Robin couldn't believe he was doing this. There had been some bickering, sure, but now he was following the Evil Queen of all people to wherever she had decided to take shelter. He kept telling himself that it was for a greater purpose, that he had to figure out where she had hidden Graham, but there was still a part of him that couldn't believe what he was doing.

When he saw where she and Graham had first encountered Henry, he wondered why in all the realms he hadn't insisted that the four of them needed to take advantage of the shelter he and Roland had found. The abandoned house would be much more comfortable than these stables- although it was true that he had also slept in worse places. At least they had a roof over their heads, and, as Henryi showed them excitedly, they could sleep in the hay.

Then he noticed that one very important element was missing, and it made him call everything into question: Graham wasn't here. Surely, the Queen had tied him up wherever they had taken shelter for the night so she would know where to find him and he wouldn't run away, right? "Where's Graham?" he demanded.

"Graham?" she asked, feigning confusion, he was sure. She had to know exactly who he was talking about. "Who's Graham?"

"You know exactly who Graham is," he growled. He was trying to keep his tone civil so the two wonderful young boys they had encountered didn't suspect anything was amiss, but he couldn't help it. This queen was nothing more than an evil witch, and her deception was proof of that. "Clearly, you bewitched Henry somehow so he would think you had found shelter here. If you had really spent the night here, Graham, the huntsman, my friend, would be here."

"I'm sure he didn't wander far," she dismissed. "He can't have. I may not know much about this land, but I do know that what I did with him is something he can't change."

"What did you do with him?" Henry asked slowly.

Robin sighed, and to his great satisfaction, the queen looked nervous. He didn't want to scare these boys, but he also wanted them to be aware of the danger they were in. Henry, after all, was mature enough for Roland's mother to ask him to look after her son, so clearly, he was more grown up than Robin himself had been at his age. He didn't want to frighten Roland though, so he suggested that the younger boy go look at the different animals in the stables. Once he was out of earshot, Robin whispered, "Henry, she may have fooled you into thinking she's some kind lady, but she's actually the Evil Queen and has terrorized an entire realm for years. You can't trust anything she says, she'll betray you in a heartbeat."

The Queen was shaking her head, and Robin couldn't believe it. Surely this woman wouldn't try to deny who she was?

Who was he kidding? Of course she would. She fooled people into thinking she was some innocent damsel in distress, a benevolent ruler, and then turned on them. He had heard what she had done with those poor children, the wood carver's son and daughter, how they had almost been eaten by the Blind Witch and had only escaped due to their ingenuity. He needed to protect Henry and Roland from suffering a similar fate.

To his surprise, though, the Evil Queen said not a single word in her own defense. Instead, Henry was the one who protested, "No, she's not evil! She might have done some bad things in the past, but we can't judge her by what she did before. She's different now." To Robin's disbelief, he looked at the Evil Queen for confirmation, clearly, naovely, expecting her to be honest. "Right?"

Just how much time had the Queen had to corrupt this innocent child? Not that she had corrupted him per se, but it was clear that she had twisted his way of thinking, so much so that he was unable to see the true villainy that the Queen was capable of. He had to do something to fix this, and fast. "Henry, you don't know her reputation like I do. Believe me, people like her…you can't trust them." His mind was filled with thoughts of what had happened in the past, how Keith had once been his friend, then betrayed him and then he had risen in the favor of the prince (and, by extension, the king) until he was nothing but a threat to Robin, a constant thorn in his side. How could he get it across to Henry that the Evil Queen was no different?

Henry shook his head, too set in his beliefs already for Robin to get through to him. He had to find a way to show him that he was wrong, to prove who the Queen really was, her true nature. He knew of only one way to do that. "Henry, she captured my friend and ripped out his heart, forcing him to do whatever she wants. Is that something someone good does?"

To his relief, the young boy muttered, "I knew there was something weird…" Good. Now he would maybe be able to talk some sense into him and protect both him and Roland from the Evil Queen.

With each word the thief spoke, Regina's heart clenched tighter in her chest as Henry appeared to become increasingly confused with each argument the despicable man made. She didn't know how it had happened, but from almost the first instant she had seen Henry, she had felt an indescribable bond. She couldn't let the thief ruin that, no matter what.

At the same time though, what had drawn her to Henry at first was his unwavering belief in her, despite everything she had done- his innocence. It was just like Snow had been when she was young. How did she have such a soft spot for children, despite them ending up disappointing her? She would have thought that she would know better by now.

You don't know if Henry will turn against you yet, a small voice whispered in the back of her mind. You never know. He could surprise you. She decided to just wait to see what he said, her heart beating wildly. What in all the realm s had happened to her that a young boy, a child, was affecting her this much?

The younger boy shook his head, clearly trying to gather his thoughts. "That does sound evil…"

"It is," the thief confirmed. "It most certainly is."

Regina had to tell herself not to shoot a glare in his direction- he was lucky they were in the land without magic, or he would be on the receiving end of one of her fireballs.

To both of their surprise, Henry apparently wasn't done. "But I think coming to this land is already changing her. She's different than the movies make her out to be."

"Movies?" Regina and the outlaw asked in unison. Despite their differences, it was clear that their lack of understanding about anything to do with the culture in the Land Without Magic (if it even had to do with the culture, Regina still didn't know what exactly a "movie" was) was the one place where they could find common ground. Not that she and the thief were anything alike- not at all. She refused to even think about that possibility.

Henry was silent for a moment, clearly thinking of how to explain this strange phenomenon that was completely unfamiliar to them. "it's kind of like… It's kind of like a play. Do you have plays where you're from?"

