There was a calm and refreshing breeze in the air that morning as the sun took it's time peaking through the clouds. The streets were bathed in a white and light blue glow that instantly put a smile on Snow White's face as she walked toward Granny's Diner. Everything seemed peaceful and part of her wanted to forego breakfast inside for more time in the comforting weather and captivating scenery outside, but she was meeting Emma inside and that took precedence over her love of the nature that surrounded her.

Before she walked under the white wooden arch that led into the outside dining area and entrance to the inside dining, Snow took a look around her one last time. Her smile never left her face as she looked at the nearly empty streets that were slightly slicked with morning dew. Her gaze travelled upward from the pavement to focus on the businesses on the other side of the street that had yet to open for the day and suddenly her smile vanished. Walking along the sidewalk across the street, she swore she saw her father.

He hadn't seemed to notice her as he continued along past Granny's toward the center of town and he oddly enough hadn't looked any different than how he had when she'd buried him, aside from the fact that he no longer appeared to be dead. But that was insane. She'd cried on Regina's shoulder after the service right next to his casket and later watched as he was placed in a burial plot beside her mother. It had been one of the most painful days in her life and she would never forget it or the fact that he was gone and she was only left with a stepmother whom she'd later realized hadn't wanted anything to do with her.

Snow closed her eyes and gently shook her head as she willed the image of her father out of her mind. When she opened her eyes, he was gone just as he was supposed to be, but there was a feeling she couldn't shake so she stared at the spot across the street he'd occupied only seconds ago for a moment longer. Confusion was evident on her face, her eyes narrowed at the place she thought she'd seen Leopold and her lips parted in disbelief at the absurdity of what she'd momentarily thought to be real.

"No," Snow said with denial and shook her head again before she turned and walked past the outside dining area to the door.

Emma sat at the family's usual table with her hands wrapped around a warm mug. After she'd left the station the previous day, her mother had called and asked if they could have breakfast at Granny's around eight the next morning. Though she'd just seen her mother at the family breakfast they'd all had two days prior, Emma had agreed because Snow had insisted a little mother/daughter time was in order.

So she waited patiently for her mother to arrive even though boredom had started to consume her and had tried to encourage her to fall asleep at the table. She hadn't gotten much sleep the night before because thoughts of Regina only made her worry to the point of complete alertness. Every ten minutes she'd worked up the nerve to call Regina and check in, but just as she hovered over Regina's name in her contacts list she second guessed her decision and left the other woman alone. She'd tossed and turned as she tested her will to not call Regina in the middle of the night and the biggest reason for her to not break her resolve was to give the brunette space as she'd promised through the woman's closed study door. Another thought then sprang to mind that Regina probably wouldn't answer anyway so it's not like calling her would really wake her up.

It took an entire night and a collective hour or two of sleep, but no calls or texts had been made to Regina, or to anyone else for that matter. She'd resisted every urge and did what she had told Regina she would do, which was to let Regina have a whole day to herself.

That day was over and a new one had begun so Emma's thoughts wandered from breakfast with her mother to what Regina might do that day. She sincerely hoped whatever had kept the brunette locked away in her study was handled and that she wouldn't have to try and break down a door just to make sure Regina wasn't in any real danger.

Her thoughts were stopped there when the bell jingled above the door and Snow walked into the diner. She smiled at her mother as the pixie-haired woman looked around and then caught her gaze in the quiet diner. Snow smiled back and headed straight toward her without even giving a drink order before she took a seat across the table.

"Hey," Emma greeted.

"Hi," Snow cheerily returned the greeting as she settled in.

A waitress came up to the table and Snow ordered hot tea before she had Emma's undivided attention again.

"So, I know it's only been a few days since we last saw each other," Snow started, "but it sounds like I've missed plenty of things."

"It's been an interesting couple of days," Emma confessed with a nod.

"Your father told me there might be something going on with Regina."

"Mm," Emma hummed in noncommittal agreement. "I'm sure he doesn't know much. We barely had anything to talk about when I mentioned what the problem was."

"And there's more to talk about now?"

The waitress delivered Snow's tea and she smiled and thanked the server who then took their breakfast orders. When she left, Emma picked up their conversation.

"Not exactly. There's a stronger gut feeling that this is bigger than anything I could image it being, but there's no evidence to prove this is anything other than Regina's subconscious getting the best of her."

"Hmm," Snow frowned. "Regina has her moments, but she usually doesn't get too into her own head. Usually she gets into other people's heads."

