The queen's carriage rolls along, bouncing roughly over every stone or out of place divot along the well-traveled road they negotiate. They are still more than two hours outside of Elyria when Regina grimaces and struggles, for what must be the 30th time, to find a more comfortable position as she gouges the knuckles of her right hand into the small of her back, trying to rub out the sharp recurring throb of pain she feels there.

Having noticed the look on her mother's face, Norah reaches for a father's hand, quietly drawing his attention away from the carriage window and the world beyond. With a raised eyebrow, Robin glances at his daughter first, and then, when she nods in her mother's direction, he gives Regina his undivided attention.

Quickly changing seats, he settles in beside her and asks simply, "The usual spot?"

Regina nods and allows him to help her perch as close to the edge of the seat as she dares so that he has room enough to place his hands against the hollow of her back just above her hips. She sits up as straight as possible, her spine nearly rigid, and hums softly in response to his strong nimble fingers and the relief and they offer her.

"That hurt?" he peers over her shoulder; trying to guess her response according to the expression on her face even before she murmurs, "Umm hmm, hurts just right. Don't stop."

Robin places a light kiss against her collarbone courtesy of the bateau style collar of her dress. "Is that a heel or an elbow she's gouging you with?"

"I'm not sure. Early on, I was pretty sure it was one of her heels. Last week, I would have sworn it was an elbow. However, Given the news she's brought us, it could be either one. Whichever it is, I can't get her to pummel a different spot. This wretched road is not helping. She doesn't like the potholes. I'm rapidly losing any appreciation for them if I ever had any to begin with. After we get you settled in at Thorncrest Hall, I'm going to issue a decree and hire a road service. I'll have the stretch of road between all three kingdoms seen to. This is ridiculous! It should've been taken care of years ago."

"I know this isn't the best time to dredge up an argument we've already had, but I'm still not sure about that – settling me in, I mean."

"Not now. Robin, please."

"You have made your opinion perfectly known, mi'lady, but I still feel like there's something you haven't taken into account. Regina, your mother decided, probably before you were even born, that you would be queen. She raised you with that in mind. As much as I know you suffered from the experience, it did prepare you. You were given a lifetime of instruction on how to rule, and in this one particular instance, the fact that you were taught to rule by oppression and fear as opposed to generosity and compassion is immaterial. At least you were taught. I have no training of either kind. I have no idea how to take up this post that you are so eager to see me claim. How is that going to be beneficial to anyone who would be affected by the appointment?"

Regina sighs in agitation. "Substitute the word 'lead' for the word 'rule' and don't you dare tell me you don't know how to do that, Robin Locksley. You've been doing it for years. Even in your absence, every one of those men and their families out there in Sherwood Forest has looked to you, or at the very least they've looked to the ideas and principles you left them with. The only difference is you'll be doing it from a proper house as opposed to fallen logs around a campfire. Stand in the service of what is right and give help where and when it's needed. The basic concept is the same; even if the trappings are worlds apart."

"Okay. That sounds simple enough. As long as I'm left of my own devices in my own little space. What happens when cooperation between kingdoms, the court, or parliament becomes necessary. I'm nowhere near as refined or polished as any of those people and the fact that I have no desire to be is going to rub most of them the wrong way, and you know it."

Norah suppresses a chuckle when Regina rolls her eyes and smirks. "First, since when are you afraid of rubbing people the wrong way? When it comes down to doing what's right, you won't care if you bruise a few egos, and we both know that. Second, you're married to me. Sorry, thief, but that fact alone is automatically going to rub a lot of people the wrong way. So, I hate to tell you this, but you're already positioned squarely behind the eight ball. If I believed for one second you couldn't prevail in spite of that fact, I would never have suggested your coming here."

Robin raises an eyebrow. "Suggested? As I recall, you insisted?"

Regina shrugs. "And, I wasn't wrong to do it. You'll be fine. I have complete confidence in you."

"And, if King John doesn't share your confidence?"

"Then you'll just have to convince him otherwise, a feat I'm absolutely certain you can manage."

"I see. And what is his opinion of you?"

Regina clicks her tongue against the inside of her cheek. With neither anger or self-pity, she states plainly, "Nobody around here likes me. You already know that. John is not going to be any different. In fact, he's going to be more difficult than some. Years ago, Mother tried to forge a union between myself and his eldest son. I snubbed the boy, and John took it rather personally. When I went dark, I'm sure he counted the failed union as one of his blessings, but he won't easily trust that I've changed and therefore your marriage to me will, no doubt, breed suspicion in his mind."

