A/N: Apologies for the slow update... thank you for all the wonderful support I've received and special thanks to AddieGreysPPPEvilRegal for taking the time to review my each and every chapter :D

Also thank you justanotherwriter00, scifigrrl, htoria for reviewing!

**I'm forever grateful for all the amazing reviews I've received, really really appreciate it :) If I've forgotten to mention you, I'm truly sorry! Do let me know and I'll make the changes! I really am grateful to each any every of my followers, the people who have place this story I their fav lists and those who took the time to review...I've said it countless of times but I'll say it once more, thank you! :)

Anny Rodrigues commented: That's reminded me ''God of War'', I love this game. Zelena did it to Roland? Rumple? Or someone new?

Hmm... I think we can rule someone out after this next chapter... that still leaves quite a few possibilities doesn't it ;)

Princess-of-Bookworms commented: This is amazing. So amazing. Although I do have a question: If Roland's memories were all wiped clean then what were the images that Regina was seeing? Also, it's so sweet that Roland runs to Regina while she's still the evil queen.

Thanks! I hope most of the stuff is explained in this chapter and it's still unclear, don't hesitate to ask me and I'll try my best to explain them haha xD

Chapter 10

"What do you mean his memories were wiped?"

"How were you able to see them then?"

"I don't understand, Regina,"

Everyone started talking at once, adding to Regina's already mounting headache. Grimacing, she signalled for them to stop their questions, her eyes traveling to the little boy who stared innocently into her eyes. Giving her a small smile, Roland sat down on the ground and started playing with whatever twigs he could gather.

"Here, take a seat first," Surprisingly, it was Robin who gestured to the rocks beside them. Regina sniffed, about to refuse to sit on a dirty, dusty looking lump of hard stone. But at the last second, she changed her mind and primly straightened her attire, slowly balancing herself on the uneven piece of stone. She hoped there were no poisonous insects lurking about.

"Basically I was able to reach into his latest memories but I was unable to dig further into his past..." Her eyes found Robin's. Swallowing uncomfortably, she continued. "Specifically his past with you. It's been erased on purpose,"

"Who would do something so despicable as that?" Snow voiced out.

"You said you managed to see a few of his memories before it was all erased?" Robin gritted his teeth, trying to rein in his anger. He was going to make sure the person who erased whatever precious memories his son had with him would pay for what he had done.

"At least I know where your son has been these few years,"

Robin nodded for her to continue. Think positive, at least I still have Roland. At least Roland's not dead like his mother.

"Have you heard of this place called Neverland?"

"Neverland? Where Peter Pan and Tinkerbell is?" Robin asked curiously.

"Tinkerbell..." Regina trailed off, her hazel eyes unreadable. Then she shook her head, her eyes shining with determination. "Yes. That's Neverland. Which also happens to be the place Roland went after well... after what happened after your wife's death I guess,"

"Wait... So you managed to see memories of Roland in Neverland?" Snow blinked uncertainly, still lost.

"Urgh. Why do I even bother?" Regina rolled her eyes. Gesturing impatiently with her hands, she started narrating what she had seen...

At first everything was black. They always were whenever she read into memories. Although it wasn't one of her strong suits, it was a necessity that Rumple has insisted she mastered.

Just a few more seconds, Regina recognized the familiar pull and let herself be submerged in the colours that started swirling around her. Blinking, she frowned as she found standing beside what seemed to be a bonfire. There was loud banging and shouts that echoed in her ears as hooded figures ran around the glowing ambers. She realised the banging sound came from the sticks the hooded figures were clashing together.

Squinting, she scanned the figures' half hidden faces for Roland but was unsuccessful. They were just young teenage boys wearing oversized cloaks, Regina pursed her lips, having a premonition of where she was. Where was Roland? Wasn't this his memories? If so, where was The little boy? That was when she caught a glimpse of the two lone figures perched on top of a rock. The smaller one was busying using a stick poke at the ground beneath his feet while the taller one stared at the boys running about. Their leader, Regina guessed. Also known as Peter Pan. Those boys running about must have been the lost boys. Was Roland a lost boy too?

She approached the two figures cautiously, even though she knew it was silly. This was just an illusion. Only a flashback of Roland's memories. Her heart pounding, she slowly lowered herself to the ground and looked up. The smaller hooded figure was indeed Roland. He was smiling contentedly to himself as he continued poking the ground, his two prominent dimples standing out as though it was glowing in the dim light. Although part of her was relieved that she had found the boy, another part of her was filled with dread. What did it mean? How had Roland became a lost boy? There was only one way to find out. Reaching out, she gently touched Roland's arm, concentrating. Her surroundings started to blur and fade into darkness once again as she braced herself for the scene to change.

