. Your son has the Heart of the Truest Believer, which made him the perfect candidate for the position." Regina shook her head, preparing to ask more questions about what this might mean for Henry, but the Apprentice cut her off, "Many previous authors were actually aspiring writers from other realms. It was not uncommon for them to rewrite versions of the stories from your realm and publish them as fiction in their own realms. They often changed some of the details to make the story more appealing to their audience, but many of the major details, such as the location of the stories, remained the same."

"And in these versions of the stories, they were able to write about the Sorcerer?" Regina was beginning to understand where the Apprentice was going with his explanation.

"Precisely."

"So if I can find the stories about the Sorcerer, Merlin, we can find out where he is."

"Yes. Find the stories, then we can find Merlin." The Apprentice closed his eyes and started to go back to sleep.

"Wait," Regina said, shaking the Apprentice awake. "Why are you telling me this? You're the Sorcerer's Apprentice, so why are you here at all?"

"There are many reasons, and we can discuss those after I have slept." He pulled her hand off of his shoulder and lowered himself back onto the bed. That was all she would get from him for now.

He smiled as he let unconsciousness overpower him. The last thought that passed through the Apprentice's mind was, I can see why she frightens them so much.

• • •

"Regina, love, why is it necessary for us to discuss this now?" Robin was more than a little annoyed at having been awoken in the middle of the night.

"Robin, are you listening to me?" Regina had just finished explaining everything she had learned that day, but she could see that Robin was not nearly as excited about it as she was.

"I am trying, my dear. I assure you, I am trying." After letting out a yawn, "So, we have to find a story…a story about Merlin…and then we just go to that realm and find him."

"More or less." Regina knew that there were still holes in the plan, which would hopefully be filled after the Apprentice had recovered. She knew that her excitement was coming off as more than a little unfounded, but this was the first time in months that she had made any kind of progress on finding Emma. It felt as though she were running on pure adrenaline. Only an hour earlier, she had prepared to sleep at the Sorcerer's mansion because she was too tired to walk home, but now she was practically shaking with anticipation.

The excitement in her voice didn't quite match her appearance, though. Robin could see how the dark circles made the red veins in her eyes look as if they were glowing. "That is wonderful, my dear, but now you need to sleep."

"Robin, there's one more thing." She pulled the ripped page from her pocket. "I think this may have come from one of the books hidden in Blue's fireplace."

"Okay, now you do sound mad. Why would she have a storybook with our happy ending in it?" He put his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "What? Do you think she and this Sorcerer have somehow been keeping you from your happy ending?" He rubbed his thumbs up and down on her shoulders, trying to calm her down. "Milady, that doesn't make sense."

"I know. I can't explain why she would have a book with this page, but it had to have come from somewhere and I could sense that there were other books in that fireplace—"

"Regina, calm down. We can figure all of this out in the morning. For right now, we both need to get some sleep." He moved one of his hands to cup her cheek. Her skin had grown so pale from the lack of sunlight and sleep, and it made the circles under her eyes appear even darker. It had been weeks since she'd slept well. If they didn't find Emma soon, he was certain that it would drive Regina mad. "Please?"

"I don't know if I can sleep right now, Robin." Her mind felt like it was moving in too many directions at once; she was far to restless to sleep.

"What if I helped you calm down?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. "Do you think you could sleep then?" He leaned in a placed a kiss on her neck, just below her jaw.

"I thought you were tired." Regina said as she grinned and bit her lip.

"For you, milady, I will make the sacrifice," he joked. Grasping her legs midway up her thigh, Robin lifted Regina off the ground as he continued to kiss down her neck. He carried her up the stairs to their room, closing the door behind them. Robin was true to his word, and after only a couple of hours, Regina lay fast asleep in his arms.

• • •

"I know you're there," Emma said melodically. She was growing tired of not knowing who this visitor was. "Why not just come out, already?" Her fingers were wrapped around the bars of her cell and her feet were balanced only a foot or so below her hands. Her head was cocked somewhat awkwardly to one side as she glared out into the fog. "Are you afraid I'll bite?" The visitor came closer, but only so that Emma could see the outline of a cloak. "Oh, come now, don't be shy."

