Again, I'm so sorry for the delay in updating! Real life has so much control over me and my time right now. I'm also trying to tackle NaNoWriMo this year, so I've got a lot on my plate! But don't think I won't try my hardest to keep writing! This chapter goes back to Zelena- she's going to finally meet another member of the Hood-Mills family!
Everyone knew that Regina was the man of the Hood household. Even before she and Robin were married, she was always the one that made the heavy decisions. Robin was okay with this; in fact, he wouldn't have his soulmate any other way. That's how they worked, the queen and the outlaw- they were both strong, yet the both of them craved something that only could be fulfilled by one another. She was the mayor, the queen of the land, and he was her lionheart; her protector.
This was why it was so odd not having her at the house that Thursday night. With Regina gone on that boating trip, the house seemed awkwardly silent, out of order, almost. Roland didn't know what to do with himself, nor did his father. But then, that problem was solved, when Killian and David came over with three DVDs in hand. The fifteen year old watched in amusement as the three grown men made themselves comfortable in the living room.
He sure didn't want to become another player in the vicious battle for popcorn and coke cans- Roland got out as quickly as he could. With the sun still in the sky, he was once again walking down the street, hoping to find August at his house. It wasn't too far of a walk, and he enjoyed being outside. Although he initially thought he was alone, the sound of footsteps behind him quickly gave him second thoughts.
His father was once a thief- Roland had inherited some attributes from him, including being swift on his feet. In a mere second he was turned around with his phone clutched in hand, only to see a woman in his direct line of vision. At first, he felt foolish about being so threatened, but then he remembered Caroline had telling him that she had befriended a woman that nobody seemed to know, someone with hair red as fire.
The threatening feeling returned.
"Are you following me?" The fifteen year old asked demandingly, disregarding his mother's strict orders on never being rude to strangers.
The woman shook her head. "No. Ok just on a walk. Where are you headed all by yourself?"
Roland almost rolled his eyes then and there. Did he not look fifteen?
"Off to a friend's house. And I don't think I believe you."
She gave him a look. "What, about going on a walk?"
"You're the person my sister has been hanging around, aren't you."
"You mean Caroline? She's such a sweet girl."
Roland scowled. "Well why do you two talk so much? I don't think it's good- she's keeping it a secret from our parents, and that's never a good thing. She has an... Overactive imagination. If you give her ideas, she'll find a way to make it work."
Instead of replying, Zelena simply readjusted her purse and began walking towards him, inaudibly bidding him to follow.
"She's told me about you, you know," the red head added in smoothly, with a punch of subtleness, enough to grip the teenager's attention for more than just a few seconds- enough to cause him to join her on the walk up the sidewalk, passing numerous cookie cutter houses as they went.
"What?" Roland snapped, with all the defense he could muster, "what do you know about me?"
Zelena couldn't help but smile to herself- she didn't care if he noticed or not. It was a smile of presumed accomplishment; she had the high strung teenager right where she wanted him.
"She told me about what happened on Valentine's Day, with that blonde girl... What was her name again?"
The playfulness laced in her voice, along with the thick accent, made Roland's eyes widen slightly in surprise. "Alex? Why the hell was she talking to you about-"
"Don't swear, your mother raised you better than that, didn't she?"
Now Roland was just plain annoyed. He didn't know what this woman was getting at- he barely knew her to begin with, and now she claims to know not only him, but his sister and his mother as well. Odd.
"Well my mother isn't here right now. Now answer the question, what'd she say about Alex?"
Apparently, he didn't notice how desperately self conscious he sounded. The perks of being a teenager, Zelena concluded in her head.
"She says that some other guy asked her out on a date, and that it bothered you. Caroline really does care about you, you know."
Ronald was running out of witty things to say. He didn't know what her angle was by telling him all of this- did she want him to get angry? Sad? Spill something he shouldn't?
"It's sad really, when young people don't get the love they deserve," Zelena continued, as if she was God and she knew everything about what life had to offer.
Defeated, the fifteen year old gave into his weakness and complied to her constant pushing. "Well who said I liked her? I've known her since I was five- she's my best friend, and I suppose she has the right to go on dates with however many stupid seniors she wants."
"Well, I think you should tell her how you feel. If you did indeed grow up with her, you should feel close enough to say just about anything to her."
What she would've given for a friend like that when she was his age.
Roland cast his eyes down to the moving sidewalk beneath him. Sadly, there was still a ways to go before he would make it to August's house, which meant more talking unless he did something about it. He didn't know how to reply, so instead, he thought about what she had said. Maybe it was true that they had known one another since he was six, but telling her something as heavy as proclaiming his love for her was far too risky in his book. But perhaps that's what he needed- a little bit of risk in his life. Henry took risks; Henry was the truest believer. And he got pretty far in life by just believing in things.
"What lovely tan skin you have," he heard her say, sounding nothing short of completely random and out of the blue.
"Wherever do you get a tan like that here? The sun only shines on a rare occasion."
After thinking about it for a moment, he shrugged. "I was, uh, born with it, I guess. Why is your hair so red?"
Zelena chuckled. "I guess I was just born with it too."
But the witch knew very well that red hair was a result of a genetic mutation; something that wasn't supposed to be created. Perhaps her father, her real father, had red hair like she did.
"You couldn't possibly have gotten that from Regina," she remarked, pushing the conversation along further, "Caroline is a pale little girl."
Her sister's olive skin slightly differed from her own porcelain skin, but Zelena knew that had to be something linked back to their shared mother, Cora. Great, she thought, more ways to be more like my bloody sister.
