"Maybe we could ask Belle to get it back," Mary Margaret suggested she checked the water in the teapot on the stove yet again.
"It will whistle when it's ready, dear," Regina said obviously annoyed at Mary Margaret's fidgeting.
"That's not fair to Belle. She loves Gold. We shouldn't ask her to take sides," Emma said.
"Then what do we do?" Mary Margaret asked. "We can't just let him keep it. We have no idea what his plan is."
"Let's confront him," Emma said.
"Oh, lovely idea, Emma. Let's run right into the trap. That sounds like a solid plan," Regina said derisively.
"Play nice, love." Hook said to Regina before turning to Emma. "She's right though. Neither of you are strong enough to defeat Gold in a magical battle. Especially now that he has a weapon to remove you and your magic. What if we get the thief to steal it back?"
"No." Regina said immediately.
"But you said Gold didn't give Robin what he wanted anyway. He should be willing to help us out," David agreed.
"No. No one steals from Rumple and survives," Regina said and silence filled the room. She was right. They knew it.
"I thought you said Elsa was going to join us, love. Maybe she'll have some ideas." Hook said.
Emma frowned. "She should be here by now. Maybe I should go pick her up. It's probably not safe for her to be walking around."
Emma waved her hand to transport herself, but nothing happened. She sighed. "Regina, could you, you know," she gestured "me to Granny's?"
Regina rolled her eyes. "I thought you'd been practicing."
"I have! I've been a little busy." Emma defended. Regina waved her hand and Emma disappeared.
The second Emma arrived at Granny's she knew something was wrong. "Elsa?" She called.
"Emma!" Elsa cried.
Gold glared at the ice queen. "That was a bad idea, dearie." He admonished Elsa and quickly waved his hand freezing Emma before she could do anything. Elsa was already frozen in place. He reached back into his pocket and retrieved the hat. He carefully set it on the floor and turned it to face Elsa.
Emma was trying furiously to figuring out what spell he'd thrown at her so she could reverse it. She didn't have time for this. Damn Regina's advice she was just going to break through with force.
Gold turned the circular devise and the hat came out. Just as the yellow light started to fill the room and reach toward Elsa, Emma broke through the spell and threw herself between Elsa, shoving her out of the way. "Get help!" She ordered pushing the young queen as far as she could.
Emma tried to fight the hat, but it was too strong and pulled her in almost immediately. Elsa scrambled to the door and raced down the stairs before Gold could process what had happened. The queen quickly disappeared into the cover of the trees as she took the route through the forest to Mary Margaret's house.
"I already told you why that won't work," Regina said in exasperation. Her patience for these hopeful idiots was almost depleted. She just wanted to go home.
Before another idea could be proposed, there was a frantic knocking on the door.
Baby Neal started crying at the loud noise. Mary Margaret was already half way to the door with David right behind her. She paused and turned toward her son's crib.
"I'll get him," Henry offered and disappeared. He returned with the screaming baby as Elsa stepped inside.
"Elsa! Emma went looking for you! We were worried," Mary Margaret said stepping aside to let the young queen inside.
"She found me," Elsa said beginning to explain, but Hook cut her off.
"Then where is she?" He questioned, raising his voice to be heard above Neal's screams.
Regina moved to stand behind Henry, adjusting his arms and showing him how to hold Neal closer to him. "He'll feel safer if he is close to you. Now just bounce lightly," she instructed.
"She…I don't…" Elsa stammered not sure how to tell them.
Neal's cries quieted. Regina looked up at Elsa. "Tell us what happened."
Elsa met Regina's eyes. "He was trying to trap me in the hat when Emma arrived. She pushed me out of the way, but she was sucked in."
"Emma's gone?" Mary Margaret said with distress bleeding into her voice.
"I don't know how the hat works. We can save her right, Regina?" Elsa asked.
Regina didn't answer.
"Mom? You can save her, right?" Henry turned to face Regina who was still standing behind him. He was looking at her with hope-filled eyes.
"Please, Regina, you have to help," Mary Margaret begged.
"Yes, yes, of course, we'll bring back Ms. Swan," Regina said. "That woman never really goes away."