Slowly, she found herself catching a deeper glimpse into Roland's time in Neverland. It was always him wearing a satisfied smile as he doodled on the ground or piled up sticks in what looked like a makeshift house to Regina. Yet never once did Regina see him interact with any of the other boys or run around like they did. Not even when Pan played on his pipe. The others boys would be in a daze after hearing the hypnotizing song and start assembling in a line to perform some kind of ritual in front of the fire. Whereas Roland would just sit at one corner, almost as though he was in his own little blissful world.

Yet Regina had one burning question unanswered. How did Roland get to the infinite forest? Reaching out for Roland once more, she willed herself to be transported to Roland's latest memories.

He was drawing again. This time with his bare hands. It seemed he had a penchant for that. That was when Regina spotted another clocked figure conversing with Pan on the secluded edge of the beach. This figure was definitely not one of the lost boys, towering over Pan. Even the clock him or her wore stood out, shimmering in the pale lighting making it hard for Regina to decide if it was brown or black in colour. Both Pan and the figure seemed to be in some kind of discussion, Pan throwing his hands in the air every few seconds while the figure stood beside him motionlessly. Regina strained to hear what they were saying but they were too far away for her to hear anything. All of a sudden, both parties shook each other's hands. Pan didn't look too happy, Regina thought. Too bad she couldn't see the other person's expression. As though the figure could sense her perusal, it turned and walked towards her, the hood still obstructing Regina from catching a glimpse of the face beneath it. Regina's breath caught as she finally noticed the figure's feet. They weren't even touching the ground. That took lots of power just to master and even Rumple had once told her it wasn't an easy feat to do. Yet the figure continued to move towards them, an aura of mystery and danger radiating from each step taken. He or she must be a powerful magician, Regina observed with narrowed eyes. When both the figure and Pan reached little Roland, the boy stopped whatever he was doing and looked up curiously.

"Well it seems you are going home, dear little Roland," Pan muttered bitterly, stomping his foot on the ground like a spoilt child.

"I am?" Roland looked up, his eyes suddenly full of hope. Regina frowned. Wait... Roland was in Neverland, where one would most probably be reluctant to leave after such a long stay. Yet, Roland seemed... excited. His next words confirmed Regina's suspicions. "I'm going to see my papa? You'll let me go?" He smiled at Pan. Roland wasn't affected by Neverland. He still had his memories of Robin. So why was it he couldn't recognize Robin when he appeared at the forest?

Pan pulled a long face. "I don't have much a choice, do I? Whatever. It wasn't like you were going to become one of the lost boys anytime soon," He glared angrily at the hooded figure beside him.

The hooded person still didn't reply, only slowly tilting his or her head up. Regina held her breath as she waited for the person's identity to be revealed. Then she blinked as she looked right into a patch of darkness. Under the hood there was nothing but a black void of darkness. Had this mysterious person erased Rolland's memory of him other face on purpose? A clothed arm reached out towards Roland.

Run Roland! Run! Regina opened her mouth to scream but nothing came out. She watched in horror as the hand touched Roland's forehead and she felt the ground beneath her tremble.

Oh dear lord, please don't let it be what she was thinking. Regina reached out and grabbed Roland's arm, her thoughts in a panicked jumble. Come on, please let her be able to access Roland's previous memories with Robin. Shutting her eyes close, she growled in frustration as nothing happens and the ground beneath her continued to shake, more vigorously now.

In seconds, she felt the tingle that ran up her arm, signalling the end of Roland's memories and there was an invisible shove that sent her reeling back to the present.

"So this hooded figure? It was him or her who had sent Roland here?" Charming asked.

Regina shrugged. "Maybe. It was most likely so but unless we can determine the identity of the hooded figure, it's unlikely we find out who was behind this," her eyes hardened. When she found out who erased Roland's memories, she was going to make them pay.

"Can you do that?" Robin questioned, his eyes darting over the small figures drawing on the ground.

"Not without magic. And even if I had my powers back I need ingredients to create a memory potion. Which are all back at my castle, of course that's if they aren't destroyed yet," Regina shot Snow and Charming a hateful glare.

Snow swallowed. "Nope. They're still there. All your stuff. The room's just locked up,"

Regina was silent, her gaze burning holes into Snow's head. Finally she looked away. "Good. When we get back, I shall get to making a memory potion for your son. Now if you will excuse me," she gave Robin a stiff nod and rose from her seat, ignoring the Charmings.

