Chapter 21

Regina smiled at her son and her sister as the latter put the last plate of pancakes down and took a seat as well. All Mills were finally at the table and her nerves grew at the thought that the time to break the news had come.

"I need to ask you something," she blurted out, wanting to get it over with as soon as possible. Henry looked at her without stopping chewing, while Zelena just lifted her eyebrows as she sipped her tea. "It's nothing bad, but if you don't want to, I'll understand. Really. Maybe I'm rushing things. I haven't even asked him and—"

"Sis," Zelena cut her off, looking utterly unimpressed, "every time you say you're going to announce something which isn't bad scares me more than if it actually were. Get it out at once, please."

Regina's eyes went wide open in indignation and Henry laughed. Then, he hurried to look at his mother apologetically.

"Sorry, mom, but I have to agree with Auntie Zelena."

The brunette rolled her eyes, biting back her own sarcastic retort. She did not want their chat to wander off.

"You both know Robin and I have been together for a few months. We're good and things have been finally quiet for some time, too. I also believe we all make a pretty good family. So, I've been thinking and... I'd want him and Roland to move here permanently. Only if you agree, though," she finished, not managing to fully hide her expectation behind a false nonchalant front.

She remembered the morning she had asked Henry for his permission to bring Zelena home. Back then, she had not been sure she would have his approval. At present, however, she did have hope they would both be okay with it.

"That would be awesome, mom," Henry stated finally, after only a few seconds of silence that, however, felt like an eternity for Regina. She was delighted to see he truly seemed happy with the idea.

The brunette looked then at her sister, who just shrugged.

"I have nothing else to add. It's fine."

With Zelena, she could never be completely sure on those occasions, but the redhead sounded sincere enough. Regina smiled brightly, not bothering to hide her relief.

"I haven't asked him yet," she reminded them when her own happiness began to feel a little overwhelming.

Zelena rolled her eyes, with that newfound confidence that her sister found so refreshing.

"I bet his answer will take us all by surprise."

Henry laughed again and Regina felt her cheeks growing a bit hotter. She complained about their complicity, even though it was a dream come true. Just a few months ago, she would never have dared wish such thing on any star.

Robin and Roland moved there as soon as Regina asked them. Zelena was happy for her sister —after all, she deserved all the love she got. Besides, nothing truly changed with their arrival. For instance, at meal times, any of the adults would cook. All the while, Regina would keep making sure everything was in its place and Robin would still marvel at the technology from time to time. The house was constantly full of laughter and chat as well. In addition, at night, if Regina woke up, she would still get up and check in on everyone. If Zelena had had a bad night and was awake, too, they would sit and chat like before, even though the redhead knew that someone was waiting for Regina in bed.

Their peaceful dynamic seemed to lack nothing. Perhaps it was the reason why Zelena had never thought a change should be made.

That day, the ginger had agreed to meet her sister in a couple of hours. They were going to go to the graveyard finally. Both felt they were ready and it was definitely about time. The mayor had some paperwork to finish until then, so Zelena went for a walk to clear her mind.

She aimed for the woods and let the town behind. She did not recognise where her feet had led her until trees gave way to a barren landscape. She stopped at the border, not quite giving up the woods' protection, as she looked at her old farmhouse. She had thought about it sometimes at the beginning, but it had been long forgotten since then. That house had never really become to mean anything. Her home was Regina's.

She sighed, because she could think whatever she liked, but she felt a pull towards it anyway. In the end, she started to walk closer.

When she reached it, she could see it had suffered great deterioration. The windows were broken, some graffiti covered the walls and someone had broken down the front door. Zelena gulped, feeling the deep-rooted hatred in its damage. It was chaotic, vast. If she had had magic, she could have fixed it easily. She would have to ask Regina, though.

Nevertheless, why would she be interested in fixing it at all?

Acting on impulse, she stepped in. The door, plus broken window glass, creaked under her shoes. The place was utterly wrecked and sunlight was lighting the scene up with startling clarity. For a second, Zelena wondered how long it had been since anyone had set foot there. Maybe the thugs who had broken in were the same ones that threw an explosive object at Regina's house. Maybe not, maybe they were just troublemaking children. Or maybe they were adults even, who had come when she was captured to rack through the Wicked Witch's lair. Had whoever it was expected she would come back and see it some day?

