Regina sipped her cider while staring into the fireplace in her study. 'What was in that letter that had Emma so upset? Leave it to you, Rumple, to stir the pot even after death.' She then heard the front door open and close behind her.

"Oh, you're home! How was the service, Darling?" Robin came up behind her and grabbed her shoulders, placing a kiss on her cheek.

Regina whirled around, "You'd know if you had actually attended." She then took a another sip while glaring at him.

Robin sighed, "We've discussed this. I had no desire to attend that imp's funeral. He was no friend of mine."

"He wasn't my friend either, but you were supposed to go to support Belle who is our friend! You were supposed to go to support me!"

Robin rolled his eyes, "Not this again. We've had this conversation, Regina. I needed to go see the Merry Men"

"You just wanted to go drinking with your buddies again." She hissed at him.

"I obviously can't talk sense into you when you're like this." Robin threw up his hands and walked out of the study, making his way up the stairs to their bedroom. Eventually, Regina heard the shower turn on and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

'How could the fairy dust say he's my soul mate? It doesn't make any sense. I don't love him. I'm in love with…'

"Um, Mom?"

"Oh! Yes, Henry. I'm sorry, I didn't see you there. Are you alright?"

Henry rubbed the back of his neck, "Um, yeah. I was wondering if I could go see Ma? She was pretty upset and I wanted to help her."

Regina smiled at her son's good heart. "Darling, I don't think she'd want visitors after what we saw earlier at Belle's house."

"I know, but I might be able to help and explain what Grandpa had told her."

This caught Regina's attention. "You know what was in the letter?"

Henry just looked to the floor, "I know some of it, not all of it. I caught him working on it when I was working at the shop one day. I went to the back room to ask him a question and noticed it on the table with the book while he was using the bathroom. When I saw Ma's name on it, I began to read it, but then he caught me and closed it in the book. We discussed the part that I had read so I knew some of what was coming."

After sitting her glass down, Regina motioned for Henry to take a seat on the sofa and sat next to him. "Henry, you've been keeping quite a few secrets lately." She stared at him waiting for his reaction.

His face reddening, he was quick to defend himself. "They weren't my secrets to tell, Mom!"

"What about your sister's existence?"

Henry rolled his eyes, an expression nearly identical to his birth mother's. "I couldn't tell anyone. When Ma found out she was pregnant with Killian's baby, she freaked out. She was so worried he'd find out about the baby and come to take her. I kept telling her he was gone and she could easily protect her with magic, but she was too scared. She didn't want Grandma to know for obvious reasons." Regina chuckled at that, but he continued, "She asked that I not tell anyone. She felt safer away from Storybrooke and away from magic. I think she was worried about being pulled into something again." Henry looked down at his lap ashamed, "I guess she was right. I should have never talked her into coming back. I need to apologize to her."

Regina patted him on the lap and grabbed his hand, "You don't need to apologize for anything, Henry. Emma knows that you meant well. She knows you love her and your little sister."

"Thanks, Mom. I just forget how fiercely protective she gets of her life in Boston and of Tris. Probably because they almost died when she gave birth to her."

"What! What do you mean they almost died?!"

Henry winced, realizing he said too much. "Well, Ma became really anemic and her blood pressure began to drop. Her heart kept stopping and they kept reviving her after she gave birth. Tris was severally anemic too. They wanted to give both of them blood transfusions, but they couldn't match their blood for some reason. I guess it's really rare or something."

Regina nodded, but stayed silent as she absorbed this new information.

"Anyway, Ma's girlfriend then showed up later that evening and offered her blood which happened to be a match. How incredible is that?"

"Wait." Regina held up her hand and took a deep breath, not sure if she wanted to know this next part. "What do you mean girlfriend? Your mother was dating?"

"Well, yeah, of course she was. She had to do something since you were with Robin." Henry rolled his eyes again and huffed in annoyance.

"What do you mean by that?" Regina narrowed his eyes and Henry swallowed in fear.

"Well, everyone in town knew she was in love with you, but then you brought Robin back and said he was your soulmate. She was crushed and tried to move on with Hook, but we know how that worked out. So, after she left, she began dating Malia."

Regina's jaw dropped to the ground. She was speechless and just hoped that Henry would continue without asking her questions.

"Ma and Malia have been on again and off again girlfriends, but now they're more like sisters. She's Ma's best friend. She's been incredible with Tris and helping Ma with Audrey while she was sick. It allowed Ma to do what she loved most and was best at."

Regina rolled her eyes at that, "Yes, of course, because bounty hunting is so glamorous."

Henry furrowed his brows, "Bounty Hunting?" And then it hit him that Regina had no idea about Emma's musical past. He never understood why Emma didn't share her talent and musical past with her family and friends, but then one day it hit him. It was her escape from everything and everyone. It was something that was just hers. He couldn't take that away from her so he tried to recover, but it was too late. Regina noticed the mistake. "Oh! Yeah. She loves her job catching criminals. You know Ma, always the savior."

