A/N: Thank you for your messages, follows and favourites, guys. They mean a lot! :)


It was possibly the strangest council meeting Liv had been present at. She sat at the head of the large table in the War Room, staring at those assembled around her. As the elder of the two royals who were still capable of carrying out their duties, she had reluctantly taken her mother's seat and role. Henry shot her a reassuring, proud smile as the Blue Fairy addressed her as 'My Queen', both of them feeling a stab in their chests as the realisation of what that simple term of respect actually meant.

Beside her sat Henry, ever protective of his sister, his fingers drumming on the surface of the table as they waited for the fourth person taking part in this meeting to arrive. The Blue Fairy was less than happy that Liv and Henry had seen fit to allow Maleficent to be part of their discussions, but even she had to admit that the witch had more knowledge of these matters than she did.

Maleficent had come to them a week after Regina first fell ill and announced that she was willing to help them save everyone. At first the young royals had been immensely suspicious of her motives and dismissed her without even listening to what she had to say. When, however, she had collapsed into a violent coughing fit in front of them and the Blue Fairy had been forced to admit that she was suffering from the same illness that was sweeping the realm, had already claimed and was going to claim thousands of lives, including that of the royal family, they decided to listen to what she had to say.

It appeared that, after working together for so many years to get back to The Enchanted Forest, Rumpelstiltskin hadn't made any effort to protect his ally when he had enacted the curse that would cause the death of so many. His fury at learning that Belle had moved on and married since his disappearance had caused him to set fire to their cottage, causing the couple and their two children to flee and seek refuge with Snow and Charming. After that, he took Neal and Wendy, Jaye and Danny and left the rest of the inhabitants of the realm to their fate.

That was why they had called this meeting and were currently waiting for the woman to arrive. Just as Henry got out of his chair and began to pace impatiently, the doors opened and Maleficent appeared, looking pale and drawn. The dark circles under her eyes and blotches on her skin indicated that the illness was moving quickly through her body and soon she, too, would fall into a fatal sleep that she would never wake from.

"My apologies, Your Highnessses, I find that I am unable to transport myself over such long distances anymore. I was forced to stop and rest several times."

Despite her lingering suspicions about the woman, Liv rose from her seat and helped Maleficent into the chair beside the Blue Fairy. "Would you like a glass of water?"

When the witch nodded gratefully, stifling a cough with a handkerchief, that Liv was repulsed to realise was spotted with blood, the Blue Fairy waved her wand and a glass of clear, cold water appeared on the table in front of Maleficent. She took a sip, closing her eyes as the liquid soothed her throat.

"Thank you."

"Now…" Henry paused as he waited for Liv to take her seat once more. "Where are we with our plan of action?"

"We'll need to move quickly." The Blue Fairy told them, looking more at the royals than Maleficent. "The first of the fairies are beginning to show signs of the illness and it seems to be spreading fast. Our magic isn't enough to hold it off for much longer."

"Right, so… what do we do then?" Liv asked determinedly. "Is it a spell or what? I'm gonna need some help with the actual magic part, obviously, but I'm doing it."

"Liv–"

"No, Henry. I'm doing it. Whatever the price is, I'll pay it, not you."

"But–"

"No." She finished the argument bluntly and then turned to the other women seated at the table. "So?"

"Regina's curse was born out of anger and hatred and pain," Maleficent said softly, evidently struggling to speak, "whereas your curse will be the product of love and desperation and fear. It will, therefore, involve a slightly different process."

Liv pursed her lips, fighting her impatience. "OK…"

"It requires a lock of hair from those you love most–"

"What… all of them?"

Maleficent smiled. It was a sad smile and the expression in her eyes was almost wistful. "Half a dozen should suffice, Your Majesty, if you can narrow it down." She ignored the scowl the younger woman shot her. "I am assuming that you wish to return to Storybrooke, rather than just escape this realm? You will need to acquire an object that originated there as well."

"We also need a way of breaking the curse." Henry pointed out quickly. "We don't want to take away people's happy endings, just save their lives."