She looked around, feeling her stomach clench. Of course they had not. But only because they had surely expected she would be dead or, at least, imprisoned for life. She was not, though. And still, coming back to that place had never crossed her mind. She certainly felt her home was on Mifflin Street.

She wondered whether she should even tell Regina about what had happened in the farmhouse. And all of a sudden, a thought came up to her. She had not felt things needed to change —and the brunette had never suggested otherwise—, but perhaps they were all expecting her to move out eventually. The mansion was already full and it was what people used to do as they became adults. She had just never thought of it before.

She stood there on her own for another while, until she realised what time it was and hurried to go back. Even though she could still not find any loophole in her reasoning, she decided she would talk it out with Regina before making any decision. The brunette usually showed her a point of view that had not even crossed Zelena's mind.

Her little sister was waiting for her when she arrived, but did not ask where she had been. Actually, they got in the car barely uttering a word. They were probably too busy thinking through for the very first time about what they were about to do. And it became worse when they tried to bring up any topic, for neither of them was really paying much attention to their conversation. It showed they were no longer used to awkward silences.

As they finally reached the cemetery, they got out of the car and Regina led the way to the family mausoleum. She gave a pensive look at the plaque that bore her father's name, but then, she pushed the false coffin without a second thought and they descended the steps to her vault together.

Despite not having her powers, Zelena could sense magic now that the cuff had been taken off. And, down there, its presence was much stronger than in any other place —with the exception, perhaps, of Rumple's shop. Dark magic invaded every corner and she could not help flinching at the electric feeling in the air. Regina's back was facing her, so she did not see it as she led her to another room. The redhead used that time to get hold of herself.

In a hidden room, there was a real wooden coffin with Cora's name and the inscription 'Beloved mother' engraved on a dark plaque. Zelena did not expect to feel the lump in her throat at that sight and it froze her in her tracks. She glanced at Regina dubiously, not knowing what to do. The brunette was not looking at her, though. She had carried a little bouquet with herself and was taking a couple of flowers and putting them over another plaque on the wall. Then, she did the same with a third plaque.

There was something about Regina —her solemnity, her obviously concealed emotions— that stopped Zelena from interrupting. She was itching to get closer and see the other names and yet, she did not want to move away from Cora's coffin, either. So she had no other option but to wait patiently until the brunette turned to her.

"Mother's is the only body that's here, but I still like to put flowers on daddy's and Daniel's tombs anyway," she confessed softly, answering a question her sister had not asked.

Both of them had their eyes fixed ahead, on Cora's coffin, and so, Zelena had to risk a side-glance to find out what Regina was feeling. She was shocked to see that, whereas the other woman's face was a mask of raw emotion, she could not name it.

"Do you think he would've hated it?" the brunette asked unexpectedly after a few seconds in silence. It seemed the question had haunted her for long, although Zelena had no clue what she was referring to. It was cleared up soon enough. "That I'd come here to visit him, in the same room as his murderer."

The redhead remembered her sister telling her, so long ago, about how their mother had killed her true love. She gulped, focusing her gaze on the coffin once again. She would have wanted to tell Regina the only thing coming down there showed was the size of her heart. She also wished to say Daniel would not doubt how much she had loved him —enough to still play an important role in her life after so many years. She didn't, though, because she would have felt as if she was talking about things she could not truly understand.

"I think he wouldn't have wanted anything for you but to be able to move on and leave the past behind," she said before the silence could become awkward.

The brunette turned to her. Her slightly startled face broke into a grateful smile a second later. Zelena offered a small smile in return.

"Do you want to?" Regina asked suddenly, changing the topic and handing out the flowers that had been left.

The only answer she got was an open mouth. The ginger had been caught by surprise and words were stuck in her throat. She was about to refuse out of instinct and a bit of fear. However, Regina's eyes were silently encouraging her to take it. And so, she did.

She had to close her eyes for a moment, overwhelmed, when she put them down on the top of the coffin. She had not the furthest clue why she was feeling so much pain. She owed nothing to Cora. She even dared say she despised her. She was usually frustrated at her and feeling angry was so much easier than feeling hurt. And yet, she was undoubtedly grieving for the biological mother who had never wanted her. For the woman who had hurt her little sister and let her grow up oblivious to the redhead's mere existence.

Almost without being aware of it, Zelena reached out for Regina's hand. As they looked each other in the eye, they needed no words to agree on ending their visit.