"How are you going to bring her back?" David asked.
Regina glared at him. "Does it matter?"
"Yes." David said.
"Don't worry your moral little head, dear. I'll get her back without any negative consequences for you. But I can't get her back without the hat. So we're back to that."
"I'll get the hat back. You get my daughter out of it," David said.
"Bring it to me, when you have it. Elsa, you'd best come with me in case Gold is still after you. Henry, maybe you should stay with your grandparents. You'll be safer away from magic."
"No. I'm not leaving you," Henry said handing Neal to Mary Margaret and taking Regina's hand.
Regina gave a curt nod to the room and with that Elsa, Regina, and Henry disappeared in smoke.
David stormed into Robin's camp. "Where is he?"
"Who?" Little John asked.
"The thief that's responsible for my daughter being trapped in a hat," David answered pushing past Little John and continuing to search the camp.
The men only made a half-hearted effort to stop him. He was their king after all. David moved through the camp looking in the various tents, finally finding Robin with Roland and Marian.
"David?" Robin asked.
"You're coming with me and we're going to fix what you did."
"What are you talking about?" Robin asked.
"The hat. You're going to steal it back from Gold."
"No one steals from the Dark One and survives," Robin said. "At least not more than once."
"It's not stealing. It wasn't his to begin with. You stole it from my house. And besides, Marian is still frozen isn't she? He broke the deal."
Robin glanced at his frozen wife and sighed. "Roland, stay with your mother."
He stood and started to walk out with David. Roland lunged at Robin's leg wrapping his arms tightly around it and refusing to let go. Robin shook his leg a little.
"Roland, get off."
"No. I want you to survive," Roland said.
"What?" Robin asked confused.
"You said no one will survive," Roland said.
Robin shut his eyes in frustration. He hadn't been thinking about the boy listening in. He drug Roland out of the tent on his leg. "Roland, do as your told." He kicked his leg trying to shake the boy off. "John? A bit of help here."
Both Little John and Will rushed over. Little John pulled a screaming Roland off of Robin.
"I'll go with your father, Roland. I'll make sure he stays safe," Will promised. "And don't forget to give your mama a kiss goodnight," he continued as he started off with David and Robin. "A bloody mess this is," he muttered. "Do we even have a plan?"
Henry gripped Regina's hand tightly.
"Henry, you don't have to hold on anymore," Regina said trying to let go.
He wrapped his arms around her in a big hug instead. "I love you, mom."
Regina felt tears forming in her eyes. She was so tired and everything was such a mess. Marian was still frozen, she'd lost Robin, Emma was gone, and Gold was plotting something and stealing everyone's magic for whatever it was. Could things really get any worse?
"Did you forget to turn on the heat? It's cold in here," Henry whined.
Regina looked up and caught Elsa's eyes.
"Sorry. I'm a little upset," Elsa apologized. Regina waved her hand and a fire started crackling in the fireplace.
"Sit down and relax. We'll fix this. Are you hungry? I think I have some leftover chicken soup," Regina offered.
"It's all my fault," Elsa said.
"It's not your fault. You were there to help us save her the first time. Gold needs the
magic for whatever he's plotting and he always takes what he wants no matter the consequences," Regina said. "There was nothing you could have done."
Elsa looked slightly comforted by her words. "Will I ever stop feeling like everything I touch is ruined?"
Regina laughed humorlessly. "I'm the wrong person to ask," she said turning around and beginning to rummage through the refrigerator for the soup.
Will and Robin followed David to his truck. Robin was muttering under his breath the whole time. As David walked around to the driver's seat, Will pulled Robin aside.
"Look mate, you've gotten us into a right mess and now we need to fix it. Stop grumbling and do something. And whilest your at it stop lashing out at everyone who tries to help you. You're acting like you don't even have your heart."
Will paused as he thought about what he'd just said. Maybe for Robin losing Regina was like losing his heart. Maybe that's why he hadn't been able to wake Marian. Will had actually removed his heart when he lost Anastasia, but maybe if he'd kept it he still would have felt empty and bitter without her. Robin pulled Will from his thoughts.