The Blue Fairy cleared her throat. "I was wondering… when the last curse broke and we remembered all that we had lost… perhaps it would be better if we didn't remember our lives here. That doesn't mean that the happy endings have to be taken away."

"Are you serious?" Liv asked with a frown. "You think we should steal everyone's memories of their time here?"

"And save their lives." The Blue Fairy added.

Maleficent nodded. Then she looked at the woman opposite her as though it pained her, before turning back to the acting Queen. "I agree with the Fairy."

"What?"

"Not remembering that here I had magic and lived in a castle would be greatly preferable to remembering those facts when I am living in a small cottage and having to cook my own dinner." The witch told her simply. "Imagine your children; they have grown up as royalty, having someone there to do everything for them, should they wish it. In Storybrooke they will have to go to school and mingle with those who, currently, they probably wouldn't even acknowledge the existence of. Do you think knowing that they were raised as Princes and Princesses will make that any easier?"

Warily, Liv turned to her brother for guidance. She knew that the final decision would be down to her, but she wanted his opinion on the matter. Henry looked at her and then shrugged, rubbing a hand over the stubble that he had allowed to grow over his jaw over the past few days. With everything going on, shaving had been the last thing on his mind. It made him look older, more careworn.

"I don't care about memories of being a Prince as long as they're alive and well." He told her gently.

"OK…" She breathed deeply and nodded, returning her gaze to the Fairy and the Witch. "Memories gone. What's next?"

Maleficent smiled and stood, gripping the table to aid her. "Get me the things I've asked for and meet me in the paddock behind the stables at sundown. Will you allow me to use Regina's study?"

"Of course. It's the third–"

"I know where it is." The woman told her with a smile. "Until sunset."


"I'm not sure about this memory thing." Liv admitted hesitantly, rolling the crystal tumbler she had been taking miniscule sips out of for the last half hour around in her hands. "It just seems… I know it'll be hard to adjust again, but… You said that Grandma Snow was completely different without her memories of who she was here."

"Everyone was." Her brother agreed.

"And what if…"

He smiled gently, scooting forward in his chair and looking at her carefully. "You're still worried we'll all end up in the wrong places and be split up, aren't you?"

"Can you blame me?"

"No, of course not, but–"

He stopped abruptly as the acting Queen stood, placed her glass on the table beside her chair with a bang and moved towards the fireplace. She stared down into the grate which would, if all went to plan, never be lit again. For a couple of moments they stayed silent.

Henry had to admit that, over the years his sister had changed a lot. The carefree, wild-child part of her had almost disappeared completely, replaced with a more serious, brooding persona. He supposed it could have been put down to simply growing up and taking the responsibilities given to her seriously, but the beginning of the change in Liv could be tracked to the removal of her magic, although the point where it had really been noticeable was up for debate.

There were times when she seemed to vanish altogether, to retreat into herself and allow the blackness he knew she still felt tugging at her to consume her. It was at those times that Henry was relieved that she no longer possessed her magic. The Prince was loathed to admit it but he was almost convinced that, had she been given the opportunity, Liv would have given in to the seductive darkness that their mother and grandmother still struggled against.

As his thoughts turned to Regina and Cora, Henry's grip on his glass tightened enough to cause a loud crack to echo around the otherwise silent room. One was already gone and the other was set to join her.

"Liv, you have to snap out of this." He ordered, standing quickly and joining her by the fireplace.

"I want a clause in the curse." She told him firmly, stepping back as he reached out to squeeze her arms. "I want to be able to break it if we need to."

"True Love breaks any–"

She shot him a withering look. "Give it a fucking rest, Henry." When he looked totally confused, she shook her head. "If that was true, the original curse would have been broken when Grandma Snow and Gramps kissed. Was it? No. I want something concrete. I need to be able to know that I can break the curse."

"They didn't break the curse because it had to be Ma. She's the Saviour."

"This is what I'm fucking talking about! I want to know exactly how this works."

