XI. The Witch and the Queen

With a depressing finality, Zelena closed the heavy book in her lap. She had reached the end, which meant she had to keep the promise she had made to Robin and return it to Regina. Wistfully, she flipped through it again. She would miss the beautiful stories that had taken her away from her dreary everyday life for a short time. She paused at the drawing of a whimsically green shimmering city. How often as a child she had imagined the glorious Emerald City from her favorite book, had dreamed of walking through the alleys and meeting the friendly Good Witch who only used her magic to help others. Each time she had asked her mother why the Witch of the West on the other hand was so mean. Melia had always explained to her that she must have had her reasons, because evil wasn't born, it was made. Zelena had never forgotten this message. Back then it had still been very abstract for her, but in the meantime she was grown up for long and finally understood what her mother had wanted to tell her. In the first years of her life, Freek had never been as affectionate with her as Melia, but they had been a real family. He had taught her that if you fell, you had to get up, knock the dust off your clothes, and keep going.

As she made her way down the stable aisle, her eyes caught the fir branch decorated with a red and gold bow that hung over Silver Queen's stall door. The mayor seemed to be just as excited and in good spirits about the holiday season as most of the people walking past the festively decorated storefronts around town these days. She hadn't seen her since the encounter at the Rabbit Hole, though. Robin, however, sometimes came to the stables in the afternoon. He always tried to start a conversation with her, but she avoided him. Since he had asked her to return the book to Regina, he had not brought this again to remind her of it. As much as she didn't want to give these stories up, she also knew that he was setting trust in her that she didn't really deserve. After all, they barely knew each other and he didn't know how much she was struggling with that nagging voice inside her that wanted to keep the book for herself.

Early the following morning, sitting alone in her bedroom, she pulled out her journal for the first time since arriving at Storybrooke to jot down the date on a blank page. She thought of the fairy tales and the colorful illustrations that gave them life. Regina's father hadn't just rewritten the old texts a bit, he had woven a whole world around them. The Witch's story ended with her dramatically staged melting caused by a simple bucket of water, that the nosey brat Dorothy threw onto her, and taking dominion over Oz while she indulged her evil thoughts. She blamed her sister, the Queen, for her own misery. Zelena set the pen to write down a few sentences.

The Witch had become too lost in her desire for revenge to realize that she was not alone in this world. She had chosen to hate the one person who was so close to her, and whom she should have loved. Her beautiful little sister, who was just as lonely and disappointed in life. As the Queen she lived at a large castle where she was pampered by servants, while the Witch had to work hard in her youth to bring home enough money for a hot meal. One day, the sisters would once again come face to face, look each other in the eyes, and realize that underneath all the hatred they were as close as two people can be. Then finally, they would be able to find their peace together. This is how the story of the two sisters ends.

With a jerk, she tore the written page from the diary and folded it carefully to put it in her bag. She got Freek's breakfast ready before dressing warmly and getting her bicycle from the shed. In the past few days, winter had descended on the sleepy little town, a white blanket of snow was covering the meadows, the trees and the houses like a layer of icing. As gorgeous as the landscape looked, it was all the more difficult to ride the bike. On her way, she stopped at the stables to retrieve the book from its hiding place among the old horse blankets. She tucked the loose piece of paper with the lines in her irregular handwriting between the last pages without knowing exactly why she was doing it. Perhaps because fairy tales deserved a good ending. Reality was hard and depressing enough. By the time she got to her job at the supermarket, with the heavy tome safely hided in her locker, she was sure that Freek had already found her note on the kitchen table. He would be upset when she got home in the evening, but in this weather, the way was just too arduous for her to drive back to the farm between her shifts. Her lungs still stung and burned painfully. Plus that left her enough time to see Regina without her father noticing it.

In the afternoon, it snowed again in thick flakes. A small Christmas market had been set up on the main square in front of the town hall, which was already well attended at this time of day. As she passed by, Zelena let her eyes wander over the decorated and illuminated stalls, where tree decorations, candles, pastries and various other festive things were on sale. When she was very little, her family had also celebrated Christmas and she had loved this time more than anything. On the twentieth of December her mother had died and with her the magic of this season had also passed away. Soon it would be that time again, and she was already dreading it. She passed the entrance of the town hall, holding the cloth bag with the book tightly to her, and headed straight for the door labeled with the mayor's name. A businesslike voice answered her knock. The office she entered was spacious and tastefully contrasted in black and white. Regina Mills looked up from her notebook in surprise. As Zelena approached, she removed her reading glasses and her dark eyes fixed on her.

"Miss West," she began in a decidedly polite manner. "What brings you to me?"

Zelena stopped in front of the desk and pulled the leather-bound tome out of the pouch to place it on the table in front of Regina. "I just want to give you this. Robin says it's yours."

Wide-eyed, Regina stared at the cover with its gold letters. The movement of her neck revealed that she had to swallow hard, and her fingers trembled as she opened the book to read the handwritten dedication on the first page.

"Where did you get this?" she exclaimed.

"I was browsing in Mister Gold's pawn shop the other day. He offered it to me when I was interested in a book of legends," Zelena returned truthfully.

Regina's brows drew together. "The damn imp had it all this time? I thought I'd never hold it in my hands again, yet it's been there all these years and he never bothered to mention it."

"I don't know." The redhead shrugged. "Maybe all you had to do was go in and ask him."

"I don't trust him and usually avoid the store." Almost reverently, she slammed the tome shut and stroked the leather. "It means so much to me that you brought it back. It was a gift from my father, who is sadly no longer alive. What did Gold charge you for it? I'll replace it for you, of course."

