A/N: Yes, you're right; I am evil... sorry, not sorry. :D

But I am easily guilt-tripped and reading your reviews/PMs makes me feel bad for leaving you on cliffhangers... maybe that's why I update so bloody quickly?!

Anyway, you're all too fabulous for words!

x

"I don't think I've ever been so happy to see a pile of stones before in my life." Liv grumbled, almost falling off her newly named horse, Albert – after a dog one of her foster families had owned who was just as stubborn as the horse she was riding – in the courtyard in front of her grandparents' castle.

Cora rolled her eyes, dismounting with much more grace. "Really, darling, could you not at least pretend to be the Princess that you are?"

"Umm…" The girl pulled a face, as though she was considering the request. Then she shook her head. "No."

"Let's just go and find Snow and the shep– her husband," Cora hastily corrected herself as Liv raised an eyebrow at her, "and see whether Regina and Emma have arrived yet."

Nodding, they led their horses over to where an anxious looking man was standing, eyeing them with something akin to terror. The older woman barked orders at him and he nodded, hurrying away with two sets of reins in his hands. Watching him for a moment, Cora cast a glance over her granddaughter's outfit, before waving her hand in the air and returning the hated dress to the teenager's form. Her own gown quickly followed suit and she swept up the stone stairs and into the castle without preamble.

Liv rolled her eyes, before picking up her skirts and following. She grumbled about the outfit under her breath, agitatedly flicking her hair from where it seemed determined to fall over her shoulders, but Cora paid no attention what so ever.

"Darling, Snow!" The woman exclaimed, throwing open a door and walking into a huge stone room with no hesitation at all.

"C-Cora?"

Frowning at the obvious bewilderment on her grandmother's face as she rose from the long, highly polished table, Liv paused. She looked around, seeing Charming seated at the head of the table to the right of where his wife was now standing. Opposite her sat Emma with her mouth hanging open, while Henry was seated beside his mother with an apprehensive frown twisting his features. Ruby and Granny were both seated along the length of the table as well, along with the Blue Fairy, Marco, Pinocchio and Archie. There was no sign of Regina.

"Of course; who else were you expecting?" The older woman laughed, apparently not sharing the teenager's sense of unease. "But where is my daughter?"

"Regina?" Snow's voice hardened at once. "She was here yesterday, but she left."

"What?" Liv spat out. "Why?"

They stared at her with disgust, not even attempting to hide it. Emma stood up and scowled at her. "After everything she's done… how could she possibly expect to be welcome here? How could you?"

"Err…" The teenager glanced at Cora warily, wondering what on earth was going on. She wasn't used to anything approaching hostility from her blonde mother. "Ma… I don't understand… what's going on here?"

A flash of something crossed the blonde's face, before she curled her lip in distain. "Ma?" She laughed coldly. "Had enough of your own mother, have you? Decided that you want a new family?"

"What are you talking about?"

Confusion blossomed over Emma's face for a moment, before she stepped closer and dismissed it. "You are the Evil Queen's daughter; the Evil Princess. I doubt you're in your mother's league, but with Cora and Regina's influence I suspect you'll get there before long." Her eyes flickered towards the older woman. "I suggest that you and your granddaughter leave, now, Cora."

"Don't worry, I'm already beginning to feel nauseous here." Cora informed her with a sniff. Liv could see the confusion in her eyes, but her grandmother seemed to be a master at hiding her emotions. No wonder Regina was so hard to read. "Come, Olivia."

"No!" Liv argued, wrenching her arm away. "We can't just go! Something's happened… why don't you remember that you love Regina? We got brought here from Storybrooke on your anniversary! You two went out for dinner, but Henry and I had an argument and Cora and Granny got drunk at the Rabbit Hole so you were both really mad at us. Rubes? Henry? Come on, back me up here."

As the teenager started towards her friend and her brother, Emma leapt forwards. She shoved Liv hard in the chest, glaring at her. "Stay away from my son."

"But…" Angry tears welled up in her eyes as she stumbled backwards from the force of her mother's hand. "Grandma… Grandpa…" The couple glared coldly back at her. With a stuttered breath, she turned back to the boy who had believed in what he thought was true despite everyone telling him he was wrong. "Henry… please…"

"I told you–" Emma started, reaching forward to grasp the girl's arms again. Liv dodged, lurching forward and getting closer to Henry. "That's it…"

Grabbing Liv firmly around the waist, Emma twisted her arms so that they were caught behind her and she was unable to twist free of the iron grip. Everyone seated at the table watched emotionlessly as the blonde nodded towards the guards who were standing beside the doors. Emma waited as they marched towards her, before relinquishing her hold on the teenager and pushing her towards the men.

