Regina was spending a few days with her sister. Unfortunatley, Alice was scared of Regina more than anyone else now. It wasn't that she thought she could do anything. She didn't think she had any authority over her. But she'd spent a long time trying to force Alice into doing something she didn't think was okay to do. And she hadn't had any time to build any kind of trust with her like Robin had. And it was a different kind of fear than the one Alice had of Zelena. So yet again Alice was sitting and staring at Regina. She wanted to go back into her room. Or for this woman who scared her more than Zelena really did to just leave her alone. But that didn't work. And Alice knew she couldn't express her fear or dislike for her so she sat darting her glances back and forth from Regina to the food she currently didn't really feel like eating. She was exhausted. She'd spent most of the day before trying to explain to herself what was so scary about someone she didn't think would do anything. She hadn't when Alice had refused to do what she asked. Granted, that could have just been suprise at Alice trying to tell her no. She'd told her mother no once. She didn't intend to repeat that mistake. Alice shook the memory out of her brain with a shiver in her body.

"Alice, are you cold?" it was Robin. Alice trusted Robin. Alice shook her head. She was fine. Or as fine as she could be. She still did just want to go curl up in her room until Regina left. She didn't know how long that would be. "C'mon Alice, you need to eat."

Alice nodded. She did need to eat but she was too busy watching Regina. She seemed to get so angry yesterday. Alice didn't know it wasn't directed at her existence. All Alice knew was that she'd seemed angry and hadn't hurt her. That didn't make sense. So she was scared of her. Alice didn't want to deal with how she felt right now. She finished her food and then darted her eyes over to Zelena.

Zelena watched as Alice ate her food, a lot more slowly than she usuallly would. She watched as she stared at Regina. Damnit, she'd scared her more than they'd thought she had. Zelena regretted leaving Regina in charge. But, she was going to be gona long time and Alice wouldn't take care of herself. She hoped she'd have listened to Regina but it seemed she didn't. And now she was scared of her for some reason Zelena would likley never be able to understand. Zelena caught Alice's eyes which quickly tore away from her but she noticed the pleading look in them before they did. She didn't know what she wanted. She scanned through the most basic primal needs. She'd had food, she'd gone to the bathroom, she had water. And then she scanned through things Alice seemed to like or at least seemed to want to do, she liked card games, well that one was the only thing she'd ever asked for so it couldn't be that; she liked hiding in her forts;she seemed to like cleaning but she did that when no one was looking; and she liked going outside. Okay Zelena knew how to ask.

"Alice," Alice glanced over giving Zelena her nearly undivided attention. Alice kept letting her eyes wander back to Regina. "Do you want to go outside or do you want to go to your room?"

Alice wanted to go to her room. She hoped Regina would stay away from it but knew everyone here liked to approach it. Which was different from home. Mother never came near her corner. She knew mother hadn't wanted her but at least she gave her that one space to herself. Not that she was really protected there, all mother had to do was tell her to come out and she'd appear in front of her and do whatever she told her to. But it made her feel safer. Here she knew people would come over to her room and ask her questions or refuse to tell her what they wanted. It still felt safer to her than sitting in the open and there were a lot of soft blankets for her to use to comfort herself. And right now she wanted that comfort.

"Okay." Zelena didn't say anything else. Deep down she hoped Alice would just go but there was no such luck. Alice watched Zelena, waiting. "Okay, you can go to your room."

Regina watched as Alice walked by her and seemed to be holding in her own breath with how slowly she walked by. Alice really was scared of her. Regina waited for Alice to have fully retreated before turning to Zelena.

"Is it best if I go?"

Zelena shook her head. She wasn't sure. Alice was timid with everyone. She was a little more open around Robin but she still acted as if her mere presence was a reason for anyone that was close to her to hurt her. She'd watched as Alice shook in the kitchen corner over handing her something she'd dropped. She'd seen the fear in her eyes when Zelena told her no. She'd seen the way Alice seemed to try to watch everything at once. She'd seen how quickly Alice would become frightened and curl into herself as if trying to somehow make things better by taking up less space. She'd heard the tone Alice used when she did manage to speak that Zelena swore would rival the quietest of mice. If Zelena ever met Alice's so called mother she wouldn't mind picking the reasons she'd been called the wicked witch back up. And the father? Oh bloody hell she hoped for his sake he hadn't known Alice existed or Zelena would take him down too. But they were in a land with a much weaker legal system than the land without magic and while Zelena was grateful it was unlikely anyone would even know she had essentially kidnapped Alice, she wasn't happy she couldn't press charges against the woman that had done this to her.

"No. She is scared of everything. It's not just you. I dropped something maybe a week ago and she handed it to me and the apologized and shook for a while. She didn't calm down until Robin distracted her with a game."

"She likes games?"

"Yeah, she'll play cards with Robin. And with Henry when he's here. I, however, haven't tried to join in. Where is Henry, anyway?" Zelena thought she might offer to join the next time they were playing but wasn't sure how that would go over. At this point she'd try anything that might help.

