hello lovely readers! Please dont hate me for this chapter ( or the last one...) anyway, we have begun the journey into OQ! Yay! Also...extremely excited for Sept 28! OMG! Anyways, happy reading! Xx

Enchanted Forest, pre-curse.

The guards came for them at sunrise, just as Snow White had told Maria they would. Elspeth sat as a statue in front of Snow White and her Prince, too scared to move for fear it would further her trouble. Maria was made to sit on the opposite side of the room, waiting to be called. She had made her decision. She would not let Regina die, but she was not the woman who would seek to murder to protect Regina either. Regina had told her she had something horrible up her sleeve planned for Snow.

Maria knew Regina well enough to know that 'horrible' meant that whatever it was, Snow White was not going to be killed...but she would suffer. A tug of war was playing out on Maria's conscience...her love for Regina was telling her to fight as she had tried last night when she was called before the Princess; but there was also something telling her that Regina's antics needed to be reigned in. That was it. If she told Snow White that she would talk to Regina, make her come to terms with what had driven her to such 'evilness' as Snow White had put it...perhaps whatever her punishment for her loyalty would be softened. Maria waited in silence, watching the scene before her.

Elspeth was trying to hold back her tears as Prince Charming questioned her. 'How long have you known the Queen? How long were you in her service?'

Elspeth, overwhelmed, let her tears flow, looking directly to Snow White. 'I have known Queen Regina since she was a teenager. I have served as her maid since she was eighteen...until eight months ago. She dismissed me.'

It was now Snow White who spoke up. 'Elspeth, in all that time, when I was a child, after my father's death...did you ever seek other employment? Were you happy as Regina's servant?'

Elspeth bowed her head, hiding her eyes shamefully. Maria silently prayed that the girl wouldn't give herself away. When Elspeth looked up, she had a bold look on her face. 'Your Highness. I was a fourteen year old girl when I first began working for Regina. When she wed your father, I was just eighteen myself. She was scared for her future...and I believe, Your Highness, that her mother Cora, whom you know of, had that influence. Regina treated me both as her servant and friend at that time. I felt I had to honour those roles. So no, I never sought other employment, not after the King's death, nor after Regina's fall into darkness.'

Prince Charming cut in. 'Why did she dismiss you if you were so loyal to her?'

Maria panicked, it was a question that could throw Elspeth's brave response.

'Her Majesty dismissed me because she no longer required my services.'

Snow White spoke again. 'Why? Why would she suddenly no longer require your services?'

Elspeth looked across at Maria, her eyes looking for help. Maria gave her a slight nod, telling her it was okay before Elspeth looked back at the royal pair and gave her answer. 'She did not want me in her way. I was no longer required, Your Highness, because Her Majesty spent most of her time away from the palace searching for you.' Elspeth's tears had dried up, but her body began shaking as if she were crying. Maria realised the girl was laughing. She smiled. Bold girl. Elspeth would be fine. Elspeth was dragged from her chair, smiling at Maria, who took her place in the centre of the room.

Again, Prince Charming began the questions. 'Maria...you are not someone who served in Snow White's palace. You were never a member of the royal staff as Elspeth was. And from what I gather, you also never served in Regina's childhood home. So tell me...what is your connection to the Queen?'

Maria needn't have worried for Elspeth, it was herself she was now panicking for. She could never tell the truth. Perhaps she could tell a partial truth. 'It is quite innocent, Your Highness. As a little girl, Cora permitted Regina to play with the village children. She would play with my children when she and her father came into the village, and she often sat with my children in my kitchen watching me bake. Regina once told me she liked coming to visit, because I was what a mother should be like. She never understood why Cora was not like myself' Maria lied, hoping that the royals would believe her.

Snow White eyed the woman, and Maria suspected she knew she was lying. 'Maria, you mentioned your children? Does Regina still have contact with them?'

Now this, Maria had rehearsed an answer. 'Both my children died in the Great Sickness that wiped out half the village when Regina would have been fourteen. She kept her visits minimal after that, but she would write often. She only began visiting more frequently after the death of...'

Snow White finished her sentence 'My father'.

Maria nodded. She watched as the Princess shifted on her throne. 'Maria, when I was a child, not long after Regina married my father she became very ill for weeks. Did you know that?'

Snow's eyes bore into Maria, and for a moment she thought she had been caught. 'I did, Your Highness, I recall the messenger coming to the village from the palace. We all prayed for her recovery.'

Snow nodded, and looked over to Prince Charming, who took over the questioning. 'What business did you have with Regina during that time?'

Maria felt herself shrinking, but for Regina's sake, she had to keep the secret. 'She visited me after her recovery. Elspeth came with her. That visit was even a surprise to me, I had not heard from her in so long I was expecting the messenger to announce her death.' She looked at the royals, hiding her secrets.

Snow White spoke again. 'Maria...I believe you are not trying to harm the kingdom. But there must be something you can do to stop Regina. We both know she was a kind-hearted person.'