"My, my," the visitor said. "You have all but forgotten who you are, haven't you? I really would have expected the Saviour to have put up more of a fight against the darkness." Emma dropped from the bars at his last comment. "I doubt you'll last as long as Rumplestiltskin, and he was coward." She could tell he was trying to bait her, but she wasn't sure why.

"What do you want from me?" she asked.

"I just wanted to get a good look at the fallen Saviour while I had the chance. There's no going back, you know. Once you become the Dark One, the only way to be free of the darkness is to die." The visitor sounded cocky and Emma found it infuriating.

"Is it?" she asked condescendingly. "Well, I know a certain Apprentice who found a way around that rule." She grinned as she watched the visitor stiffen. He hadn't known about what the Apprentice had done. "Ohoho! Did no one tell you? I suppose not, since no one else in this realm would know about it." The visitor suddenly flew toward the cell, grabbing the collar of Emma's shirt and pulling her against the bars.

"What do you mean, my Apprentice found a way around that rule?" he asked through clenched teeth. For whatever reason, he was furious. Emma was thrilled; this was the most eventful thing to happen in quite a while for her.

"Oh my, is he your Apprentice? Did he do something wrong? Oh dear. How awful." Emma put her hand to her mouth as she feigned shock. "Well, if he's your Apprentice, then that would make you…" She tapped her chin and pretended to think before finishing, "Merlin!"

• • •

Regina was growing restless again. After her promising conversation with the Apprentice, his condition had only worsened. For the first month, he had been able to be awake for most of the day, but he was too weak to move around. Toward the end of the month, each conversation seemed to make him tired more quickly than the last. During the second month, the Apprentice would sometimes sleep for days at a time before waking. Recently, when he did wake, he never stayed conscious for more than an hour at a time. Regina wasn't sure what exactly the darkness had done to him, but she was certain that it must have come close to killing him. She could also tell that his condition was not improving.

During the first few weeks after she'd found the Apprentice, Regina continued to search for information about the location of the Sorcerer. All of the stories about Merlin indicated that he was most likely in Camelot. There were a few other places that were mentioned in some of the stories, but Camelot was the only kingdom of which Regina had actually heard. It seemed like the strongest lead. The Apprentice had agreed that Camelot, even if the Sorcerer were no longer there, would be the best place for them to start their search for Emma.

In addition to finding the information about Merlin, Regina had gone back to the convent a couple of times to try and get another look at the fireplace. Unfortunately, Blue refused to leave her alone in the office, so Regina hadn't gotten anywhere near it. Between the Apprentice's recent health decline and Blue's hovering, Regina had been unable to make any kind of progress. After having finally made what she thought were huge steps forward in her mission to save Emma, it was maddening to not yet have found any new leads. After yet another short night of fitful sleep, she left her home to take a walk and clear her head. She needed to think about what she could do until the Apprentice was well enough to tell her more about the Sorcerer. Regina walked several blocks in the direction of the town hall. As she approached the building, she noticed Nova standing on the front lawn, staring at the space where the charred sign used to stand.

"Hello, Nova."

"Regina! How are you?" Regina wasn't certain how the fairy managed to always be so nauseatingly cheerful, especially since she lived in the same convent as Blue. "And what happened to the sign?"

"I'm fine, thanks." Regina had removed the sign the day after she realized what the message meant. She didn't want Blue to realize that Regina was onto her. "Oh, I just figured it was about time that eyesore was removed," she lied.

"Ah," Nova said with a bit less pep than normal. "Did you ever figure out what the message meant?"

Regina had always taken Nova to be an airhead, but she was getting the definite impression that there was more to the fairy than she realized. However, she couldn't tell if Nova was trying to help or hinder her.

