13 hours

They opened the castle for everyone as planned despite Regina's "they can't all stay here forever!" remarks. "Well, we can't leave them out their to fend for themselves after everything that's happened. We'll figure it out, take it slow, come up with a plan," Snow White commented, ever the optimist. Robin Hood left shortly after their arrival to locate the horses that had run off, and tell those that remained at the camp that it was over and they could seek shelter in the Queen's Palace. He promised he'd be back the next morning. The dwarves immediately vowed to take their places atop the castles' towers and keep watch. "Just in case the witch comes back!" Grumpy informed them.

"She won't if she's smart," the Queen growled with pride.

"Regina what happened?" Snow demanded as they followed her into the castle. She swayed as she and Neal followed after the royal family. How long had she been up now? How much had she been through since she woke up that morning in his arms?

"I ran into unexpected complications," Regina stated, opening the doors and leading them into what appeared to be a long banquet hall. Strange. She'd grown up in this kind of life. Large rooms, fine furnishings, cold castles. Then she'd worked in Rumpelstiltskin's castle and she'd never once felt that about it. Maybe because of the darkness, maybe because they were alone, maybe because it was dusty and they only used a handful of rooms…but his castle never made her half as uncomfortable as this one did, as the memories of her time in her father's palace did after what he'd tried to do to her.

"Complications?" Snow questioned. "What kind of complications? The Wicked Witch left quickly enough-"

"Zelena!" Regina snapped, pulling out a chair and collapsing down into it in a heap.

"What?" David asked, watching her, his hand on the hilt of his sword as if he couldn't decide whether or not he trusted Regina's state of mind at the moment. She could understand that feeling. That smile she'd seen outside still made her feel uneasy and the fact that she was back in this place, the castle that had once served as her prison, she imagined that didn't help her feeling as well.

"Her name…" Regina explained in a harsh tone, "it's Zelena."

"You know her?!" Snow exclaimed.

"No! I already told you that!" she shouted at the pair. She wrapped her hand around Neal's arm and squeezed. He glanced at her and she understood perfectly. He was still there for her, but he wanted to remain quiet. Right now they were acting as though they didn't notice them in the room and Neal wanted to keep it that way. She had to admit, that after all the times she felt like she'd been the last one to understand what the Charmings or Emma or anyone was really up to, she agreed with him. The last thing they needed was for the Charmings to kick them out before they heard what had happened. The two of them didn't have a plan yet, but befriending the Charmings would be instrumental in creating one if they were really going to give them trouble as Neal feared. Besides, information, no matter how it was acquired was always a good thing to have.

"So what happened? You met in the castle, politely introduced yourself to the Wicked Witch, she apologized and left just like that?" David questioned sarcastically.

"No of course not!" she snapped standing up again and beginning a walk around the table. "It was a…less than enjoyable confrontation."

Keeping quiet was difficult. She knew tactics like that, the ones that consisted of carefully chosen words and avoidance. If it was Rumpelstiltskin she would have stared him down, continued asking questions, pressing until he finally told her. But Regina?! She hadn't a clue how to deal with Regina. And the fact that the shackles that once held her prisoner were somewhere upstairs only make her shrink closer to Neal. She hoped she didn't have to stay in this castle long. She didn't think she could bear it.

"Regina, the only way this works, you with us, is if there is no more 'you' and 'us'," Snow pointed out. "We have to be together in this, it'll take the three of us to put the Enchanted Forest back together and if the Wicked Witch of the West is here, if she poses a threat you need to tell us!" she begged gently, striding toward her and turning her with a touch to her shoulder. "Please, tell us!"

Regina stared at Snow White, before her eyes glanced over to her and Neal, casting them a brief glance. "Do you two really need to be here?" she asked.

"Either we're in this together or we're not," Neal stated, "right?"

Regina squared her jaw and stared at the two of them. She waited, hoped that David or Snow would say he was right, that they had just as much right to be here as they did, but they didn't and she supposed the silence answered Neal's question and confirmed what she'd believed since they'd first talked on the road this morning. They really were on their own.

"Regina," Snow breathed after a moment, looking back at her. "Please, what are we up against?! We can't fight back if we don't know!"

"My sister!" Regina answered, angrily pulling away from Snow's grasp and leaving the couple to look at each other as the Queen paced the room like a tiger in a cage.

"Your sister?" Snow questioned. "But…but you're an only child!"

"Well apparently not!"

"Wait," David burst out. "The Wicked Witch told you this? What makes you think you can trust anything she says?"