That was when Regina knew he was lying for sure. Emma hated the title of Savior and Henry knew better than to use it when describing her.

Regina narrowed her gaze and stared at Henry for a minute to make him squirm. Then she decided to add, "It appears the secrets are still plenty."

Trying to change the subject, Henry then asked, "May I go see her?"

As Regina debated, she remembered the vampire the previous night and quickly tried to think of an explanation as to why he should wait, "Henry, why don't we wait until morning? You know how Emma gets when she's upset. She's a runner and likes to be left alone. She's probably completely shut off from everyone now and visiting would make her walls go up even higher. If you wait until morning, I can go with you or we can ask her to meet at the diner and the two you can have a private breakfast conversation."

Henry sat and thought about it, "Yeah, you're right, Mom. Thanks." He hugged his mother and quickly stood up, "I'm gonna go text her about tomorrow then." He quickly ran out of the room to go find his cell phone.

Regina picked up her glass of cider again, taking a large swig. 'Poor Emma. She's been living in fear for far too long. There has to be some way that I can help.' She swirled the amber liquid around in her tumbler of ice and then took another sip, 'I didn't make things any better with what I said to her. I'm an idiot.' Regina walked over to her cell phone and opened the photos in her iPhone. She stared at one in particular where the blonde had her arms wrapped around Regina trying to keep her still so that Henry could squirt her with a water gun. The shot of them was taken from the waste up and they were looking directly into each other's eyes. Ruby had taken the pic and sent it to Emma who had then sent it to Regina. 'She was in love with me. Was. She's moved on.'

Emma stared at her daughter while she colored in her coloring book at the kitchen table. Tristan was already a perfectionist, determined to stay within the lines. She would get so upset if even a tiny dot was outside the lines of her favorite cartoon character; Mickey Mouse. Meanwhile, Audrey was at the other end of the table reading the letter that had upset Emma so much.

"Shi…I mean wow." Audrey sat the letter down. "What are you gonna do?"

Emma just shook her head and shrugged while watching her daughter color with her crayons.

"Did you look at the other letters or pages yet?"

Again, Emma just shook her head while watching her daughter and sipping her hot chocolate. She definitely wanted alcohol, but not while sitting with her daughter. Hot chocolate always seemed to calm her, especially during family time.

"It's a good thing you've got 'help' coming tonight." Audrey was careful not to say Malia's name in front of Tristan because if the little girl knew she was coming, it would be impossible to get her into bed. "She may have some ideas on this."

Emma was still silent and simply nodded in agreement. The gears were working in her mind, processing everything Rumple had told her in his letter. She knew she needed to read everything else, but was afraid of what else she would find. Emma turned and stared at the book that was sitting on the coffee table in the living room. Just then, her cell phone dinged with a new text message. Grabbing her iPhone, she noticed it was from Henry.

Henry: Hey, Ma. Can we meet up for breakfast in the morning?

I'm aware of some of what Grandpa wrote and wanted to talk about it.

I hope you're ok.

Emma just sighed. "Dammit, Henry. What do you know?", she mumbled. She debated, but then relented and responded.

Emma: How about you come over at 8am tomorrow? I'd prefer to chat in private.

Henry: Ok, Ma. I'll see you tomorrow. Love you.

Emma: Love you too, Kid.

After putting Tristan down, Emma poured herself a double of Johnny Walker Black on the rocks, her preferred drink to decompress. When she finished it, she looked at the clock and saw it was ten till 10pm. "I'm gonna head out and wait at the town line for Mal. Call me if you need anything, Aud." Just as Emma opened the front door to leave, there was Malia about to knock with her fist in the air.

"Holy shit! Mal!" Emma hugged her friend and buried her face in Mal's neck. "How did you get here?" Emma stayed buried in Mal's arms.

Malia gently stroked Emma's hair and held her close, "I just crossed the town line. I couldn't believe it when I saw the Welcome to Storybrooke sign."

Audrey piped up, "Well I guess that explains how that vamp got into town."

Malia looked and acknowledged her other friend, "Audrey, you look great. How are you feeling?"

Audrey smiled and held up her arms to flex, "I feel great!" Looking at Emma, Audrey motioned for Mal to come in, "Why don't we go to the living room and get comfortable."

Emma finally released Malia and walked hand in hand with her to the couch and sat down in front of the book. Audrey went to the kitchen and grabbed the letter to show Mal.

"Can I get you something to drink, Mal?", Emma was already getting up in anticipation of her answer.

"That'd be great, Dear."

Emma returned a few minutes later with a tumbler of blood for her friend and sat down again, filling Mal in on her day at the funeral. Audrey then handed the letter to Mal to read.

Setting the letter down, Mal stared at the book. "Well fuck. This is bigger than we thought."

