Zelena was gone that much he was nearly certain of. He'd searched too long and come up empty too many times to have a fraction of hope that she was still in this world. As much as she'd been in the castle for lessons it wasn't hard to put a locator spell on some hair he'd found that belonged to her. But the spell came up with nothing. It went nowhere. And when he tried to picture her and transport himself to her side…nothing. There was a block of some kind that he felt on his magic, similar to what he felt when he'd tried to go to Bae by magic. That could only mean one thing. The shoes did exactly what she'd said they did. And Zelena was nowhere in this world. And with Jefferson still away at the Emerald City looking for information on her at his own behest, it was clear that there was no way he could go after her. Not unless he found a magic bean, and if he had that, he certainly wouldn't use it to go after Zelena. He'd always believed in the patience he possessed, but now he did even more. For in the one moment he'd been foolhardy it had cost him. A dear cost. With Zelena, the shoes, and Jefferson all gone, and Regina returning from her business with the King, he had no choice but to return to what he'd known before the witch dropped out of the sky.

Regina.

The curse.

The prophecy.

It was a shame, truly it was, that he had lost Zelena when she'd had those shoes on her feet, but the truth was that the events of the last few weeks had only strengthened his belief in the prophecy. The firstborn of Princess Cora. Not Cora. Princess Cora. His former lover was naught but a miller's daughter when he'd met her. If he'd been smart and truly taken the time to consider that he might have seen that Zelena's birth disqualified her from the beginning. She wasn't the firstborn of Princess Cora; she'd been the firstborn of Cora, the Miller's Daughter. But there was more that should have told him it was Regina and not Cora. The hatred he knew was to come between Regina and Snow White…Zelena would never have that. And if she was so instrumental in the future, then why hadn't it been her face he'd seen instead of Regina's when he'd first been delivered the prophecy? It wasn't because no one knew about it, he'd seen a lot of faces that he still didn't know, but not one of those belonged to Zelena. She was unimportant. And he was a fool for thinking that she might have been important.

The loss of the shoes was regrettable, but there was always Jefferson, and in the meantime, he was back to exploring the old trait that he had, the one Nimue so admired, and yet he wished he didn't have if only because it would mean he wouldn't have to use it.

Patience.

He'd come this far; he could go a bit farther in order to make everything right, just as it was supposed to be. It was Baelfire at risk, after all. He needed to remember that first and foremost. This wasn't a project he needed to be hasty about. It wasn't a project to get stuck in or change plans for because he knew at the end of this map, this prophecy, was his son. If he changed courses or changed the future, there was no promise his son would be waiting for him.

So he went back to Regina and began to apply what he'd learned as he taught her. Unlike Zelena, who was powerful but not the right person, he knew what Regina could become with time. And there was time. Snow White, young as she was, would not bear a daughter for some time yet, and that child was equally important to the future he saw. There was plenty of time to twist Regina, to change her, to alter and prepare her for what he needed. And after working with Zelena, he found he had a new appreciation for Regina's adultlike coolness and her stable mind.

"Well, Dearie…have you been practicing?" he questioned upon arriving in her room once more.

Regina beamed, a happy white smile that Zelena, in all her eagerness, could never have comprehended. "Yes!" she proudly exclaimed, rising from her chair. "I have! I can do it now! Just watch."

He wandered closer to her and stood by as he watched Regina close her eyes, her smirk confident and proud. She squared her shoulders once more, took a breath, moved her hand.

Nothing. Just as before.

Her smile faltered as she stared bewildered at her open hand. "It's because you're here! I swear I could do it before! Now I'm just…nervous, I suppose!" she cried as her voice cracked in panic.

Patience.

"Do me a favor," he urged. "Try something with me. Snow White…she has the ability to talk to birds you said."

"Yes!" Regina sighed in exasperation, her eyes automatically rolling. "The chirping is endless! We went on a family picnic the other day, and I thought I would lose my mind! Meanwhile, her father thinks it's an adorable gift and goes on and on about it. Little brat…"

That was the frame of mind he was looking for. That was a kind of envy he could work with, not against.

"I want you to think of this rock as that natural ability," he said as he lifted the pyramid and held the stone in his hand before her. "I want you to believe this is that which you do not have and never will unless you cast a spell over yourself. An ability that she was born with, one that you want, it's over here…" he put the rock back under the pyramid. "It's trapped uselessly in a little girl who can't keep her mouth shut with Cora, or her father, or even the birds. Now…take it from her."

Regina's posture changed as she stared at that pyramid and slowly rose to her feet. Magic sparked in the air, and it didn't smell like his own.

"If you are as powerful as I think you are then you have every ability to-"

He didn't get to finish that sentence. There was no need. Without realizing, Regina had closed her eyes, taken her breath, and summoned the stone into her hand. Her smile returned instantly as she looked at the rock in her hand. What held one sister back could fuel the other. A wonderful lesson for him.

"Well done, Regina," he muttered, placing his hands over her shoulders and offering a gentle squeeze of encouragement. He felt it for himself too. That encouragement was hope. "You've been practicing. You're shaping up to be the best pupil I ever had."

"Really?" Regina smiled in disbelief. It was the polar opposite of what Zelena would have done and how she would have responded. It left him with little doubt and while he still wanted Jefferson to go after those shoes, it eliminated some of the desire he'd felt before the lesson.

"You'll make a very fine Apprentice, I think," he commented in confirmation.

"Apprentice? Me?"

"All the greatest wizards have them, and now…it seems I have found mine."

Magic continued to spark in the air around the room. Confidence, jealousy, rage, desire, power, want…Regina's magic was tied to all of those. Zelena was like Cora, there was no doubt, but Regina was too. She was powerful and so full of potential it left a sweet taste in his mouth. He just had to unbury the potential that Cora had kept hidden from him.


Short but necessary. This was also something that we saw but you might have missed it as you blinked. If memory serves correctly, when Zelena gets back to Oz, after she's transformed the Wizard into a monkey she summons up the image of Regina. The scene of Regina getting the rock and Rumple telling her that she's the greatest student he's ever had is what causes her to go full-on green. Like I said, blink and you'd miss it, but it was still important to rounding this story out for Regina.

Thank you, thank you, thank you MissAmande, Alarda, Jennifer Baratta, and Grace5231973 for your reviews on the last chapter. I have good news and bad news. The good news is that the Jefferson chapters I promised are on their way, the bad news is that according to my posting schedule it's not Jefferson up next. He's coming. Don't worry, and when he comes back we get to see several chapters of him as he plays a really important role in Rumple and Regina's immediate future. But in the next chapter, we get to meet a new character who will be equally important down the line. I really do think you will enjoy her chapter. Anyone up to meet a sea witch? Peace and Happy Reading!