Regina caught herself on a tree before she could fall. She looked down, seeing that she'd stumbled over a white rock. She was getting close. She continued on, until she reached a clearing. She'd set this up so long ago... She shook her head, and stood in the center of the clearing.
"Neva," she called. She got no reply. She waited a few minutes, and then called again. She was starting to get impatient.
"Neva!" she called a third time. She heard a rustle behind her, and turned. A figure, shrouded in a black cloak stepped out of the trees.
"I am here," Neva said. She lifted her head, showing her face. She was beautiful, her skin clear, but too pale, like she didn't get enough sun. She was blind, and her eyes were a milky white color.
"I need advice," Regina said, wanting to get this over with. She had no great love of this... being.
Neva stepped forward. "But the advice you seek... once again, you wish ill on another?" Neva asked.
Regina snorted. "We don't need to play games. I just want you to tell me what to do. I want Mary Margaret gone," Regina said. Neva cocked her head.
"You mean Snow White," she said. Regina stiffened. She'd already known that Neva wasn't affected by the curse; she was pretty sure that she could even cross between worlds unhindered. But it stung her to realize that there was someone more powerful even than her. Or the curse.
Neva walked around her. "Do you even remember when you two first met?" she asked. Regina clenched her jaw, but didn't move as Neva stood in front of her, unseeing eyes staring into her own.
"I remember," Regina said. "I could have had such a better life. Me and my Daniel, a little farm in Tevinsil, two beautiful children," Regina said. said. Neva's expression turned into a deep, bitter sadness.
"You know that would never have happened. All paths, all possibilities, they all lead to his death." She turned, walking away.
"You, on the other hand. You could still have led a different life. Different choices." Neva turned back to her. "You still could," she said. Regina was silent for a minute. Every time, Neva told her that. But she just couldn't believe it.
"I came to you for advice. What should I do?" Regina asked. Neva pursed her lips.
"I think that you should make a deal," Neva said.
"With who? Gold?" Regina asked. Neva bobbed her head. Regain shook her head.
"As if I would ever go to him for help," she said disdainfully.
"If you don't go to him, he'll come to you," Neva said.
"Then let him," Regina said. She walked out of the circle of trees. She could have tried to get a different answer out of Neva, but it never worked. Better to figure things out on her own. And she probably should count on a visit from Gold. Neva was never wrong.
Back in the clearing, Neva stood still for a minute, and then turned, walking off into the trees. She'd seen many, many things in her time. She could see the very threads of time, and could cross between worlds as easily as she could breathe. And this, this curse, was wrong. There was a place in one world, that belonged in another. It was wrong, in all ways possible. And it was starting to affect other worlds as well. She could not interfere directly; that and her blindness were the cost she paid for her powers. And she preferred to stay out of things, period. Regina had been calling on her a lot recently, for little things that she normally would have been able to figure out on her own. Twenty-eight years of standing still, and being the only one to remember was taking a toll on her.
Gold did not seem to be so affected. Most probably because he had something to actually occupy his time with. He was still searching for his Mirren. He'd come to her, in the very beginning, to ask where she was, but Neva had told him only that she was here, and they would meet. Nothing else. It may have been cruel, but it hurt Neva to speak. And she did so like riddles.
Neva smiled, and crossed back to where she'd been before Regina had called her.