Trigger warning for reference/mention/implication of suicidal thoughts.


Though their regime was small, the heroes were able to defeat Zelena, effectively freeing Rumple from her grasp. It was easier than they expected; with Robin and Belle knowing the ins and outs of the castle, getting in was no problem. However, with Zelena having control of Rumple made getting to him just a little bit harder. Nevertheless, the heroes were able to catch her off guard and free him. Most of Robin's Merry Men were lost in the casualties as well as several men from their camp. Though their initial plan was to subdue Zelena's magic, she managed to escape.

"Don't worry; we've got Rumplestiltskin," Charming said to Regina, who was more than frustrated.

Belle immediately rushed towards Rumple, holding her in his arms as she cupped his face.

"Rumple, are you alright?" She studied him; he looked worn, tired, hurt.

"I'm fine Belle," Rumple's voice was slightly shaky as he wrapped his arms around her.

"As much as I hate to break up this little reunion, we need to get out of here before Zelena decides to return. And something tells me she'll be back with a vengeance," Rumple glanced at Regina and nodded as Belle helped him onto his feet.

"Regina's right; we don't know where Zelena is or what she'll have planned. We need to get back to the castle as soon as possible to plot our next move," Charming said, though Regina knew that he was eager to check on Snow.

oOo

Once they returned to the castle, Regina made her way back to her chambers, though she was stopped by Robin.

"I never got the chance to say thank you, for helping Roland the other day," Regina shook her head and smiled.

"It's nothing; it was the least I could do considering I was the reason he was taken from you in the first place," Robin sighed as he reached out to grab her hand.

"Regina, what happened in Storybrooke wasn't your fault," Regina shook her head.

"Robin, if we hadn't fallen in love with each other then…" Regina's eyes widened as she silently cursed herself. She hadn't intended say that, in fact, she wasn't even sure he felt that way. If she were more honest, she wasn't even sure she was in love with him. She knew she felt something but love? She wasn't so sure.

"Regina, my feelings for you are nothing that I'm ashamed of, nor should you be," Robin gave Regina a lopsided smile as her heart leaped into her chest.

"You, you have feelings for me?" Robin gave Regina's hand a little squeeze.

"Regina, what I told you in Neverland still stands true; I understand that you were angry with me because I lied, and for that, I'm truly sorry, but-" Regina leaned forward, placing a finger on Robin's lips.

"I'm sorry Robin; I should've known that you wouldn't do something like that to me on purpose. I'm sorry for how I reacted when we first got here," Robin reached up and took her other hand into his and pressed it to his lips.

"It's quite alright love; if I were in your shoes, I would've done the same," Regina stepped forward, pressing their foreheads together, allowing them to just be. Their intimate moment was quickly interrupted by Tinkerbell.

"Oh, I…sorry for interrupting," She said with a smile.

"Is there something you want moth?" Regina snapped.

"Snow and Charming wanted to see you, both of you; Rumplestiltskin's ready to talk," Regina gave Robin's hand a squeeze as they made their way into the dining hall.

oOoOo

Robin felt out of place being in a meeting with heroes and magical beings, but for whatever reason, he'd been invited as well. He sat next to Regina, though her body language was stiff; she denied any soft touches or any other advances he made towards her.

"Rumple, never thought I'd say this but, it's good to have you back," Regina and the imp had quite the complicated relationship, but deep down the two shared a fondness for one another.

"Regina, it would seem you're once again at the center of our latest crisis," Rumple replied coolly.

"Exactly what does all of this have to do with Regina?" The Blue Fairy asked; though Regina didn't like being anywhere near the woman, her presence was requested, seeing as she was one of the few with serious magical insight.

"I believe you know exactly how Regina became Zelena's target Mother Superior," Rumple gave the fairy a strange look, which was enough to draw looks of curiosity.

"I have no idea what you're talking about Dark One,"

"Very well then; it looks as if I'll have to do all of the explaining. As Belle filled you all in, Zelena is on…quite an interesting quest,"

"Is it true Gold? Can magic be destroyed?" Regina's eyes were now locked on her mentor.

"Destroyed? No," Rumple shook his head.

"So if it can't be destroyed then what can be done to it?" Snow asked.

"While Zelena had me under her control, she forced me to tell her things, but what she wasn't counting on was that my seer ability predicted her fate a long time ago," Rumple smirked.

