A few hours into their road trip, Alena pulled into a gas station behind Roni and Henry.
After pulling up at a pump, the three of them stepped out of their vehicles. Alena left the door open before she reached for the gas cap on her bug.
She had barely reached for the nozzle when she heard two squeals: "Want out, Mommy!"
Alena couldn't help but sigh before she told them, "In just a minute, you two."
The girls continued to be a bit fussy about being let out of the booster seats - some of it likely due to their tiredness from traveling.
Alena could scarcely concentrate to fill up the car, and she ran her fingers through her hair.
Regina then strolled over and observed, "It seems like you could use a hand with the twins."
Alena offered her a grateful smile before she told her, "Thank you, Roni. I really appreciate it."
"It's no problem," Regina assured the young woman. She then chuckled and added, "I remember what it was like dealing with a rambunctious toddler - and you have two of them."
Alena chuckled as well before Regina bent down and began unbuckling the twins.
"Tank you!" Emma and Lily both shouted, giving Regina wide smiles.
She smiled back in response as she replied, "You two are welcome," bending down on their level.
Lily then asked, "Want picture, Roni?" a curious expression in her brown eyes.
Regina looked as though she had to think about it before she answered, "I would love it if you and your sister made me a picture."
Lily clapped before she turned to Emma and exclaimed, "Color Roni pretty picture!"
"No! Not color! I want draw picture!" Emma argued, her arms crossed over her chest.
Lily couldn't help but jump at her sister's tone before Alena scolded her other daughter: "Emma, what has Mommy told you about yelling?"
Emma looked down for a few moments. She then quietly spoke, "Not nice, Mommy."
"That's right," Alena began. She then explained, "And what do you do now?"
The little girl looked thoughtful for a moment before she answered, "Say sorry." At Alena's nod, Emma turned to her sister and spoke, "I sorry."
"Otay, Emma," Lily replied before pulling her twin in for a hug, one that Emma returned.
When they pulled away, Roni gently offered, "I'm sure whatever picture you decide to make me will be very pretty."
"Pretty!" Emma then agreed before Alena added, "Maybe you two could even make your own picture," as Regina rose to her feet.
The girls nodded before Alena maneuvered them over to a bench near the pump she was using. They sat down before they both began singing a song from Tangled.
Alena and Regina couldn't help but smile at the sight. Lily then paused singing and asked, "Favite princess, Roni?"
The dark-haired woman smiled before she answered, "I did always like Snow White and Cinderella."
Alena couldn't help but shake her head and grin as her girls gasped with Emma then exclaiming, "Us love them too!"
"Good princess story," Lily then added with a bright smile before she and her sister resumed singing.
Regina smiled once more before she commented, "They remind me of you when you were their age. How they're curious about everything and how they make friends with everyone."
Alena smiled as well before she offered a slight chuckle. She then spoke, "I'm pretty positive I'm still like that."
She then looked over at her girls before she shook her head and added, "And they're on the stubborn side - especially Emma."
Regina couldn't help but chuckle at that before she said, "I may have noticed."
She then took a breath and continued, "Speaking of the twins taking after you, they're products of true love, too. Which means they have magic. Have they shown any sort of signs?"
Alena shook her head before she elaborated, "No, not yet. But then again, they're only three-years-old."
With a tilt of her head. Regina recalled, "But you started showing signs before you even started school. As I remember it, you were hungry for an after-dinner snack, but you couldn't reach it. Your parents were cleaning up the kitchen and asked you to wait for a few minutes. But you couldn't wait, so you got it down yourself with magic."
Alena tilted her head as she spoke, "Hmm, I don't think I remember that." She couldn't help but giggle as she added, "Subtly really isn't my strong suit, is it?"
"No, it isn't," Regina conceded with a chuckle of her own, just as Alena had finished pumping gas.
The brunette then surmised, "I guess you showing your magic abilities that early is just another sign of that unexplored potential."