As soon as she felt Emma's hands leave her, Liv tried to evade the grasping hands of the men. It was pointless, however, because seconds later her arms were trapped in huge hands and she was being half dragged, half carried towards the door.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Cora screeched.

"Putting her behind bars where she belongs." Emma snapped. "If the Evil Queen wants her back, she can come and beg and I might consider it." Turning to look at the teenager, she smirked cruelly. "I wouldn't hold your breath, sweetheart, your mother is incapable of caring for anything or anyone."

"You–"

"Don't!" Liv shouted, seeing her grandmother raising her arm and guessing what she was about to do. "Nan, don't. Just… go and find Mom and tell her… find out what's happened. Make sure she's OK. Something weird is going on; they've all forgotten everything."

"Your mother will murder me herself if she finds out–"

"Nan, please."

Her eyes flashed dangerously and Cora clenched her jaw, but she gave a stiff nod. Shooting a look at the Charmings and their guests, which should have sent all nine of them to an early grave, she stalked from the room. The doors slammed behind her, before Liv was unceremoniously dragged through a smaller door and down to the dark, dingy dungeons where she was pushed into a cell.

Wondering what the hell was going on, the teenager curled up on the hard wooden plank that was the only surface in the cell that wasn't the stone floor. She couldn't understand how things could have changed so drastically that Emma couldn't, or wouldn't, remember anything. Tears stung her eyes and she buried her head in her arms wondering whether the problem extended to Regina. If it did then Emma was probably right and she'd end up spending a long time in this cell.

Cora strode out of the Castle, blasting peasants out of her way as she went. If Regina had been here yesterday then she had had about a day's head start. Nothing about this situation made sense and there was nothing Cora could do to help her granddaughter until she found out what had happened here.

Retrieving her horse from the trembling stable boy, the woman held her head high as she trotted past the gatehouse and across the drawbridge. As soon as she was on the rocky ground on the other side, Cora kicked Rosita into a canter and then a gallop, determined to catch up with her daughter before she got too far.

The trees flashed past on either side of the track winding through the forest and Cora kept low in the saddle, urging her horse forward. By the time night fell she had covered a lot of ground, but there was no sign of Regina anywhere. She'd been travelling faster than she had with Liv and Rosita was exhausted when she finally stopped for the night.

Almost before the sun rose the next morning, Cora was back in the saddle and resuming her search for her daughter. She assumed that Regina would have taken longer to rest than she did and she very much doubted that her daughter was pushing her steed as much as she was pushing Rosita. Cora hoped that it would be enough to catch up with the younger woman before she got too much further. Then again, Regina would probably kill her for letting Emma throw Liv in a cell.

Evidently the woman was wrong, because it took her a full week to find Regina. Cora was preparing to look for somewhere to camp for the night, when a sound in the undergrowth caught her attention and she looked around warily.

"Mother?"

Cora jumped in the saddle and pulled harshly on the reins, jerking the bit in Rosita's mouth. The bay mare snorted and shook her mane out agitatedly as she slowed to a halt, stamping her hooves. Sliding to the ground, Cora looked around for her daughter, surprised by the defeated tone her voice held.

"Regina? Where are you, my darling?"

"Mommy!"

There was a blur of movement and then Regina threw herself into Cora, wrapping her arms around her neck and sobbing. The older woman was taken aback for a moment and stood stock still. Gathering her wits, she returned the embrace, soothing her daughter and rubbing her back gently.

"What's happened?"

Regina sniffed and pulled back, rubbing her eyes. She looked so young and vulnerable that it almost broke Cora's heart. "I took their memories."

"What?"

"Rumpel came to me… he said that he'd seen the future and decided that he didn't need to do anything to Henry; he was just going to wait for me to destroy him myself. He said that what he'd seen made him realise that people don't change." Regina babbled. It took a lot of effort for her mother to understand what she was saying. "I took their memories of me to protect them from me. They'll be safe and happy and I can hide away unless they need my help."