"And what fate might that be?" Robin asked.

"Zelena believes that she can destroy Regina, but in all actuality, she'll be destroyed at the hands of Regina," Everyone in the room turned to look at Regina as the Blue Fairy scoffed.

"The reason Zelena is after Regina is that she was given a prophecy by Glinda the Goodwitch that said she'd be destroyed at the hands of a very powerful sorceress,"

"How can that be so? Regina and Zelena are both evil," Regina opened her mouth to say something refrained after Snow shook her head not to.

"It may be true, but Regina now possesses light magic,"

"Okay, so she was given a prophecy that said she'd be defeated by me; then why in the hell is she going after some sword that may or may not have the power to destroy magic?"

"Perhaps I should clarify; what Zelena seeks is far worse than the sword; the sword is only a means to an end, or so she thinks," Rumple said, causing Regina to groan in annoyance.

"Enough with the riddle Gold; what the hell is going on?"

"The sword Zelena seeks does not have the power to destroy magic, but it is very powerful. Many years ago, a man by the name of Merlin was a foot soldier in the army. One day while out in the desert, he and a friend come across a strange cup, known to us as the Holy Grail. After watching his friend turn to ash for daring to drink from the cup, Merlin was forced to choose between dying of thirst or dying at the hands of the grail. He took a chance and drank from the grail and surprisingly, he lived. Several hundred years later, Merlin acquired an apprentice and soon began crafting a magical hat, now known as the sorcerer's hat. The sorcerer's hat had the ability to absorb and accumulate any and all types of magic. Because the hat was so dangerous, Merlin enchanted it so that only one whose heart had not been tainted by the darkness could control it,"

"But what does this have to do with Regina?" Charming asked as Rumple rolled his eyes.

"I'm getting to that. After creating the sorcerer's hat and charging his apprentice with the task of guarding it, Merlin met a woman by the name of Nimue. The two fell madly in love and sought to marry, though Merlin worried that his immortality will be a problem for them. Wanting to spend the rest of his life with Nimue as a mortal, Merlin used the first spark of man's original fire to craft a sword out of the Holy Grail. His initial plan was to use the sword to rid himself of his magic and thereby, his immortality. But what Merlin wasn't counting on was for Nimue to drink from the grail before he turned it into the sword.

"Something tells me this story ends badly," Robin muttered as Rumple continued,

"While on their way to the site of the first spark of fire, Nimue drank from the grail. When Nimue was fatally wounded during an attack by Vortigan but does not die, Merlin realizes what she'd done. Nimue's newfound power gave her the ability to kill Vortigan by ripping his heart out and as a result darkening her heart,"

"Wait…the sword; Nimue was the first the Dark One, wasn't she?" Regina asked as Rumple nodded.

"Indeed; Nimue was the first Dark One. And as you know, the power of darkness is alluring. And Nimue, like every person who indulges in dark magic, was unable to overcome it. Fearing that Merlin would take away her power, she split the blade in half and stole the remaining spark of fire,"

"So, what happened to the sword?" Robin asked.

"Merlin fashioned one half into what is now known as the blade of the Dark One; he tethered Nimue to it, in order to protect the realms from her."

"And the other half of the blade?" Charming asked.

"The other half of the blade was placed into a stone; it was removed by a young man named Arthur. Merlin met him in Camelot and prophesized to him that he would become a great ruler as a result of the sword," Regina sighed.

"So that's why Zelena sent Neal to Camelot," Rumple nodded.

"If Zelena gets her hands on that blade…but wait, what does that have to do with me defeating her?" Regina asked as Rumple sighed.

"Let's just say, it's your destiny to defeat Zelena," He said with a smirk.

oOoOo

Zelena was furious, absolutely positively furious as she used her magic to toss tables across the room. How had she not seen this coming? Of course, she anticipated that at some point those idiot heroes would come, but she wasn't expecting them to take her by surprise. She looked around at the carnage, at the bodies of the former flying monkeys on the ground. She slammed her hand on a nearby table; she needed to do something, anything to get her revenge.

Glancing around the room, Zelena's eyes fell on a bookshelf, a particular book to be exact. She could feel it, the pull of magic pulsating from the book. Carefully, she pulled the book off of the shelf and opened it. To her satisfaction, it was an ancient spellbook, however, there was just one problem.