"I know! That's what's so hard about all of this. I know there's something happening, but I can't do anything about it until I have more to go on."

Snow flashed an almost knowing smile at her and reached over the table to place a hand on top of one of hers. The gesture calmed Emma a bit, but it didn't change anything. She sighed and Snow rubbed her thumb over the back of Emma's hand for a moment before she pulled away.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out," Snow reassured her.

"That seems kind of impossible right now," Emma flatly said. "She's acting like a victim, but I don't see any reason for her to be. It's like…it's like there's something haunting her. Those damn candles just set her off and then yesterday she wouldn't leave her study. I've never seen her like that. I've never seen anyone act like that except skittish kids in the system with me, and they all had their own reasons to be so distrusting and scared. Hell, I've had a few reasons myself."

Snow cocked her head to the side and Emma continued.

"It's like…I don't know. It's like she…well, like she saw a ghost or something."

Snow's eyes quickly lit up with a question.

"A ghost," she asked.

"Yeah. I…I mean, I really don't know how else to describe the look on her face and we weren't even talking about people. We were talking about inanimate objects."

Emma looked up long enough to realize her mother had something on her mind. She furrowed her brow and inquired about just what she was thinking.

"Why does that make you look so curious?"

"Oh," Snow paused for a second before she shook her head. "It's just that, before I walked in, I thought I saw—"

The bell above the door jingled again and caught Emma and Snow's attention, their conversation briefly forgotten.

Emma's jaw dropped at the sight of Regina. She hadn't been expecting the brunette to be there and she was sure her face showed it.

Regina's eyes first landed on Emma and for a second, the blonde thought she saw her relax. Then, Regina saw Snow across from her and everything changed. Anger flashed in her eyes and Regina instantly clenched her jaw. The brunette took a few steps toward their table and expressed a burst of outrage Emma never expected her to have seemingly bottled up at that point.

"The fact that my son stems from your father's bloodline makes me sick. I love Henry and I know that DNA, biology, doesn't change who he is and how he's been raised and the fact that I will never look at him with anything more than the love I feel for him unconditionally, but I'll be damned if he grows up to be anything like the King."

Snow and Emma were both completely startled and shocked by the feral way Regina addressed the subject.

"Why are you upset about my father all of a sudden," Snow asked on the border of wonder and realization. "Did you see him too?"

"Too," Regina asked as her anger immediately fell away to be replaced by widened eyes and a look that screamed, "Please tell me I misheard you."

Snow nodded and explained, "I could have sworn I saw him outside on my way in here earlier."

Regina's hand flew to her stomach and she gulped in a way that made Emma wonder if she had just swallowed bile. She looked physically ill yet again as she stood in front of them.

"I was just about to tell Emma that I saw him," Snow continued as though she couldn't see what Emma saw on Regina's face. "I was also going to mention how I thought I was probably just imagining it because I've been thinking a lot lately about how she and Neal won't get to know him."

While Snow had been talking, Emma's eyes had never left Regina. Snow's focus had moved back and forth between Emma and Regina so she probably hadn't caught the way Regina's pale expression resolved to a steely gaze filled with an honesty that made Emma's stomach drop with a sense of dread she couldn't justify.

"I hope they never have to know him," Regina growled in a low, even tone.

Snow blinked and clearly didn't understand Regina's reaction when she said, "But…he's their grandfather."

"He's a monster," Regina corrected before she took a deep breath to steady herself then abruptly changed gears. "Suddenly I'm not very hungry anymore."

Regina didn't hesitate to rush out of the diner and Emma shot out of her chair with the same lack of hesitation before she followed the brunette out.

"Wait," Emma called out as Regina made it halfway to the arch at the end of the path. "Regina, wait."

Emma didn't stop at the stairs as she went out to the same spot in the outside dining area she always seemed to find herself standing in whenever she chased after the brunette there. Thankfully, Regina did what she always did and stopped before she could get away then turned around to face Emma.

"You can't keep ducking out like this," Emma said. "Talk to me."

Regina sighed and closed her eyes and Emma saw it in her expression that the brunette was on the verge of tears. She wasn't sure why Regina seemed compelled to cry just then, but Emma could just tell it wasn't because she was scared or sad. When brown eyes opened to focus on her again, Emma knew right then exactly what Regina's withheld tears were brought on by: vulnerability.

"I—"

Whatever Regina was about to admit to Emma was cut off by the diner door opening. Emma looked over her shoulder to see her mother stare right at Regina with concern.

