After my fourth glass of apple cider, things began to get blurry. I laughed a lot, and my words made less and less sense. Regina didn't get drunk as I did. Maybe she didn't have as much to drink as I did, or maybe I was just too much of a light weight. In my defense, I hadn't had anything to drink since…I didn't remember, but I knew that I hadn't had extra money to buy alcohol with for a very long time. The apple cider was a long-forgotten treat. I never specifically remembered having it, but it was certainly my favorite.

After lasagna, also my favorite for no real reason I could remember, we agreed on making dessert. I vaguely recalled discussing chocolate pizza and apple turnovers. I was given the decision, but I could choose between them. So we made both.

I was on my seventh glass when Regina finally cut me off. She told me that I'd had enough, but it was too late. I was wasted, and she only seemed to play along with my goofiness. Somehow, a little while later, we both laid on the counter, covered with flour and chocolate.

Now, I was awoken by the harsh sound of Mr. Gold's voice. I tried to open my eyes, but the little sunlight in the room forced them closed again.

"Why is she caked with chocolate?" he demanded, "And she should have been at work hours ago! This is why I didn't want her to come over here."

"We both know that's not true," Regina argued, her voice dropping to a whisper, "You're trying to keep her away from me for a much larger reason."

"I'm sorry, dear. I don't know what you're talking about." I could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Bull shit!"

I opened my eyes and sat up, groaning at the light and the immediate headache. Suddenly, both Gold and Regina were standing over me. Regina opened her mouth to say something, but Gold was already hauling me to my feet.

"Stupid girl!" he scolded, "I told you not to come over here!"

"You don't own her, Gold," Regina defended, "And if you won't treat her right, then she can work for me."

"I don't want to fire her. I want her to stay away from you!"

"Why?" Regina laughed. Gold glared back at her but said nothing. "Exactly," she continued before turning to me, "Whenever you want, you can have a job as my personal assistant."

My eyes widened and I opened my mouth to thank her, but before I could speak, Gold grabbed me by the arm and pulled me from the room.

"We're leaving. Good day, Regina."

"Mistress, tell me about him," Figaro pleaded as she stood over Daniel.

"I-I can't."

The mad hatter, the man who'd been in Rumple's castle a few days prior, had just left with the doctor he'd brought to bring back the stable boy. The plan was that the four of them would meet later to obtain a heart.

"You can," the girl insisted, touching her owner's forearm. Regina took a deep breath.

"We were going to run away together, but Snow told my mother. She found us and…and," she paused as tears began to slide down her cheeks, "She ripped out his heart and crushed it right in front of me. She killed him."

Hesitantly, Figaro wiped a few tears from Regina's face.

"Look on the bright side. If you'd run away with Daniel, you wouldn't have met Rumplestiltskin or learned magic. And you wouldn't have met me."

"Oh no. What would I do without you?" she said sarcastically. Figaro's eyebrows furrowed as she brought back tears. She really wanted to believe that the queen at least cared about her, but obviously she didn't.

"I-I didn't m-," Regina started to apologize, but Figaro held out a hand to stop her. She fell silent for a few seconds before clearing her throat and changing the subject, "Umm…tell me about how you met Rumple."

"I ran away from my father because he often beat me. I ended up at the Dark One's door, and he made a deal with me to take care of me as long as I did whatever he commanded. And he commanded me to obey you. That's why I'm here. Not because I want to be. I'm here because I promised to obey him, and I don't break my promises. I don't like you anymore than you like me, Mistress," she spat. It was a lie, of course, but the queen had no way of knowing that. Figaro sighed, "Let's go get your stupid heart so we can bring back somebody you actually want to be with."