"She's supposed to be the Savior. I don't understand why we're risking our lives for her. Can't she just save herself?" Robin replied. Will shook his head and climbed into the truck. Robin followed.
"Alright, Roland, are you ready to go read before bed?" Little John asked. Roland nodded hugging his stuffed monkey.
"I have to say goodnight to mama first," he said heading toward Marian's tent. Little John simply nodded and followed the boy.
Roland entered the tent and climbed onto the mattress where Marian lay. He wrapped his little arms around her and gave her a big hug.
"Don't worry, mama. R'gina says we're going to make you warm again. And you'll feel all better. R'gina always makes papa and me safe. She'll take care of you too. Sleep good, mama," he said right before kissing Marian on the forehead.
Regina was spinning the spoon around her soup in the bowl as she thought. Something felt off. She couldn't place exactly what it was, but she just didn't feel right. It was an empty sort of feeling.
"Regina? Are you going to eat that or just keep pushing it around your bowl?"
Regina looked up. "Oh, I…" she glanced down at the still full bowl of soup. "I'm actually just not very hungry."
"It's going to be okay, mom. I know you can get Emma back," Henry encouraged. "And make things better for Robin too."
Regina forced a smile to her face. "Of course we'll get Emma back. Your grandpa probably already found a way to get the hat back from Gold. Now, how about some hot chocolate?"
Henry grinned. "That'd be great. Thanks, mom! Can I play some video games before bed?"
Regina sighed. Ever since she'd given him that stupid device it's all he wanted to do. Worst parenting decision she'd made. All because she'd wanted to compete with Emma. Turning back to Henry she nodded and stood to remove the dinner plates. Elsa followed suit and began helping Regina.
As soon as Henry had left the room, Elsa turned to Regina. "Do you have any idea how you're going to get Emma out of that hat?"
Regina shook her head. "Haven't a clue. Haven't figured out how to wake Marian or undo the potion I gave Robin either. Obviously, I was not meant to be a hero."
"How about we work together? I got out of the ern I was trapped in. All traps have a way out, right? We just have to figure out what it is. Maybe we can see if Belle has any ideas. She's the librarian, right?"
"Sadly, I think the only one who would know is Gold. And it's his plan we're trying to unravel so we can't very well go to him for information. Not that he would give it to us anyway. That imp never offers anything for free," Regina said.
"Can't we force his hand?"
"The only thing that matters to him besides power is Belle. And I can't use her for leverage again. I, I mean I could, but…"
"No. You're right. We won't use her for leverage. Maybe if she knew what happened she would be on our side though. Maybe she could help us," Elsa suggested.
"Belle and I…we have a complicated history. I don't think she's going to jump at the chance to help me."
"But she cares about Emma. I'll ask her. I should talk to her anyway. Maybe with all the reading she's done she knows something about my sister," Elsa said.
"Oh, yes. Your sister. You wanted me to help you find her. Do you have something of hers? I could make you a locator spell."
"I don't have anything. I had a necklace, but it was lost when Emma and I were trapped in my ice fortress."
"Well, maybe you're right, enlisting Belle couldn't hurt. She's quite good at research," Regina agreed.
"I'll go see her-"
Regina's hand flew to her shoulder as she let out a cry of pain cutting Elsa off.
"Regina? Are you okay? What happened?" Elsa asked in concern.
Regina shut her eyes willing the pain to disappear. She felt like she'd just been thrown through a glass window. She breathed heavily through the pain. Robin. She didn't know why she was feeling it, but it had to be Robin. David must have sent Robin for the hat despite her orders not to. She waved her hand and Elsa was left staring at the cloud of smoke that remained in Regina's place.
"Rumple! What are you doing?" Belle screamed as she came out to see what the commotion was and found the shop's glass window shattered. David was facing Gold holding his arms up in surrender and Will was staring out the window.
"Please, Gold, Henry is your grandson, we just need the hat back so he doesn't lose his mother," David reasoned.
"What's going on?" Belle asked moving toward Gold.
"The noble Robin Hood was just trying to steal from me and Charming here is sticking his noise where it doesn't belong," Gold sneered. "And I don't know what this jester is doing." He motioned to Will.