"Is everything alright," Snow asked as she slowly walked down the steps to stand partially behind Emma.

Emma looked back at Regina and watched with a knotted stomach, but also a bit of awe, as Regina composed herself in a sad but beautiful way that showed her strength as much as her fragility. Emma could tell it was a method of self-protection and she admired Regina for the careful way she put up her armor, though she honestly did want Regina to finally open up to her.

Her admiration faded into the background with Regina's next words, however.

"Please keep Henry from me. I need him to stay with you until this is all over. It's what's best."

Emma's heart broke when Regina's voice cracked at the end of her request. Emma felt the sincerity in her belief that Henry would better off if he stayed away from her and Emma had known Regina well enough to know that the brunette hated being kept from her son.

"Regina," Emma softly tried to plead with her as she stepped toward the other woman.

It was one step too many because as soon as Emma thought she would be able to reach out and stop Regina, the brunette surrounded herself with purple smoke and disappeared. Emma's shoulders sagged and she quickly felt defeated. She slowly turned back to Snow and the other woman looked just as saddened by what had transpired.

The two of them headed back into the diner to finish their breakfast and neither one of them noticed the once dead man who'd brought all of this on as he stood behind the bushes that surrounded the outer boundaries of the diner. Leopold had watched the entire scene unfold with intent focus and in the end he was surprised by the entire interaction between the three women.

Even with more worrying behavior and unfinished sentences from Regina to think about during her shift, Emma anxiously tapped her pen against her desk as she waited for the big hand to tick into place on the clock and officially end her work day. She had somewhere to be even if she wasn't wanted there and she also had to talk to Robin and the two additional Merry Men that would be with him that night.

The clock struck six and not long after that, four people walked into the station to meet her. She felt herself relax at the sound of their boots and left her office to greet the group in the work room. When she saw who else Robin had brought with him, she stopped in her tracks and gaped at a familiar face.

"Mulan?"

The warrior with unwavering moral codes and determination stood to Robin's left and flashed a small, polite smile and courteous nod in response to being addressed.

"Hello, Emma," Mulan softly greeted.

"When did you join the Merry Men?"

"Just before the second curse brought us here. I prefer not to talk about it."

Emma frowned, but allowed Mulan her privacy and got back to the problem at hand. She turned to Robin before she asked about their partial, not yet official, case.

"I take it from the lack of a phone call before shift that you still didn't find anything at the cabin?"

Robin shook his head.

"The lights were on by the time we passed it on our first round through town, but there didn't seem to be any activity there," Robin informed her. "Second time around the lights were off, but it was almost eleven so it seemed like whoever was there had gone to bed. Nothing suspicious about that."

Emma grimaced through her displeasure at the continually lacking information.

"I still think that's our best bet," Emma said. "If all four of you are going out tonight, split up into pairs and make a total of four passes by the cabin."

"Are you sure you're not just putting your attention on something that's not there," Robin asked. "We haven't found anything yet and it doesn't look likely that we'll find anything at all."

"I have a gut feeling that that's where this leads back to. If we could approach the cabin without warning whoever's there that we're onto them, I would've knocked on their door already."

Tension filled the air and a moment of silence washed over them like waves against a shore. When Emma looked from Robin to Mulan, she saw a look of what appeared to be understanding on the other woman's face. It seemed odd, but Emma didn't take the time to question it.

"Just do me a favor and keep your focus on the cabin. Try not to get yourself noticed when you're going by. If they suspect we think they're up to something, or if they even know we're patrolling, we might not ever catch them doing anything. And they'll get away with whatever they might be doing."

Robin responded with a quick nod of comprehension. He seemed to understand she was set in her ways and as ridiculous as her concern seemed without evidence to prove she had any reason to feel that way, he didn't second guess her.

"Whatever you think is best," Robin said before he and the others started their shift.

Emma didn't rush that time when she drove to Regina's. She'd left Henry with her parents and though they all argued that she shouldn't run off, Emma told them it was better to do whatever she could before things were to get out of hand. Snow was the first to drop the argument and conceded to Emma's unexplained plan. Snow had even told Charming and, because of his proximity, Henry about what had happened at breakfast.

She was going to do what she wanted with or without her family's blessing, but after Snow had elaborated on Emma's desire to help Regina she had all of their support. It made her feel better to have them behind her and surprisingly made her more confident in her decision to go to Regina. She would always go after Regina, but sometimes it helped to know she wasn't alone in her belief that Regina deserved her help, any help.