Regina didn't know what to make of the fact that Snow had not ordered for her possessions to be torched. Part of her felt relieved. She had wondered what became of her magical items after she was banished. Most of them were rare and hard to obtain. A greater part of her wanted to strangle the princess. Why did she even bothered keeping her stuff? If she was Snow, she would have long torched the whole room into ashes. Plus she still knew no matter what Snow done, she would not be able to forgive her for what she had done to Daniel. Her heart clenched uncontrollably. No. Nothing Snow did would ever make up for her sins. Nothing short of her head on a platter. Once this useless trip was over, Regina was going to kill Snow White. Yes she was. She inhaled deeply, trying to calm down. She wasn't going to kill Snow now. But after they got rid of the green witch, she was going to go start plotting to get back her throne. Her rightful throne. She was so caught up in pacing back and forth that she failed to notice Robin until it was too late. As she took another furious step forward, kicking the dusty ground beneath her feet, she was unable to legs from giving way as she slammed into something hard.

Bracing herself for the impact of the fall, Regina was shocked to find to strong arms reach out to grab her waist and pull her up before she could hit the ground. Blinking in surprise, she glanced up and looked into a pair of bright blue eyes.

"Apologies milady, I had not meant to startle you," Robin grinned, letting go after he stabilized Regina.

"I never get startled. You just weren't watching where you were going," Regina sniffed.

Robin's smile widened. Regina found herself staring as the dent in his cheeks grew more and more prominent. "Perhaps I was indeed distracted," he gave her a small shrug.

Regina felt her mouth turn dry. What on earth was Robin doing? She blinked a few times before collecting her jumbled train of thoughts. She was the queen. And she would act like one, not some lovesick farm girl. Moreover she didn't believe someone like her would ever get the chance to love again, regardless of what Snow said. Raising her head haughtily, she replied, "Well be more alert next time. You're lucky I didn't turn you into a bug,"

"A bug? And pray tell how would you do that without your magic?" Robin cocked his head to one side, studying her intently. "You really do rely a lot on magic don't you?"

Regina wanted to squirm under his burning gaze but instead forced herself to stand even straighter. She was sure her back was going to break into two any moment now. "If it was anyone else, I would have really turned him or her into a bug to be squashed," Regina huffed. But Robin was anyone else. He was... her friend. So she continued, "magic is power. The more magic you know, the more power you wield,"

"That isn't true. You don't need magic to be powerful," Then Robin frowned. "You mentioned if it was anyone else you would have turned him or her into a bug... so what am I to you?"

Regina looked away from his gaze. Not before she had caught a glimpse of hope shining in his eyes. What kind of answer was he expecting her to give him?" Surely not... "I guess you're a friend? Wasn't that what you wanted in the first place?" She blurted out before her mind could wander to other places.

Robin took a step closer to her and his eyes flickered over her face before he took a deep breath. "What if I want to be more than just friends?"

Regina froze. Was he implying... Did Robin... Oh god. He really did mean it, Regina saw the truth reflected in his eyes. "I..." She kept silent for a long time before finally exhaling and forcing herself to look into Robin's eyes. "Then I would call you a fool,"

Robin didn't bother to hide the disappointment in his eyes. "Why? Don't you feel it? This connection we have? Because I do and..."

Regina interrupted him angrily before he could finish. "Exactly. You do. I don't. There is no such connection between us!"

"That's not true. You can sense it too. You're just too afraid to admit it. For god's sake, we even kissed!" Robin eyes flashed. The queen was so stubborn at times.

Regina stiffened as memories of what had just taken place invaded her mind. "I do not know what you are talking about. Just leave me alone for a moment will you?" She glared at the archer.

They stared at each other, each unwilling to be the first to break eye contact. Why did he have to complicate things? Regina lashed out internally. They were already friends. Why did he have to take things one step further? Of course Regina had an inking of what connection he was talking about. The stupid tingle that shot through her body each time the archer was near. But that didn't mean anything. Plus why would Robin even want to take things a step further? He was already her friend, which was bad enough. Why would someone like him want to be more than friends with the evil queen? More than friends... What did that even mean? Do not even go in there, she berated herself. Yet a tiny part of her yearned to find out what that was.

Finally Robin sighed. "Look I just came to return you your heart. I just thought... well... I know you might not want to hear this... but I am quite attracted to you. Not just because you're the queen or anything, but also because I've seen who you are underneath the whole elaborate costumes and glamour. Plus I've also noticed how Roland trusts you. I know you think you're the evil queen and all but I've met Regina too," Robin's blue eyes were sincere. "I really hope to get to know her better... in a romantic way, if you get what I'm saying..." He trailed off awkwardly before digging into the pouch tied to his waist and held out a lump to Regina.