Zelena wrestled a smile from herself. "That's nice, but you can't. I gave him a necklace with an emerald pendant that belonged to my mother."

"I'm basically done for the day." Fluently, Regina flipped her laptop shut and tucked her reading glasses into a slim case. "Would you like to join me for a punch? I'll invite you, of course."

She nodded hesitantly with a glance at her watch. "Good, I still have time before I have to go to the Rabbit Hole."

After Regina had also dressed warmly, the two women stepped outside. She wore a black hat that protected her hair from the damp snowflakes, while Zelena pulled the hood of her worn jacket over her red curls. She felt strangely out of place next to the mayor in her elegant coat. They came to the punch stand, where a tiny man with a bulbous nose and chubby cheeks was pouring.

"Two orange punches, please," Regina ordered.

Zelena looked up abruptly. "I don't really drink alcohol."

"Well, then, It's one non-alcoholic and one with oranges," she corrected, "and two baked apples." She pulled a few dollar notes from her purse to pay before handing one of the steaming mugs over to Zelena.

"Nice and warm," she noted as she sipped it carefully. "Tastes good, too."

Together they continued to stroll through the Christmas market, looking at the pretty things and nibbling on their apples, which developed a pleasant tart sweetness from the spices. Zelena felt guilty because Freek was already reproaching her for gaining weight. In front of a stall where nuns from the convent were selling handmade candles, honey and tea for the purpose of charity, a dignified-looking woman with spiked chocolate-brown hair and gentle eyes greeted the mayor politely.

"I've always regretted not being able to show the book to my son," Regina finally stated dreamily as they stopped by one of the small bar tables. "Henry is still into fairy tales and stories. He'll love it."

"It's incredibly beautiful. Your father must have loved you very much to give you something like this, Miss Mills. Robin mentioned that he died several years ago."

"Regina." Her smile grew wide. "I can imagine it's not easy at all coming to a new place where you don't know anyone, but today you've definitely made a friend, Zelena."

"I can empathize with you about how hard it must have been to lose your father." It was strange to suddenly address this woman more familiarly. "My mother unfortunately died long ago, too. You never quite get over it, no matter how much time passes."

Regina put a hand on her arm. "I'm sorry to hear that. You're right, deep down it still kind of hurts." She took a bite of her apple with relish. "Did you read the book?"

"Yes, all the way to the last page. Did your father create everything of it? The characters seem so much deeper and more alive because of the connections between them."

"He should have been a writer instead of a lawyer. But maybe my son will be one; he loves to spin his own stories. Some parts my dad and I made up together. That the Queen and the Witch actually are half-sisters, that was my idea. When I was a kid, I really wanted a sister."

"But they hate each other." Zelena arched a brow.

"Because their ending isn't in the book. It was always clear to me that one day they would meet and realize that they had both been betrayed of the life they deserved. Then, instead of hatred, they would choose love and truly be sisters."

"Why did your mother take it away from you if it was so important to you?" she asked this very personal question that had been on her mind ever since she learned that the book was hers.

"It seems to me Robin was pretty outspoken. She thought that at the age of ten I was too old for fairy tales and should rather deal with reality. That's why she sent me to a girls' boarding school. I hated it there, among all those spoiled brats. The only good thing about it was that there were horses."

Zelena brushed a curl from her face that wouldn't stay under her hood. "He speaks fondly of you. You're so lucky, you know."

"Wait, do you think he and I...? Hell no!" She laughed in amusement. "He's my best friend, we've played in the sandbox together. We also read the book together and acted out the stories. I was always the Queen and he adored Robin Hood the most. Well not the stealing part of course, he's way too honest for that, but the justice thing is right up his alley."

"I liked the Witch better." Her face took on a rapturous expression for a moment. "How nice would it be to just being able to get on your broom and fly away? To be free as the wind and nothing can stop you."

"I get that feeling on horseback. Maybe you should try that too." She took a sip of her punch with relish. "Why don't you and your husband join Henry and me for Christmas, if you'd like to? Emma will be there, too."

"We're not celebrating," Zelena replied in surprise. "He prefers us to keep to ourselves. You don't have to invite us out of pity because we don't know anyone around here."

"That wasn't the reason. Freek and you, you must have been married for a long time?"

Regina's kindness felt honest to her, but she couldn't say too much, so she nodded hesitantly. "We've been together since I was in high school," she said.

"I also got married very young, however my husband is no longer alive. If yours doesn't want to come, let him wait at home. Then we'll just be three ladies and a kid under the Christmas tree." She grinned, causing her dark eyes to flash.

"This is a family event after all, I'd just be disturbing you. Besides, Freek doesn't like it when I leave him alone." Quickly, she glanced at her watch and finished her punch. "Thanks for the drink and the apple."

There was plenty of time before her shift at the bar, and she found the festively decorated booths beautiful because they reminded her of her early childhood. At the same time, she was uncomfortable around people, she was playing with fire and she knew it. If her father found out that she not only visited the Christmas market, but did so with Regina, he would give her a good beating. He was usually in a particularly bad mood at this time.

Regina made a throwaway gesture. "I have to thank you. You paid for the book and would have had every right to keep it, but you didn't."

She kept to herself how vehemently that quietly gloating voice inside her had insisted that it rightfully belonged to her. But she had given Robin her word, and that meant something so her. Many years ago, her mother had taught her that you had to keep what you promised. Only bad people lied and cheated. She never wanted to treat Melia's memory with such a disrespect, because it was all she had left.