Chapter 12
New Year Eve's party was considerably smaller —just the Locksleys and the Mills women. Only a remarkable thing happened, Zelena supposed, although her only reaction to it was to roll her eyes when she found Robin in the kitchen the next morning. Regina's love life was not really her current concern.
Days passed and nothing really happened. Some weeks later, it snowed again enough for Zelena to see the ground covered when she woke up. It was a usual morning. Henry was with Emma, so she and Regina had breakfast together before the latter went to work.
They had had no more emotional conversations lately. Zelena had clearly been the most uncomfortable of the two after it —she would not admit it, but if the occasion arose, she would strongly avoid it. Regina did not encourage it, but she did not seem to mind talking. It seemed so out of character for her and yet, so natural.
She could hardly believe she had spent months thinking Regina would kill her at the slightest chance. She could not believe her sister would sit with her and chat about feelings, either. Still, the latter was actually happening, so there was no point in denying it.
She had been thoroughly wrong about everything when she first set foot in there. Not only had she been sceptical about that second chance —she was still wrapping her head around it... but more because of herself than her sister. She had even had serious doubts about what role Henry exactly played. She had not thought it possible that Regina's feelings could be genuine. What a fool she had been.
Zelena had always scorned at the Evil Queen's power, believing her half-sister to be another spoiled royal. Yet, it was now that she could see Regina's real strength.
She sighed, lazily sliding her finger across the misted up window glass. Nothing like taking a hot shower to make one think.
The snowed ground looked beautiful from her window. It had not snowed so much since Christmas and then, it had been a busy time. But Regina had told her she and Henry used to make snowmen when he was younger on days like that, so maybe if it kept snowing, the boy would soon be down there shattering the smooth snow layer with his games.
The redhead had not experienced snow until she came to Storybrooke. If there had been any in Oz, it had not been anywhere she had been. She longed to touch it again —a childish desire she would only indulge when she was alone, although now she could only indulge the thought of it. Still, she opened the window and was content for a moment when the chilly wind blew through.
It started to snow again and Zelena could not help reaching out, even though she knew Regina's spell would not let her fingertips touch the falling flakes. Nevertheless, the barrier never stopped her and she drew her hand back startled when it became cold and wet at the contact with snow.
She could swear she had done nothing. Tentatively, she stretched out her hand again, but when the cold bit it that time, she did not take it back. After a moment of utter confusion, she got up from her window bench and closed the window. Then, she stood in the middle of her bedroom, not a clue about what to do next.
Should she call Regina? Why, though? It was not as if someone was going to choose that precise moment to break in. And she was not going to escape, for where would she go in the snow? She would just have to patiently wait for her sister while she paced the house up and down.
Regina was not the first to arrive, though. Henry and Roland were, accompanied by Robin.
"Hi, Aunt Zelena!" Henry greeted her happily as she tried to conceal her anxiety behind a smile —it was something to talk about only to the brunette.
"We're gonna make a snowman in the backyard!" exclaimed Roland, matching Henry's enthusiasm.
"I'll be going to Emma's in a short while," he told her as they went to the back door. "But I found Robin and Roland in my way there and couldn't help coming here with them, so we can make a snowman to greet mom when she gets home."
"That's really sweet of you," she replied.
Zelena stopped in the kitchen as they went outside. However, Roland noticed and turned back.
"Aren't you coming?"
If he knew about Zelena not being allowed to leave the house, he had obviously not considered it was extended to the backyard.
The redhead hesitated to reply. Robin looked at her worriedly, but her gaze crossed with Henry's. It looked like he was already working on an excuse, so she hurried to step in.
"Someone has to make hot cocoa, don't they?"
Roland accepted that happily and Zelena rolled her eyes at the clear relief on the others' faces. She had no idea why they all —including her, apparently— were hiding it from the child.
Regina arrived just a few minutes later, but Zelena was not in the mood to postpone their conversation and barely let her greet the others.
"Should we be giving cocoa to the children before dinner?" the brunette asked innocently, entering the kitchen.
"I don't think Henry's having dinner here," Zelena replied curtly, turning to face her.
"Not the point."
Whatever Regina was going to say next, the redhead spoke first.
"I need to talk to you."
The mayor was slightly taken aback by the seriousness in her voice, but after a longing glance at the back door, she nodded and they both went out to the corridor.
"So, what's the matter?"
Zelena fidgeted for some moments, not knowing very well how to put it in words.
"There's no protection spell," she finally blurted out.
"What? Oh, I see. I forgot it."
"You forgot... renewing it?" Zelena asked, confused. It did not make much sense, but the fact that Regina was not looking alarmed in the least didn't, either.
"No, I forgot to tell you. Well, to be honest, I did want it to be a surprise, but I forgot to call you during this morning," her sister replied calmly.
"You've lowered the protection spell?" the redhead questioned once more, because she could not believe they were talking about the same thing.
"After what happened with those thugs? Of course not. But you can go through it now, too."
It was so absurd she did not even try to wrap her head around it. She did not even try to utter a word.
"However," Regina went on, adopting a more serious face, "you're still not allowed to go outside. I just wanted you to be able to should there be any emergency. Understood?"
Zelena only nodded wordlessly. Knowing she was still locked up in the house was not unexpected —nor the worst fate, either. Yet, the gesture changed everything: Regina trusted her to stay there, rather than continue trusting magic to forcefully keep her inside. She did not know how to answer to it. The brunette had even left her alone all morning just for the sake of giving her a surprise. It felt... She would have liked to say it felt nice, but honestly, it felt overwhelming.
Regina seemed to take pity on her and helped her out.
"So, hot cocoa, huh? We can take it outside." After gazing at Zelena, she added, "The backyard is still within my property."
And the former witch finally understood.
In the end, they all had so much fun in the snow that they forgot about dinner and Henry almost arrived late to Emma's. A while later, as she, Regina and the Locksley boys ate, Zelena kept remembering the whole afternoon. She had mostly watched Regina and Henry teach Roland to make a snowman. Robin paid attention to everything the three of them did. He got on well with Henry effortlessly. They looked like a family, because they were one.
Once upon a time, Zelena had thought family, love and all that stuff were just fairytale material. The only way she could cope with her past was by assuming it was not her problem to have been unloved, but just the way it was. And then, she met —really met— Henry and Regina and knew the natural way of things was for a parent to love their child. How that child came into the family did not even matter.
In addition, it had not occurred to her villains could love, too —and could she? As she did the dishes, she heard Regina's heartfelt laugh. Like a lightning, a thought crossed her mind and, suddenly, Zelena knew Henry was not the only one she had taken Neal from.
A/N: Thanks so much to Ragingstillness, Marina Ka-Fai, Onceuponlover and Maddy for their reviews. These comments can brighten anyone's day!
Also, I'm sorry, because I know it's a short chapter, but I don't think I'll be able to update before next Wednesday, as I won't be home this weekend. I hope you enjoy it anyway —this one is going to lead to some action! As always, don't hesitate to leave a review telling me what you think. :)