From her parents' apartment, she went straight to Regina's with a travel cup of coffee, a thick, plaid blanket, and a readiness to be there for Regina whether she wanted someone around her or not.

She parked on the curb where she usually parked whenever she ended up at the other woman's place and went right to work. She kept the blanket at her side in the passenger's seat, but otherwise made herself comfortable in her own seat. Just like many days throughout the last four months, her night was going to be long.

Half an hour later and there was a little excitement at least. Her phone chimed in her pocket, which surprised and then immediately worried her. She pulled her phone out faster than she previously ever had and fumbled with it before she put it to her ear. She hadn't gotten a chance to check her caller ID so when she answered it was with poorly concealed panic.

"What is it? Did you find something?"

"Miss Swan," Regina addressed her with a little edge to her voice.

"Regina," Emma breathed out a little relief with the name, but quickly changed pace. "We're back to 'Miss Swan'…again?"

"Why are you outside of my house," Regina asked and skipped right over Emma's question.

"Uh, because someone managed to sneak in and put a candle in your bedroom?! That's a pretty personal thing and you seem intent to keep everyone at arms length."

"So you're guarding my home? My hero."

Emma rolled her eyes.

"Is it so hard for you to accept my help?"

"Whatever your reason for being here, Miss Swan, I can assure you your services are not wanted nor needed."

"I think we've had this conversation before," Emma said.

Regina huffed into the phone.

"I don't need your protection," Regina insisted. "I'm capable of taking care of myself."

"Are you sure about that? Because if you were capable of that, I know you wouldn't have asked me to keep Henry away from you. You would never say that unless it's something serious."

"Henry's the one who needs you. You should be with him, not on some unnecessary stakeout in front of my house."

"He hates not being able to see you," Emma continued. "In case you were wondering how he's doing. He's trying to do the right thing by giving you the space you think you need from him, but he really just wants to help."

"What does he know," Regina asked with a soft voice and hint of concern.

"Nothing. I just told him there might be someone in town who's less than friendly and that being around you might cause some problems."

There was a pause on the other end before Regina said, "Well, he can't help. He can't even be on the curb in that car with you until all of this is over."

"Then help me make that happen sooner by telling me what 'all of this' actually is."

"I told you I'm fine," Regina firmly stated.

"Regina, quit stonewalling and tell what's going on. Maybe you don't owe me anything after Marian, but I'm not leaving here until I know you're safe so…you might as well tell me what I'm looking out for while I'm on my stakeout. You want me to keep Henry safe, you know I'll do whatever it takes to do that. Part of me being out here is to keep him safe because you know if I wasn't here, he would be. So wouldn't it be better for everyone involved if I don't get blindsided by whatever's affecting you?"

"You shouldn't be involved—"

"I'm always involved. And Henry too. That's how it's always been and always will be."

Emma waited through more silence on the line as Regina hesitated to give a response. Minutes ticked by and for a moment, Emma thought Regina might have hung up on her.

"I...don't think your mother imagined seeing her father," Regina finally confessed.

"Seriously?"

"It might sound crazy, but I have my reasons for thinking it's true."

"Okay," Emma slowly said. "Care to share those reasons?"

Regina sighed.

"I've been having nightmares the last few nights. More like memories I prefer to forget actually."

"And they have something to do with him?"

"…Yes," Regina reluctantly answered.

"How?"

"He— My nightmares revolve around him. And yesterday morning...I saw him too. I woke up and he was there."

"Well, my mom hasn't been having any dreams of him, but...she did say she's been thinking about him lately."

"Miss Swan, just because I might be bothered by my painful past relived in my dreams doesn't make me delusional. I know what I saw."

"I didn't say I'm discrediting you because you could be imagining things," Emma quickly defended herself. "If you say you saw him, you saw him. I'm not going anywhere even if it turns out seeing him was all in your mind."

"It wasn't," Regina growled.

"Okay," Emma easily said partly to agree with her and partly to placate her.

There was another moment void of any conversation between them. The only sound that carried over the phone was the sound of both women's breathing as they sat in a not entirely uncomfortable silence, but not one that put them at ease either.

"I still don't need you to stay out there all night," Regina broke the silence first.

"And I'm still not leaving," Emma replied.

"Fine, but don't expect any hospitality from me."

"Never," Emma smiled.

When Regina woke up that morning, she was calm. She still had had another nightmare, but it had come and gone in flashes and dealt with other aspects of her unwanted marriage to the King aside from the physical events she never wanted to mention.