Henry nodded, ignoring her attempts to push him away and pulling her into his arms in a tight hug. After her initial fight to escape the embrace, he felt her slump against him, burying her head into the crook of his neck and fisting her hands into the front of his shirt. His memory flitted back to a day, more years ago than he cared to remember, when their positions had been reversed. He vividly remembered sitting on the steps of the big white house in Storybrooke, clinging to Liv desperately as their mothers screamed at each other on the other side of the front door. She had been the taller, stronger one then; protecting her little brother despite the almost constant fights they had. Now he was more than a head taller than her and the protecting fell to him.

Over the course of their lives as Enchanted Forest royalty the siblings had clashed more times than either of them could remember over their differing opinions on policies and rulings the council put forward. They could never work together effectively to make decisions. Liv had accused Henry of being too clinical; of only ever seeing the benefits and problems of things they discussed to the economy and the status of the Kingdom compared to those around them. Henry, in turn, had called Liv a 'bleeding heart' and ridiculed her fixation on how their decisions affected the people they were charged with protecting. Both conceded, under intense pressure, that the other had valid points, but neither would ever back down.

Now, though, all of that was forgotten as they clung to each other desperately.

Finally Henry pulled away. "I'm going to speak to Maleficent and Blue." He told his sister firmly. "I'll deal with this."

"No, Henry, I told you–"

"I won't let you pay the price on your own." The Prince told her firmly, his tone indicating that he would broker no arguments. "I'm just going to speak to them and raise our concerns, OK? I'll make sure we get instructions on how to break the curse." As he gave her shoulders a reassuring squeeze, he made his way towards the door. With his hand on the handle, he turned and grinned at her, bowing his head deferentially. "My Queen."

Liv watched the door close behind him before wrapping her arms around her waist. "The Queen is dead."


Waiting for Henry to return was driving Liv mad. Somehow she found herself in the Banqueting Hall where she had been informed that Regina's body had been laid to rest. She had downright refused to view the body before, unable to bring herself to actually admit that she was gone.

At first Henry had been upset that Liv was so dismissive of his suggestion that they went to say their goodbyes together and then he had been angry. After a couple of days, however, he realised that she was dealing with the loss in the only way she was comfortable with; completely denying it was happening. She was simply acting as though everyone had gone to Snow and Charming's Castle for a holiday.

It was for that reason that he hadn't mentioned anything that had happened since he informed her of Regina's death. If he had known that his sister would venture into the cold stone room, the light from the windows blocked with heavy velvet drapes, he would have prepared her for the sight that had greeted her.

She had been told that the Blue Fairy had conjured a sarcophagus fit for the Dark Queen's final resting place for Regina to be laid in while they were carrying out their plans. What she hadn't been told was that Regina's was not the only sarcophagus in the Banqueting Hall. Staggering as she took in the line of white stone sarcophagi down the centre of the room, Liv clawed at the bodice of her dress as though it was squeezing the life out of her.

"Oh… god…" She breathed, feeling her legs threatening to give way as she stumbled towards the coffins.

She clutched at the top of the first one she reached to stop her collapsing on the flagstone floor. Her eyes were tightly closed as she took several breaths, trying to force herself to look down and see who was inside the sarcophagus.

A strangled cry was ripped from her as she looked down and saw her younger brother laid out, as though asleep, on the deep crimson fabric that had been laid on the bottom of the coffin. Her hand went instinctively to the perpetually messy dark hair that was covering the eighteen-year-old's forehead, pushing it back before moving gently down to cup his cheek. Tearing her eyes away from Billy's form, she moved along the row. The tears fell thick and fast as she rearranged her nineteen-year-old sister's hair, so that the dark blonde curls lay neatly over Nicole's shoulders. Next, lay Cora, looking scarily peaceful. Liv was sure her lips were upturned in a smile as she ran a hand down her grandmother's arm and squeezed her hand. Her breathing stuttered as she paused at the foot of the next sarcophagus, seeing Henry's wife and son laid out together look, for all intents and purposes, as though they were just sleeping.

The injustice of the deathly white face of her five-year-old nephew was too much for Liv to bear and she considered turning and fleeing from the room. But then the two remaining coffins seemed to demand her attention and she found that she couldn't look away. Her feet moved of their own accord until she could see inside the fifth stone resting place.

