Cora and Liv continued across the land at a gallop for a while. Neither was really sure how much time had passed, but finally they spotted a building in the distance and Cora indicated that they should make for it. Liv nodded eagerly, starting to feel a burn in her legs and soreness in her butt from being in the saddle for so long.

Cora told her to slow to a canter, before gradually transitioning into a trot and finally into a walk. The woman rubbed her steed's neck lovingly, causing Liv to raise an eyebrow at the soft smile on her face as she muttered to her horse. With more confidence than she thought she'd ever possess when it came to horses, Liv patted her own horse's neck, rubbing the hot flesh beneath her hand affectionately.

Dismounting – Liv stumbling as her boots hit the firm ground and suddenly feeling as though her legs had been turned to jelly – the women led their horses towards the building. Cora motioned for the teenager to tether her grey horse to the post beside the bay, before striding confidently to the door and knocking. Hurrying behind her, Liv shifted from foot to foot as they waited for someone to acknowledge their presence. Not moving her gaze from the door, Cora waved a hand and the riding outfits were gone and both women were wearing their dresses once more, causing the teenager to growl in irritation.

"What–?" The man who'd thrown open the door with a scowl on his faze froze at once as his eyes landed on the woman in his doorway. Fear flashed instantly in his eyes and he gulped. Liv was sure she recognised him from Storybrooke, but she couldn't remember who he was. His eyes, however, were glued to Cora's face. "Err… how… you're…"

"Good evening." Cora began haughtily. "My granddaughter and I require beds for the night."

"Of… of course…"

He stood aside at once, motioning them into his home with a nervous twitch which was evidently supposed to be a bow. Liv frowned at her grandmother as Cora swept past him, her eyes disdainfully taking in the simple room. She stood in the centre, folding her arms and surveying the man's family carefully.

"Our horses will require food and water. If you could–"

"Of course." The man repeated again, nodding and escaping from the house to deal with the animals.

"Are you hungry, your Highness?" The thin woman beside the fire asked quickly, her eyes downcast. "We have stew… it's not much I'm afraid, but–"

"No." Cora almost snapped, waving her hand towards the rough wooden table.

A roast chicken appeared in the centre, plates of vegetables, bread and other delicacies materialising around it. At once the woman and her children's eyes widened and they almost visibly started salivating at the sight of such mouth-watering treats. Liv eyed her grandmother warily, wondering whether she had any intention of sharing with them. As Cora took a seat at the table, wafting disdainfully at invisible dirt on the chair beneath her, the teenager guessed she wasn't about to extend an invitation to the family.

"Help yourselves." Liv told them firmly. Cora's eyes snapped up to meet hers and she frowned. Similarly, the woman still hovering by the fire stared at the teenager as though she thought she was teasing her. "There's far more than we can eat here, so tuck in."

Apparently not needing any more encouragement, the five small children fell on the food as though they hadn't eaten in a week. An expression of horror mingled with disgust appeared on Cora's face as one of the small boys climbed into the chair beside hers and stuffed a chunk of bread into his mouth. Liv snorted at her grandmother's discomfort as she was suddenly surrounded by the dirty, starving children.

The meal passed slowly and awkwardly. Liv attempted to make small talk with the woman – who she was still trying to place – but Cora's resolute silence caused her to stare down at her plate and only give short answers, refusing to be drawn into conversation. Even the children didn't seem to want to talk to her. In the end, Liv gave up and ate her meal in silence.

"I think we should retire." The older woman announced once she had eaten enough. "We have an early start in the morning."

"I'll show you to our room, your Highness." The thin woman said at once, almost leaping from her seat. "I beg your forgiveness that it won't anywhere near the standard that you're used to, but–"

"Don't worry about it." Liv assured her gently. "I'm sure it's better than some of the places I've slept."

When their host smiled gratefully, Cora snorted and folded her arms. Immediately the woman lowered her gaze once more and led them through the only door leading off the living space. Inside was a large wooden cot, several blankets thrown haphazardly over it.

"It will do." Cora sniffed disdainfully. "Where will my granddaughter sleep?"

"Uhh… my husband and I sleep in a small cot in the other room. Princess Olivia is more than welcome to–"

"No!" Liv shook her head. "My grandmother and I can share that. You, your husband and your children have more chance of fitting in this one."

Cora turned furious eyes on her. "What?"