"He's met a girl, seems kind of serious about her too.".

"Well, I'd love to meet her."

"You have, actually. Do you remeber Ella?"

Zelena thought a moment. Oh yes they'd met her during the rebellion. The girl Henry had met the day he'd been trying to return to Storybrooke. They continued their conversation about Ella and Henry's blooming relationship.

Alice hugged her toy rabbit while petting its fur. It was soft and it made her feel safer just like a blanket would. The toy rabbit gave her something to talk to that didn't scare her. The rabbit didn't respond and she was so quiet no one knew.

"Doyouthinkshe'sscary? ''tknowwhy." The rabbit didn't respond but Alice had an outlet for how she felt that didn't involve her having to wait until she went outside. Which she'd only do when it was offered to her.

"Hey, Alice?" Zelena approached the corner after Alice had been tucked away in it for hours. She hadn't forgotten about her, she'd checked on her several times and gave her choice of staying in or leaving the corner. "Do you want to come out of there or do you want to stay?"

Alice thought for a moment. She didn't know if Regina was still there or if she'd left but she did want to know. And she needed to use the bathroom. Not that badly, and she could hold it if she had to but she wanted to come out of the corner. And with the number of times Zelena had asked her she thought maybe she did too?

"Out," Alice's voice was a whisper as always but Zelena was relieved she was willing to come out of the corner. Alice walked out and then watched Zelena.

"You can go wherever you want to," Zelena told her, hoping that her voice didn't betray that she was pleading. She knew this would work as long as Zelena was around when she decided to move but was scared that Regina's presence might have caused a problem. Alice nodded. She needed to pee. She walked to the bathroom and noticed the door was closed. It was never closed when she needed it. And she didn't know how to use the door. She'd seen Zelena open the door that led to the outside. But she had no idea if this door worked the same way. She'd never seen a door before coming here. She stared at it. She grabbed the handle and shook it. That didn't work. She pulled it. That didn't work either. She tried to push it. Nothing. Robin walked out of a room and saw Alice struggling with a door that they normally kept open. They'd stopped shutting most of the doors in hopes that if she needed to get somewhere she'd not be deterred by a closed door, something the tower hadn't had. Clearly, they'd initially been wrong about how deep her fears ran.

"Do you need help, Alice? Do you want me to open the door for you?" Alice shook her head. She could do it if she tried hard enough. She wasn't supposed to have this much help. And they helped her with everything. She did everything in the tower. Mother never helped her! She made her food and told her when to do what but aside from that she hadn't done anything but hurt her. But here, nearly everything was being done for her. And no one had told her they didn't want her here. Mother had to keep her, they didn't. Alice didn't understand and she was getting more and more frustrated with the situation. Alice could feel another round of tears wanting to fight their way out. She'd never had to deal with a door on her own before and it shouldn't be this hard. But everything was hard! And she thought she could do this one thing. Zelena had told her to and now she couldn't and Alice didn't want to cry in front of Robin again. She'd seen her cry enough.

Robin wasn't sure what Alice wanted. She'd seen her trying to open the door and when she offered her help she didn't want it. What if she explained how?

"I can tell you how to do it, if you want?"

Alice held in a sigh. She thought she could do this without help but she couldn't. Alice nodded.

"Okay, grabbed this part," Robin pointed to the doorknob. Alice put her hand on the doorknob. "Now turn it that way." Robin pointed towards the right and Alice turned the handle. "Okay then just push the door."

The first try didn't work as Alice did each step seperatley. "Good try, Alice. Try again? Do it all at once."

Alice took a few tries but got the door open. Robin wanted to cheer but she held it in. "Good job, Alice." Robin left Alice to use the bathroom and walked into the kitchen where she saw Regina and Zelena engrossed in their own conversation.

"Hey," she greeted. "Who left the bathroom door shut?"

Regina admitted to it. "Why?"

"Alice was having a hard time getting it open. I don't think she's ever used a door but I showed her how."

"She's never what?" Regina was a little loud. She wasn't as used to Alice as Zelena and Robin were. Luckily, Alice was distracted and didn't hear her.

Alice finished using the bathroom and sat down close to the door. She was staring at the door. She could reach it from where she was. She wanted to try to shut it. The door hadn't made a sound when Robin showed her how to open it. So it'd be quiet. And she thought she'd be able to shut it if she tried. And she just she didn't want to have to wait for Robin to show her again. She already spent so much time waiting for someone's help when she couldn't reach things. Alice wanted to try. Was it okay?

"Isitokay?WhatifI'mwrong?" she whispered to the toy rabbit. It helped her work through her thoughts a little better than keeping everything in.