"I guess so," Alena conceded before pulling out her debit card. She placed it in the card reader before she continued speaking, "And it would have been helpful to know that I'm meant to break this curse so I could practice. But Drizella just had to zap my memory," frustration in her tone.
She then took a deep, calming breath and spoke, "Sorry - I know this trip is supposed to be helping me forget all of my problems for a little while."
"Hey, look, I get it. We're all doing the best we can," Regina began. She then paused and continued, "And with any luck, we'll have some help when we get back in the Heights."
"For all of our sakes, I hope you're right," Alena told her before sliding her card back in her wallet.
She then closed her gas cap before she bent down in front of her girls, who were still singing. She then told them, "Alright, you two, it's time to go on some more of our trip."
"Want play, Mommy," Emma protested, followed by Lily: "Pease, Mommy?"
Alena couldn't help but sigh as those brown eyes of theirs turned pleading. Those looks had never been especially easy for Alena, but they felt a little more heartbreaking given her last interaction with Nick.
But, she took another deep and calming breath before she told them, "I know you two want to play, but it's gonna have to wait until we're in San Francisco, okay?"
Both girls looked thoughtful for a moment before they both nodded in response.
Alena smiled at them and ruffled their hair before they hopped up from the bench. With Regina's help, she then placed Emma and Lily in their booster seats.
The girls excitedly bid goodbye to Roni, telling her they'd see her in "San Cisco." Roni told them and Alena the same before she rejoined Henry.
Once Alena had double-checked everything in the bug, she placed a hand on the gear shift. Before she could put it in drive, however, her phone beeped with a text message.
She grabbed her phone and read the message, smiling at the news that the renovations on the office building were already underway.
"That is exactly what I needed right now," Alena happily muttered before she placed the phone aside.
She checked on the twins one last time before she put her car in drive and steered it toward the highway.
New Enchanted Forest, Many Years Ago
Thunder crashed amid a heavy storm as a wagon was driven rapidly along the road. A man lay in the back of the wagon with two young girls seated on either side of him. He coughed before the driver came to a halt in front of a stone gate overgrown with moss, surrounded by bushes, and covered by tree branches.
The man then questioned, "Why'd you stop, Rapunzel?"
A blonde woman - Rapunzel - rose to her feet and turned to face him before she climbed into the back of the wagon. She then answered, "Because I found our family something to eat."
One of the young girls - the elder of the two - held a rag to the man's forehead as he told Rapunzel, "I'm sorry the burden falls to you to look after us all."
She smiled at him as she replied, "You're a brilliant tailor, Marcus. Once I mend you, you'll stitch together the life we've always dreamed of for our family."
The young girl ceased wiping her father's forehead as she worriedly asked, "Are you sure it's safe to go in there, Mama?"
Rapunzel then explained, "The lanterns will connect us. You'll see mine in there," turning to look toward the gate before looking back at her daughter, "and yours will guide me back to you here."
Thunder rumbled outside the wagon before Rapunzel reassured her husband and girls: "Remember for my family, I'll always find a way," grabbing the hand of her other daughter, looking back and forth between the two of them.
She then climbed out of the wagon and walked toward the gate as the storm continued to rage around her. She kept walking through the trees and bushes of the garden until she reached a plot containing flowers and vegetables.
Rapunzel bent down and began taking some of the vegetables, and she placed them in a brown sack.
As she continued to fill the sack, a witch appeared in front of her, startling her as she screamed and fell backwards. A terrified expression overtook her features.
The witch then demanded: "Who dares trespass in Gothel's garden?" before she poofed the bag of vegetables rom Rapunzel's hands.
Rapunzel rose to her feet as she explained, "I'll apologize for taking some food, but I won't apologize for trying to help my family. My husband is sick. My kids have gone two days without a bite."
