7 Months, 3 Weeks, 4 Days

She felt…great! Well, no, not great exactly, not in the traditional sense. But she certainly felt better than she had in…months! Since before Rumple had died, certainly! She hadn't done anything magnificent. She hadn't destroyed the witch, she haven't saved Rumple or rescued Neal, but she felt as though she'd gotten farther in this single conversation than the others had in months! Zelena thought she was smarter than she was, her anger and her confidence were her downfall! She thought she was being clever, but when she wasn't focused on being secretive and let her emotions get the better of her she slipped up! And now that she did there was only one thing they had to do.

"Ruby!" she cried running forward to help her to her feet again. "Are you alright?" she asked looking her over.

She nodded and took a few deep breaths, holding her hand to her side. "Few cracked ribs," she huffed. "They'll heal."

Cracked ribs. That couldn't be good. How long would it take them to heal? She didn't know if the healing was one of Ruby's "special" traits or if she was just being strong, but either way, unless her bones were going to snap back into place right this second they couldn't wait! They had to go now! Zelena was in the area and the others had to hear what she had to say immediately!

"Can you ride?" she asked Ruby.

"Yeah," she breathed. "Yeah I'll push through."

She nodded and wrapped an arm around Ruby to help her back to their horses, which had remained remarkably tied to the post the entire time. "We have to go back," she explained getting Ruby set. "We have to tell the others, now!"

"Wait," Ruby muttered, grabbing her arm as she moved her horses reins over her head and placed them in her hands for her. "'We'?" Ruby questioned with a timid smile. "You're staying? For good? Or…"

"She has my Rumple, everyone seems to keep forgetting that, but…there are times I've forgotten she's Regina's sister and that she wants Snow's baby. The only thing that fixes any of this is if we start worrying about everyone else's problems as much as we worry about our own. And if the only way to do that is for someone to make the sacrifice first…then so be it!"

She moved to collect her own horse but Ruby caught her hand before she could get too far away. "I knew you were in there somewhere, I hoped…" but words seemed to escape her as she stared a happy smile on her face and something glistening in her eyes. Hope was love, Ruby's way of showing love. She understood. "Welcome back," Ruby finally muttered.

She felt herself blush at the greeting. It wasn't particularly a happy occasion, nothing was fixed or solved, frankly if she wanted to she could still run off and try to figure it out on her own…only she couldn't. Not anymore. Regina could complain about her past sins all she wanted, Snow and David could focus on their child, but so long as they all united under a common goal that worked out for them, she could handle it. Running away, doing things on her own. It was the wrong thing to do. She just had to remember that. She just had to keep her past at bay and focus on her future, their future. She had to focus on who she wanted to be. Then she might stand a chance against the Queens traitorous accusations!

"Just…" she swallowed, knowing what she was going back to, what awaited her the moment she stepped back inside the castle. It was very likely there would be more tears between here and there, but so long as they all got "there", it would be worth it! "Just bring me back here, if I ever need reminding again…please?"

"Promise," Ruby vowed. After a final squeeze her sense of immediacy returned. There was no time to lose. They had to go.

"Come on," she stated swinging herself back up into the saddle. "We need to go!" She lost sight of the monkey's and the witch as they traveled through the woods under the trees cover. They went carefully at first, for Ruby's sake but after a few moments, when she stopped to assess their progress Ruby trotted up next to her.

"We can go, fast as possible, before it's too late." She nodded and didn't waste time, they kicked their horse's bellies and flew recklessly through the forest. Trees whipped by her, stray branches scratched her face, her head hurt from the violent motions the horses body put her through, she hadn't galloped like this since the day she'd returned to them, thinking the monkeys were chasing after her, it felt like history was repeating itself over again, but this time, instead of terrible news, the words she and Ruby carried with her were good, useful maybe more if they worked fast enough.

"Come on," she grabbed Ruby's hand the minute they were back in the stables, the horses could wait, the others couldn't! "They'll be at breakfast." This morning Ruby had pulled her through the halls, quietly. Now she pulled Ruby, and she didn't care how loud she was. "She's in the forest!" she yelled bursting into the room they used for breakfast. Every eye turned on the pair of them, royals, thieves, dwarves, they all stared at her. "She's living in Rumple's castle, she told me herself!"