Both of them nodded. Regina had no idea how the thief had managed to catch a glimpse of the works performed by troupes throughout the land (likely while doing something nefarious, no doubt), but they had been one of the few delights she had had as Queen. True, the worlds plays swept her off to didn't distract her from the misery of her situation for long, but a short reprieve was better than none, right? She had detested those that told of true love, of course- the reminder, however indirect, of what that awful princess had done always hit too close for comfort. The tragedies and comedies, though, were a different story. True, it was hard to make the woman called the Evil Queen laugh, but only plays managed to accomplish that task.

"A movie is kind of like a play," Henry explained. "Except it's recorded, so you can watch it whenever you want."

"Recorded?" Regina repeated. She loved Henry, she really did- or she was starting to, at least- but his explanations were only leading to more questions.

"There's a thing you can capture the play on so you can watch it anytime you want," Henry elaborated. "It's… it's like writing something down, but capturing people's actions and words in a way so you can see it instead of having to read it."

"Oh," Regina said, still too confused to say anything else. She would just have to get one of these things for herself to figure out what it was- not that she wanted to stay in this world for any length of time.

"No matter what these movie things are and how the Evil Queen acts in them, I guarantee she isn't as brutal in them as she is in real life," the thief claimed. "Especially if they think these things are suitable for children to see." Why was there a glimmer of tears in his eyes? Had he lost a child? Not that that was as painful as making yourself infertile to stop the wicked plans of a mother who wanted nothing but a way to have the nearest kingdom bow down to her and succumb to her every whim. Still, though, no parent should have to go through the loss of a child. Despite herself (and the animosity he had shown her), she felt a certain degree of sympathy and compassion fill her at the thought. Who knew that there was even the possibility of her and the thief having something in common?

"There is no excuse for her behavior either," he added, and at his words, the compassion that had dwelt within her, even for a short time, was banished as quickly as a candle being snuffed out by a gust of wind. "Just because a princess was more beautiful than her, she decided to destroy her."

Regina laughed. Oh, if only it was that simple. If this thief thought that something as frivolous as who was the most beautiful woman in the land was the reason behind her hatred of Snow, he was in for a rude awakening- and although Regina certainly wasn't going to give it to him (the very idea that this man and Daniel could even exist in the same thought made her ill), there was a part of her that wanted to see his reaction when he discovered what Snow had done to her. It would serve him right for assuming he knew anything about her, let alone that particular piece of information.

Henry, thankfully, seemed to know what she did, that there was more to the story than that, because he, too, was shaking his head. Good. She wouldn't lose him then. Granted, she lost everyone important to her, so she didn't know why she thought Henry would be different. Surely, her penchant for never getting a happy ending would extend to this realm as well as the one she had so unexpectedly left behind.

They had all forgotten Roland in their separate quests for the truth. He popped his head over Henry's shoulder now, and Regina fervently hoped that he hadn't heard a single word of what they were discussing. Trying to turn an older child against her was one thing, convincing a child as young and innocent as Roland that she was evil when he didn't know her at all was a completely different story. "Come on, you guys! What are you doing?"

"Oh," Robin said, and she could tell that he had abruptly been brought back to the present just as she had. "Yes. Boys, I really think it's best if you come with me. We should just leave the Queen alone, we don't want to bother her."

Henry shook his head. "I'm staying with her, and Roland is staying with us. His mom asked me to look after him, so that's what I'm going to do. You're not the boss of me or Roland."

Robin shook his head. "That's not a good idea, but you're right. I'm not in charge of you. I am, however, trying to help you take care of him. You boys shouldn't be on your own, you should have someone to help you and take care of you."

Now Henry was defensive, and honestly, Regina was a little triumphant. The thief's efforts weren't going well, meaning that she'd probably end up having both boys with her. When that had become something she wanted, she didn't know… but there was something about Henry's unending belief in her (which she didn't understand at all) and the dimples Roland showed when he smiled that she just couldn't resist.

"We do. We have Emma and Regina." Henry's voice was defiant. He wasn't budging.

But did she really want him, let alone Roland, to be with her, though? She had to figure out how to get back to the Enchanted Forest so she could cast the curse and finally get her revenge.

Although wait… the curse would bring them to a land with no happy endings. Was it possible that the curse would just bring Snow and their subjects here? Was it possible to cast the curse from here, and make her stepdaughter miserable that way?

Either way, she didn't want to have two children underfoot when she was trying to figure all of this out. "He wants to take care of you, so you should let him," she said, crouching down a little to look Henry in the eye. "I have some things I need to figure out. I wouldn't be able to help you and Roland as much as you deserve."

"What things?" he asked immediately. "Let us help! You don't know this world, you could get hurt- and we can help you find things!" he added, looking over at Roland for confirmation, and the younger boy nodded eagerly. "We can do it!"

Regina sighed. She didn't know what had come over her- she definitely wouldn't have acted like this with Hansel and Gretel, given that her interactions with them had been a means to an end. She had to protect these boys, though, and spending time with her wouldn't lead to them being safe. "I'm sure you can. But Henry, the thing is, I don't want anything to happen to either of you. I hate to say it," she admitted, glaring at the thief. "But you'll be safer with this thief."

She could see the relief in Robin's eyes as both boys groaned. "Really? But how will we know you're okay?" Henry asked.

Regina thought for a moment, then realized the answer was all around them. "We'll meet back here at the same time tomorrow. How's that?" She maybe should be checking with the thief instead of the boys, but quite frankly, she didn't care what he thought. In contrast, she would agree to anything if it would make Henry happy.

Henry and Roland nodded, although she could tell that for Henry, his acquiescence was reluctant.

After arranging a few more details, Regina set out on her own. She had work to do.