Nova noticed the look of suspicion on Regina's face. Leaning toward Regina, she whispered, "Blue doesn't know I'm here." When Regina remained silent, Nova added, "Did Robin ever find that page I left for him?"

Regina froze. How did Nova know about the page? Only a handful of people knew about the page, none of which were particularly close to the Blue Fairy. She wasn't convinced that Nova wasn't playing her, though, so Regina continued to remain silent.

"Brr! It's so chilly out today! Would you mind if we continue our conversation inside where it's warm?" Nova's voice had returned to its normal volume, along with its unsually high level of pep.

"…Yes. Of course, dear." Regina led Nova to her office. Before beginning her conversation with the fairy, Regina put up a protection spell that would keep people both from barging in on them, as well as from eavesdropping. "Now then, what did you mean by, 'did Robin find the page you left for him?' And why are you so curious about the message that was carved into the sign?"

"I think you know exactly what I mean about the page," Nova shot back. "And I think you took the sign down because you figured out what the sign meant and you didn't want Blue to see it."

Regina was truly stunned. Nova's behaviour was entirely confusing. Why on earth would she, Blue's protégée, be going against the head fairy? And why was she helping Regina, the person who was almost unanimously hated amongst the fairies? "Why…What are you doing, Nova?"

"I'm trying to help you."

"Why?"

"Because I certainly would have appreciated it if someone would have helped me when I was in your position. Lucky for me, things didn't turn out as badly as they did for you." Nova looked as though she were about to start crying. Regina might have felt sympathy of some kind—that is, if she had any idea what the fairy was going on about. "Why do you look so confused? You found the books, didn't you?"

Regina's mouth hung open. She had no idea what was going on. Clearly she was having some sort of psychotic break, because nothing about the current situation seemed like it could be real. The room felt like it was spinning. Regina needed to calm down. She placed both hands on her desk, trying to brace herself. "I—," Regina started, seeing the edges of her vision going black. She was going to pass out. She needed to get closer to floor, otherwise she might hurt herself when she fell. Using her remaining energy, she lowered herself to her knees just as she blacked out.

• • •

When Regina opened her eyes she was laying on the couch in her office. Nova was sitting on the table in front of her. Regina groaned as she tried to sit up, catching Nova's attention. "Good you're awake. Now where were we?"

"No, please," Regina pleaded. "I need a moment to understand what exactly is going on here." Her stomach felt like it was in knots. Regina grabbed for the trash bin that was next to her and vomited into it. This was not how she wanted the fairy—or anyone, really—to see her. As she sat up, Regina realized that she didn't remember how she got to the couch. "How did I…get over here?"

"I caught you when you passed out and then carried you over here to lie down. You threw up a bit, but then you slept for about a half hour." Regina looked mortified. "Don't worry, it was no trouble at all." Nova clearly did not understand why Regina looked so horrified.

"T-thank you, dear."

"Now then, where were we? Right! I asked you if you'd seen the books." Although Nova was concerned about how much she had just overwhelmed the former Evil Queen, she new she didn't have much time before she needed to get back to the convent.

"Wait, why do you know about the books? Do all of the fairies know that there are multiple storybooks? What are they for?" Regina was confused about why Nova was talking to her at all, but it was the first chance she'd had in weeks to get information, and she was not about to let it go.

"Slow down. So you clearly know about the books," Nova said with relief. "No, not all of the fairies know about the other storybooks. Actually, I'm not even supposed to know about them." Nova waited for a moment to make sure Regina was following what she was saying. "As Blue's protégée, she trusts me with a lot more information than she does any of the other fairies. For example, none of the other fairies are aloud in her private study that she has in the basement."

"The one with the magical fireplace?"

"Exactly. I accidentally spilled some fairy dust on several months back and the hidden compartment popped right open!" Nova seemed so pleased that, for once, her clumsiness was had actually helped her. "There were quite a few storybooks in there. I don't know what they're for, but I do know that they all end as soon as the stories depict something that didn't happen in Henry's storybook. That's why the back of the illustration I left for Robin doesn't have any writing on it. That book ended as soon as you decided to go meet him." Nova waited a moment to see if Regina had any information of her own to add to Nova's explanation. "I'm not sure what it means, but I have a few theories."