Robin sighs heavily and squeezes her shoulders with affection before he returns to his former seat beside Norah. "At least forewarned is forearmed."

"I only wish his politics were a little more closely aligned with his brother's. King Richard would have liked you."

Robin flashes his best smile. "I'm fairly certain he did, love. He officiated over my marriage to Marian. She was his cousin."

Regina offers him the barest hint of a smile then squints; momentarily deep in thought. "Yes, I think you've mentioned that once before and it's impressive. However, I'm not certain if it will be a help or a hindrance with King John. The two brothers were not known for seeing eye to eye, or even for enjoying each other's company."

Robin shrugs. "I'll think of something; whatever it takes to keep Nottingham or any of his ilk from claiming the post."

"We'll have to assess the situation once we arrive. After that, I might make better counsel."

"The only counsel I need."

"Thank you, but be careful. Don't pigeonhole yourself. If the ruling class thinks I'm the only one who's got your ear, that will hurt you more than it helps you. You might talk to Alan. He's got a good head on his shoulders, and I believe he mentioned a connection to the House of Barrows."

"Aye, but I'm not sure how much good it will do him. He hasn't been home for a number of years."

"That doesn't matter. If the House of Barrows is home, he has at least some notion of how the game is played. He's at least vaguely familiar with the royal rumba. He might make an excellent confidant or an ideal cabinet member. You'll want to surround yourself with people others will find credible; as many of them as possible."

Before Robin can once again state that he has absolutely no desire to dance the royal rumba, the carriage slows marginally and Percival reigns his horse in alongside and taps on the carriage door.

Closest of the three, Norah rises to her feet and carefully releases the door latch.

"For the queen." Personal hands over a folded scrap of paper.

Regina raises an eyebrow and takes possession of the folded note, unfolding it, and scanning it briefly before addressing Percival directly. "Message received and understood." Regina passes the note to Robin who reads it through with his daughter peering over his shoulder. "Please tell my sister to precede with caution, and that upon arrival in Oz, if she finds she requires assistance, she should… send up a smoke signal."

Percival chuckles merrily. "Right away, Your Majesty." He pauses his return to the second carriage when Norah inquires, "They're going to Oz? Can I go with them? I've never been…"

Robin cuts her off; shaking his head adamantly. "Absolutely not. You are to stay where I can see you, or at the very least, within calling distance at all times."

Norah opens her mouth intent on protest, but quickly snaps it shut again upon catching sight of the stern expression on Robin's face. Turning to her mother, she scowls. "I'm not even born yet, and already he's got that look mastered. Somehow, that doesn't seem fair."

Regina chuckles and waits for Percival to depart before she quietly admits, "That might be my fault. Every once in a while, he looks at me that way too."

Norah smiles without comment and studies the comical look that silently passes between her parents. She quickly forgets all desire to explore Oz. It's one thing to listen to her father talk about her mother. It's quite another to sit and bear witness to the unyielding bond even her mother's death will not shake.

Once Zelena's carriage breaks away, the caravan marches slowly forward for another forty-five minutes before coming to a complete stop to allow Regina's father to board momentarily.

"This is where I leave you, my girl. Beatrice will ride with you the rest of the way, and I will send word as soon as I arrive in Covarrachia."

Regina nods. "Daddy, I wish you would reconsider going the rest of the way on horseback. Take one of the carriages. You'll be safer and more comfortable."

Henry waves the comment aside and kisses his daughter's cheek. "A small battalion of Merry Men is joining me. I feel perfectly safe in their company, and the fresh air is good for me. It's nice to be traveling astride again." He smiles at Beatrice. Thank you for the company, and I trust you will not let either of my girls out of your sight in my absence."

Beatrice shakes her head and vows, "Upon my honor."

Henry claps a hand on Robin's shoulder and turns for the door, taking his granddaughter's outstretched hand in his as he steps from the carriage once more. "Stay out of trouble, and I'll see you soon, Bumblebee."

As Henry mounts his horse and rides away waving, Beatrice questions, "Bumblebee, not Firefly?"

Norah shakes her head. "Daddy's the only one who calls me, Firefly. Bumblebee probably came about at least in part because of my name. When he was little, Roland called me Norah-Bea. He still does occasionally; especially if he wants something. That, and Papa read somewhere that, according to scientists, the bumblebee shouldn't be able to fly. It's disproportionately large body mass far exceeds the weight it's tiny wings should be able to support. Papa has his own theory. Ever since I was a little girl, he has maintained that the bumblebee flies because she doesn't know she can't."