"You were out in the woods alone?!" David questioned getting up to look at them.

"We weren't alone, Zelena was there!"

"She's telling the truth, we were out by Rumpelstiltskin's old house," Ruby added.

"She took off but you might still be able to catch her if-" the room seemed to move as everyone realized exactly what she was saying.

"I'll get the guards!" David declared.

"I'll arm my men!" Robin stated.

"Get Roland somewhere safe," Regina stated handing the boy over to Snow.

"I have to go keep my parents calm," Rapunzel stated leaving the room.

"I'll get the castle locked down."

"Snow take this!" David said pushing his sword into his wives hands. "I'll worry about the castle, get somewhere safe! She's close by I want that witch caught, now!"

They locked themselves in that tower, closed the windows, sealed the doors tight, closed the curtains, and waited. At the sound of hoof beats and yells she risked a glance out the window. Dozens of men dressed in black and mounted on horses were swarming into the forest on her word and if felt…right!

Of course, she wanted to go with them, wanted to fight too, but she knew there was nothing that she could do. And that was okay. Some people had brains others used their brawn. Ariel had taught her that she had the brains, she couldn't wield magic, didn't know how to use a sword, or a bow and arrow, she couldn't throw a knife like Ruby, but she could talk. She could read! She'd been ignoring the gifts that she had, what she knew she could do ever since she got back to the castle, it was time to stop that, to turn it around. She could do something whether they knew it or not.

They waited uncomfortably in the room for what felt like hours. It wasn't easy for any of them. Snow was used to taking action, to charging into battle, not sitting pregnant in a tower waiting for news. Ruby normally was right there beside them and after they'd gotten off the horses she'd seemed fine but it must have been adrenaline because now every time she moved she winced and clutched her stomach. Granny helped her, assuring them that she'd be better soon enough, they just needed to remove the corset and let her rest properly, but she could see that they'd much rather be out with the others as well, crossbows and teeth bared. None of them liked sitting in the darkened tower, hiding because if the witch choose to come into this room they had no magic to defend themselves with, but they did it for hours on end.

The sun was going down by the time horses and soldiers began trickling back in through the gate. The castle came alive again, those who had been shut away for their own safety went back to work, their curtains were opened, footsteps were in the hall, and at David's voice Snow White opened the door for her husband, Regina, the dwarves, and the Merry Men.

"We searched the area around the house, expanded the search into the woods, went over every inch of that land. We found some footprints but nothing more," David informed them.

"She left on her broom," Belle explained.

"Well that explains why we couldn't follow after her," Robin Hood sighed. "Can't track the air."

"She said she had important things to do," she explained. "I hoped she'd at least stay in the area."

"'Important things to do'?" David questioned. "Like what?"

"She didn't tell us," she answered wishing she'd thought to ask something else and get a small hint. "But she did say, just before she left, that we'd see her soon."

"'Soon'?" David questioned again, beginning to sound like a parrot, there simply to mimic every word she said. Fortunately she knew the way to fix that. Little John called Roland to him, convinced him to go down to the stables to help the guards with the horses, and once it was just them again she offered a sigh and told them everything she knew.

"Ruby and I went to the house this morning, when we came out she was there just waiting for us. She wanted to know about Rumple, she had the dagger-"

"Tell me you didn't answer her questions!" Regina demanded.

"She threatened him if I didn't so yes I told her, but-"

"Stupid girl!"

"-but the questions were personal, the only one they hurt to answer was me."

"So you think! We don't know what she's planning!"

"She wanted to know what we saw in each other," she screamed back at Regina, determined not to lay down and take her angry insults this time around. "Why we loved one another, so unless you can think of a reason why that information hurts all of us then I don't see any reason for anyone besides me to be upset!" Regina opened her mouth, but then closed it again, saying nothing. Her heart was hammering but she felt a quick swell of pride expand in the pit of her stomach. Regina's silence could only mean one thing. She'd won. And it felt good.

