Chapter Twenty-One

Regina had three very important tasks at hand. She had to protect the curse that she'd sacrificed everything to cast, help her husband find his long lost son and most importantly, she had to make sure Henry only had one mother! Oh yeah, and there was a catch, none of these things could interfere with the other. There was only one conceivable solution. A solution that Regina had called upon countless times before, magic. Sadly, magic was in short supply in Storybrooke. The little trinkets that Regina had taken with her wouldn't do, she needed more. The only way to obtain more magic would be to somehow get back to the Enchanted Forest, not permanently, just long enough to collect a few precious ingredients. There was one man who could help, Jefferson, but would he want to?

Regina and Jefferson had a complicated past. Regina had lied to him and tricked him to get what she wanted. She never kept her end of any bargain she'd made with Jefferson. Thanks to Regina, Jefferson was now known as the Mad Hatter. Thanks to Regina, Jefferson was now separated from his only daughter. His curse in Storybrooke was to not be cursed at all. He was well aware of who he was. He was well aware that his daughter was living in Storybrooke under the curse and had no idea who he was.

Alas, desperate times called for desperate measures, so Regina gave it shot. She summoned Jefferson to her office in order to strike a deal with him. If he could make the magical hat that she'd saved for rainy day work as a portal to their land, she'd reunite him with his daughter and give them each a fresh set of good memories. Jefferson was understandably skeptical, but his longing to be reunited with his daughter won out. He agreed to help Regina.

Regina brought Jefferson to her secret vault. The tiny bit of magic that was in Storybrooke, lived there. Jefferson dropped the hat on the ground and he and Regina waited for it to open a portal. Nothing happened.

"Why isn't it working"? Regina asked nervously

"It needs to absorb whatever magic is here" Jefferson replied.

Regina got impatient, so she poured her remaining trinkets into the hat, in hopes that it would start spinning and open a portal. Once again, nothing happened.

"You got anything else"? Jefferson asked Regina

Regina did have one last item, but she didn't want to part with it. She too had kept a remembrance of a past love. She kept the ring that Daniel proposed to her with. When Regina held it in her vault, his face would appear inside of it. Regina stood there looking at the ring mournfully.

"That still has magical properties" Jefferson pointed out "Drop it in the hat and let's see what it can do" He requested.

Regina just clutched the ring. It was all she had left of Daniel, she couldn't bear to let it go. Jefferson looked at Regina anxiously and asked her, "So why do you want to go back to our land anyway"?

"I have a very delicate problem" She replied "A very delicate family problem" She elaborated.

When Jefferson heard Regina say family, he got nervous. He knew who her husband really was. He knew Mr. Gold was really the Dark One. Jefferson had no interest in tangling with him.

"You do remember who you're married to"? Jefferson asked Regina fearfully "I don't think it would be wise to piss him off" He warned her.

"I have no intention of angering my husband. I want to help him find something he's lost" Regina assured Jefferson.

"Well, your only hope is that ring. Throw it in" He urged her.

Regina gave the ring one last kiss goodbye and threw it in the hat. The hat began to twirl, but no portal was opened.

"Why isn't it working"? Regina asked completely frustrated

"There's still not enough magic to go anywhere" Jefferson replied disappointedly.

"You've failed me" Regina fumed.

"Maybe not. Let me think" Jefferson shot back.

He hovered over the hat wracking his brain. How could he help Regina? How could he get back to his daughter? Suddenly, it came to him. While there wasn't enough magic to actually go anywhere, there was enough magic to reach through and retrieve something. It would have to be something very small.

Regina was faced with another dilemma. There was no one item that could solve all of her problems. She planned on going back and getting her case of potions. Regina needed to concoct something to take care of Emma Swan and she needed to concoct something to help locate Baelfire. It would've been quite simple, if she could have gotten access to her potions. Regina was just about to give up, then it hit her. She could take care of Emma the same way she tried to take care of Snow White, with a poisoned apple! This time there was no pesky true love to come along and kiss her victim awake. Emma would be put to sleep forever. But what about her husband? What about finding his son? The apple would be useless for that problem and if the curse remained, Mr. Gold would undoubtedly never be reunited with Baelfire. Could Regina really be that selfish? Could she really be that stupid as to betray the Dark One so viciously?

Unfortunately, on this day Regina was so blinded by her hate for both Snow White and Emma, that she didn't use her best judgment. She greedily guided the hat to the exact moment in time when Snow White took a bite of the poisoned apple and instructed Jefferson to retrieve it.

The minute the words left Regina's mouth, she regretted it. When the apple appeared in Jefferson's hand, a familiar wave of guilt washed over her.

Nevertheless, no amount of guilt could keep Regina from her revenge or from having her son all to herself. She'd made her choice, now she just had to hope that her husband never found out. No matter how much Mr. Gold loved Regina, if he ever found out that she deliberately lied to him and prevented him from finding his son, he'd surely kill her!

Regina thanked Jefferson for his help and promised him that she'd be in contact with him soon to make good on their deal. She stashed the toxic apple in her purse and went home.

Regina was delighted to come home to an empty house. She hid the apple where nobody would ever find it and decided to give Emma a call. She had, after all, promised Henry that she'd talk to Emma about him spending more time with her. Regina cordially invited Emma over to lunch at her house the following day so the two could talk. However, this was Regina, this would be no ordinary lunch. Regina's plans were far more nefarious!

Author's Note: I just want to thank everyone for all the reviews, favorites, follows and messages. It means the world to me that people are reading and enjoying my story.