"And forget the 'Princess'. I'm just Liv." The teenager continued with a warm smile, completely ignoring the older woman's angry hiss.

As the two royals tried to settle themselves in the hard, wooden cot and put as much distance between them as was possible in the narrow space, Cora huffed angrily. She deliberately kicked out with her heel, catching the teenager on the ankle and smirking at the hiss of pain elicited.

"We are royalty, Liv." She whispered harshly into the silence. "These people serve us and, as such, they expect to be treated a certain way."

"Why?"

"It's how it is here. You're not from this world; you don't understand."

"No, I understand that these are people, Cora. They deserve to be treated as people. We're not better than them just because you've got fancy clothes or my Mom is the Queen. Anyway, you're not royalty; you're just the Queen's mother. I am royalty, so technically what I say overrules what you say. And I say we're no better than them." From the tense silence beside her, the teenager guessed that perhaps she'd gone too far. Closing her eyes she chewed the inside of her lip nervously. "Look… Nan… I'm sorry, OK. I know you know more about this place than I do. But I know more about being one of the 'little people' than you do."

Cora snorted. "I doubt that, my darling."

"Sixteen years in the foster system, over a year sleeping wherever I could and doing whatever I could to survive and then… then Storybrooke. I think I probably do."

"Until I married Regina's father I was the miller's daughter." Her grandmother admitted in such a quiet voice that Liv thought she'd misheard. "Always bowing before them, being made to feel worthless; a nobody. And then I got my…"

"Revenge?"

"For once I was looking down. I was the one with the power."

Liv felt tears springing unbidden to her eyes. She felt terrible that, while she'd been adamant that people should see beyond her mother's 'Evil Queen' title, she'd never thought to do the same for her grandmother. "I'm sorry."

There was a long silence and then the teenager felt long, cold fingers close around hers. Cora didn't say anything and neither did Liv. Instead they both lay in the darkness until sleep overcame them and pulled the pair into its comforting embrace.


Regina made her way through the palace in the direction of the kitchens. In all the years she had lived there before the curse she had never had reason to visit them before and even now she wasn't entirely sure where she was supposed to be going. But Henry was hungry and she had promised to see if there was anything at all that could be salvaged, although she highly doubted it. Failing that, she wanted to be alone to attempt to conjure something edible, just in case it went very wrong. Not that she would allow Emma or Henry to eat anything she did conjure until she'd checked it herself. It would be just her luck that she'd end up poisoning them.

"Gi?" Emma poked her head around the heavy wooden door as the brunette was hunting around in a cupboard, causing the brunette to smack her head and groan loudly. "What are you doing?"

"Our son is starving, apparently." Regina informed her with a sigh. "It was a long shot, but I was hoping that there was something salvageable here so that I wouldn't have to…"

"To what?"

"To use magic."

"Why?" Emma frowned. "Henry doesn't mind as long as you're not using it to hurt people."

The brunette shook her head. "But… I can't guarantee that I wouldn't hurt you. You saw how unreliable my magic is at the moment. What if…"

"You're worried you're going to… what? Poison us?" Regina didn't reply, but she neither did she have to. Emma knew what she was thinking. "That's stupid, Gina."

"Is it?"

"Yeah, it is. So what? You can't transport us across a land? You managed to dress yourself in that super-hot outfit – which I am seriously looking forward to removing later, by the way – and, really, how much more difficult can conjuring a simple dinner be? We don't need a feast, babe. Sandwiches are fine." Emma sighed and then winked. "But if you really don't feel up to it I can always go and look for something to eat. I'm sure there must be some non-poisonous berries and mushrooms around here, right?"

Arching an eyebrow, Regina considered the likelihood of surviving a meal gathered from the woods by her girlfriend, weighing it against her insecurities about conjuring a simple meal. Then she sighed and waved her hand over the counter in the centre of the huge, stone kitchen. Three plates appeared, each with a sandwich, salad and chips on them. Emma grinned and lifted the bread on each of the sandwiches, working out what was in them; chicken salad for Regina, grilled cheese for Emma and peanut butter and jelly for Henry.

"See? You're awesome!" The blonde beamed, leaning over to kiss her girlfriend quickly, before scooping up two of the plates and waiting for Regina to follow her out of the room.

Henry had made himself comfortable in the dining room where they'd left him. Regina's eyebrow rose, apparently of its own accord, as she spotted him at the head of the table in the chair that had been hers since she became the sole ruler of the Kingdom. Seeing his mother's expression, he grinned cheekily at her.