It had been the same for a while since the ceremony. After marrying Leopold it was hard for Regina to feel any sense of independence or freedom within the confines of the palace. She had been stuck in her chamber overnight. She would be allowed to have dinner with the family, and if there were visiting royals she would eat with all of them as well, and then Leopold would excuse her. He would have a guard usher her to her chamber and then stand guard outside of it to ensure she stayed put until she was needed again.

When she'd asked him why he kept her locked away, he would always say he hadn't liked how she looked at the other men in the room or that he disapproved of her lack of enthusiasm when conversing with Snow at the table.

"You are to be a better mother to her and until you find a way to prove you have changed your attitude toward my daughter, you shall remain in your chamber to think on ways to make that happen," he would explain when the way she treated, or didn't treat, Snow was the problem.

She had been happy enough to avoid time spent on her back underneath Leopold in his bed, but sometimes the isolation felt worse. She was caged when she misbehaved in accordance to how Leopold thought she was supposed to act and he only allowed her any time with himself. Even when others were around her at the palace, she wasn't permitted to speak to them unless he said so. She wasn't allowed to do much more than curtsy in their presence because anytime she spoke or smiled, Leopold saw more to her actions than there was to actually see.

That had been before the Genie's arrival. When he came along, things got worse before they got better. She had been living like that for years before Leopold had found his lamp on the beach during one of his walks. The Genie was her perfect way out. She had been playing a part for months, the same trapped and displeased woman that still looked so beautifully innocent on the outside. But by then her thoughts had been filled with an exit strategy. Her dreams at that point had no longer been about riding a horse outside of the kingdom and running from it and the King for the rest of her life. She didn't want to run, she wanted to rule. Magic would be the thing that saved her and with magic came power. That power would grant her the ultimate freedom, much better than running ever would. She would make them all pay. She would make them live under her thumb instead of the other way around.

How quickly she'd gotten the Genie to give her what she'd wanted. She had spent too long feeling and physically being trapped, contained, secluded. He had alienated her before she'd become the Evil Queen, but at least when she deemed the power worth whatever sacrifices she might have had to make along the way, it had been her choice to further alienate herself from the people. At least then she wouldn't have to remain inside a locked chamber to achieve that alienation. She could go where she pleased and do what she pleased…and she had. She had found a way to break out of her cage. She had been told what to do and what to say until she'd pushed herself to have her way; until she'd pushed herself away from chains that bound her since her union to the suffocating King.

The thoughts in her head that morning when she woke were anything but calming or positive. Her nightmare, or series of nightmares all rolled into one night, was still hellish in its own right, but she had realized something. By staying locked away in her house, it put her right back to the days when she still had to follow the King's every command, to give him all she had in herself and her station to give. She had been trapping herself in the past as soon as the nightmares had started, but she wasn't that young woman anymore. She had achieved strength through becoming the Evil Queen and she'd fought through more pain and loss to get where she was now. She couldn't revert to her old, villainous ways, but she was stronger than how she'd been responding to everything. Wasn't she?

Without Leopold in her house that morning when she woke, she went through her morning routine that she had barely attempted and had most certainly failed the previous day. On her way out of the house, she noticed the eyesore of a car that an annoying blonde had deliberately parked outside before she'd gone to bed. Without hesitation, Regina went to the VW Beetle and looked inside the driver's window.

Emma Swan was curled up in her seat with a blanket thrown over her, her face pressed against her shoulder, and the top of her head against where the window met the car door. Her brow was furrowed in deep thought and possible worry, her expression less than peaceful as she slept. It was curious to see Emma was bothered even in sleep. It seemed she never got any rest, but Regina wasn't able to accurately conclude that since she wasn't sure what Emma could possibly be thinking about in her unconscious state.

Suddenly, Regina furrowed her own brow in thought and tilted her head to one side as she considered the blonde huddled up inside the car. She may not have said it like a promise, but Emma had stated with fierce determination at least that she wasn't giving up. And there Emma was, still parked outside and asleep in what looked like a painful position just to keep her safe when she still didn't know the whole story behind her newly expressed fear and concern since the nightmares had started.

Regina slowly raised a hand to the window and just as slowly touched the glass with the tips of her index and middle fingers as if to reach out and touch Emma. Confusion and wonder appeared on the brunette's features as she continued to stare at the Savior before her. Emma always seemed to be there even without the stated determination to do so. Emma had pushed her out of the Wraith's way when she had been marked for death. Emma had used her magic to help her destroy the trigger before it could destroy the town and take her life. The voiced reason behind those events led back to Henry, but there was something to respect and admire about Emma. There always had been. And maybe Emma had found something to admire in her too, because not even Snow had reached out and defended her in the ways Emma had—or, at least, not with the same root of determination behind those ways.