Maria stopped herself from looking over at Elspeth, who was trying her best to hold in a burst of laughter. This was her chance. 'Your Highness, Regina still has her kind heart. She has simply been deeply hurt.' Maria paused, as Snow White's face changed from serious to ashamed. Maria knew she had hit her target. 'If you are to sentence me to imprisonment, I cannot help you, Your Highness.'

Snow looked to her husband, who motioned to the guards to bring Elspeth over. The sentences were going to be announced.

It was Prince Charming who laid down the sentence for each of the women. There had been something in Maria's words that had made Snow White go cowardly quiet. 'Elspeth. You are to be sentenced into exile from this kingdom under the following conditions. You are to return to your village accompanied by two guards. You will pack up your belongings and take any family with you. The guards will accompany you and your family to the kingdom border. From there, you must not set foot back into this kingdom again.'

Elspeth nodded. Exile wasn't bad, and at least the pair did not have the heart to simply kill her in cold blood.

Maria looked to the Prince, awaiting his words. 'Maria. You will be sentenced to exile under the following conditions. If you do not attempt to stop Regina, you will be imprisoned outside the kingdom. If you cooperate, you will be free to live in exile in a new kingdom, but must never return to the Enchanted Forest.' Maria had her head bowed in silence. Well...that was fair. She would try, she refused to be the royals were naïve to think she would actually be helping them...or that she would actually stay out of the kingdom once exiled.

Snow White waved her hand at the guards. 'Take them away'. Once they saw the sunlight again Maria and Elspeth knew this was the last time they would see each other.

Maria hugged the younger woman, who sniffed in her ear. 'Good luck Maria' Elspeth said, pulling back from the hug. Maria smiled. 'You too Elspeth', and then whispered, 'I'll do her proud', with a wink, as the two were lead off in opposite direction to begin their sentences.

Enchanted Forest, the Castle.

She had fallen asleep by the fire after the meeting with the Charmings about their plan to defeat Zelena. Robin watched Regina as she slept, a hidden beauty beneath her. Her fingers were closed tightly around a locket which she held against her heart. It probably contained a picture of her son. He felt a draught coming from somewhere, and not wanting Her Majesty to wake from the cold, he wandered around the room trying to find the source. No windows were open that he could find, so he went to the connecting library.

It was odd, as soon as he entered the room he knew the draught came from here. But there were just bookcases and shelves of magical relics, much like what Robin had seen when he had resided in Rumplestiltskin's castle after the curse. He walked by each bookcase, looking closely for a hidden doorway or some indication that all was not as it appeared to be. An icy blast of air behind one particular set of shelves gave Robin a clue. Pulling an arrow from its sheath, he set it on his bow, firing it through the bookcase. Huh. It hadn't been real at all, just a disguise. Robin walked through the bookcase as if it were an open doorway, finding himself in an annexe of the library.

This must have been where Regina had disappeared to before, when she had made him wait outside the library. He discovered there was no way to stop the draught, there were no windows here, the air was seeping through a crack in the wall. There were some extravagant things in this room, Robin could not imagine why Regina had not stored them within the vault she said was unbreakable. A beautiful embossed chest caught his eye, the dancing horses on it were exquisite. Intrigued, he opened the chest, and examined its contents. Robin quickly closed it again when he saw the tiny clothes and blankets folded carefully inside. He backed away from the chest, processing what he had just discovered, and as he exited the hidden room, he also wondered how it was that he had been able to find and enter the room, and yet Zelena had apparently left it untouched...for surely if she had found it she would have ransacked the room for anything she could blackmail Regina with.

He turned around to see Regina still asleep, a soft smile on her face. Robin smiled to himself, it seemed a rare sight to see the Queen at peace. It was then he noticed it. She had pulled the baby sock she had had before from her pocket, and it now sat under her hand, which rested on the table beside the chaise lounge where she slept. Quietly, he crept over to Regina, and pulled the sock out from her hand.

It matched the one he had seen in the chest. Regina stirred, and Robin dropped the sock, panicked. He breathed out again, slowly, watching as she brought her hand to her cheek. He stared again at the tiny sock. Clearly there was more to Regina's story than anyone really knew.

Enchanted Forest, day of curse.

Maria had been living in exile a year now. She had had to live under guard for some time until the conditions of her free exile were met. It had bothered her, because any letters that she wrote to Regina had been read before they were sent to make sure she wasn't telling Regina what Snow White was planning. Maria had a way around that.

She had coded a message only Regina or her father would understand, and when a bleeding heart dove, the signature messenger bird of the Queen had flown in her window with Regina's reply, she knew Regina was going to take action.

'Dear Maria, I see from your letter that you have concerns for me from what I wrote in my last letter. I have given your words some thought, and Daddy has also reasoned with me. It is true, I have denied myself happiness. Thankyou for helping me see that Maria, you have always been a wise woman. -Regina'

Those were the words that were received by the guard who read the letter before handing it to Maria, asking her if that meant Regina's surrender. When Maria read the letter though, she decoded Regina's true message, reading silently.

