"I can't," Regina said.

Emma didn't say anything at first.

"I understand why you need to go. Your son is back there."

Emma wanted to say "our son," but she didn't.

"You have a life back there," Regina continued. "And that is where you belong."

Emma stood up and walked away a moment. She knew she should tell her – tell her that this wasn't her world, not her timeline and that if she should just come home with her and be reunited with her son. But she knew going back wasn't an option for Regina – not now that Emma understood that this immortality curse would follow her back.

For her to go back would mean seeing Henry grow up and eventually die, all while she remained unchanged.

She couldn't ask Regina to endure that.

"You're right," Emma said. "My life is back there. And yours is here."

"Things are going to be hectic over the next few days with all the events. I do hope before you leave though that you and I might get the chance to spend some time together."

"I don't plan on being very far from your side if I can help it," Emma said. "Kane is still on the loose, and I have a bad feeling about this whole thing. I know you say that this celebration is important to the people, and it gives everyone a chance to have a break from their lives, but there are way too many people around, and it's simply not possible to ensure your safety."

"I will be fine," Regina said. "I trust in your preparations. You are right though, you can't ensure my safety, which is why I if anything were to happen, it's not your fault. With Kane's betrayal you have been put in a bad spot. I trust you. I trust you with my life and to me that is all the assurance I need."

"Do you even like this Unity thing?"

Regina turned from her for a few seconds. "It's an important reminder, and it's enjoyable for the people. I do like that they get the chance to have fun and be entertained and feel like they are a part of something bigger."

"You didn't really answer the question."

Regina sighed. "No. I do not really like it. It brings back memories that I would rather not dwell on. It's not really about me so I can, what was that colorful phrase you used to that guard captain – suck it up? I will just have to do that."

"I still have a bad feeling about it."

"As do I."

…..

They were only part way through the first day of the celebration and Emma couldn't help but admit that the people were really having a good time. As promised she was sticking close to Regina's side. As queen, she said it was her duty to walk around, be seen by the people, observe events and actually attend some of them. That is how Regina, Snow, Abigail and their royal parties ended up on a raised platform that was constructed for viewing the jousting matches in the newly constructed arena.

Emma couldn't help but think how these things were exactly the security nightmare she envisioned. Everyone was walking about freely. Regina had rejected her idea that they at least be patted down before entering the arena. She didn't even know why she thought something was going to happen, just that she felt like it was. She would have felt better if she had known where Kane was. The man was obsessed with Regina, of that Emma was sure, and men like that didn't just give up.

They were in between matches when a storyteller on a makeshift, portable stage began to speak. Emma had heard snippets of stories throughout the day, but had yet to hear one from beginning to end. She assumed this was their version of halftime.

"Ladies and gentlemen, kings and queens, prince and princesses and to our host Queen Regina, the Redeemer, I bid you welcome. I am Clopin, and today, my friends I bring you a tale unlike any other you have heard to date. I know, I know you are all thinking there is no tale connected with the battle for Unity that has not been told and retold. But nay I say, there is such a tale. It has taken me years to track down, years in the crafting and today you shall be the first to hear it."

There were gasps of excitement from some of the audience. Emma thought the guy had flair but since she didn't know any of the stories all would be new to her anyway.

"I shall take you back to a time before the first attack on the kingdom of Midas, to the days leading up to that deadly assault. We have all heard the stories of Cora, whose lust for power knew no bounds. We have heard how she schooled her daughters Zelena and Regina in the dark arts, hoping with them by her side that she would conquer the world. This story is about one of those times."

Emma looked at Regina, who seemed to be studying the storyteller, but no really interested in what he had to say.

"With her armies nearly ready to strike, and against the advice of her generals, Cora told her armies to hold. They weren't ready yet, she insisted. And on that day she left camp with only her daughters. She led them deep, deep into the wood just east of where her armies stayed. They walked for miles, all in silence, for Cora refused to tell her daughters where they were going. Already in young Regina's mind were the seeds of an idea that would lead to her betrayal of her own family to make a stand with the kingdoms. But it was only an idea and she was still very much under the control of her mother at this time.

The night before had brought a quick thunderstorm through the area, and left this day overcast. The bottoms of their dresses sometimes gathering up the dirt and mud, the two girls followed their mother as they knew they must."