"Why do you keep coming back," Regina softly asked as she continued to stare at Emma, her brow still furrowed.

She stayed there, by the car, with her fingers on the window for only a moment longer before she dropped her hand to her side and went to her own car. It was a new day and just as she had decided the day before, she had no intention of letting Leopold trap her anymore.

She hadn't had much sleep, but the start of a car woke Emma in less than a minute. She felt groggy as she blinked away the haze over her eyes caused by sleep and became cognizant enough to watch a black Mercedes back out of the driveway and take off down the street. Emma stretched as she watched Regina leave and heavily exhaled through her nose when the Mercedes turned down a cross street before it disappeared from Emma's line of sight. It felt like a small weight had been lifted just by seeing Regina leave the house, but she didn't waste another second wondering about how or why as soon as that realization hit her. It was too early to think that deeply about anything let alone about Regina.

Emma popped her neck to alleviate the tension created by her poor choice of sleeping arrangement and hissed then groaned when she felt the somewhat debilitating stiffness of her neck. She rubbed it for a moment before she threw the blanket off of herself onto the passenger seat then turned over the engine and drove off in the same direction Regina had only a minute or two prior to her. She looped around the block to get to Granny's and ordered the biggest travel cup of coffee to go— and Regina was nowhere inside the diner—before she headed to the center of town.

The clock above the library revealed that it was 7:25 and the sun had only just begun to shine down on Storybrooke, the yellows of the sun's rays still faint as it tried to bathe the streets and buildings. It was then Emma allowed herself to be amazed at the reality that Regina had served as her alarm clock that morning even though she'd only gotten an hour or two of sleep. It appeared even after years of being free from the foster system Emma was still a light sleeper.

She parked the Bug in one of the parking spots next to one side of the library and took her coffee with her into the building. Thankfully for her, Belle had started opening the place up around seven in the morning instead of eight. She hadn't quite figured out why by that point, but it wasn't her place to pry into Belle's personal life and her reason for opening an hour earlier every morning even though she had finally married a man she'd loved for years seemed personal.

Regardless of Belle's reason, Emma had walked into the library with a mission and it had nothing to do with the woman who ran the place, but she did need that woman's assistance.

"Belle?"

There was some shuffling of papers and possibly shoes, though the scuffs and clacks made by the footwear wasn't as loud or distinct like the sound of Regina's heels. She heard a faintly muttered, "oh" followed by, "darn" a few seconds later. Emma frowned and looked past the main desk into a small room behind it. The light was on and though the muttering had been brief, shadows moved back there for another moment before the blue-eyed brunette emerged with a smile.

"Emma," she said, pleasantly surprised. "Hi. Sorry…about that…back there. I'm still trying to organize things around here."

Emma smiled back.

"Not a problem," she replied.

"So, what can I do for the town's sheriff," Belle asked as she stepped up to the desk.

"I'm hoping to do a little research, but…I'm not sure how the Dewey Decimal System works for books on magic?"

Belle chuckled.

"Okay. Well, I can definitely help with that," she said as she moved around the desk and led Emma to the stacks. "There are a lot of texts on magic so what exactly are you hoping to research?"

"Uh, candles and nightmares and dead kings?"

Emma laughed a little to ease the seriousness of what sounded ridiculous to say out loud.

Belle tilted her head to the side and flashed an amused smile though she regarded the blonde with curiosity.

"Uh, I'm not sure there's a specific volume on all of that," Belle stated, "but there are some books on kings. They're about our world's—the Enchanted Forest's—history."

"Well, I guess that's as good as it gets," Emma shrugged. "If you could point me one of the history books about King Leopold and possibly, if there are any, books on spells that require using candles."

"Oh, your grandfather?"

Belle almost looked happy or maybe even excited at the prospect of Emma wanting to learn about her family.

"Yeah. Him," Emma quickly answered and shifted uncomfortably at the familial title.

Belle flashed another smile and then moved through one of the stacks until she found the books she had been looking for.

"Here's a book about your grandfather. It covers the time from his coronation to his…demise, with a little background on your family tree."

Belle handed over the book and continued to look for more. Emma casually flipped through the book in her hands while she waited for the next few more minutes it took to find the other books. By the time Belle had finished giving her all the books that were relevant to Emma's search parameters, Emma had her hands full. She sat down in the stacks with all of the books and started to read through them.