'Maria, I have no plans to surrender to Snow White. Come to my castle once the fools are convinced I am no longer a threat.'

The guard had asked Maria again if the contents of the letter meant Regina's surrender. Clutching the letter in one hand, and the other resting on the dirty kitchen table, Maria looked at the guard with a smile. 'Yes sir. The Queen wishes to backdown from the fight against Snow White. You may send word to the palace.'

The next day a white dove from Snow White had flown in telling the guard he was no longer needed and Maria was free to live in exile. She wouldn't, she had to tend to Regina's instructions from the letter. Which was why Maria was now sneaking her way back through the Enchanted Forest in the dark night to get to Regina's castle.

Whatever it was Regina was unleashing on Snow White, Regina had wanted Maria to come to her castle so she would be protected. It made Maria wonder if Regina had also sent word to Elspeth, who had apparently been living on the other side of the Enchanted Forest, just outside the kingdom.

Enchanted Forest, pre-Pan.

Sealing off a large section of the Enchanted Forest and its outlying territories seemed to have been a better idea than Cora originally thought. Regina was such an amateur with her magic, when she had cast the curse it had been easy for a recently returned Cora to save this part of the land so she could find a way back to her daughter. She had created a sanctuary for those that had escaped Regina's curse living within the sealed territory. She had earned their respect and trust, disguising herself as Lancelot, the great knight of Camelot.

Two strangers had been brought into the camp by the warrior Mulan, one of whom looked remarkably like Snow White. Cora need to test her theory. When Mulan took the prisoners to Snow White's castle, Cora followed, still disguised as Lancelot.

She had tried to trick the woman into telling her how to get back to the place her blonde companion referred to as 'Storybrooke'. It was where Regina had gone, and she intended to get there. But a sword was drawn on her, and Cora gave up her disguise. 'Hello Snow White, what a pleasant surprise.'

Snow glared, eyes fiery back at Cora. 'Why are you here Cora?' she said defensively.

Cora laughed at the girl. 'Don't you ever tire of fighting, child? I am here because I miss my daughter, and I would like to be reunited with her.'

The blonde looked from Cora to Snow. 'What is she talking about?' Cora smiled sarcastically at the blonde.

Snow, keeping her sword on Cora's throat, answered her companion. 'Destroy it Emma!, We'll find another way!' Just as 'Emma' set fire to the wardrobe, Snow had launched herself at Cora, dropping the sword and resorting to her bows and arrows when Cora started transporting herself randomly around the room, until she had disappeared completely.

Cora returned to the sanctuary, killing everyone in her wake, taking their hearts to strengthen her power. Her last victim, pleading to Cora with cries of 'Don't you remember me?!' was a woman who begged for mercy, swearing she knew the Queen Regina. A woman named Elspeth.

Enchanted Forest, day of curse.

Maria had managed to get to Regina's castle undetected, but once she had arrived it was eerily quiet. She had expected Regina to be there, or even her father if Regina wasn't. But there was nobody, not even a Black Knight.

Maria made her way up the grand staircase to Regina's chambers, where she hoped she would find some clue as to what Regina had asked her to come to the castle for. She saw it when she looked through the french doors opening onto the balcony. The dark purple haze engulfing the forest. And on Regina's dresser, an envelope with Maria's name on it. She snatched it up, breaking the wax seal with her fingernail to open it immediately.

A hand moved slowly to her mouth, the letter shocked Maria. Regina had killed her own father to unleash a curse. She wanted Maria to protect her castle in her absence when the curse ripped her from the Enchanted Forest. The castle was surrounded by the purple cloud, and as Maria watched from Regina's balcony, there was nothing she could see except for that. Then, just as it had descended upon the forest, it disappeared.

There was a difference, Maria could already notice it. Where before there had been people in the village below selling whatever products they had to offer, the square was now abandoned, not a life in sight. So began Maria's life residing as royal in Regina's castle.

Enchanted Forest, the Castle.

Zelena made herself known as soon as Regina found a moment of peace away from the Charmings. 'Hello Sister, did you miss me?' The green woman greeted her.

Regina narrowed her eyes. 'What do you want?' Zelena smiled wickedly, her teeth appearing extra white against her emerald skin.

'Oh well, I thought I would drop in and see if you realised what you were missing yet?'

Regina went to strike the woman, clearly she had only come to toy with Regina's mind. There had been nothing missing, she had checked. Zelena had only taken one dress.

Zelena grabbed Regina's hand before it struck her. 'Or perhaps I should rather say...whom?' She smiled again, her eyes widening on the 'whom'. Zelena released Regina's wrist, and disappeared again in her cloud of green. Regina sat confused for some time before the thought struck her. Maria. Maria should have been here. She had never known if Maria had reached the castle. Regina panicked. If the 'whom' Zelena had referred to was Maria, then what had she done?

so what has happened to Maria? Does Regina know Robin found the hidden room and the baby sock? We shall see...