Footsteps thudded against the grass, over and over again until he collided with his daughter, his arms holding her tight. Will and Ruby followed, holding one another close in a state of disbelief. Everything came together in a joyous rush- it took a moment for the reality to set in, each second more treasured than the last.
"I knew you'd be here, I just knew it!" Caroline exclaimed, hugging her father fervently. Tears had quickly began to form in her soft brown eyes; her one wish had come true.
Will felt the physical release of his stress and anxiety as soon as he had Ruby in his arms. The emotions were intense, especially with the setting sun casting a golden hue. The surrealism of it all was diminished, however, when he noticed the blood staining her sleeve.
"Oh my g- this looks really bad!" He exclaimed, earning the attention of Robin and Caroline. Even Zelena's attention was spiked by his alarming words, shielding her eyes to block out the sunlight as she watched the four of them assess her wound. She was distanced from the welcoming reunion, just as she knew she would be. The journey had been exhausting, and the relief of getting to their destination was the only thing on her mind.
Turning away from the group, Zelena glanced up at the looming house, her eyes full of curiosity. By the look of it, the property was uninhabited. A ghostly aura indicated years of absence, vines of ivy clung to the side of the house in a tangled mess. She found herself traveling around the perimeter, lost in wonder at the sight. When she arrived at the grand front entrance, something unusual caught her eye- a sigil marked both of the doorknobs, one that was familiar to her.
Zelena immediately began laughing, finding it impossible to control her emotions. Her hysterics eventually caught the attention of the others, who charged over to find her laughing so hard she could barely stand straight.
"What the hell?" Robin asked, looking at her like she was absolutely insane.
She forced her laughter to subside, shaking her head at the irony of the situation. Pointing towards the door, Zelena glanced towards Robin.
"Do you know who this sigil belongs to?" She asked, her eyes widening with surprise when he failed to answer. "Caroline, any idea?"
The girl shook her head, mirroring her father's perplexed expression.
"Absolutely astonishing," Zelena remarked, her voice tightening in sudden anger, "she really kept who she was hidden from all of you."
"Zelena, what are you talking about?"
"This was her house! This is where she grew up!" She exclaimed, shocked by her own words, "that's the Mills family crest. I've seen it about a thousand times through my magic mirror."
Nobody knew how to respond, they stared up at the house as if it would animate at any second.
"What on earth are we doing standing around here for?" Will asked, "obviously whatever's in there is key to getting us out of here."
Glancing more closely at the door, Zelena couldn't help but let out a sly smile. "By all means, have at it."
Before anyone could stop him, Will reached for the door, immediately receiving a shock that blew him back into the air and flat on his back. Ruby and Robin were quick to help him to his feet.
"Cora Mills probably hated this house, but that didn't stop her from enchanting every inch of it," Zelena told them, slowly extending her arm towards the knob. It was her moment of truth, something she had been yearning for ever since she learned about who she was. The knob turned, and the door opened.
"That's the welcome I was hoping for," she remarked, taking the first steps in.
The air was heavy and untouched, the stillness of everything quickly disrupted by the five individuals who entered. Robin was alarmed by the simplicity of the decorations- only a few sparsely placed items covered the shelves, no signs of any family living there. It felt wrong to walk where his wife once existed, he couldn't find the headspace to fully register the situation they had entered.
"This is weird," he stated, voicing what everyone was thinking, "who on earth wanted us to be here?"
Zelena hardly heard a word he said, completely transfixed by the world around her. "Maybe it was fate," she replied haphazardly, before intruding deeper into the house.
Following her lead, Caroline left her father's side and began looking over every little thing, looking lost in absolute wonder.
"What are we going to do, pick apart this place until we find anything of use? It isn't safe- Caroline, I don't want you touching anything."
She instantly shot him a look of disbelief. "Dad, it's not like we're going to get another chance like this. If we all split up, I'm sure we can find what we're looking for."
"I'm with her on this," Will interjected, "we're all dying to know what kind of secrets Cora kept in here."
Even Ruby with her newly dressed wound appeared completely enamored with the contents of the room, running her fingers across the cloth drapes as if to prove its realness.
"Our mother lived about ten different lives- I've seen every single one for myself. Caroline and I will be safe, our blood is the same as hers. As for the rest of you..." Zelena shrugged, venturing further into the house, "snoop at your own risk."
Although Robin was still skeptical, he didn't protest when his daughter began gingerly analyzing each trinket on a living room bookshelf. Intruding felt wrong, but it still didn't feel like it was Regina's house they were walking through- that part of her was sealed away and hardly ever brought up, even in their ten years of marriage. And Robin didn't mind, because he too had a childhood not worth reminiscing over.
