Of course, Regina's problem wasn't just Snow White. There were several issues that made Regina a less than ideal candidate if it weren't for that prophecy. The issue of her mother was taken care of, Snow was something that he was dealing with, the amount of time they had together was non-negotiable, and her father who might have seen what was going on was too weak to fight back. Her confidence, her belief, her understanding, her marriage, all were issues that needed to be overcome in the years ahead. Still, there was one other hindrance that he foresaw being far more of an issue than all the others.

Daniel.

Regina visited Daniel nearly every day in the mausoleum the King had built her. So, after their spat, when he returned to his chambers and peered through the mirror, he wasn't surprised to find her running from the room. Through the halls, past the room of her husband, and into the familiar mausoleum she went. It was the place that Daniel's smuggled body rested on a pedestal in the middle of a room under a preservation spell that she had cast before she knew she had magic. She threw herself against the glass case and wept. She wept until she lost her footing and cried in a ball beside the pedestal and he had to turn away. Pathetic.

Daniel was going to be a hindrance, without a doubt. What had happened to the boy was by magic and it was so traumatizing that until she could put that chapter behind her there would come a time that she was unable to move forward with anything, let alone her magic. It wasn't at this stage. As much as she whined about it, the truth of the matter was that the transport spell was easy. As soon as she learned how to tap into her reserves of magic, she would get it, and so much more would come easier to her. He was certain that she hadn't reached her breaking point yet, but she would. Maybe in a year, maybe in five years, but someday, Daniel would hold her back. He'd rather deal with that sooner than later. But how to do it, that was going to be the tricky thing.

He had a feeling, just a hunch, one born of someone who had lost so much himself, as to what her true motivation was in all of this. That was why moving the rock had been so difficult for her. He'd convinced her to do this for the power that she might acquire through it, for the power that she could possess, but if that was really what it meant to her then she should have been able to move the rock. But if her motives were secret, if she wanted power for something else, say, to resurrect her dead sweetheart, then what she'd said in the room was right. She would never be able to move the rock because that was not her ultimate goal. If his hunch was right, then she'd never be able to do much more than she was at this moment. And that was reason enough to deal with this soon. As soon as he could squash that false hope she carried and get her to focus on what she could accomplish instead of some girlish fantasy then the sooner she'd grow strong.

But then again…

Working downstairs, he heard a sound, footsteps coming from the mirror that he kept connected to Regina's room. She'd returned? So quickly?

He put the potion he was working on aside and stepped closer, waving his hand so that he might see inside the room just to judge her state of mind. Was she back and ready to work? Or only going to whine a bit more and use excuse after excuse for why she couldn't do what he knew she could.

Work, it seemed. He watched as Regina went to her desk, her back to him, her cloak still drawn up over her as if she was drawn to that pyramid. He summoned his magic to take himself back to her bedroom. If she was about to practice, he wanted to be in the room, to feel the magic coming off of her that he might understand it better and how it was working within her so he could give the appropriate tutelage today or even the next day. But he wasn't ready to make himself known. Regina, or at least her magic was still a mystery to him, and he was reminded once of a Bard he'd met who had the gift of magic but simply been unable to do it when others were around. Perhaps, like him, Regina needed privacy.

So he hid behind the wardrobe, safe from her gaze. It wasn't exactly ideal. If she'd step a little more to the left, he'd have a much better view, but as it was what he saw now was all that he needed to see. It was simply her hand, raised flat into the air just as it had been earlier in the day. He saw enough of her back to watch her breath in as she had before, felt magic fill the air around her and-

In a cloud of green smoke, the rock was suddenly there in her hands.

Perfect.

There. Practice and a bit of privacy were all it had taken. They could work on that second bit through the first bit.

"Well, this is a day of surprises. I thought it would take you at least until-"

He stopped. Moving around the wardrobe, he saw that the woman in front of him was not Regina-obviously.

Her hair was bushy and red, her skin a sickly white shade instead of the rich tan that was Regina's. And her clothes! Oh, Cora would have had a fit ever to see her daughter in clothes like that. The clothes of a peasant.