It took her a moment to recognize that the lump was her heart as her mind was still reeling from Robin's admission. Sucking in a shaky breath, she reached forward and took the beating organ from his hands, noticing how quickly it was pulsing in her hands. She glanced up sharply. Had Robin noticed that too? If he did, he definitely gave no indication whatsoever. Gosh, she felt... angry? Confused? She didn't even know what she was feeling right now. Unable to come up with a reply, she did not even bother to prepare herself before plunging the pulsating organ into her chest, welcoming the acute pain that shot through her body. Anything to distract her from her messed up thoughts right now.

The high pitched giggle that reverberated through the forest was enough to make her and Robin freeze in shock before they both whipped into action, Robin notching an arrow immediately. She hadn't even noticed he brought his bow along. Willing herself to focus, she waved her hand, expecting to see the familiar ball of fire blazing in her hand. Dang. Her magic was still not back. She could only purse her lips and narrow her eyes as she scanned the vicinity.

"Show yourself!" Robin growled, his muscles tense. The Charmings and Roland were just a few meters away. Was there enough time to shout a warning to them? Or would that just draw more attention to the trio? Robin cursed at his lousy luck. They always got interrupted whenever it was just him and Regina having a discussion alone.

"Don't bother," Regina clenched her fists. Of all the rotten timings, why did her magic have to fail her now? Especially when she knew her foe was someone whom they would stand no chance against without magic. She had recognized that giggle instantly. "Rumplestilskin, what a surprise," she drawled out bitterly.

Another giggle sounded before the air around them swirled into a mist before the dark one emerged, giving a small bow at the stunned archer and the furious queen. "What a coincidence, this must be my lucky day, meeting the evil queen and the outlaw while they venture valiantly into the infinite forest," Rumple smirked. He had not expected the queen to have agreed to help Snow White, and he definitely didn't think the archer would be willing to venture into the infinite forest ever again. But then again, his life was so full of surprises now, starting from when Zelena had managed to even obtain his dagger. And look at him now, he was nothing but a common pet forced to obey his master's every command.

"Pleasure's all yours," Robin all but spat out. "What do you want?" His arrow was aimed right at Rumple's chest.

Rumple let put another shrill titter. "You and I both know that arrow's not going to do me any damage. The only way you even stand a chance against me is if you actually use your powers, which of course, you are so adamant not to do so,"

"That's enough, Rumple. Why are you here? I thought you were too busy being a slave to a certain green freak to pay your social calls. Or did the witch send you?" Regina snarled, her patience dangling on the edge of a thin thread.

The dark one narrowed his eyes. "Zelena would not be happy to hear that you called her a green freak... I would watch what I say if I were you dearie,"

Regina let out a snort, "yea right, Zelena can go rot in hell," then her gaze softened, just a little, "how on earth did she even manage to get her hands on your dagger?"

"I was careless," the dark one's eyes turned a shade darker, almost turning black, before a calculative gleam appeared, "but don't you worry about me. You're going to have other things to fear soon, things like what's going to happen when you bring a little boy into the nightmare cave,"

So he knew about Roland, Regina kept her face devoid of any emotions, even though her insides turned into liquid at the thought of little Roland being placed in more danger. "So it was you? You were the hooded figure who took the boy out of Neverland?"

Rumple frowned, something akin to curiosity flashing in his eyes. "Hooded figure?"

"If it wasn't you then who was it who wiped away my son's memories of me?" Robin glared bitterly at the dark one.

"You have a weird way of expressing you gratitude, especially towards the person who got you out of the desert unscathed," Rumple sneered, "As for the hooded figure, I..." Before he could complete his sentence, his face crumpled in agony and he dropped to one knee, his hands flying up to clutch his head. Gasping for air, he finally got back up. Regina felt a shiver go through her as she was the look of utter hatred and anger on her former mentor's face. "Well it seems I have wasted too much time chit chatting. Zelena would like me to pass you something," Rumple curved his lips in disdain before procuring a brown leather book out of thin air.

Regina recognised it immediately. "My mother's spell book,"

"Yes indeed dearie, you see, Zelena would like to offer this to you as a gift. A sign of friendship you could call it. You and I can leave this place right now, as long as you don't interfere with her plans and in return she will allow you to kill Snow White and give you dictatorship over some parts of the kingdom,"

Regina froze. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. You don't interfere with her plans, you get to leave this place now and even get to achieve your lifelong dream of killing the princess. So what do you say your majesty? Do we have a deal?"

A/N: GASP**** So what will Regina's decision be? I hope this was enough to satisfy you guys so far! Hopefully I can get the next chapter up soon and till then, don't forget to leave a review if you want, it would really make me so happy :)