"Hey, I'm the man of the house… palace… so I guess this is my chair."

"Dream on, kid." Emma told him, putting her plate to the right of the seat he was in and his opposite. "That's your Mom's chair."

When Henry made no move to swap seats, she placed a hand on his back and shoved. The boy tumbled to the ground, pouting. Neither of his mothers said anything, merely taking their places and starting to eat – Regina relieved that she hadn't managed to mess up the spell – so he dusted himself off and followed suit. After a couple of bites, Henry seemed to have completely forgotten his unceremonious tumble onto the flagstone floor and was chattering happily about what they would do the next day.

Emma and Regina listened in silence, exchanging glances every now and then. Neither wanted to burst the bubble of his childlike overexcitement but they knew that it was highly likely that they would hear back from Emma's parents, if not Cora and Liv, the next day. What they did next depended heavily on what news they received from the White Kingdom.

"Mom?"

Regina glanced up in confusion as Henry attempted to attract her attention. "Hmm? Sorry, dear. What were you saying?"

"How long will it take the birds to get to Grandma and Gramps and Nana and Liv?"

"I should think they've already arrived." His mother speculated. "I wouldn't be surprised if we heard from your Grandparents tomorrow."

The hope that they would hear from them at all hung unsaid in the air between them. It hadn't occurred to Regina that, if everyone had been returned to the Enchanted Forest along with them, the palace shouldn't be deserted, apart from the three of them, until not long before Henry had announced he was hungry. Until then, she had blindly assumed that everyone had been transported. Now she was starting to doubt that theory.

Apparently the same thought had occurred to Emma, who shot her a questioning look. The blonde was unable to stop a large yawn that betrayed how tired she was and Regina smiled fondly. They had been ripped from their beds in the middle of the night, transported between realms and spent the day exploring the Dark Palace. It was no wonder the younger woman looked exhausted. Turning her gaze on their son, she saw that he, too, was struggling to stay awake.

Waving a hand over the table, their plates and glasses vanished at once, eliminating the need to do any washing up. "I think an early night is in order." She suggested, looking between Emma and Henry with a smile. "We've all had a strange day and, if I'm not very much mistaken, tomorrow may prove even more tiring."

"But I want–" The boy started, opening his eyes to make it look as though he was wide awake.

"The Palace will still be here tomorrow, dear–"

"Sadly…" Emma sighed, already missing the technology and everyday conveniences that she had taken for granted.

"–so I suggest we leave any more questions and exploring until we've all had a good night's sleep." Regina continued, ignoring the interruption.

With an exaggerated sigh, Henry nodded and rushed to the door, waiting for his mothers to join him. They wandered behind the boy swinging their conjoined hands between them slightly as they watched him opening doors in search of a chamber he could claim as his own.

"This one." Regina suggested at last, opening a door and ushering him inside.

Henry grinned as he looked around. A large fireplace took over most of one wall, while a huge four-poster bed took up the wall opposite. A window in the wall opposite the door looked out onto the grassy slope down to the stables and various bits of dark wooden furniture were scattered around. The boy took it in with a broad smile, before turning to his mother and nodding.

"It's awesome! It's like something out of a movie about knights and stuff."

Emma rolled her eyes. "This isn't a movie, kid. You're living the real deal."

"If there's anything you want, Henry, let me know." His brunette mother said softly. "I'll try and conjure it for you."

"Thanks, Mom." He smiled, before hugging her tightly. Then he hugged Emma. "I love you guys."

They smiled, each returning the sentiment and taking it in turns to press a kiss to the top of his head. As they retreated, closing the door behind them, Regina concentrated all her efforts on placing a protection charm on the room. Seeing Emma looking at her curiously, she sent her a small smile.

"It'll alert me if anyone goes in or out." She informed the blonde. "I don't think there's anyone here, but short of having him sleeping in with us, it's the best protection I can give him at the moment."

"Will it… I mean… you know your magic is kinda screwy at the moment…"

Regina smirked and inclined her head towards the door. "Try it."

Uncertainly, Emma took a step forward, her eyes fixed on her girlfriend as she reached for the handle. Turning it and pushing the door open, she jumped as a spasm ripped through Regina as though she'd received a particularly nasty electric shock.