Gothel looked over the woman in front of her before she began, "Many people come here in an attempt to steal my magic. And yet, here you are selflessly risking my ire for-" pausing as she pulled the contents out of the sack, "Radishes. It's rare to find a flower that can grow amongst the weeds of human nature."
"I meant no disrespect. I can work as payment, if that pleases you," Rapunzel then offered, hoping it would serve as a fair solution.
In response, Gothel posed, "If your family is your be all and end all, what would you sacrifice to give them a better life?"
In an act of selflessness and love, Rapunzel answered, "I would do anything."
Gothel smiled at the young woman, though the expression seemed rather calculating. She then told her, "Anything is something I can work with. We have a deal," before she dropped the brown sack onto the dirt below.
She then uncorked a small bottle she held and poured the contents in her hand - the contents resembled small seeds. Thunder crashed just as she threw the seeds at Rapunzel's feet.
Rapunzel gasped when she realized the seeds held some sort of magic. Vines began growing from the ground and encircled Rapunzel as Gothel controlled them. The vines then shifted and transformed into a room.
Rapunzel looked up as she realized the change in her surroundings, and she took a panorama of the room before she spotted a window. She ran to the window and threw open the wooden shutters - she then looked down and realized that she is now in a tower.
From behind her, Gothel then informed her, "There is no way out of this tower."
Rapunzel then turned back around to face the witch before she argued, "I never agreed to this."
In a condescending tone, Gothel pointed out, "Oh, but you did. You swore to pay any price for your family's happiness. And there's a distinct difference between theirs and yours," circling Rapunzel as she spoke.
Even though her belief remained strong, Rapunzel still appeared upset as she maintained, "They'll come for me."
Gothel then smugly refuted, "But they'll never find you."
Rapunzel then returned to the window before she yelled, "Marcus! Help! Anastasia! Drizella! Help me!"
Hyperion Heights, Present Day
Victoria wore an orange jumpsuit as she sat in the visitor's room at the police station. She looked down at her wrists and studied the scars left by the handcuffs.
An officer then led a dark-haired woman to the windowed room. Victoria looked up as the door buzzed and the lock disengaged, and her daughter entered.
Ivy then drily commented, "Hmm. Orange looks better on the women on that Netflix show."
With annoyance and a twinge of disappointment written across her features and etched in her tone, Victoria replied, "My wardrobe has much in common with you, as my daughter. In both cases, I'm stuck with what was thrust upon me," as Ivy looked down at her nails.
Victoria then sighed and looked away as she deadpanned, "Why are you here, Ivy?"
The young woman then matter-of-factly stated, "No, you're right. That's enough small talk." She then sat down across from her mother and continued, "You have hidden something away from me. A family heirloom, if you will."
"You want Anastasia's body?" Victoria questioned, though she remained unsurprised by the request.
Sounding as though she had it all figured out, Ivy told her, "Then I can do what you never could. Wake my sister up."
Victoria sighed and glanced down before she knowingly continued, "No. You want the magic within her. And once you get it, we both know what you plan to do with her."
With a scoff, Ivy replied, "You know, I learned negotiating from you. I have control of all of your assets now. You have no money, no lawyer, no Chanel. Sharing Anastasia's whereabouts is the only way you can get out of here."
Victoria then pointed out, "I don't need you to get me out of here," motioning with her head towards the door.
"Fine. I'll find her myself. I have Gothel helping me now," Ivy told her.
The annoyance and disappointment returned as Victoria said, "I bet you do. You always did gravitate toward any mother figure you could."
"And you always gravitated to the love of only one daughter," Ivy threw back, her eyes glossing over and her tone matching her mother's.
With a spitefulness, Victoria rhetorically questioned, "Aww. Did someone not get enough hugs?"
Ivy offered a rueful smile as offered, "Have fun in prison," before she stood up and walked away.
Victoria then began, "This isn't the first time someone's tried to lock me up," causing Ivy to turn back around. With a confidence that appeared unshakable, she then finished, "When it comes to my family, I always find a way."