"You're not Regina," he exclaimed, looking her over. She'd have to die, clearly. This mistake, simple as it was, was on him. She was evidently nothing more than a servant girl who possessed magic and wasn't supposed to be here to see him. He never trusted servants, not after the few he'd had. They spread rumors like wildfire.

The girl seemed struck for a moment, shock at being caught was clear on her face, but the moment he stood still, she took a step forward, and he noted the way that her back immediately straightened in pride, not fear. That wasn't usually the response he got when he surprised people.

"No," she declared. "I'm Cora's other daughter."

His gut felt as though he'd just been pushed off a castle tower with no warning. There was the very distinct feeling of falling in the pit of his stomach as he looked the girl over and felt his body chill with cold for a flash before he stepped closer to her. In the back of his head, he could hear Cora, the ghost of Cora's laughter.

Another daughter.

No.

No, he'd known Cora before she'd had Regina if there had been another daughter, then he would have known about it. More than likely, this was just some servant who'd gotten herself into trouble and was looking to fool him so she wouldn't get in trouble for going through the Queen's things. The trouble was, if she'd seen him, then she was in trouble in an entirely different way than she knew. No one could know that Regina was working with him; the time wasn't right with her newly crowned status. Obviously, the poor girl would need to be killed, but now he could at least frame it as her own fault for lying and not his own mistake.

"That's not possible," he stated rounding on the maid.

But instead of slinking away from him, instead of making more excuses or whimpering or begging, he watched as the girl smiled a bit, then held her head even higher.

"I'm Zelena. Her first-born."

Pride. Again! There was no denying that flicker of it he'd seen in her eyes. Pride came with certain truth. A profound knowledge that something was real. Which left only three options. Either the girl was delusional and crazy, she had been told a lie, or she had been told, and believed, a truth. Figuring out which was easy enough for a man of magic.

"We'll see about that."

As soon as he was close enough, he ripped a hair off her head. She jumped though he suspected it was more out of shock and fear than pain. In his pocket, he just so happened to have potion, one he'd been working on for Regina, to protect the noises people might hear in their quarters as she practiced her magic. He pulled the cork from the bottle with his mouth and gave it a couple of swirls to make it potent. In the potion, there was blood magic, tailored to her, made from the blood that he'd taken after one of their last lessons. If the girl was lying and she had no relation to Regina, the potion would turn black and sizzle as it ate away at her essence, not to mention he'd have to make it again which would prove to be very inconvenient for him. If she was telling the truth, it would recognize her as Regina's blood and glow bright…green.

He stared down in fascination as that feeling of being dropped off the tower returned.

The potion was green. Bright green for a strong connection. If she was a cousin or aunt, the reaction would not have been so strong, but with this kind of strength, there was no denying that she was a sibling. A sibling…to figure out if it was father or mother's side might have taken some time, but why worry when she'd already revealed it. Cora's other daughter, she'd said. And had she said Cora's firstborn?

"Oh, hello, dearie," he muttered in shock. "A day of surprises indeed. Firstborn, did you say?"

"Yes…Cora-"

"Shh!" he waved a hand that took her voice from her and looked over his shoulder as the girl, Zelena, began to struggle. Opening and closing her mouth, moving her hand over her throat all the while he listened. The room was not yet secure, and even if it was, then it would never hide the noises of voices. There were people coming. "Not here, dearie," he muttered quickly before turning to grab Zelena by the arms and removing her from the castle.


Short, I know, I initially had this chapter attached to the next one but then it got to be so long and this appeared to be a good place to break the two. Not too much to say here, it's the first appearance of Zelena, obviously. I hope you'll be alright with how I wrote it. And I hope that some of you C.S. Lewis fans will enjoy that little bone I threw to you in this chapter! It's one of my favorite ideas of his and I was pleased to incorporate it.

Thank you Alarda and Grace5231973 for your reviews on the previous chapter! I'm so happy to have you sticking with me I know this is a super long fiction, especially if you are here to see a specific character and that character has either limited time or hasn't made an appearance yet, but rest assured we will get there. And I'm super happy for all your support on this work. It wasn't a little project, and I'm happy to have you reading it and making the work it took to produce it worth it! Peace and Happy Reading!