"I asked her what she wanted from Rumple," she went on turning back to David and Snow White, "she said it was the same thing she wanted with your baby and your heart Regina."

"Wait! That's something we haven't heard yet," Snow inserted. "She wants Regina's heart, too? You're sure she said that?!"

"I am."

"Actually that's the only thing that does make sense," Regina muttered. "She said she wanted to take everything I had, if she crushes it she takes my life. What else did she say?"

"A lot happened in a short amount of time. She all but admitted to taking the sword in the mines but wouldn't tell me what she wanted with it, or your baby, Ruby threw a knife, Zelena threw Ruby-"

"I'm fine, really!"

"-she made veiled threats, told us she had to go, that she had other things to do and we'd see her soon, but…she told me, she let it slip!"

"Let what slip?" Granny asked, trying to calm her with a touch of the shoulder. But she couldn't be calmed. She was excited! Zelena had made a mistake and solved at least one mystery for them.

"She's at Rumple's castle," she told them again. "She told me herself. I told her that she wouldn't succeed and she went on and on about having Rumple, and the dagger, and Neal…and the castle!"

"She's staying there," David whispered.

"We were right all along," Snow breathed.

"It explains why none of the guards ever came back, though it still leaves us with the question of where she is now and what she's doing," Regina pointed out.

"I can help with half of that," she stated. They all glanced back over at her, even Ruby gave her a questioning look. "I can try to help with half of that," she amended quickly, thinking it was better not to make promises she wasn't sure she could keep.

"You know where she is?" David suggested.

She shook her head, "I think I can try to figure out what she's doing."

"How exactly do you expect to do that?" Regina snarled, grinning ear to ear as if her suggestion was so idiotic it was funny and cute. No. She wouldn't take that from Regina! Not anymore.

"So far you've used magic and physical evidence to track her, you've done what you do best now let me do what I know best-"

"What? Sew her a dress and read a book? What do you have we don't?!"

"Self-respect!" she roared back at the woman. "You can call me naïve and remind me a hundred times of the mistakes that I've made but you're not going to tell me what I am and am not capable of! And the truth is I shouldn't want to help you. Not after everything you've said to me in the last few months and certainly not after everything you've done since the moment we met: imprisonment, isolation, manipulation, torture…! I should let you figure it out on your own, but I won't, because that's not who I am, that's who you are!

"So I'm going to stay and I'm going to do what I do best and read a book and try to figure out what she's planning and how to stop her for you, for Rumple, and for their son! And if you don't like it, then no one will force you to watch and you can go on pretending like I'm useless!" she yelled at her, doing her best to cage Lacey's voice growing angrier and louder in her head with every word as she and Regina stared at one another and everyone in the room waited for a response from the Evil Queen who was staring daggers at her. The silence wasn't haunting for her this time, it didn't hurt, and she didn't have to hold back tears as she waited for her response. She'd said her peace. Finally! And the only one who had anything to say about it now would be Regina.

In the end all she did was sigh, roll her eyes, and cross her arms over her chest as she shook her head. "I don't have time for this," she muttered as she walked passed her, toward the door.

All in all, it was better than she expected it to be.


Yep! A lot of you actually guessed right! Zelena revealed where she was living. And yes, they sort of suspected she was at the castle but they didn't have any proof of it until now. So now they have more pieces to this crazy puzzle and they are going to get a lot more in the chapters to come because we have finally arrived at one of my favorite personas and I can't wait to see what you think of it! Yes, you better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout I'm tellin' you why...Research!Belle is coming to...er...okay that didn't work out as well as I hoped just...Research!Belle. She's coming. It's exciting. Be excited!

Thank you to Meredith Pechta, Kathryn Claire O'Connor, Rumbellefan, Ladybugsmomma, Raizen Yusuke, Deweymay, and Skitzoeinhoven for your reviews on the last chapter. Great job guessing the interaction and hints and I hope you'll continue to like what is to come! Peace and Happy Reading!