She had been left alone with her research for a while as Belle went back to work and after a while, she found a few spells about using candles to spark things. Memories, dreams, vision quests, and most of them were filed under light magic. They were harmless and usually done with good intention. In another book that mentioned a few spells, but mostly dealt with the background information about certain ingredients most commonly used in spells, she found out just how many uses there were for candles. Depending on what spell a particular color candle was used for, that one color had several different meanings and symbolic attachments. And that was just light magic, because apparently Belle had only supplied her with books on the good kind of magic.

With a sigh, Emma closed the book and set it aside with the other books she'd read through then stood up and looked around for books on a less helpful, more harmful magic. It took another long sitting period with the books before she found information about purple, black, and thankfully white candles with ill intent. Black magick. Magick with a "k". The old kind of magic that Emma only knew from movies and the occasional fantasy novel.

Emma didn't bother with the other colors and directed her attention to the many uses of white candles. In the use of a Pagan ritual, white candles were said to accomplish any purpose. In general, white candles could be substituted for almost every color of candle except black. Usually white candles were used for purity or peace. They weren't commonly used in black magick rituals, but in the rare cases they could be harnessed for dark purposes they had the ability to incur bad dreams. According to that book, the subject of the dream affected whether or not the dream was good or bad, like it would be without any of the magic behind it.

It explained the possibility of Regina's nightmares. Regina's appearance and behavior had changed and that had only happened after she'd found the candle in her bed. Regina thought Snow really had seen Leopold and also thought Emma believed she was only delusional because of the focal point in her nightmares. The nightmares had started after the candle's discovery and the nightmares were about Regina's past. Regina's past included Leopold and she claimed to have seen him in her bedroom. She needed to know more about Regina's time with Leopold.

"Emma?"

She immediately looked up to see Belle with a worried expression directed at her.

"Yeah?"

"Your…your phone. It's ringing," Belle pointed to her jacket.

Emma heard it as soon as Belle mentioned her phone. She reached into her pocket and pulled it out.

"It's been ringing the last few minutes," Belle informed her just before Emma answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Emma? It's Robin. I've been trying to call you for over an hour."

"Oh, yeah. Sorry, I just got distracted. What's up?"

"One of my men, Tuck, he came with us last night. He…we split up, broke out of our pairs last night 'round the end of shift. We were supposed to meet at the station and…he never came."

"Friar Tuck? That's who the other guy was you brought in last night? He looked pretty tough to me when I saw him before your shift yesterday. He's missing?"

"Yes, I believe so."

"Crap," she mumbled then looked at Belle as the other woman took books from the back room and placed them on the nearby shelves. "Hey, what time is it?"

Belle turned and looked at Emma then checked the wall clock behind the front desk. "Oh, uh…a little after ten."

"Crap," Emma said again, a little louder, and directed her next words into the phone. "Are you at the station now?"

"Waiting for you," Robin responded and she stood up with the phone still pressed to her ear.

"Alright, I'll be there in about ten minutes. Stay there," she said as she grabbed the books most helpful to her and headed toward Belle. She hung up and held up the books in her hands.

"Can I take these?"

Belle furrowed her brow and looked from Emma to the books and back again.

"Yeah, sure. Um, I just got a library card system up and running, but I guess I'll just write down how many books you're taking. I can see you're in a hurry."

"Thanks," Emma quickly said and rushed toward the door. "Oh, and um, I'll send Henry by sometime so he can get a library card. And one for me too."

Belle smiled and Emma smiled back over her shoulder before she left.

At the station, Emma saw Robin, Mulan, and Little John outside the main doors. She hopped out of her car and slammed the door shut before she fast-walked her way to the group.

"Tell me everything," Emma said in place of a greeting.

"We paired off like you suggested and went around the town a couple of times. At first pass, the lights in the cabin were on. The second time around the lights were off. Just like the night before. There was maybe an hour or an hour and a half between passes for both pairs."

Emma looked over the three of them.

"Mulan and Little John met up with us before the second pass and he wanted a more thorough look at the cabin. He suggested once we got closer to it the next time around we branch out and check the woods around the place, thought we should surround it. We haven't seen him since then."

"How long did you wait for him here?"

"Almost an hour," Mulan answered. "Then we tried to look for him."

"We stayed together when we went back there for him," Robin continued. "He wasn't there and the light was still off."

