The two girls made their way through the Palace grounds until they came to a bolted gate. Liv slipped the bolt across and motioned Jaye through in front of her, before bolting it behind them. She took the lead again, walking through straggly hedges until they reached a bench which looked as though it had seen better days. Sitting heavily on it, Liv tugged the heavy coat she was wearing more tightly around her and absentmindedly kicked snow off the bank beneath her feet, attempting to get it to land on the frozen surface of the pond.

"So…" She wasn't entirely sure how to start the conversation that she could remember having a couple of months before on a cliff top in Neverland, but the other girl apparently had no recollection of at all. "How's life in Rumpelstiltskin's Castle?"

"Boring. Just having my family for company gets dull and Belle's not exactly great company at the moment." The blonde confided with a sigh.

"Why?"

"She's pining for my Grandfather."

"Rumpelstiltskin? Why?"

Jaye raised an eyebrow. "Word really doesn't travel fast around here, does it?" She muttered, more to herself than the brunette. "He didn't come to Fairy Tale Land with the rest of us. Da– Neal thinks that something went wrong when he was casting the curse and he died."

Overlooking the fact that the other girl had almost called Neal 'Dad', Liv frowned thoughtfully. "But he's the Dark One. He's practically immortal, right?"

"So where is he then if he's not dead?"

"I wish I knew…" Glancing sideways and catching the frown on Jaye's face, Liv sighed. "My Mom was too scared to let me or Henry out of her sight for ages after we got here. She was convinced that Rumpelstiltskin was going to swoop in and kidnap us again."

"Again?"

Liv cursed internally. "I mean… like he sent me to The Netherworld and stuff when he could have prevented it." She shrugged, watching the cloud of breath that escaped her lips as she huffed frustratedly. "So yeah, I wish I knew where he was so I wouldn't always have to be watching my back."

"You honestly think he'd do something to you?"

"Yeah… he was pretty pissed at me the last time I saw him."

They lapsed into silence for a while, each caught up in their own thoughts. Liv was trying to work out whether it was possible that Rumpelstiltskin really was dead, although she couldn't see how. Her Mom was good, but she wasn't that good. It was more likely that the Dark One had taken himself off somewhere for some reason, but that didn't really make sense either. Why would he just abandon Belle and his son when he'd fought so hard for both of them?

She started to shiver and was just about to suggest that they headed back to the Palace when Jaye broke the silence. "You've got a son?"

"Like I said, it's a long story. A really long story."

"One that you'd rather not talk about?" Jaye asked. When Liv nodded, not meeting her eyes, she just shrugged. "I never thought you'd be good with kids. You just don't seem like the kind of person who would like them. But I guess I was wrong." When the other girl just smiled wryly and looked away, she got the message that talking about the boy was off limits. Instead she settled on another topic that she'd been thinking about. "So… you never said it, but there was obviously someone you liked. Back in Storybrooke, I mean. Who was it?"

"Ruby." Liv answered at once, not bothering to try and sugar coat her answer.

"Oh… so you and her…"

"Yep."

"That's…" Jaye floundered slightly, obviously looking for a word that fit. "Good…"

"What about you?"

"I was dating Jack for a while in Storybrooke, but… I guess he went back to Neverland when the curse broke. There is this other guy I like… he's a blacksmith in the village near Grandfather's Castle."

Liv listened to Jaye talking about Anthony the blacksmith for what seemed like a very long time. She tuned out after a couple of minutes, but kept making what she hoped were supportive noises every now and then because she figured that she owed the girl that, at least. When she felt as though her fingers and toes were about to fall off, she suggested they went inside. Jaye was only too happy to agree and, by the time they were walking though the stone passageways of the Palace in search of everyone else, things between them were almost back to normal.

Almost back to normal, because Liv couldn't quite shake the memory of Jaye's face when Rumpelstiltskin had been bombarding them with dark magic and she'd been trying to protect her family. The blonde had told her then that she was fine with things between them remaining platonic, but evidently that had been a lie. Was Jaye lying now? Was she just trying to lull Liv into a false sense of security? And where was Rumpelstiltskin?

"Fancy giving me a tour of this place then?"

Liv jumped as Jaye touched her arm to catch her attention. "Huh? Oh, yeah... sure."

