Chapter 25: The Purest Heart
Adhering to Rumplestiltskin's advice, Snow, Alice, Charming, Cyrus, Regina, Will, and Anastasia went searching for Glinda, hoping she could tell them how to defeat Zelena and where she had sent Neal and Belle. Robin Hood returned to his merry men to watch his son. The group wandered the forest for most of the night until they found a red door standing alone in the middle of all the trees and dirt.
"That must be it!" Snow exclaimed.
Snow then took off, opened the door, and disappeared as she entered. Charming, Alice, and Cyrus followed. However, when Regina entered the door, she found that she walked right through it without magically disappearing.
"What happened?" Anastasia asked.
"I don't know." Regina said.
Will and Anastasia then tried to go through the door and found themselves in the same position as Regina. They could not enter Glinda's magic realm.
"Why can't we go through?" Will asked.
"Remember what the Dark One said." Anastasia reminded. "Only the pure of heart may enter."
Regina rolled her eyes at this seemingly idiotic rule.
"Why can't you go through?" Regina asked Will. "I know why I can't go through and I know why the blonde creature can't get in. What about you?"
"He said only the pure of heart may enter." Will said. "I don't have my heart."
"What?" Anastasia said in shock.
"Because of what you did to me." Will said to the former Red Queen. "I was so broken up about it that I asked the Queen of Hearts to rip my heart out."
"Cora?" Regina asked.
"How do you know her?" Anastasia asked.
"She's my mother." Regina said.
"You're her daughter?" Anastasia questioned.
"Didn't I just say that?" Regina asked.
"I know." Anastasia said. "It's just that the Queen of Hearts is the one who taught me magic. She said her daughter was a disappointment to her. She was the only one besides Will who ever believed in me. She was more of a mother to me than my own mother."
Regina seemed a little saddened by Anastasia's words. However, every time she thought of her mother, Regina was reminded of how she killed her first love Daniel.
"Maybe that explains why you turned out so evil." Regina commented.
"Are you not the Evil Queen?" Anastasia said.
"That's my point." Regina said. "Cora's daughters are either evil, wicked, or misunderstood."
"Where's your heart?" Anastasia asked Will.
"I'm not telling you." Will said.
"It's in Storybrooke." Regina said.
"How do you know that?" Will asked.
"You came to Storybrooke. You weren't brought there by my curse. I payed special attention to you. I knew who you were immediately when I found you in Wonderland, but chose to say nothing."
"So we'll just have to go back to Storybrooke." Anastasia said.
"We can't." Regina said. "It's gone."
"Then where's Will's heart?" Anastasia asked.
"I don't know." Regina said. "It's probably lost forever."