Regina thought for a moment, remembering something that Robin had told her weeks earlier. He meant it as a joke, but what he had said was starting to sound like the most reasonable explanation. "Someone has been manipulating the stories so that some of us don't get happy endings."

"Mhmm," Nova nodded in agreement. "It certainly looks that way."

"Wait," Regina remembered something that Nova had said before she passed out. "What did you mean that you would have wanted someone to help you if you were in my position?"

Nova's expression saddened as she explained to Regina what she'd found in one of the books. "I found a page that was a lot like the one I found of you and Robin. There was an illustration of Dreamy—I mean Grumpy and I sailing around the world together. In that version of the story, we followed through on our plan to leave our old lives behind. It looked like we were happy."

Regina started to realize what Nova was telling her. "What actually happened, Nova?"

"Blue got to Grumpy before he could meet me and she convinced him to stay in the mines. His name used to be Dreamy, but after that night…after that night it changed to Grumpy." Nova paused to take a few deep breaths. "Don't you see, Regina? Somehow she took that chance at happiness away from me! If she didn't then she knows who did!" Nova wiped away the tears that had started to fall down her cheeks. "There were several books about you, Regina. Someone has been taking your happiness from you for most of your life."

"But why?!" Not that this surprised her. After all, even Isaac had admitted that she got screwed over more than anyone else. "Wait, those books. They're the books that the authors use!"

"Yes, but no one has seen the Apprentice or the former Author in months," Nova sighed. Regina realized that Nova must have been trying to find the Apprentice and Isaac for quite a while.

"Hmm," Regina pretended to agree.

"So, are you going to try to look at the books?"

"What?" She wasn't sure if that was really necessary.

"Y'know, to figure out why someone has been manipulating them at all?"

"Right. Yes." Blue wasn't going to let Regina anywhere near those books, though. "We need to a way to distract Blue."

"Come by tonight around 11pm. Blue has gone out every night around that time to look for the Apprentice. She usually stays out until around midnight."

The two women agreed to meet in Regina's office the next day to discuss what she'd found. Regina knew she had to be careful. With the exception of Tink, fairies had never been willing to help her. Although she wanted to trust Nova, she was still concerned that she might be walking into a trap.

• • •

Later that day, Regina made her way to the hospital supposedly so that she could check on Zelena. Unknown to everyone but Regina and Emma, she was holding someone other than her sister in the padded rooms that were hidden in the basement. That was where she and Emma had agreed to keep Isaac until the figured out a more permanent solution. They couldn't simply release him into Storybrooke—someone would likely have killed him. They also couldn't kick him out of Storybrooke. Unlike the other inhabitants of the magical town, Isaac might actually benefit from people discovering that fairy tale characters actually existed; at the very least, it might help him sell a few books. So, prior to Emma's disappearance, they had decided that the best course of actions was to keep him hidden.

"What could you possibly want?" Isaac asked as Regina closed the door; he was not pleased with his most recent visitor.

"I want to know about the storybooks." When she didn't get a response, Regina turned around to face him. Isaac was grinning at her. "What?"

"So you've figured it out."

"Figure out what, exactly?"

"That you really do get screwed over the most."

"I knew that already—"

"No, I don't mean that bad things just happen to occur more often to you than everyone else. I mean someone is preventing good things from happening to you more often than they are for everyone else."

"What…?" Regina had suspected that was what the books meant, but she never thought she would actually get confirmation. "Why? Why would someone want to do that?"

"No idea. That piece of information was never shared with me."

None of this made sense. Why would anyone go through so much trouble just to make Regina miserable? Even worse, the page with her and Robin indicated that someone had been trying to keep her miserable long before she'd every hurt anyone.