Leaning away from the sight that met her eyes, Liv wretched. The meagre contents of her stomach forced itself up her throat and she coughed, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Taking several deep breaths Liv straightened and forced herself to look down at the body in the coffin. Frankie – her baby girl, the strongest of the triplets, naturally so loud and full of life – just lay on the dark velvet mattress, paler and stiller than Liv had ever seen her. The woman reached out a hand to touch her daughter's cheek but stopped, her hand hovering in mid-air, before turning away and jamming the heels of her palms into her eyes to stop the burning that was growing ever more difficult to ignore.

The last sarcophagus contained her brunette mother's body. There was a physical pain in her chest as she slumped slightly and draped herself over Regina's body, sobbing violently as her emotions finally overwhelmed her and she grasped handfuls of the Queen's dress and buried her face in her dark hair. She could still smell the soft scent of apples that lingered from her shampoo and the slightly spicy scent of her perfume.

"Mom… please… don't leave me." She sobbed, her voice cracking with the weight of her emotion. "Please!"

She repeated the word over and over again until she couldn't say it again. Her eyes were sore and her throat was dry. She was so overwrought that she didn't notice Henry's presence in the Banqueting Hall until he put a hand on her waist and dragged her up and into his arms.

"I… Henry… I…"

"Shhh…" He put a hand on the back of her head, holding her tightly. "It'll be OK. We're going to get them back."

"Why didn't you tell me… Grace and David… Frankie…"

He took her chin in his hand and turned her head so that she was looking at the line of sarcophagi. "Because this is not it, Liv. This is not how this ends."

"I…" She felt dizzy and sick and empty.

"No. You nothing, Liv." He was suddenly firm, pulling away from her and straightening his spine so that he stood at his full height. "You are the Queen. No," he saw the expression on her face as she tried to look away, "Mom's dead and Ma soon will be. You are the Dark Queen now, Liv. Making hard decisions… that's just part of the role you've inherited. I know I argued with you about your need to think about people over what logically made sense, but now I need you to do that." He smiled. "We need to cast this curse, Liv, or this… all of this… will be the end. If you don't do this we really will be alone."

With a final look towards the sarcophagi, Liv set her jaw, took a deep breath and stalked out of the Banqueting Hall. In a move that was oddly reminiscent of his pre-teen self, the Dark Prince punched the air triumphantly. Then he deflated instantly and took a step towards the resting place of his wife and son.

"See you soon." He whispered, bending to press a kiss to Grace's cold lips.

He had tried, numerous times to wake her that way since her death, but it hadn't worked. Henry had to believe that it was simply that the illness was not a curse, which was why True Love's kiss had no effect on it; otherwise he thought that his heart might just break irreparably.

Then, with a glance at his mother's body, Henry turned and followed his sister from the room. She was waiting for him, the same determined expression on her face as she had worn when he had informed her that he had spoken to the Blue Fairy about a way to stop all this. She smiled and held out a hand. Henry accepted it at once, squeezing her small hand in his larger one.

Neither of them spoke as they made their way through the Palace grounds to the place where they had agreed to meet Maleficent. Henry handed over the objects that the witch had asked them for and watched as she added them to the potion bubbling violently in the large cauldron Maleficent had set up. It was a luminous orange and, despite the tumbling emotions struggling inside her, Liv couldn't help wincing at the colour. Beside her, Henry wore the same expression.

"Henry tells me you want a way to break the curse? To give people their memories back?" Blue said softly, a glow radiating from her very person as she hovered in the air beside the other woman. Liv simply nodded, tightening her grip on Henry's hand. "I know it is selfish, but I hope you don't choose that option, Your Highness." the Fairy admitted with a sigh. "If, however, you believe that it is the right thing to do, all you need to do is trust in yourself."

"What?" Liv frowned. She was fed up of the magical beings around her talking in riddles; Rumpelstiltskin, Jaye, Blue, even her Mom and Grandmother on occasion. "What does that mean? What do I need to–?"

She was cut off abruptly as a bright light erupted from the cauldron, throwing its beam high into the air above them. The pulse of energy that accompanied it sent all four of them flying backwards in opposite directions.

And then, nothing.