"Guys, look at this!" Caroline shouted excitedly, gaining both Will and Robin's immediate attention. She proudly held up a book bound in worn leather, eagerly opening it up. "I found it in that desk over there, look!"
Inside were full pages clearly written by a child, each word carefully copied down, one after another. Caroline beamed up at her dad.
"It's Mom! That's her name right there. She must've been way younger than me when she wrote all this."
Robin's breath caught in his throat, for his denial had suddenly burst into the stale air around them. The first piece of evidence had been found- they really had discovered the one place she thought was hidden forever. The abuse, fear, and neglect still radiated from the walls, insidious and foreboding. Neither of them knew how to properly respond.
"Are you two okay?" Caroline asked, resisting the urge to read over every single word in that book.
Shaking off the terrible feeling he had inside, Robin forced a nod, breaking away and taking his brother with him. "Stay where I can see you- don't forget, this place is dangerous."
His words went right over the ten year old's head, for she was absolutely enamored by each page, tracing over every line delicately with her finger.
Will eyed a wooden wardrobe in the corner, opening the doors to reveal a rack filled with gowns.
"Everything that Regina said about Cora makes sense now," he began, sifting through each elaborate gown, "she was a narcissistic bitch."
Robin watched Will study each one of the gowns, becoming lost in the history of each one. Time seemed to pass by agonizingly slow- each member of his family were moving at their own controlled pace, some faster than others. He had no idea where Zelena had wandered off to.
"Can you try to stay focused?" He asked, refusing to let himself get pulled into all of the fascination, "we've got to be looking for the magical items."
With that, he continued past the living room, hoping at least some of them would follow his lead. Caroline tore herself away from reading the worn diary, tucking it under her arm as she rushed to keep up with her father. Robin caught her sly notion in the corner of his eye, abruptly stopping her before entering the next room.
"Put that back where you found it, we're not here to take souvenirs."
"It's not like anyone will be missing it, this house is like a hundred years old," she told him, soon distracted by her new surroundings.
They had discovered a broad kitchen with stale white appliances, a yellowish tinge revealing its true age. Caroline was quick to lean over the countertop and open one of the cupboards, unleashing a cloud of dust.
"Don't go around touching everything," Robin told her, once again, "you have no idea what could be in there."
Caroline gestured to the contents of the cupboard. "It's just cooking things. You think Cora would keep the good stuff in the kitchen?"
Everything about the house felt haunting to him, despite his best efforts. The few stories his wife has shared with him about her mother had left him rattled, truly horrified that someone could be so cruel. Though she had left this house of humble beginnings for a grand castle, the ghosts still remained.
"True," Robin replied, gazing around the spacious room, "they had servants do all the cooking and housework for them, I'm sure. The wealthier families always had servants."
He wasn't about to admit to his daughter that those were the houses he would break into in his youth- the kitchens were often desolate in the early mornings, making it easy to raid the cabinets for a small meal.
"I'm glad we don't have servants, I like cooking in the kitchen. Maybe Mom did too back then."
Smiling at her enthusiasm, Robin felt his tension ease up a bit. "You'll have to ask her yourself." Then, turning to face the living room, he checked up on Ruby and Will. "Are you two finding anything over there?"
"So far just plenty of clutter," Ruby called back, "I don't think we'll run into anything too important anytime soon."
"Why don't the four of us go in further and see where Zelena went."
As they ventured down the hallway, the light from the front entrance slowly faded, causing them to group together in a tight huddle to combat what potentially lay ahead. Each step forward felt uncertain. They were almost walking in complete darkness when, without warning, Robin felt Caroline's hand slip out of his grasp. Afterwards he, Ruby and Will were met with an invisible wall, halting them right in their tracks. Confused, Robin caught the sight of his daughter up ahead, unfazed by the barrier.
"What is this?"
The ten year old appeared lost in thought, gazing at the magic in awe. "Zelena did say the house was still under Cora's protection," she began, "I guess blood magic really works."
Though there was still a long stretch of hallway behind her, she knew Zelena was there somewhere. There were secrets waiting to be uncovered.
"Maybe we can find another way around," Ruby said, "there's got to be a loophole in a house this big."
Caroline glanced down at her father's outstretched hand, yet she couldn't bring herself to cross the barrier again. Instead she took one cautious step backwards, then another.
"Come back here," Robin instructed, his desperation failing to be concealed, "you're not ready to do this on your own!"
It took a strong force within her to turn away from her family- darkness was soon all she saw.