• • •

Emma was feeling a bit more like herself the next time Merlin came to visit her. Depending on the day, sometimes she felt like her old self and other times it felt like there was nothing left but darkness. True, she was having fewer and fewer days when she felt like herself, but she was grateful for any break she had from the darkness. "They'll come for me."

"You kept saying that when we first locked you in here, and it still hasn't happened. Why is it you're so sure that they're still looking? They don't even know you're here." The Sorcerer was being cocky again. "More importantly, if they do get here, what makes you think they'll even want to free you once they see what you've done?"

"That wasn't me! I didn't do those things!"

"Really?" he sneered. "And I supposed you didn't enjoy it, either? Just like you didn't enjoy ripping out the hearts of those guards. That's why you laughed about it for days after."

The truth was that when Emma had first arrived in Camelot, she could still tell the difference between the actions that were controlled by her and those that were controlled by the darkness. Over time, though, it had started to become more and more difficult to distinguish between the two. If she wasn't careful, Emma was going to lose herself.

• • •

Before leaving for the convent, Regina stopped by the Sorcerer's mansion to check on the Apprentice. Other than the times Regina came by in the middle of the night to try and speak with the Apprentice, she'd left Red in charge of taking care of him. Regina felt it was best for her to not be seen going to the mansion in case Blue was keeping tabs on her. There was a good chance that the Apprentice wouldn't be awake when she arrived that night, but she still wanted to try to keep him updated about what was happening. Sure enough, when she entered his room, the Apprentice appeared to be fast asleep.

"I know you probably won't remember this, but I'm going to try to get the books from Blue's study tonight. Hopefully they'll give us some idea as to why anyone would want to manipulate the storybook in the first place." She paused for a moment, hoping that maybe the Apprentice would wake up or acknowledge what she'd said. When he remained asleep, Regina continued, "Nova said that Blue has been out looking for you, so I'm going to sneak in while she's away." Regina looked over at the Apprentice once more. "Anyway, I'll see you once I've finished."

After Regina left the room, the Apprentice opened his eyes. He'd woken up right after Regina had started talking. It wasn't the talking that had roused him, but something else. There was something about her magic that was changing; he could feel it in the air around her. He knew what he had to do and he knew that he would not be coming back to mansion again.

• • •

Regina hid in the dark tree line across the street from the convent, waiting for Blue to make her exit. As soon as she saw the Blue Fairy walk across the lawn and around the first curve in the road, Regina ran to entrance. Nova had assured her that the fairies had a strict curfew, so they would all be upstairs and wouldn't cause her any trouble. Regina took light steps across the ground floor as she made her way to the door to Blue's study. As soon as she reached the door, Regina could sense that there was some kind of magic surrounding it. A protection spell wouldn't have surprised her. What did surprise her was that the protection spell burst when she reached out to touch it. This was bad. Blue would have felt her protection spell being broken. Regina needed to either act fast or get out. She pulled her ring of skeleton keys from her pocket and tried to unlock the door.

• • •

Blue felt the slight pinch that told her the protection spell had been broken. She needed to get back to the convent immediately. Then, as she turned to leave, she saw him. The Apprentice was standing in the road waiting for her.

• • •

Regina had tried all of her skeleton keys, but none of them would open the lock on the door to the study. Blue would be back any minute and Regina had no idea what she was going to say if she got caught. The people of Storybrooke were already furious with her over losing Emma, and having them think that she was trying to rob the Blue Fairy would probably end with either her banishment or execution. She put one hand around the door handle and the other over the keyhole, and leaned into the door with her shoulder has she turned the knob. "C'mon," she muttered as she squeezed her eyes closed. "C'mon, open." Suddenly, the lock gave in and the door flew open, nearly throwing Regina down the stairs. If her eyes had been open, she might have noticed the golden glow the came from her hands just before the door opened.