They started on the ground floor with the dining hall, the library, Regina's study, the room that had become the den and various other rooms that they passed along the way. Liv was careful to keep an eye on her friend; hoping she was just paranoid but worried because she couldn't shake the nagging feeling that she shouldn't trust her. In Regina's study the blonde seemed very interested in the papers scattered over the desk until she realised that they were just the blueprints the Queen and Emma had been looking at before their guests' arrival. When Liv questioned her curiosity, Jaye claimed that she and Belle were trying to persuade Neal to build stables at her Grandfather's Castle.

Still fighting her suspicions, Liv led Jaye up the sweeping stone staircase and along the corridor. After a quick trip up to the tower that housed the messenger birds, Liv intended to just take the other girl to the guest wing and then go in search of their parents, but Jaye apparently had other ideas.

"Can I see your Moms' room?"

The brunette frowned. "Why?"

"I wanna know what the bedroom of an Evil Queen looks like."

"She's not–"

"She's not the Evil Queen anymore. Yeah, yeah. But I wanna see it anyway."

"Tough." Liv told her firmly. "I'm not taking you into my Moms' room. That's weird. It's like an invasion of privacy. Only family are allowed in that wing of the Palace anyway..."

Jaye's face darkened noticeably. "I suppose Ruby's counted as family? Where is the wolf bitch anyway?"

"She's not..." Liv shook her head angrily, clenching her fists by her sides. She could feel the familiar swirl of magic building inside her, threatening to burst out. Liv severely doubted that pinning Jaye to the wall by her throat would be seen as justifiable by her Moms. "You know what, forget it. Your room is along there. You know how to get down to the ground floor."

Turning quickly she strode along the corridor and went in search of her Mothers, concentrating on not setting fire to the drapes or smashing every single mirror and window in the vicinity. Instead of entering the parlour where everyone seemed to have gathered, Liv pressed her eye to the strip between the double doors where she could see inside. Her Moms were sitting on one couch with Charlie on Regina's lap, while Neal, Wendy and Danny sat on the other. Henry was talking animatedly, pacing excitedly around in front of both couches. As there was no sign of Ruby and Liv wasn't in the mood to make polite conversation, she turned on her heel and headed up to her bedroom where she guessed she'd find her girlfriend.

Sure enough, Ruby was stretched out on the bed fast asleep, cocooned in one of the thick furs that were necessary in the Palace now the weather was so cold. Liv smiled, instantly relaxing a little at the older girl's peaceful expression, leaning against the door she had closed without any sound so as not to disturb her girlfriend and watching her for a moment. The fire, that had been lit in the grate of the huge, marble fireplace set into the wall opposite the bed, cast light over Ruby's features and made her look even more beautiful than usual.

Emma hadn't said anything about them sharing a bed, but Regina and Cora had both demanded that they had their own rooms. So, for the first month they lived in the Dark Palace, Ruby and Liv had followed a routine of sneaking into each other's chambers every night when the others had gone to bed and out again before they awoke in the morning. Finally, proving she had known what was going on the entire time, Regina had decided that it was pointless trying to keep them separated at night and suggested that Ruby move in with her daughter. As she put it, Henry and Charlie were less likely to ask questions if they weren't sneaking around the Palace every night.

"Are you just gonna stand there watching me?" Ruby asked with a small sigh, not bothering to open her eyes. "It's a little creepy, babe."

Shrugging, Liv crossed the room and threw herself onto the bed beside her girlfriend letting out a huff of frustration. When the older girl didn't immediately respond, the teenager huffed again. She frowned as she realised Ruby's shoulders were shaking slightly because she was laughing.

"Hey!"

"What's the matter, Liv?"

"Nothing."

At that, Ruby burst out laughing and rolled over to face the younger girl. "I know that something's happened. I can feel it. Besides, even if I couldn't, you're making it far too obvious that you're angry about something." Casting a knowing eye over her girlfriend, Ruby arched an eyebrow. "Or is it someone?"

"I just don't know whether I can trust her." Liv sighed, rolling onto her side and facing Ruby. "She… there's something about the whole situation with her and Rumpelstiltskin that's making me feel really uncomfortable. The way she looks at me sometimes is like… like she's plotting something or imagining something bad. Not to mention she seems far too interested in my Mom than is normal…"

When Ruby questioned what she meant, Liv told her about Jaye's interest in the papers in Regina's office and how she had asked to see their bedchamber. The older girl arched an eyebrow and suggested that Liv tell her mothers about it. Shaking her head, the teenager refused, not wanting to tell them about something that she was sure was just paranoia.