"What am I gonna do, Mal? My family and friends are in danger now. I'll have to tell them about our 'condition' which will probably cause widespread panic and I'll be blamed for bringing this to Storybrooke."

Audrey quickly defended, "Based on that letter it was coming here anyway. The bigger questions are who is behind it and how did they learn about it"

Malia looked at Emma, "It's probably him. I imagine he's involved in some way, but he must have a contact within the town. How else would he learn of this?" Malia then grabbed the book and looked at Emma. She paused to give Emma a chance to stop her, but Emma just stared at the book and watched as Mal slowly opened the book to the marked page and pulled out the manila envelope with more papers and letters.

Emma stared at the marked page, now open. It was in a language she didn't recognize.

"Look at this, Em." Malia handed Emma a piece of paper that she had pulled out of the yellow envelope. It was folded and labeled 'Read Me First'. Emma held the paper debating on opening the folded parchment, but finally gave in and read the letter.

Dearest Emma,

I know this has come as a shock. I've placed a high burden on you with regards to Regina and the gangs. You were the only one who I could turn to. On the back of this letter is a spell. Once read, it will transfer all of my knowledge to you. The spell is dangerous in the wrong hands so you must hide it or destroy it once you've used it. This knowledge will help you decipher the book's contents and to understand the other magical artifacts that I've left in your care. Regina is too stubborn to take advantage of this gift, but I know you will do the right thing. When you're ready to learn more, please ask Belle to take you to my caves.

Good luck,

Rumpelstiltskin

Malia had been reading the letter with Emma, "Are you gonna do it?"

Emma's eyes just bore holes into the paper while she debated. Perhaps more knowledge would help her solve these issues and allow her to return to Boston quicker. With the exception of Henry, there was nothing left for her in Storybrooke. While she loved her parents, she was fine being away from them. She definitely still loved Regina, but she's with Robin and she could easily visit her other friends occasionally. Her life was in Boston now.

"I'll do it. The sooner this is over, the sooner we can leave."

Audrey and Malia shared a look, worried for their friend's state of mind. Emma turned the letter over and began mumbling the words of the spell while placing her hand directly on the parchment, covering the words of the spell as she repeated them. Soon, a diamond shape that had been drawn on the page above the words, glowed and red magic swirled from the shape and into the air towards Emma. She kept her hand on the paper and watched as the red magic travelled to her head and entered her skin between her eyebrows. Closing her eyes, Emma felt the warmth of the magic entering her mind. It didn't hurt, it felt like pressure.

When it was over, Emma's eyes flew open and she grabbed the book and read the page that she could now understand. Her eyes grew and she looked up at Audrey and swallowed hard, "Oh my God. He wasn't lying."

Malia looked at them confused, "What are you talking about? What does it say?"

Emma looked back down at the book, "This is basically a history book of magic. It has detailed information on phenomenon over hundreds of years."

Malia nodded, but still didn't understand, "Ok. So?"

"I'll read the book entry."

Princess Elizabeth was pregnant with her first child. The father was her husband Prince Philip. 4 months into the pregnancy, the Princess met her True Love, a knight named William. She knew they couldn't be together as she was already committed to the future king. 5 months later, Elizabeth gave birth to a healthy baby boy with black hair and tanned skin. The Prince immediately accused his wife of cheating as they both had blonde hair and fair skin. The Princess swore she never lain with another, but she remembered sharing one kiss with William who had dark hair and tanned skin.

When a pregnant woman meets her True Love and then shares an intimate act with them, the parentage of the fetus will be changed to match that of the True Love for survival of that love.

Emma looked up at her friends, "Tristan is Regina's daughter." Emma began to hyperventilate. "We shared a kiss when I was pregnant with Killian's baby. That must have been it. She's Regina's which makes her Rumple's granddaughter and Regina has no idea she has a daughter or that Rumple was her biological father."

"Whoa, Em. Calm down, Sweetie." Malia grabbed her friend and held her close, beginning to rock in place on the couch. "Take a sip of this.", Mal handed her blood tumbler to Emma which she quickly downed.

Audrey was looking at the pile of papers that had fallen out of the large yellow envelope and noticed a cream-colored feather. "What's this?"

Emma noticed what Audrey was holding and quickly grabbed it. "Where did you find this?"

Audrey pointed, "It was laying on that letter there."

Emma grabbed the letter. It was more of a note that read 'Found at Killian's cell the morning of his escape'.

Audrey looked back at the feather, "I take it this has to do with the other stuff he mentioned in his letter." Audrey studied it further, "Do you know what this is, Em?"

"Oh yeah, I know. It's a fletching from an arrow. I've seen this before on Robin's arrows." Emma pressed her lips together. "That fucking Pine Cone."

Malia rubbed circles on Emma's back, hesitant to ask her next question, "Do you think Killian and Robin are involved with the gang problem?"

"Oh, I'd bet on it." Emma's eyes began glowing red as white magic began rising from every pore of her skin.