She hurried down the stairs and over to the fireplace. Blue had lowered the flames after Regina's first visit, so there was room for her to put her hands in to try and sense if the books were still there. As she slid her hands inward near the top of the opening, she saw it: there was a golden glow that was coming from her palms. The flames receded as the glow became stronger until they were completely extinguished. Regina wanted to know what had just happened, but she also knew that she didn't have much time. She touched the hearth and the compartment popped open. She placed as much of the contents as she could into the satchel she'd brought with her. The few books that were left she carried in her arms. As soon as she was sure she'd grabbed everything, Regina closed the compartment. The fire came roaring back to life as soon as she removed her hands. She ran up the stairs, closing the door behind her. Once she was out of the convent, Regina poofed herself back to the Sorcerer's mansion.

• • •

The Apprentice was leaning heavily on a cane. Despite the cold weather, there was a layer of sweat covering his forehead. "I hear…you've been looking for me," he panted.

Blue glared at him, conflicted about whether to leave him and go back to the convent, or stay and figure out how much damage he'd done. "Where have you been?"

"That doesn't matter," he grinned. His arm gave out and he collapsed. Blue ran to him. She propped him up against a lamppost and looked at him. The Apprentice wasn't going to make it back to the convent, or anywhere else for that matter, and there was nothing she could do about it. He probably knew he was going to die after Emma had taken the darkness out of him. Although she had done her best, she wasn't skilled enough to understand how to removed the darkness without seriously harming its victim. "Can…you feel it?" he asked weakly. "Everything is…changing."

Blue was certain that, in his weakened state, the Apprentice was delirious, so she brushed off his comment. "Right. Everything is changing."

The Apprentice laughed at her.

"What is so funny?" she asked, becoming slightly irritated.

"Can…you feel…it?" He continued to laugh as he spoke, "Another sorcerer…is coming."

Blue stared at him in horror.

"You're…too…late," he said, releasing his last breath.

• • •

Regina appeared in the library of the Sorcerer's mansion. She placed the books and the satchel on one of the tables and then ran to go check on the Apprentice. She'd done it! She'd gotten the storybooks! Now they could start to piece together what the Sorcerer had been trying to do by manipulating everyone's stories. She turned the corner to the hall where the Apprentice's room was and—stopped.

Regina surveyed the damage she was seeing.

"Regina…?" Ruby was hanging over the side of a broken table. There was a deep gash across her forehead from where she had collided with the wall. "Regina I'm sorry," Ruby cried softly. "I tried to stop him but he threw me out of the way—."

"Calm down. Let me look at you head." Regina was irritated that the Apprentice had gotten away, but there was no use yelling at Ruby while she was so badly hurt. If Regina was going to yell at Ruby, she at least wanted to be certain that the wolf would remember it. She placed one hand beneath Ruby's chin to pull her face up into the light, and used her other hand to wipe the blood soaked bangs out of the way. As Regina's hand made contact with Ruby's forehead, the strange golden glow returned, healing Ruby's wound in a matter of seconds. Regina wasn't sure what was happening. She wasn't even trying to do these things; it's as though the magic she was using didn't require any energy at all.

Someone needed to explain what was happening to her. The Apprentice was the only one she knew who might have the answers she needed. She ran into his room, unwilling to believe that he was really gone. There was a note on the bed with her name on it that read, You will not see me again. I wish you the best of luck in saving your friend. Remember, they are more afraid of you then you are of them. Farewell, The Apprentice. Regina looked up from the note. Now how was she going to find Camelot? She threw the note onto the bed, ready to throw one of her fireballs at it. The note flipped over as it floated down onto to blankets. On that back of the page it read, PS- check the closet. Regina turned around, looking at the closet door. The door seemed strange to her for two reasons. For one, it looked very different from any of the other doors in the mansion. All of the other doors were rectangular and both the doors and their frames were made entirely of wood. The closet door, however, was in the shape of a pointed arch, and the frame was made of stones. The second strange thing about the door was that Regina didn't remember it being there the last time she had been in the Apprentice's room. Slowly, Regina opened the door, gasping at the scene behind it.

"What is it?" Ruby asked, having finally mustered the courage to enter the room.

"Camelot."