The day finally arrived. And it was very successful. The people were pleased, the children delighted. Boots selling food or entertainment were numerous. Regina wandered off to the castle. She looked intently at the whole structure and it did look almost the same as she remembered.

"Where are we going?" she whispered. For a while now they were roaming the narrow streets that seemed to be leading nowhere. It was late, almost midnight, only the guards were out on patrol. It was a miracle they didn't run into trouble.

"We need a place to sleep. Nearly there, turn left."

She did and found herself in front of the some sort of royal playground. "I don't understand."

"We're here for the night."

"What you couldn't seduce another barmaid into giving us a room. I thought you were skilled at that." she commented with evidently forced casualness.

He inhaled sharply. "This is the exact replica of the castle and the guard houses… only kid-size. The sultan had it built for the prince, a spoiled brat really. He got bored eventually and now nobody is allowed to enter."

"Except us, apparently."

"I talked to the guard." he gently bumped his shoulder against hers, "He owes me one."

Knowing his methods well she smirked. He always had something up his sleeve.

Simple by looking at her, it was clear she was no longer mad at him… much. So he changed his tone to playful. "Shall I escort Her Majesty to the castle?" he asked bowing theatrically to the ground.

"I'm tired of castles. Perhaps a guard house would be nice a change."

"I was hoping you'd say that."

They climbed the ladder and she inspected the area. It was small; Jefferson surely wouldn't be able to recumbent. Despite not being high it had a nice view of the city mosque. Its white marble minarets were illuminating the whole area under the Moon. "Well it has the view."

"It sure does. Sit here." he said as he arranged the blankets.

She sat beside him, the last remnants of frustration ebbing away. It was a warm night. Leaning back, they looked at the stars.

They were sitting in silence for a while, marveling the beauty of nature when Jefferson spoke up, his voice silvery. "You know there is a story behind every star and every constellation out there."

She cocked her head. "There is? I don't think I've heard any."

"You should look it up."

Regina waited for him to continue but he kept gazing ahead. She swatted him.

"Ouch! Take it easy. You're stronger that you look." he teased.

"Then tell me." she ordered playfully.

"Yeah, yeah. I was joking, you know? All right. See those stars over there?" he pointed to the group of stars but she couldn't tell precisely which ones.

He slid down leaning closer to her. Their heads were almost touching. He took her hand and guided her index finger over the sky from one star to the next, "And that one there is called Andromeda. You see it now?"

She nodded, her escaped lock of hair brushing against his cheek.

"Good." he lowered their hands but did not let go, "Now the story of human arrogance. Once reigned king Cepheus, with his queen Cassiopeia. Their daughter, Andromeda, was so beautiful her mother couldn't help but boast about her. She went so far as to proclaim her daughter the fairest of them all even more so than the nymphs of the sea. The jealous nymphs went to their master, Neptune, God of the sea, demanding retribution. The great Neptune couldn't say no to his nymphs, and sent the sea monster Cetus to wreak vengeance upon the arrogant queen. The monster ravaged the land, spreading death and destruction along the entire coastline of the kingdom. The desperate king consulted an oracle. He was told the only way to stop the monster's rampage was to sacrifice his daughter to it."

Regina shook her head finding the destiny of Andromeda much familiar.

"Andromeda was then chained to a rock by the sea, and left for Cetus. When the monster charged at the young princess, the hero Perseus suddenly came diving out of the sky, swooping in between the monster and the princess. Riding the winged horse, Pegasus, he was returning from a victorious battle against the evil Medusa,"

"Wait a moment. Medusa is alive. I heard…"

"That one is. This one isn't." she scoffed, still unconvinced, "Just let me tell the story."

"Carry on."

"So impatient." he feigned annoyance, "This was long ago. Where was i? Yes, he was returning from the battle when he heard Andromeda's cries. He pulled Medusa's head out of his satchel, a head with the eyes so terrifying that all who looked at them were immediately turned to stone. When the sea monster saw the head covered with squirming snakes it too turned to stone, and sank beneath the waves. Perseus immediately fell in love with Andromeda, and carried her off to be his bride."

The silence settled again as his voice trailed off. She felt his gaze on her and turned to face him, her brown eyes meeting his blue ones. The fresh summer air suddenly thickened. Her heart was beating in her throat. There was that moment again. The moment where they were looking at each other and both knew what was supposed to happen next.

This time it was Jefferson who pulled back. "The end." he said in a croaky voice and stood up, "You should rest. We're leaving early tomorrow to get the hat."

Regina just hummed in response and lay down. In that one brief moment she'd allowed herself to hope that she too could be saved from her monsters. Yet she was not Andromeda and he surely was not Perseus. Perhaps that was the problem. Perhaps the love that could last, true love was not meant for everybody. Or perhaps she was just reading too much into his affection.

Jefferson did not showed up for the opening. She saw Grace but not him. It was his project in the first place, dare she say theirs. At least he missed Snow's speech about hope new beginnings or something equally optimistic. She didn't know why she expected him to come in the first place. He wasn't fond of the crowd here. But maybe, just maybe it was because he was consuming her thoughts again. She thought of what was and what could be. Any other person would find it appealing but she found it dangerous. She shouldn't have stepped back into that comfortable place that they were in long ago.

It was time she stopped sneaking glances around hoping he would show up and go find her son.