As they got out and breathed in some fresh air, the ginger reflected about what had happened in the vault. Her sister would be the perfect person to discuss her turbulent feelings towards Cora. However, she felt she had no strength for that conversation right then. If Regina had expected them to have it —Zelena had—, she did not show it. They walked around for a bit before getting in the car and the redhead realised the outcome was no disappointment. She squeezed Regina's hand and the other woman squeezed back, smiling at her warmly.

After a moment, silence became a little stifling and Zelena decided to break it.

"I've been at my farmhouse earlier," she confessed softly, fixing her eyes on the ground.

Yet, when the answer she got was a simple 'Oh,' she felt compelled to elaborate further.

"I don't know if I should move there."

Regina halted right away and Zelena felt cold dread stopping her from breathing as she waited for her reaction. Besides, it was more difficult to keep looking away when they were no longer moving.

"Do you...? I mean, you're free to go now. It's up to you."

Regina's words made dread become a dead weight that dropped to the bottom of her stomach. She bit her lip, trying to get hold of herself. Their hands were still intertwined and she did not want Regina to notice they were trembling.

She had been expecting the brunette to call her silly and get that idea out of her head at once. Instead, she had been reminded she could go. And even though her sister had sounded surprised at the beginning, she had become very collected quickly. Her voice was not honest —she was just being polite. For once, Zelena had been right in her fears, as she was sure they must have been expecting her to go for a while now.

She swallowed the lump in her throat and forced herself to raise her eyes. She opened her mouth to apologise —because she did not meant to, she did not know—, but finally thought better of it. Regina had reproached her nothing and they could finish that conversation without drama. They were adults, it was not the end of their relationship.

"I'll get my things and move there as soon as possible." She could not stand Regina's dark gaze after all and ended up looking away. She chose to fix her blue eyes on some spot on the horizon of the same colour. "I need you to fix the house windows, though. And perhaps some other damage," she said as a faint blush started to cover her cheeks. Even when she was trying to get out of her sister's hair, she was still depending upon her somehow.

"Sis, but there's no rush, right?" Regina pulled her hands lightly, forcing her to meet her eyes. Zelena was taken aback when she saw that the brunette looked nervous. "You don't have to move out right away. I mean, if that's what you want, I won't oppose. I'll help you fix the house ASAP, but—"

"Regina, you don't have to feel guilty," the redhead cut off her incoherent rambling —because it made no sense at all. "I get it, really. I don't want to be in the way. There are a lot of people living at home... I mean, at your house, right now. And, to be honest, I'm the only adult who doesn't contribute to anything. I'm really not upset that you want to share your life with the children and Robin."

She shut up abruptly, because the brunette only kept looking at her open-mouthedly, seemingly unable to utter a word. Zelena's cheeks grew hotter by the minute, but she had no clue how to fix it. Eventually, Regina closed her mouth, although she needed some more moments to find something to say.

"Sis," she managed to get out at last, "I really have no idea what you're talking about. Do you think I want you to go?" she asked, sounding genuinely lost and confused.

"Don't you?" Zelena blurted out warily, though.

If it was really so, she could not understand why her sister had not tried to hold her back.

"Of course not!" was Regina's forceful answer. She held onto her tighter, maybe feeling the redhead did not quite believe her. "I thought you wanted to go, so I didn't want you to feel forced to stay."

Zelena's shocked expression must have amused the brunette, because she let out a relieved laugh without waiting for her reply. And before the redhead knew it, she was being enveloped in a hug.

"I want to stay," she whispered for good measure after a moment, when she felt her voice would not betray her.

"For as long as you want," Regina muttered back. "I want to share my life with my sister, too."

Zelena's only thought was 'Damn' —she felt incredibly stupid and relieved at the same time. Regina was saying all those extraordinary things, putting all her heart in them. It should have been easy to believe her words. And yet, said words had never been said to the ginger, they could not be taken lightly. No one had actually fought so hard for her. And Regina's words sounded like a promise that she would have all the time in the world to get used to being loved.

Summer was arriving, as warm as it could get in Maine. They all tried to enjoy the longer days, so it was not odd that Zelena found herself out in the backyard with the children that afternoon. The boys had been trying to fly a kite, but lack of wind had forced them to give up a while ago. Now, they were just kicking a ball around, while the redhead watched them amused —it was indeed comical to see them panic every time the ball came too close to Regina's plants. And eventually, it landed right on the rose bushes.