"It's not what she said that proves it, it's what she did." She bit her tongue as she watched their interaction with Neal by her side. She was tired of the run around she was giving them, all she wanted was to just hear the story! But she was afraid if she opened her mouth she and Neal would be asked to leave. She didn't want that.

"Alright," David prodded, "what did she do?"

Regina stopped pacing and placed her hands on her hips as she stared at them, glared really. She didn't want to say it, she wasn't used to divulging precious secrets especially not to people she'd once considered enemies. But she understood, clearly, that she couldn't do that anymore. "Before the curse hit, I placed a blood lock on my parent's crypt. No one but me or one of my blood relatives should be able to break it…she did."

"How?" David asked.

"Because she's related! My sister! My mother, Cora, had her before I was born, before she was royalty. She sent her away to Oz!"

"And you're sure Cora never said anything about her?" David clarified.

Regina snorted at him, as if she was insulted at the very suggestion that she would ever forget such a thing. "I think I would remember if my mother ever told me she had a love child with a scarecrow."

"Regina this might come as a shock to you but sarcasm isn't going to help right now!" David shouted, finally losing his temper. "Think! Is there any reason, other than a bit of magic to prove that she's your sister?!"

"Why was she here? Regina, what did she want?!" Snow prodded further.

Regina's jaw tightened. "Everything!" she stated through a clenched jaw. "But she won't get it, she can't. Henry is safe in another realm and as long as he remains that way then she can't possibly win! I've gone up against worse than a magic diva with an unfortunate skin condition. She's just another witch-it's nothing to worry about," she assured them with anger in her voice. "If she shows her face again I'll take care of her!" and with that Regina made long heavy strides toward the door. She knew she meant to look confident, but it had the opposite effect. She was running.

"Regina, we're not done!"

"Enough with the Spanish inquisition!" she snapped at David.

"Regina wait," Snow tried in a gentler tone. "Where are you going?"

"Our things returned with us…there's something of my mother's I need to look at again," she explained leaving the room.

"Regina!"

"David!" Snow muttered placing a cooling hand on her husband's arm and stopping him before he could take off after Regina. "Maybe…maybe she needs a little time…and rest. We're all tired. It's been a long time since any of us had any real sleep. The witch is gone for now, the dwarves are keeping watch, let's get everyone to bed, let Regina have some space, and tomorrow we can talk about it again, once we're well rested and have our bearings back. It's been…it's been a very long day."

David glanced at her, then toward the door that Regina had left through. He stared at it with anger, almost willing her to come back and answer the questions he asked to satisfaction. But, after a moment of prolonged silence, he glanced back down at Snow White. "Alright!" he conceded. "We'll let her sleep on it, but we can't just let Regina run wild, not anymore, not like last time."

"She won't, David. I know she won't! We can do this. We can keep this together we just…we just need to take this one step at a time. We aren't the only ones who lost someone we loved this morning. Regina lost Henry and-"

Neal chose that precise moment to clear his throat loudly and as they turned to stare at the pair of them she felt something swell in her chest so big she worried her heart might explode on the spot. Sorrow. Anger. Pain.

They weren't the only ones to lose someone. They weren't the only ones to lose someone?! As far as she was concerned they hadn't truly lost anyone! She understood, she had sympathy for them, really she did! They'd lost Emma, Regina would never see Henry again…but at least they knew the pair of them were alive! At least they knew they were safe! And happy and healthy! But Rumple was…

She was alone.

She felt alone as her hand slipped from Neal's arm and she turned to leave the room, their horrified eyes and guilty faces too much for her to handle if she intended to keep her flicker of hope alive.

It wasn't her imagination, they'd forgotten she was there, and they knew it.

If she didn't get away from them, if something didn't change, with this empty feeling she felt from her soul…she might just forget she was there too.

So, two things. 1) Because the curse erased everyone's memories there is going to be some copying going on, certain conversations and lines I'm going to take right from the Storybrooke conversations because they fit and we already know that they are in character. Plus, it adds a certain amount of irony. Am I right? 2) Where is Regina going right now? ANyone guess? I imagine she is taking time to go after that letter of her mothers to reread it, also copying what she did in Storybrooke. Or...food for thought...but is Storybrooke copying the Enchanted Forest?! Yeah...totally went there.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to Meredith Pechta, Raizen Yusuke, Kathryn Claire O'Conner, Deweymay, and Skitzoeinhoven for your thoughts from the last chapter. I'm glad that everyone is all for the sibbling relationship. And remember, just like I said before, it's only one layer. They will grow into more than that. But for now, that is where I wanted to start them! Peace and Happy Reading!