She decided it would be. She hoped. Alice reached her hand over to the base of the door and gently pushed it, she stopped when she couldn't push it any furhter without moving. She wasn't sure if she could reach the door knob. She pulled it back by the base of the door. And then pushed it back almost closed. Then she pulled it back. It wasn't the correct way but it was something to do while she waited on Zelena. And it was interesting. She'd never been around a door before coming here and she wasn't sure of the rules with it. But she wasn't moving from where she was sitting and it wasn't making a sound that could be heard from elsewhere. So she was sitting, mesmerized by the movement of the door. She tried pushing and pulling the door back and forth a few more times. Then she tried to push it further and it shut. Alice flinched as the door clicked into place. She reached over for the bottom of the door and tried to pull it back. It wouldn't move. How did it open? Alice tried to reach for the door handle but couldn't reach. She pulled her legs up to her chest and watched the door. As she was watching the door she clutched the toy rabbit and ran her hand alng the blanket she was sitting on.

Zelena walked over to the bathroom to check on Alice and noticed the door was shut. That was odd.

"She'sgoingtobeangry." Zelena heard her whisper through the door. She wanted to cry. There wasn't anything in the bathroom Alice used that she could have found that would have upset Zelena if she touched it. If she wanted to play with anything in there it was safe. And Zelena just wanted her to act like a kid. Even is she wasn't a young chind, she hadn't had a childhood at all.

"Hey, Alice?" Alice glanced at the door. Had Zelena heard the door shut? She'd be upset with her for making noise. She hadn't meant to. Alice shook. "Can I open the door?" Alice nodded but then thought about it. Zelena couldn't see her, could she? "Can you say it for me? Can I open the door or I can I not open the door?"

"Yes." Alice was quiet but Zelena went to open the door, gently as she didn't know where Alice was sitting. Zelena walked in. She saw Alice clutching her toy rabbit. Robin must have given it to her at some point, Zelena guessed. She'd seen Alice carrying it around but hadn't really thought about it.

Alice shook, she hadn't meant to make the noise. Did Zelena hear it?

Alice looked really scared. Zelena couldn't think of anything Alice had done or could even think she had done. The door was shut but that could have easily been something Robin did. But Robin wouldn't have.

"Did you shut the door?" Zelena asked her. Maybe she'd be able to explain she was allowed to mess with it if she wanted to. Alice blinked. She hadn't meant for Zelena to hear it. Zelena sat down in front of Alice. Zelena gently pushed the door shut then opened it again. "That is fun," Zelena told her. "Watch this." Zelena tried to reach for the door knob and pull the door open. "You can try if you want to?"

Alice stared at her. This was different. She thought Zelena would be mad but she wanted her to do the thing she thought would anger her. Was she going to hurt her if she did it? She wasn't going to go against what she told her to pull the door open from where she was sitting using the handle and it worked.

"Good job, Alice. You're allowed to do that whenever you want to."

Was there nothing that would anger Zelena. She wasn't trying to but she wanted to know what Zelena would do once she got angry. What did she want her to do? Alice didn't know. She watched Zelena.

"Do you want to go in the kitchen or go in the living room?" Zelena waited for Alice's answer. Alice didn't know what she wanted. But the kitchen had a corner and the living room didn't. But she didn't want to talk right now. She responded as quickly as she could.

"Kitchen," Alice sped through the word but got it out.

"Okay, you can go to the kitchen." Alice stood up and waited. She didn't want to stand close to Zelena. She flinched as she walked by her. She walked into the kitchen.

"Hi," Regina greeted when she saw her.

Alice flinched. She'd thought Regina had left already. She didn't know why she was so scared of her. It didn't make sense but she was.

"It's okay ," Robin comforted as she sat in front of Alice. She offerered the distraction that was her willingness to have a very one sided conversation. "Do you want to play a game?"

Alice agreed to play a game with Robin but darted her eyes toward Regina every time it wasn't her turn. Once Zelena came into the room Alice stopped playing. She couldn't keep her attention everywhere at once. She needed to watch both of them and also needed to pay attention to what Robin was saying to her and she just didn't know how to do everything.

"Do you have any 3s?" Alice shook her head. She didn't want to play any more but she couldn't tell Robin that. She'd have to talk in front of Zelena and Regina and she just didn't want to play right now.

"Okay, so I go fish," Robin pulled a card up. "Your turn Alice."

Alice shook her head again. She didn't want to drop the cards she was holding but didn't know how to explain to Robin she didn't want to do this. She was too frightened to play right now.

"Alice do you want to stop playing?" Alice nodded. Okay, good Robin understood what she meant. Could she please stay right there? She didn't want to be left alone with both of the people that scared her the most.

"I'm going to go put the cards away." Alice nodded. She didn't want Robin to leave but it was fine. Wasn't it? Alice clutched onto her toy rabbit and pulled a blanket closer to her. Zelena knew that meant Alice was terrafied but she wasn't sure of what.

Alice calmed down after Robin sat with her for a little while posing as a distraction. Zelena finished making dinner and asked Alice if she wanted to eat at the table or eat outside. Alice chose outside because Regina wasn't there. Alice talked to her squirell friend about why Regina was scary but he didn't provide her any more answers that her toy had. He did make her feel better, though.