The book was written in an ancient tongue and the only ancient tongue Zelena knew was Elvish. Letting out a groan of frustration, Zelena threw the book against a nearby wall. Again she was surprised when the book hit the wall and was blown back by magic. She tilted her head to the side in curiosity.

"What are you hiding in there Rumple?"

She cautiously made her way towards the bookshelf and reached out to touch it; she was shocked with magic.

"Clever little imp," she muttered as she began to search for a way to break the spell; she was certain that her clue to figuring out what was in that spellbook was behind that wall.

oOoOo

It felt extremely good for Robin to be able to safely tuck his son into bed that night. He closed the door once he was sure that Roland was asleep and sighed. Unable to leave his son's side, he slid down the wall, resting his head in his lap.

"You know, contrary to popular belief, beds are very nice to sleep in," Robin looked up to find Regina standing in front of him, though she was dressed as casual as he'd ever seen her since they returned to the Enchanted Forest. She wore dark colored pants that looked less restricting than her usual garb. Her top was light and flowing but matched the darkness of her pants. Her hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail. She seemed…anxious, but somehow relaxed.

"I had every intention of going to my own room but…"

"You couldn't bear to leave him huh?" Regina smiled as Robin nodded.

"You seem to understand that,"

"I do; I was like that once we got back from Neverland. I wanted to spend every waking moment with Henry," Robin reached out and took her hand in his; she surprised him by moving to sit next to him.

"If you don't mind me asking, how are you holding up?" Regina was quiet for a moment before responding.

"We've been here for 115 days, six hours, four minutes and twenty-two seconds. And every moment that passes I want to rip my heart out of my chest. When I'm alone in my room, I pull it out and just…it makes being here easier," Robin's hand squeezed Regina's even tighter.

"I may not know Henry very well but-" Regina quickly reached up to wipe away a stray tear.

"I know; Henry wouldn't want me to do that, but it doesn't mean that I haven't longed for a sleeping curse. If I knew where Maleficent was I'd trade her anything she wanted for her sleeping curse…but then that small, traitorous part of my heart wonders what Henry would think if we were able to get back to him and I was…" Robin moved closer to Regina, carefully wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"I can't say that I know exactly how you feel, but every moment I've been away from Roland I was willing to give anything, my life if necessary to get him back,"

"And you have him," Regina sniffed, keeping her eyes on the wall opposite them.

"And I'd give anything for you to have your boy back," Regina turned to face Robin and shook her head sadly.

"After all I've done to you after how I tried to kill you when we-" Robin placed a hand on her lips to silence her.

"You weren't without reason for what you did," Regina shook her head sadly.

"I'm trouble Robin," He simply smiled back at her, moving into her space.

"Perhaps I have a thing for a little trouble," Regina felt her breath hitch as he moved closer. She wanted this, wanted him, but her heart wasn't ready. Instead, she braced a hand against his chest to stop him.

"I…I'm sorry, but I can't," she shook her head, unable to keep her tears at bay.

"I understand Regina," He placed a reasonable amount of space between them, though he never let go of her hand.

Regina sighed heavily; she wanted to be with Robin, but her heart only wanted one person. There was no way she could give herself, her heart, to Robin without feeling guilty about Henry. Starting anything with Robin would be like moving on without Henry. Sure, Snow and Charming may have been able to do it, but they had each other. Yes, she could have Robin, but loving him would mean loving his son, and that was the hardest part. It was obvious that Roland was in desperate need of some motherly attention, but every time she looked at him, all she could see was Henry at that age.

"I can hear your thoughts; what's got you so troubled?" Robin still held her hand, gently rubbing his thumb across the top of her hand as she took a shuddering breath.

"I…" Whatever she was about to say was interrupted by Granny Lucas bursting into the hallway, her eyes wide and alert.

"Granny, what's going on?" Regina stood carefully as Robin helped her to her feet.

"Something's coming, something bad; my wolf senses can feel it," Granny's face was hard as she stared at Regina, hoping that she too could sense it.

Closing her eyes, Regina tried to see if she could tap into whatever Granny's wolf senses were picking up on. She quickly opened her eyes and shook her head and turned her attention to Granny.

"I don't sense anything magical,"

"That's because I never said it was magic; what I'm picking up on is death. It's coming, and fast,"

Chapter 28 to follow…