"Regina…" Cora shook her head. "That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. And living with your family in Storybrooke I have heard some pretty stupid things recently. Every second sentence that comes out of Henry's mouth is ridiculous and I'm not even going to get started on the things your daughter says."

The younger woman frowned, as though something had only just occurred to her. She fixed her mother with a shocked expression. "How do you remember that? You shouldn't remember that."

"Evidently your spell didn't reach Liv and me."

"Liv…" Regina looked around wildly for her daughter. "Where is she?"

"When we marched into the White Castle and Liv started throwing around the words 'Ma' and 'Grandma' and 'Grandpa', your delightful little girlfriend had her thrown in a cell." Cora informed her irritably.

"She did what?!"

"She instructed the guards to take her own daughter to the dungeons and lock her up. Of course she apparently doesn't remember that Liv is her daughter, but still. They were referring to the poor girl as the Evil Princess; Emma really was very cruel before the guards dragged Liv away."

Regina gaped at her. "And you just… left?"

"No, darling, I was fully intending to wipe them out, but Liv demanded that I come and find you. She wanted me to make sure you were alright."

"We need to go and get her." The younger woman decided at once, striding away from her mother in the direction of her horse. "If they don't remember her connection to them and think that she's solely my daughter then… we need to get her out."

"Emma did say that if you begged they might consider it." Cora sighed as tears sprang to her daughter's eyes. "When we get back you need to kiss her, darling. True Love's Kiss can break any curse. While I admire your reasoning, this is not the way to protect your family. They need you and you need them."

Regina nodded slowly. "I know…"

Emma screwed up her face and ran a hand tiredly over it as she tried to dismiss the nagging feeling that refused to leave her alone. Her parents had been surprised by how cruel she'd been to the teenager that now resided in their dungeon and, if the blonde admitted it, so was she. The more Princess Olivia had protested that she was telling the truth, the more agitated Emma had become. She was uncomfortable because a part of her, a tiny part that wouldn't shut up, believed what the teenager was saying.

After a rather tense dinner their guests excused themselves. Ruby, who was looking incredibly pale and almost as though she was about to be sick, hadn't said a word throughout the entire meal and was out of the room before anyone could speak to her. Emma had sent Henry up to his bedchamber and then she and her parents sat in silence for a while. When it was almost too much for the blonde, she stood and began to pace the room, chewing on her nail anxiously.

Snow and Charming's eyes were boring into her as she made her circuit around the long dining table. Finally she had enough of being watched. "Stop!"

"What, honey?"

"Stop looking at me like that." She ordered. "I know I overreacted, OK? I know the kid didn't fucking deserve to be locked up just because she's Regina's daughter."

Her mother nodded slowly. "She didn't." She agreed. "But the way Olivia was talking and acting… either she's exactly like her mother or…"

"Or she's mad." Her husband finished her sentence, causing both women to frown at him. "All that stuff about Emma being in love with Regina… about Granny getting drunk with Cora… what even is Storybrooke?"

"She seemed so sure… so upset…" Snow sighed sadly.

Emma narrowed her eyes, resuming her pacing once more. Her uncertainty was making her angry again. "Regina's put her up to this. I don't know what she wants, but I am not playing her fucking games. I meant what I said; if she wants her kid back she can come and beg for her. Until then… until then the Princess gets three meals a day and we make sure she stays healthy."

"Emma, honey, she's just a child…"

"She's eighteen; she's the same age as I was when I had Henry. She's an adult." The blonde replied harshly. "If she behaves then we can consider giving her some privileges. Until we know we can trust her she gets the basics to keep her alive and well."

Snow reached out and wrapped a hand around her daughter's wrist. "Emma…"

"Mom, I'm fine."

"I know, sweetheart." Her mother smiled. "I just… I wish you were happy. Since Henry's father there hasn't really been anyone…"

All three of them furrowed their eyebrows as though they were trying to grasp a memory that wasn't there. Emma's head began to pound as she tried to remember the circumstances that had left her raising her son on her own. Panic began to set in as she realised she had no idea what had happened. Had Henry's father died? She paused; that sounded plausible. Instantly she calmed as her mind accepted that explanation and adapted her memories.

"Just because Neal died…" She frowned. It didn't seem quite right to her, but she dismissed that thought and sighed. "I've got Henry. He needs me to be his Mom. I don't have time to find myself a King to marry." Or a Queen she thought, deciding that it was best to keep that to herself. "I'm perfectly happy on my own."