Zelena shook her head at their dramatic antics —her sister would be a little upset for sure, but it would be no tragedy. There was no time to avoid what happened next, though.

They rushed to the bushes, but as Henry tried to figure out the best way to retrieve their toy, Roland went for it not minding the thorns. That is, until he yelled and fell on his bottom. He had retrieved the ball after all, but he no longer seemed concerned by it. He had started to bawl, his eyes fixed on the drops of blood that ran down his arm. Henry crouched down at his side right away and Zelena was there, too, a second later. She put a hand on his small back, trying to comfort him.

"It's okay, Roland. It's just a scratch," she said kindly. His sobs did not quiet down, though, and she looked up. As she met Henry's reassuring smile, she managed to keep concealing her own nervousness. "Let's go inside to treat it, all right?" she tried again.

However, the young child shook his head, still weeping miserably. He calmed himself down just enough to stammer out five words.

"I want papa. And Regina."

Zelena's hand stilled for a moment, as she felt a familiar pang of rejection. She hurried to dismiss it, though. It was natural for a child to call out for their parents' help. It had nothing to do with her, so she resumed tracing circles on his back.

"Okay," she agreed, always speaking softly Then, she turned to her nephew. "Henry, can you go inside and fetch them?"

The boy nodded at once and, after a last few words of encouragement to the little Merry Man, he ran to the house. Zelena let out a soft sigh, her focus back on Roland.

Some time ago, the redhead had told Regina she was a natural with children. The brunette had not been shocked by her compliment, but she had taken her older sister by surprise answering so was Zelena. The former witch had never thought she could be good with other people, let alone children. She usually felt awkward around them, as she had had no role models to know what she was supposed to do with them. She tried to be gentle, of course, but Regina and Robin were the ones who mostly handled tantrums and behaviour crisis. Yet, she could not deny the brunette was right, either, when she pointed out it had taken no time for Henry and Roland to take a shine to her, given the circumstances that had preceded her arrival.

Thus, she let herself be guided by her instincts and continued speaking smoothly to the kid once again.

"Can I see your arm, sweetheart?"

Roland looked up at her with big, wet eyes and ended up offering a shy little nod. As gently as she was able to, she took his small limb. It was a shallow scratch, but pretty long. It was no mystery that, besides surely hurting, it had frightened him badly.

"It's going to be all right," she assured him and, whereas her voice was honest, she had to force a calm smile on her face.

She fixed her gaze on the cut, examining it up close, and that time, she saw that a thorn was still embedded in his skin. She glanced up at the door that led to the kitchen, but no one was coming yet. Biting her lip, she tried to make up her mind.

"Roland, sweetheart, you still have a thorn stuck. I should remove it. May I?"

He tensed right away and did not agree. Yet, he did not refuse, either. He had stopped crying completely, so Zelena took it as a sign that he was calmer. She sat down by his side and, very slowly, took hold of his arm, minding the wound. Brown eyes followed every move, but Roland did not protest. Only when she reached out for the thorn, he spoke up, stopping her immediately.

"Zelena, do you call Henry 'sweetheart'?" he asked in a low voice filled with curiosity.

The strange question caught her by surprise. She had no idea where he wanted to get with that question, but it seemed innocent enough.

"No, I don't think so," she answered honestly, briefly thinking about whether she was, in fact, in the habit of using some endearment with her nephew.

She could see the wheels turning in the child's head.

"Regina calls us that sometimes," he replied, referring to himself and Henry. "Is it yours only for me, then? Like when Henry calls you 'auntie'?"

Her mouth hung wide open. Zelena did not dare guess where their conversation was going. In addition, she had not the furthest clue how to answer that, anyway. She was actually starting to feel weird and the point where their skins were touching felt strangely warm. Perhaps she had no motives to be so nervous, but she could not understand either why Regina was not there already —even though Roland seemed to have forgotten about the pain.

"I— I don't know. I don't think these sorts of words have to be exclusive," she tried to explain awkwardly. She was beginning to think she did not know what they were talking about.

"I dunno," he said, not very convinced by her answer. His carefree reply reminded her of Henry. "I've never had an aunt." He locked his eyes with hers and Zelena saw they were bright, and not because of tears that time. "So, could I call you 'auntie,' too?"

If she had been rendered speechless before, she was now frozen on the spot as well. Without being completely aware of it, she slid her fingers down his arm, as if to hold his wrist and beg him to make sense. When she realised she must have touched his wound, she drew back her hand, deeply horrified. She waited for a long second, but no pained gasp came. Roland also seemed to notice something was not right and looked down at his limb curiously.