"Far, far into the woods they went until they came upon a clearing with a small creek running through it. Here Cora bade them to stay in silence. They waited without food, without water, their mother ordering them to not move toward the creek. Imagine if you will what it must have been like for them to be in alone with a woman who was mother in name only. A woman who made no secret of the fact she wanted to use their combined magics to conquer."

"Finally, a shadow moved within the woods approaching the creek. What it was they couldn't tell yet, but slowly it came out of the forest and stepped into the clearing. There stood the majestic unicorn – a rare sight indeed. It is said that it is a once-in-a-lifetime sight to behold. And from the moment it stepped into the clearing, it was as if the clouds themselves parted in that area to allow even the sun to behold it."

"The strength, the power, the majestic nature of this creature held Regina in awe from the very start. Her love of horses was only magnified a hundred fold by this one animal and unconsciously she found herself walking toward it. The unicorn which had come to the clearing to get a drink regarded the young girl now coming toward it. In her, it saw what all must have seen when they laid eyes on her that time in her life – innocence."

Emma watched as Snow smiled and touched Regina's arm at the comment and Regina tore her attention from Clopin. Emma could tell that Regina was listening to him with more than a little skepticism up until he mentioned the unicorn. Emma was doubting the validity of the story based on Regina's facial expressions, but once he mentioned the unicorn Regina's demeanor changed. She gave him a look that Emma was all too familiar with – the look of an adversary.

"The unicorn allowed Regina to come toward it, and when she was almost there, almost close enough for her to touch it that creature reared up on its hind legs, it's hooves in the air as if they would come down and strike her and then it froze."

"Yes, my audience, you know exactly what I am describing as we have all seen the unicorn banner fly in the winds. It's there and there in this very arena. The story we've all been told is that when Queen Regina and her faithful companions came to this land, she saw a unicorn rise up just like this and it was in that spot she decided to build this castle. A sign of good omen that was later adopted as a symbol of her kingdom. But nay, I say to you that despite the truth of that story, it was not that unicorn that inspired the Redeemer banner, it was this other one – the one a young Regina encountered that day in the woods. Like I said before, this tale has remained hidden until now. And it pleases her majesty, shall I continue?" He bowed once more to her. The audience was yelling out for him to continue. Regina locked eyes with him and merely nodded that he may continue.

Emma too wanted Clopin to continue, but only because she was trying to figure out if this was a true story, and if it wasn't why did it seem like it was bothering Regina.

"The young Regina turned to see her mother striding toward her with Zelena, her magic keeping the unicorn frozen. She turned back to the unicorn seeing the fear in its eyes, and the sadness. She was nearly overwhelmed with emotions. Once Cora reached her, she begged her mother to release it from the spell. 'Don't be ridiculous,' Cora said to her. 'do you have any idea of the power in a unicorn, in its horn and in its heart?' 'What are you going to do to it?' Regina asked and Cora laughed at her, 'It's not what I am going to do to it, it's what you are going to do to it'"

"Cora approached the unicorn, not with the reverence or admiration that Regina did, but with envy for its power. She cared no more for it than she did anything else her life – except for its ability to increase her own power. She dared then to reach out and touch it, letting her hand glide along its flank. 'I knew,' she said. 'that the unicorn came here. Just as I knew it would not see you as a threat Regina. No one sees you as a threat, and that is the problem we are here to rectify today. I have tried and tried to get you to understand that you must use your power, harness your power so that others fear you, yet you continue to fail at that lesson. No longer my daughter. Today you either learn that lesson the easy way or the hard way."

"She came back to stand beside Regina. She used her magic to force the unicorn back to its four legs. 'Take its heart,' she commanded. Regina stared once more at the unicorn, this time in revulsion for what her mother told her to do. 'Take its heart," Cora said once again. Regina was more than familiar now with her mother's tactic of literally grabbing a person's heart from their chest, but the idea of doing it herself or doing it to this magnificent creature before her was unfathomable to her."

"But Cora would not take no for an answer. Grabbing her daughter's wrist, she forced her hand inside the unicorn. 'Put your hand around its heart,' Cora ordered. Having no choice, Regina extended her fingers around the soft membrane of the heart. In her hand she could now feel the rush of blood that moved within it – feel the powerful rhythm of the beating of that heart. And she could also feel the power – the power her mother said was within in that organ. Cora hadn't lied. Regina could feel it begin to flow into her – a source of power that could enhance magic – even her own."