"I'd say it was working, dear." The brunette gasped, running a hand down her abdomen as though soothing herself. "Goodnight, Henry."

There was a muffled response from inside the room as Emma pulled the door closed. She smiled and reached for Regina's hand, allowing the brunette to push her through the door into the chamber beside the one Henry had taken and press her against the wall. Emma barely had time to appreciate the lavishness of the room that had obviously belonged to Regina all those years ago, before her girlfriend was kissing her hungrily and pulling her towards the bed.


Mary Margaret, or Snow as she had decided to go back to being called now that they were in the Enchanted Forest, couldn't quite decide how she felt about being back in the castle that had been her home before the curse hit. It was full of memories and it was the place her daughter had been born but, ignoring the fact that it was largely in ruins, the castle had none of the comforts that she had grown so accustomed to in Storybrooke.

Leaving her husband enthusiastically overseeing the details of what needed to be done to repair the damage, the Queen wandered through the stone corridors until she reached the courtyard. She smiled and acknowledged the greetings that were sent her way as she passed by her subjects, searching for the faces that she most wanted to see. Snow had, perhaps naively, assumed that Emma would have been transported back to the castle where she'd spent the first few minutes of her life. There had been no sign of her all day, however, so it seemed as though she was with her own family, presumably at Regina's Palace. At least the raven-haired Queen hoped they were all together.

Snow sighed as she reached a fence that separated the castle gardens from the woods beyond. She was staring, without seeing anything, into the trees when a large shadow swept across the ground in front of her and a sudden thud caused the rickety fence to sway alarmingly. Looking for the cause of the movement, Snow's eyes fell on a large bird watching her intently.

The bird held out its leg, displaying a rolled up scrap of paper attached with a leather cord. Snatching it up, the woman eagerly unrolled it to read the words written in familiar writing. Regina had sent them a message and Snow was relieved to read that Emma and Henry were safe with her at the Dark Palace. She was worried, however, when Regina's note asked whether Liv and Cora were with her and Charming.

Holding her arm out for the bird, who hopped onto it at once, the Queen strode back to the castle in a hurry to write a reply. Then she planned to send out a search party to track down her granddaughter and bring her back to safety. The idea that Liv was alone out there somewhere with no one but Cora for company didn't exactly fill her with joy, especially if the problems Regina was having with her magic weren't exclusive to her. Who knew what trouble the pair would get themselves into?


Regina was just on the verge of falling asleep when what felt like a hundred volts of pure electricity shot through her. She gasped, sitting bolt upright and looking around her in a panic. Realising what the warning meant, she shot out of bed, conjuring a robe to cover herself without thinking and ran for the door. Emma blinked blearily at her for a moment, before guessing what her girlfriend's behaviour meant. In seconds she was on Regina's heels, the bed sheets wrapped securely around her body.

Bursting through the doors into Henry's bedchamber, the brunette felt magic crackling through her body as her eyes fell on a cloaked figure standing in the middle of the room. She raised her arm, fully intending to send a ball of fire towards the person who posed a threat to her son. Before she remembered that she was unable to conjure flames at the moment, the figure vanished.

"Henry? Kid?" Emma leapt towards the bed, shaking her son awake in a panic.

Just before the boy opened his eyes, Regina came to her senses and waved a hand in the blonde's direction. At once the bed sheet was replaced by her usual night attire and Henry was no longer at risk of being scarred by seeing his mother's naked body.

"Ma?" He mumbled sleepily, rubbing his eyes. "Mom? What's going on?"

"You're sleeping in with us." Regina told him firmly. "It's not safe for you to be on your own."

"What? Mom, I'm twelve. I'm not sharing a room with you two."

"This isn't up for discussion, Henry."

Emma squeezed his shoulder. "She's right, kid. It's not safe."

"What happened to suddenly make you change your minds?" He demanded, looking between them.

Both women clenched their jaws. Regina decided that telling him the truth was the best option. "There was someone in here. I put a spell on your room so that I'd know if anyone came in or went out. When Emma and I came in there was someone standing here."

Henry looked terrified. His mother sighed. She hadn't intended that, but he needed to know that this place was dangerous; it wasn't all Princes and Princesses and Knights like he seemed to think.

"Who was it? What did they want?"

"I don't know, sweetheart." Regina admitted, moving to stand beside Emma at his bedside. "But we won't let anything happen to you. I promise."