Emma frowned and was about to say something when her phone rang again. She released the breath she had been ready to use on the words she had delayed saying and answered the phone.

"Yeah," Emma sighed with annoyance. "Whoa, whoa. What? …Michael, hang—Okay, but—"

It only took a few more angrily said words rushed out of the mechanic's mouth before Emma's entire demeanor instantly shifted.

"Where," Emma firmly stated, though it would have been a question if she'd been polite and not extremely serious. "Okay. I'm on my way."

Emma ended the call and looked at the other three.

"I think we might find your guy soon," she said.

The car situation was tricky since Emma and David were the only official police force in town, which made them the only ones allowed to drive the cruiser, but she tossed Robin the keys anyway and told him to follow her.

Robin took Little John in the cruiser with him and she told Mulan to get in the Bug with her. They arrived on the outskirts of the woods less than twenty minutes later and saw Michael Tillman by a tree at the edge of the tree line.

"How long ago did you find him," Emma asked as she approached the Michael.

Robin, Mulan, and Little John followed her.

"Around seven, almost eight this morning. Found him when I came out to cut some fresh wood for my kids' tree house."

"Show us the body," Emma said and motioned to the others to explain who 'us' included.

Michael acknowledged the other three as they walked up behind Emma and then he led the group where Emma demanded to be led. When the five of them stopped in front of a man on the ground, Robin was the first to do anything. His reaction came as a gasp and a murmured denial before he pushed ahead of everyone else and got closer to the body.

"Tuck," he said as he knelt beside the stiff, dead man. "What…? How. How did this happen?"

Robin looked up and addressed Michael.

Michael shrugged.

"I don't know," he said before he turned to Emma. "I just found him."

Robin hovered over Friar Tuck and inched himself closer and closer. When Emma saw him reach out, she stopped him.

"Don't get any closer and don't touch him," she said.

Robin looked over his shoulder at her, confused and on the verge of tears.

"In order to find out how he died, we've got to look over the body. Touch him and we could lose evidence."

"Evidence," Mulan asked.

Emma looked back at Mulan and replied, "We don't have the best evidence collection system around here, but if anything noticeable was left on or near the body it could tell us what happened."

By the end of her explanation, she had addressed everyone there. A few seconds later, she stood next to Robin while he remained on the ground.

"Let me take a look and then you can do whatever you need to with him," Emma calmly stated.

Robin took a moment and looked over Friar Tuck's body again before he nodded his consent. A moment later, when Emma walked over to the other side of the body, Robin slowly rose to his feet.

Emma looked around at the surrounding dirt, stray logs, and occasional patch of weeds. There didn't seem to be anything related to why Friar Tuck would be dead in the woods.

"There are no disturbances in the dirt," Emma thought out loud. "No drag marks, no blood, no shoe prints or other tracks. Doesn't seem like the body was moved here after death."

Emma scanned over the body with as much focus as she'd put into her reading that morning. On the surface there was nothing to indicate cause of death or any physical harm. Tuck was on his back in the middle of nowhere like he had just wandered off and fallen asleep while gazing at the stars. Just as she was about to give her eyes a break, she glanced past his feet and realized one of his boots was almost halfway off. His white socks were covered with woodsy grime, but there were also unmistakable dark red stains present.

"There," Emma pointed at his ankles and moved in. "There's blood."

Everyone except Michael Tillman approached the body while Emma lifted on of Friar Tuck's pant legs to trace the blood back to its origin. When she'd pulled the pant leg up to Tuck's knee, the source of the blood was revealed.

"What is that," Mulan asked with a slightly surprised, though mostly still stoic per usual, expression.

"Looks like…some kind of bite," Emma mused with a furrowed brow as she studied the two puncture wounds on Tuck's shin.

"What kind of thing could have done that out here," Little John asked just as Emma grabbed the other pant leg.

Out of curiosity, Emma lifted that pant leg as well and when she reached Tuck's other knee, two more puncture wounds were uncovered. They were identical to the other two on Tuck's right leg and roughly in the same position on either side of the lower leg.

"Living in the forest," Robin started and pulled Emma's attention away from the body. "I think I've seen something similar to this once or twice before, but not quite like this."

"And what was it? Back then," Emma asked him.

Robin gave the puncture wounds another look before he locked gazes with Emma again then said, "A snake bite."

A/N: I don't know much about the Robin Hood stories or the different kinds of magic. Anything I included about either subject were just results from Google searches.

More to come. Reviews are always appreciated. :)