Robin's blue eyes shine with affection for both the girl at his side and her grandfather. "How appropriate."

Norah's eyes widen in surprise. "Really, I guess you haven't lost your appreciation for that sentiment yet."

Robin squints. "Why would I?"

Aware that she's about to tell on herself, Norah smirks. It's a facial expression that Robin clearly recognizes as Regina's and in the moment before their daughter speaks, he finds himself wondering if it's inherited; encoded in her very DNA, or if it is something she has simply picked up through observation in the scant amount of time the two females have been in each other's company.

"When I was two – or, when I am two, I nick one of Aunt Zelena's brooms and try to fly off the roof of the barn. Probably would've killed myself if Aunt Zelena hadn't been there at just the right moment to see me take a running leap and lower me gently to the ground."

Beatrice covers her mouth in shock. Her son looks absolutely horrified and Regina instantly glares at him.

"I don't suppose you want to tell me how my two-year-old manages to get all the way to the roof of our barn without you noticing; a roof that's more than 80 feet from the ground!"

In his own defense, Robin shakes his head wildly as he shrugs. "How should I know? It hasn't happened yet!"

Norah cuts in. "Mom, don't be angry with Daddy. It wasn't his fault. I used magic to get up there."

Still glowering, Regina demands, "Why would you do that?"

Norah shrugs. "I was two. Daddy calls me Firefly. Papa calls me Bumblebee. I thought I could fly; especially if I had one of Aunt Zelena's magic broomsticks. I guess it never occurred to me that they could both be wrong." She giggles apologetically as the adults in the carriage groan collectively.

Robin points a finger at his wife. "You cannot leave me alone with this beautiful… magical… creature. Do you hear me? You are not allowed to die!"

Norah objects playfully and elbows her father stiffly in the ribs. "Hey, I'm not a creature."

Meanwhile, in the carriage bound for Oz, Eliana admires the ultra-feminine slave bracelet resting gracefully against the back of her mother's hand. Barely daring to breathe, she caresses its precious metal with tentative fingers. The bracelet and ring are each comprised of wide bands of 24-karat gold lace filigree and generously studded with elegant pear-cut emeralds

"You like it?"

Eliana nods with unmistakable enthusiasm. "It's exquisite."

Mindful of the delicate clasp, Zelena turns her hand palm up and removes the accessory before carefully re-fastening it on her daughter's wrist.

Zelena raises a concerned eyebrow when Eliana eyes the jewelry with delight but still shakes her head adamantly.

"Mum, I can't take this. It's yours. Besides, Daddy doesn't like it when I wear your jewelry. I'm not sure if it's because it makes me remind him of you even more than usual, or if it's because he's afraid I'll damage it. But, he'll have some sort of meltdown if he sees me wearing this; especially if he gave it to you."

Zelena's shrugs as if she hasn't a care in the world. Your father's not here right now. Besides, it isn't mine. Not anymore. I'm giving it to you. If he has a problem with that, he can take it up with me." She studies her daughter for a long moment. "He doesn't let you wear jewelry?"

Eliana shakes her head. "That's not what I meant. Daddy gives me jewelry or something else equally expensive for every major holiday or gift-giving event. And that's fine by me, I like pretty things. But, he won't let me touch anything that belongs to you. He promised he was going to give me most of it someday. He usually keeps his promises too, but he's got some sort of extreme unnatural attachment to everything that ever belonged to you, Mum. No one else better touch it. Some people shouldn't even look at it."

Zelena reaches for her hand. "He's grieving. Or, he was. I bet things will be different going forward."

Eliana gives her mother a look that is devoid of all but a single skittish tiny little spark of hope and whispers sadly, "Uncle Robin grieved for Aunt Regina. Some days he still does. He keeps all her things too. Well, maybe not all of them but a lot of them. The difference is, 99% of what he keeps is in storage. Except for the really important things, and the things he gave to Norah and the boys, her stuff is not sitting around like she's going to breeze through the door at any moment and pick it up again. That's grieving. That's what Uncle Robin did. That's what he does. What Dad does is something different. It took him awhile, but eventually, Uncle Robin went on with life as best he could. Our house is a lavishly decorated mausoleum. He hasn't, but it's almost as though Daddy has found a way to make time stand still in your absence. The day you left us he completely shut down. He doesn't live, Mum. He only exists."

