Note: Again I do not own OUAT or its characters
Once Emma left her home, Regina poured another drink. She smiled at her spark of inspiration. All she needed to do was modify her original curse to stop time in Storybrooke once again. But it wasn't for the reasons Emma believed, and she was grateful Emma hadn't asked too many questions.
The last thing she needed was for Emma's lie detector to go off.
Because now more than ever she wanted Zelena to succeed. If she grew up with Zelena and her mother there was no way she wouldn't end up using magic from the very beginning of her life. And like she told Emma, if she had done that, she might be a match for Zelena.
She would have Daniel back, and with time being frozen in Storybrooke, she wouldn't lose Henry either.
The plan was forming in her mind, but she needed more information from her sister before she could move forward.
A wave of her hand and she was transported across Storybrooke to Zelena's place.
"Hello sister," Zelena said allowing Regina to come in.
"I was hoping we could talk about how this is going to work exactly. Not the spell itself but how the going back in time will work for us. If you go back and change the past starting with keeping our mother from giving you up, how do you ensure I am born when you have already changed a major event that could prevent that exact thing from happening? Not to mention, I am younger than you so how many years are you going to have wait until I am born?"
"Oh sis, you have hit on the very thing I have been working on. Come, come," she said taking Regina's hand and pulling her into the next room and on to the couch. "Think of the spell as a catalyst. It's designed for time travel – not a singular event, although it has its limitations. Yes, the first stop is to ensure I am not given up by our mother. Once mother sees how powerful I have become, convincing her to keep me shouldn't be a problem and even if it is, I am more powerful than her."
"Please do not underestimate her. Our mother was … she knew how to handle situations to her advantage. I don't want you going back with illusions about who she is."
"I don't have illusions," Zelena said looking hurt. "I just want the same opportunities you had. Opportunities you wasted."
"You are right," Regina said. "I did waste them. I rejected my mother's influence almost from the start."
"But why?"
Regina thought for a moment. "Growing up, everything I did was never good enough for her. It's not like I tried, I did. I just wanted her to love me unconditionally, and I never got the sense that was the case. Maybe it was because she didn't have a heart, maybe I was a disappointment. Maybe I wasn't good enough to replace the daughter she gave up."
Zelena smiled at her, "Once I do this, she won't have to make that distinction. She will have both of us to raise and the best part is no one will know we are half-sisters because our mother and your father will raise us as their own. Consider it a gift from me to you."
"How?"
"I am not going back in time to point just before I was given up. I am going to the point where our mother knows she is pregnant with me. Then I am going to move her forward in time to when she meets your father. Rumple has been helping me with the timing since he was carefully watching our mother for years. When our mother gives birth to me, your father – I understand his name is Henry as well – with the help of my magic will believe I am his daughter. From there it is a matter of making sure you are born and then we are done. I figure that is all the time jumps the spell will allow."
"You want to be raised by my father?"
"Our father and yes of course. I want us to be sisters in all meaning of the word. We are going to grow up together and we are going to do wondrous things together," she said gripping her hand. "There is just one problem."
"What is that?"
"The way the spell works, the new you and me will have to integrate with our present selves."
"I am not sure I understand what you mean."
"While I can change the past, when the spell ends, we will automatically be us at our current ages. We will have our memories of growing up together but won't actually be living all those years together – we will, but it's difficult to explain, but rest assured it will be as real to you as your current memories. Do you trust me?"
Regina considered her for a moment. "Yes."
"You do?"
"You know I have lived more than my fair share of years due to the curse I cast and never in all that time has anyone been concerned enough about what I want until you came here. I know you wanted to kill me before, but I think you are right, we can do wondrous things if we are together."
"Good," Zelena said standing and holding her hand out to Regina who took it. She was led out to the storm cellar where Rumple was spinning straw into gold. Zelena entered his cage and opened a box—it contained a golden brain, Charming's sword and Regina's heart. Regina saw the part red, part black heart glowing and she could feel more now that she was close to it.
But Zelena closed the box after retrieving something else from it. She held out two amber colored pendants. "One for me, one for you."
"What are these for?" she said admiring the stone. The color in it swirled with magic.
"This is what will keep you and I grounded at least for a little while. You wanted to know how I would be able to change multiple things in the past when my first act would clearly cause a ripple effect. These stones will keep you and I from being carried away with those ripples. And once the spell is complete, these stones are what will transport us to our new selves so we can be integrated into one."
"Amazing," Regina said holding the stone up to the light to examine it more. She lowered it and looked at her sister. "You really are most powerful."
Zelena smiled, "I am really going to enjoy having you for a little sister. Have I answered all your questions?"
"Yes. Now let's talk about what the idiots have come up with as far as a plan to stop you."