The redhead could not bring herself to swallow down her panic, even though she could see she had not hurt him further. She was obliged to gaze at it, too. There was no dry blood, no injury at all, actually. His brown skin was unscathed, as impossible as it was.

Zelena's mouth was shamelessly hanging open as Roland let out a happy cry, not noticing her shock or her fear. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Regina and Robin had finally arrived. Just her luck. She could not come up with an answer for what had happened yet. Although it seemed that, for once, someone else had a theory that involved magic while she was just plainly confused.

"You healed it! Like Regina!" was his emphatic reasoning. Roland launched at her neck, giving her no time to keep reflecting. Besides, he had yet to surprise her some more. "Thanks, Auntie Zelena."

At least, she managed to pat him on the back before he sprinted to where the couple was standing. She could hear how he narrated what had happened excitedly —and actually, he was making her role much bigger than it had been. The redhead did not dare look back to see the expression on their faces, though. She was too startled, too embarrassed. So she just remained still, sitting on the soft grass.

She lost track of time and was shaken out of her thoughts by a light weight on her shoulder. She looked up to meet Regina's gaze. Her brown eyes were not clouded with worry —rather, they were soft and kind. Zelena found out she liked that not everything was a matter of life and death.

By then, there was no one but them in the backyard and the ginger relaxed ever so slightly. The brunette did not say anything at first. She just smiled and sat next to her, even though she risked staining her expensive pantsuit.

"Care to tell me your own version?"

Although Regina's voice was somewhat playful, she was genuinely seeking an answer to her question.

"I don't think mine's half as exciting as Roland's," she muttered, staring down at her hands. She had tried to crack a smile, but it felt too false. "I don't know what happened, to be honest. I didn't even notice I was doing magic. I don't feel any different."

Regina barely thought for a moment before offering an answer. She had probably reflected about it already.

"Maybe that's because magic's been in your system for a while now without you realising."

Zelena looked her in the eye, agreeing it was the most logical theory. The brunette did not look alarmed or even surprised, though. She was calm as if she had received good news. She might understand better than anyone, even the redhead herself, that magic was and would always be an essential part of her older sister.

"Don't you want it?" Regina asked, frowning when she saw her sister was obviously not feeling the same.

"I... I don't know. I guess I should be happy. I just thought... And I've never done healing spells. Everything feels just too strange, sis."

She sounded utterly lost, even to her own ears. Her gaze wandered around the backyard and shame started to colour her cheeks. Regina's huff answered her doubts right away.

"Leave it to my magic geek sister to perform healing spells for the first time without even realising."

"Hey!" the redhead protested immediately, not caring it was exactly the reaction the other woman had sought. A moment later, they were both chuckling.

Zelena wanted to thank her for lifting her spirits —and for always having the right answer, apparently—, but she had no time.

"You're damn right, you should be happy," Regina stated, having sobered up a little. "And we should be celebrating it."

The brunette got on her feet and reached out for her sister, as if there was nothing else to discuss. Zelena got up as well, smiling brightly. Then, she shook her head a little, because it was too easy to let herself be carried away by such a confident voice.

"We haven't stopped celebrating things since I got here," she reminded her, with no specific purpose in mind. Regina remained unfazed.

"What did you expect?" she rebutted. "I finally have my sister back. It was her who told me I should appreciate what I have."

And it had been no easy journey, but they had both learnt to enjoy it.

A/N: Well, this story has really come to an end and I can't quite bring myself to believe it. I've enjoyed myself very much and I'm incredibly happy I've been able to entertain other people with it, too. Thanks to Marina Ka-Fai, Rose Nguyen and BetweentheCovers for their reviews on the last chapter. You guys have been amazing the whole time. And thanks to all those other people who had dropped by to leave reviews at one time or another and those who decided to follow and/or favourite this story. Your encouragement truly means a lot to me. I also need to thank Marytta because, without her, there would be no story. Thank you for always being there.

This has been another long chapter and maybe I should have made the last scene some kind of epilogue. However, I didn't want to keep you waiting any longer. Tonight —tomorrow for those of us who don't live in USA—, OUAT begins again and I think it was fitting to finish this before the premiere. I hope you liked it despite the lately random updates.

I don't have anything else to add. Leave a review if you can, because they make my day!