"'You sense it, don't you?' Cora asked. 'You can sense that raw power that lies just within your grip, can't you?' Wrapped up in a different kind of awe now, Regina merely nodded. 'Then take it,' Cora said, releasing her wrist. 'Take it and make it yours.' Regina tightened her hand just slightly around the heart and she looked once more into the eyes of the unicorn."

"In those eyes she saw fear and knew she was the cause. If she had a mirror the many times her mother had used her magic against her own daughters, Regina would have seen the same kind of fear reflected in her own eyes. In that moment, she knew the lesson her mother had tried to teach her – fear could be power. But Regina also knew as she closed her eyes and concentrated on the beating of the heart in her hand that fear would never be strength. She let go."

Emma heard several people audibly gasp. They were all caught up in the words, picturing in their minds this scene unfolding.

"Backing away from the unicorn and her mother, Regina said, 'I will not.' She knew what it was to openly defy her mother. She knew the harsh lessons of talking back, but she stood there letting her Cora know that she would not be her puppet, not be the kind of person her mother was."

"Cora though, she was a force, and one which Regina was not yet ready to face and win. Using her magic, vines shot from the forest, grabbing Regina and pulling her back against the nearest tree, her arms and legs pinned there. Cora then turned back to the unicorn and her other daughter. 'Take it,' she commanded Zelena, who looked from her mother, to her sister and back to the unicorn. 'Take it or join your sister.' Zelena approached the unicorn, not looking at its eyes. 'No!' cried out Regina. Zelena looked once more at her sister before plunging her hand into the unicorn and tearing its heart out. There was no pause, no hesitation on her part as she did this. She didn't relish the feel of the heart or its power. She merely took it. It now sat there nestled in her grip."

"'At least one of you understands,' Cora said using her magic to conjure up a box. She opened it, and held it out to Zelena who deposited the heart inside. Cora then made the box disappear. She walked over to where Regina was bound, grabbing her daughter's chin and forcing her eyes up to her own. 'You constantly disappoint my daughter, but if you think your little rebellions will keep you from participating in my plans then you are mistaken. You will ride at my side with your sister and you will do as I say. I see in your eyes that you think otherwise. I told you, you would learn my lesson the easy way or the hard way. You chose the hard way.'"

"Cora let go of her chin, let her hand move slowly down before reaching its destination. Like Zelena, there as no hesitation as she pushed her hand into her daughter's chest, gripped her heart and pulled. Regina could only gasp at the intrusion and then the loss of heart. Cora conjured another box and placed Regina's heart inside, then using her magic to conjure it away. She released her daughter then."

"Regina reached up and felt that spot, the spot where underneath she should be able to feel her heart, but there was nothing there to feel. And soon the residual feelings – love, compassion, and all that makes a person care about their fellow man would fade."

"After the defeat of Cora's armies, many felt that Regina should not be given a second chance. Not be allowed to redeem herself. There was never a question that without her aid, the war would have gone badly for the other kingdoms, but there were also others who knew she had ridden into battle with her family and used her magic in ways that are only spoken about in whispers. For they didn't know that as she did these things, she did so without the ability to feel the wrongness of her actions. They didn't know that her heart remained locked away and hidden by her mother. They didn't know with each passing day she forgot what it was like to care for her fellow man."

"But even the memory of those feelings, and the memory of that clearing, that unicorn was enough - enough for her to turn from the destructive path Cora placed her on. Enough for her to go in secret to Queen Eva and ask for the chance – a chance to change the course of a war and a chance to again feel the beating of her own heart. But that is the part of the story you know, now you know there is always more to a story."

"To Queen Regina," Clopin yelled out. "All hail the Redeemer!"

The crowd leapt to its feet, cheering not just for Clopin and his tale but for their Queen.

Clopin bowed again to Regina, who stood and clapped for the performance. As things settled down and Clopin began to leave the stage, Regina beckoned Emma over. Emma leaned in so she could hear Regina.

"Have him followed. I want to know who he speaks to, who he meets. I want every one of his movements tracked, do you understand?" she whispered so no one else could hear.

"Why?"

"Don't question me," Regina said. "Just have it done."

Emma moved away. She looked at Regina, who gave her a look back – one that left no doubt in Emma's mind that there was more to Clopin's story.