The wicked witch wraps her arms around her teary-eyed daughter. "I didn't mean to sacrifice your happiness. Can you forgive me?"

Eliana squints at her mother in confusion. "I'm not mad at you. There's nothing to forgive. You were trying to get Aunt Regina back. I get that."

"Yes, Eliana, apparently I was, but I never meant for you to be the one to pay the price."

"Me? Pay the price? You sound like Norah." Eliana rolls her eyes as she mimics her cousin and closest friend. "Magic always comes with a price." Mum, she's so talented; so powerful, but she keeps her abilities tucked away like specimens in a jar in the back of some obscure cobweb-filled pantry. She typically won't use her magic at all unless she has no other choice. She's wanted to come here for years. She wants her own memories of Regina; not just the ones that people are willing to share with her. Still, I had to push just to get her here."

Zelena nods. "She's not wrong. You make her sound a little overly cautious. That's probably your uncle's influence at work, but you can't blame him. Not if there are witch hunters roaming around in your time. Losing someone we love makes us cling that much tighter to the ones we still have. More often than not, it's probably that clinging that makes people so desperate to get away from us; something it sounds as though you might know a great deal about. You've had a bad time looking after your dad, haven't you?"

Eliana groans miserably. "He drives me insane… But I love him so much. Sometimes I want to, but I can't leave him!"

Zelena laughs quietly. "Even if I hadn't gone and blown myself to bits, you'd probably still experience those moments; just on a slightly less intense scale. I think that's just part of being a teenage girl… At least for most of us anyway. Do you at least have a boyfriend or boyfriends?"

Eliana offers up a wry chuckle. "What, you mean width the Lord Death for a father? You have got to be kidding, right? If a boy dares to glance my way twice, dad will suddenly start talking loudly about the eternal flames of Tartarus."

Zelena's smiles.

"No, it's not funny. I'm not kidding. I'm telling you, he sounds like one of those charismatic sidewalk evangelists, shouting at the rain, preaching at the top of his voice about the end of days, brimstone and fire. Boys won't get near me. They look at him like he's going to start speaking in tongues and handling serpents at any moment and they run for the hills! They leave the starting line faster than the last triple crown winner." Eliana shrugs. "It's just as well though. I'm not really interested."

Zelena's shoots her daughter a look of uncertainty and then shrugs. "Okay then, how about a girlfriend?"

"Ugh, Mum, don't be gross! I mean, if other people wanna do that, it's fine with me. But not me. If I am going to date anybody, he will be a boy! Some of them are really cute. But…"

"But what?"

"Love makes people crazy; that's what."

"Eliana, there's more to it than just…"

She shakes her head vehemently. "Love makes people crazy. People meet, they like each other, they spend time together, they fall in love, they lose each other… And then they'd lose their minds. If you could see our house, if you could see evidence of what it's done to Daddy… Why would anybody in their right minds want that? No thank you, I'll pass!"

Zelena inhales patiently. "Sometimes we don't have a choice. Sometimes it happens regardless of what we want."

Eliana squints. "You and Daddy?"

"No, I wanted your father the first moment I laid eyes on him. I was referring to your Aunt Regina. Do you really think the evil queen wanted to fall in love with an altruistic forest-dwelling, carriage-robbing thief? Do you really think she'd didn't put up a fight?"

Eliana scowls as she thinks it through. "I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe I won't have a choice either, but I'm going to avoid it for as long as I can."

Nottingham

Present Day

Alan dismounts without a word and leaves his horse's reins draped loosely over the low hanging branch of a weeping willow. Aradia Crowley hums softly, entertaining the flowers in the bed she kneels before. She does not acknowledge his presence, any more than he acknowledges his arrival, but one look over her stooped shoulder and he helps himself to the shovel propped against her whitewashed picket fence and thrusts the business end of it violently into the black soil between her gloved hand and the brown and gold garden predator that is poised and ready to strike.

Calmly, she eyes the forged steel spade protruding from the dirt as the snake strikes against it and instantly recoils; stunned by the barrier it suddenly finds in its path. Before the reptile has time to recover and strike again, she watches Alan grab it just behind its head, giving it no room to turn on him and hurl it over her fence.

"Away with you; you vile creature."

Quietly, she laughs at him. "You should have let it bite me. Snakes cannot hurt me, and now you've traumatized it."

Alan raises an eyebrow. "Not even if it's venomous?"

Aradia shakes her head. "I am immune to such mundane threats, and you know it."