"If you're not going to tell Emma and Regina then keep a close eye on her, babe." Ruby advised, reaching out and touching her girlfriend's cheek gently. "If Jaye and Rumpelstiltskin are plotting then…"

"I know." Liv sighed deeply, rolling onto her back. "I didn't ask for any of this, Rubes… I didn't ask to make an enemy of the Dark One. I didn't ask to piss him off by upsetting his granddaughter. I just want to be normal."

"Normal? What's that?" The older girl joked. Then she shook her head. "You are who you are, Liv. And together we can all get through whatever Rumpelstiltskin throws at us."

Dinner that evening was one of the most awkward Liv had ever sat through. Regina was using it as an excuse to get one up on her girlfriend's ex, ordering the servants to pull out all the stops and serve a dinner worthy of a visiting royal. They ate in the Banqueting Hall, rather than the Dining Room where they usually ate, sitting at the long mahogany table. Regina, Cora and Henry were the only ones who looked remotely relaxed with the situation.

Sitting at the head of the table and dressed in a tight, crimson velvet dress, Regina surveyed the rest of the occupants of the room with a small smirk. She took a sip of wine as she listened to her son chattering happily to his father and filling him in on all the things he'd done since they'd come back to Fairy Tale Land. No one was quite sure how Henry had managed to talk all afternoon and still be coming out with new information now, but he was.

Emma sat on Regina's right, her hand clutching one of the decorative goblets tightly as she slouched in her seat. Every so often her girlfriend would send her a stern look and she'd sit up straight for a while, until she slid back down to her former position. Emma said very little and was uncomfortable about the whole situation especially as Cora, who was sitting opposite her, seemed to be finding everything highly amusing. The older woman had arrived back at the Palace not long before dinner and been filled in on everything by her daughter. Since then she had spent her time observing their guests and making snide and sarcastic comments every now and then.

Charlie sat between Emma and Henry, pulling faces at Liv who sat opposite him and next to Cora. Regina kept sending her daughter irritated scowls every time she pulled a face back at the small boy or laughed at one of her Grandmother's comments. Ruby sat beside her girlfriend, toying with the food on her plate absentmindedly. Every so often Liv would squeeze her hand reassuringly under the table, particularly when she caught Jaye's eye. The blonde was sitting on the other side of Neal, who was beside Henry, at the end of the table. She seemed to keep her gaze trained on the two young women for most of the meal and, when Ruby quietly excused herself as soon as desert had been cleared away, she followed the brunette's progress out of the room curiously.

"Where's the wol– I mean, where's Ruby going?" She asked.

"Jane." Her mother admonished her across the table with a small frown.

"It's Wolfstime." Liv answered calmly, reaching into the bowl in the middle of the table for an apple.

"You mean there's going to be a wolf running around here tonight?" Jaye exclaimed. Her eyes narrowed spitefully. "Is that even safe? Won't she attack us?"

Seeing her daughter's eyes flashing furiously and feeling the crackle of magic threatening to explode from the teenager, Regina cleared her throat and replaced her goblet of wine on the table. "I assure you that Ruby is quite safe. She will spend most of the night roaming the forest and then return and sleep for several hours. She poses absolutely no threat to anyone's lives." She turned a sharp eye on the blonde teenager. "But I would advise you not to make any further comments about Ruby, dear. My daughter can be rather… volatile… when she is irritated."

As if to reiterate her mother's point, Liv clenched her fists even tighter and caused the row of windows in the wall behind her to shatter. Catching Regina's eyes she sighed and raised one hand over her shoulder, repairing the damage with a flick of her wrist.

A short while later, as soon as was polite, Neal and his family excused themselves, claiming that they were planning on leaving early the next morning in order to reach their home before nightfall. When, after they'd gone, Liv questioned whether they'd be able to make the journey in one day, Regina explained that Rumpelstiltskin owned magical horses which were far quicker and more powerful than ordinary horses. At a push, she told them, Rumpelstiltskin's horses would be able to make the journey which would normally take several weeks on horseback in a day.

With that cleared up, Liv announced that the sooner they were out of her face the better.