"I'm a knave, not a jester," Will said.
"You might consider changing professions. Knave is such an outdated title."
Will made a move toward Gold, who promptly froze him in place.
"Rumple!" Belle exclaimed.
"Belle, just go back to the back room. This doesn't concern you." Gold said.
"I don't know. I think she deserves to know what kind of monster she's living with," David said.
"Don't think you're immune, Charming. You stay away from my wife," Gold threatened. "In fact, I think it's time that all of you said goodbye." He raised his hand to make them disappear, but before he could Regina appeared in front of David. She stalked toward Belle speaking as she moved.
"Don't think about it imp."
Gold spun on his heel to face her. "Are you planning to stop me, dearie?" he laughed. "I think we both know who has the upper hand here."
"I told you to leave Robin out of this. Where is he?" she spat at David.
"I'm sorry, Regina. I-"
"Where is he?" She hissed.
"He's outside," Will answered. Regina's head whipped toward the front of the shop. She took in the broken glass window and gasped. Before Gold realized her intention, she grabbed Belle and they both disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
As Regina and Belle appeared outside the shop, Regina immediately took in the blood decorating Robin's body. She fell to her knees beside him. Her shoulders shook as she tried to contain her tears.
"Regina?" Belle asked. She stepped forward. "Regina," she said a little louder.
Regina blinked. Crying wouldn't help anything. There was a lot she couldn't fix right now, but she could fix this. She held her hands over Robin's shoulder and a purple glow appeared. The blood on Robin's shoulder disappeared and Robin blinked his eyes open. Regina felt relief flood through her. But it was short lived. Nearly simultaneously, the door to Gold's shop flew open and Gold stormed toward them. Robin, regaining consciousness, jerked up and away at the sight of Regina.
"Get away from me!" Robin shouted at Regina. Regina couldn't move. She felt herself start to shake. She couldn't keep doing this. She wasn't strong enough for this repeated rejection. She wasn't sure she could stand. But it didn't matter, because Gold was holding his hands out as he magically lifted her up by the throat until her feet were dangling just out of reach of the ground.
"Rumple!" Belle cried. Regina didn't even fight back, just hung limply in the air. "Put her down! You're strangling her."
"Regina should have learned her lesson about taking things that don't belong to her. No one takes you and gets away with it." Gold returned tightening the grip. Regina made a small choking sound, but still didn't move.
Belle put her hand on Gold's arm. "Please. She only wanted to help Robin."
"Well, it seems there are a lot of lessons our Queen never learned. Maybe you should have listened to your mother. Love is weakness, isn't that right, Regina?" Gold taunted.
Belle opened her mouth to plead again, when Will and David exited the shop. David was holding Gold's dagger. "I command you to let her go!" David said forcefully.
Gold chuckled. "What makes you think I care what you command? I don't answer to the prince."
Belle stared in confusion. "But the dagger."
At the mention Gold whipped around to see David, forgetting about Regina in the process. She fell to the ground her legs crumpling under her. She laid still in a heap on the pavement the panting noises the only sign that she was still alive.
"Where did you get that?" Gold asked as he approached David.
"Why isn't it working?" Belle asked.
"From Belle's nightstand," David answered. "Why isn't it working? I thought you had to obey whoever commanded the dagger. It worked for Zelena."
"Unless it isn't the real dagger," Will offered.
"Of course it's the real dagger. You're just not doing it right. You have to will it. You aren't strong enough to command the dagger." Gold said.
Belle was walking toward David. "It's not the real dagger? But you said…" her voice broke and trailed off. Could he really have lied to her like that? Manipulated her. While telling her he loved her and trusted her? She turned to look at Gold and immediately knew the answer. "You're going to let them all leave. And I'm going with them." Belle said assertively.
"Belle, please, let me explain," he pleaded.
"Do as I say and maybe after I've calmed down we can talk. Prove that you love me and let us go," she said.
Gold dropped his hands. "Go."
David and Will rushed to Regina helping her to her feet. She was still struggling to breath and leaned heavily on David as they guided her to the truck.
"Come on, Robin. You're coming as well." Belle informed the thief.