Shrugging, he settles himself lightly atop the pale pink and gray stones that line her flower bed. "Doesn't matter. I still don't want the thing to bite you. No matter how fleetingly, it would still hurt."

She smiles with dry amusement and shakes her head. "And if it had bitten you instead? What then? For all your many attributes, immortality is not among them. You risk your very existence just to spare me two seconds of discomfort. If I did not know better, I would be tempted to question your intelligence."

He chuckles wryly. "If you did, I daresay you would neither be the first, nor the last to do it."

"I'm assuming you found Robin."

"Aye, that I did."

"I thought you would be gone longer."

"So, did I, but there's trouble. I've come back to find out if there's anything you can do to help."

"I'm listening."

"I took Beatrice to Robin as planned. Nearly the moment we arrived, we were off to a new destination – Elyria. It's a long story, but Beatrice wants Robin to claim his rightful place as Marquis."

Aradia's eyes widen in surprise. "What?"

Alan simply nods.

"I take it then that Beatrice is somehow related to Lady Cecelia."

"No. Robin was, for all intents and purposes, adopted."

"The marchioness had a child."

Alan nods again.

Aradia talks herself through the process, not really requiring his assurances. "She had a child not fathered by the Marquis who holds his title courtesy of marriage only. She had Robin." Mildly dazed by the discovery, she leaves her knees and pivots herself around to sit shoulder to shoulder with him on the stones around the flower bed.

He doesn't bother to nod a third time. It isn't necessary.

"I shouldn't be surprised." Aradia breathes quietly as she pulls off her gardening gloves, shakes them free of loose dirt and places them neatly in her lap. "It happens more often than most people know. But still. Robin Hood? Infamous prince among thieves – the true and rightful Marquis of Elyria?" Quiet for a long moment, she then catches her companion completely by surprise when she lifts her face to the sky and laughs boldly and freely. "I'd risk my own execution to see the look on Nottingham's face when he finds out."

"Nottingham's behind bars."

Aradia Crowley elbows her young lover stiffly in the ribs. "Don't tease me!"

Alan smiles and raises his right hand in testament. "May Zeus, Ruler of the Olympus, strike me down with lightning if I'm lying. George Nottingham, Sheriff of Sherwood is, at present, locked in the dungeon of the Black Palace in the Enchanted Forest. He tried to lay siege to the kingdom… and he failed."

She barely returns his light kiss before gently pushing away to scowl up at him and demand, "Tell me more. Tell me everything!"

In response to the glow of youthful wonder pouring from the bright blue eyes set in her lightly wizened face, he chuckles heartily. "Turns out, our prince among thieves, as you so generously call him, has gone and gotten himself hitched to none other than the evil queen."

Aradia shoots him a look; not of doubt, but of excited wonder. "Your fearless leader has married a monarch? The darkest of all monarchs?"

Alan shrugs as he nods in the affirmative yet again "Only, there seems to be some question as to just how evil she really is anymore."

The fine lines around Aradia's eyes crinkle deeply as she smiles 'Good."

Somehow, Alan feels he should have known she would accept this bit of information without an overwhelming display of doubt. When he raises an eyebrow just for the sake of curiosity, she shrugs easily.

"Most people are lazy and boring. No matter how unhappy they are, they lack the strength of character necessary for real change. People who have the fortitude to undertake such a painstaking process fascinate me immeasurably."

"There's more to be fascinated with. Alan waits until Aradia squints curiously before adding, "They're expecting a child. A girl. She's due any day now. When they tried to travel to Elyria, something went awry, and we arrived in the Enchanted Forest at the same moment that their nearly 17-year-old daughter attempted to travel back in time to reach them. According to the lass, something goes wrong with her delivery. It would seem that Her Majesty's days are numbered unless something can be done to help mother and child. Robin's in agony – nearly torn in two by his desire to do something to stop Nottingham, and the desire to take his heavily pregnant wife home to Storybrooke, the place they live now where they have better medicine than anything this world can offer. He has confided in me and I said I would travel back here and ask for your help. I know how you feel about tampering with destiny but, Aradia… it's Robin. I wouldn't ask for anyone else. No one else is worthy."

Aradia waves the comment aside. "Free will and fate are always at war with one another. She places her hand in his and stands, pulling him gently to his feet. "I suppose we'd better shove off. If a 16-year-old girl has courage enough to brave the dangers of time travel for the chance to save her mother, I'm not going to be the one to rain on her parade."