Discomfort had begun to bubble up inside him like a bottled up volcano- talking about... Sensitive things like his real mother wasn't something he enjoyed doing.
"Well, uh, I was adopted by Regina when I was six, I guess... She married my dad."
Zelena tried her best to look and act surprised by this discovery. "Who is-was- your real mother, then? Is she here in Storybrooke?"
Shaking his head, Roland rounded the next corner, wishing he could just take off running towards the house. Was it even worth it anymore?
"She died when I was born," he told her, his heard feeling unexpectedly heavy.
"Before Regina, it was just my dad and me. Then they took me from the Enchanted Forest to here, signed some papers, and... That's it. I got a mom, a brother, and a sister."
Reminding himself of this fact constantly made the biting feeling of neglect spike back into his system. Yes, he was the odd guy out- Caroline was his sister, they shared the same father, but she also had two parents who she had known for her entire life. Roland wasn't even related to Henry. None of his siblings knew what it was like not knowing the one person that gave them life.
"Interesting," was all Zelena could say, prevalent to the thought that every single person in his large and extended family treated him like one of their own. "Well you sound lucky to me- to have such a welcoming family."
Her statement was fueled by irritable memories of her father, her awful, malicious, unforgiving father. There was nothing welcoming about the pathetic "family" she once had.
When all hope of getting to his destination left his mind, Roland looked up the road to see August's house just a few feet away. Thank goodness.
"Yeah, pretty lucky... Hey, I gotta go. Do my family a favor and stay away from Caroline, would you?"
That's all Roland could manage to say due to his flustered mind; without another second wasted, he turned to follow the winding path of the walkway, leaving Zelena to finish her walk alone.
He couldn't've rang the doorbell any faster.
With nervous and fluttering hands, Caroline stood before her own door, her cheeks rosy and her white, clouded breath fogging the empty air in front of her as she stood impatiently on the wooden porch. It confused the girl as to why Zelena hadn't taken any initiative to decorate the outside of her house. If she lived there, she should give the house her own personal touch- otherwise, it just looked like an abandoned farm house out in the middle of the woods.
"Caroline, what are you doing here?" The red-headed woman inquired, glancing around at the surroundings behind her to see if anyone was with her in the dark, snowy atmosphere. Once again, the girl was out way past anything her mother would approve of- one of these days she was going to get caught.
Caroline was still out of breath, for she had run towards the house under the lie that she was getting the mail outside. Hopefully her mother wouldn't notice that getting the mail would take her daughter at least ten solid minutes. After four straight hours on the boat, they were both exhausted.
"I- I wanted to say sorry for... You know, being upset the last time I was here."
Before responding, Zelena gave the girl a look. She wore her hair in two braids that stopped at her shoulders, topped with a snow dusted blue hat and a puffy purple cost around her skinny body; there was no way she could leave her out in the cold like this, despite how heartless the wicked witch of the west was perceived to be.
"Oh dear, get inside before you catch a cold," Zelena said, reaching for her hand and pulling her into the warmth of her house. As usual, Walsh was right on queue, wagging his black tail and looking up at the cherry nosed girl with excitement.
Caroline took a long breath of the heated air before digging her left hand into her pocket, pulling out a slightly crumpled piece of paper.
"Everyone has to let go of their anger at some point; everyone has it. Sadness, abandonment, rage... Even the best of us falls victim to it. Tell me though, did you're parents work things out?"
She nodded. "I think so."
Zelena quickly noticed how all of the girl's attention resided in the paper she was holding. Sheepishly, Caroline offered the unfolded paper in the woman's direction. "Here, I want to invite you to this."
Taken aback slightly, Zelena accepted the paper and examined it quickly. It was titled Caroline's 10th Birthday Party in large purple letters.
"What's this? Are you... Asking me to come to your party?" She asked, her blue eyes popping with a million emotions all at once.
Caroline smiled. "Yeah. Can you come? The date and time is on the page."
Again, Zelena scanned over the paper. "Indeed it does... Isn't this party for, I don't know, kids your age?"
Sure she was honored for the invite, but being amidst an entire classroom of ten year olds didn't seem fun to her. They would all be flying monkeys within the hour.
Tilting her head to the side, Caroline shook her head. "No, I invited everyone- Killian, Emma, Ruby, Snow... There will be tons more adults there than kids my age. And besides, it doesn't matter- you're my friend and I want to invite you."
Though it was slightly reassuring to hear, the response still sounded a bit sad. But then again, there was nothing she could do to change the number of kids her age in the town. Still… Caroline thought of her as a friend. Never before had anyone given her that title.
She took in a breath and smiled. "Then I'd be delighted to go. That is, if your parents are okay with it."
Instantly, the nine year old beamed. "Yes! I'm so excited now!"
Before setting the invitation down, Zelena noticed that the bottom like read presents mandatory.
"I suppose I'll have to find a present for you before Saturday," she added, giving the girl a teasing smile.
Caroline's mouth opened slightly as she thought of a reasonable explanation.
"Well- you don't have to bring a present... But if you want to..." She was fidgeting with her hands now- it was rather amusing to watch.
"Don't worry, it won't be a problem. Now you better head home before you get in trouble!"
Slipping her gloves back on, Caroline obeyed her better than she would he own mother. Zelena opened the door for her, and she was outside in an instant.
"Bye Zelena, bye Walsh, see you Saturday!" She announced, before turning back towards the dark winter night and disappearing into the forest without a sound.
What do you think Zelena's motives were for talking to Roland? What will go down at Caroline's party? Find out in the next chapter!
(And OUATgirl17, I totally had the same idea as you suggested in one of your previous reviews about the party. Great minds think alike!)