As soon as Emma could get away from the festivities she went looking for her wife. She went first to their room, but when she wasn't there, she went to Regina's parents' chambers. She could immediately tell something was wrong based on their behavior. Regina's father seemed to be dancing around the subject as much as possible.
"Look I just want to know where my wife is," Emma said.
"We don't know," Henry responded. He had already told her a variation of that. "She said she needed some time, I assume she meant alone time."
"Have you checked the stables yet?" Cora asked.
Emma shook her head.
"Then try there. Whenever she was upset she would almost always try and go for a ride," Cora offered up. "It calms her down."
If Emma hadn't been urgently wanting to find Regina, she would have taken the time to tell Regina's parents exactly what she thought, but since she was in a hurry she left without saying a word.
She made it down to the stables in record time and exhaled in relief when she saw Regina there with Quicksilver as she was brushing him down. A part of her wished that she had come here first without going to Regina's parents' rooms. She knew Regina well enough now that she shouldn't have had to been told to check there by Cora. But she hadn't been thinking logically, she just knew she had to find her wife.
She could immediately tell that Regina was trying to concentrate on the task and not doing a very good job of it. The stables were empty and she wondered if Regina had sent everyone away so she could be alone.
Emma walked up to her – Regina having noticed her when she was a couple of steps away yet she didn't acknowledge her.
"Did you know?" Regina asked quietly.
"Know what?" Emma questioned. This wasn't what she was expecting.
"Did you know that my mother was involved in your parents' story?"
"No!" Emma said, stopping Regina's hand from the brushing she had continued to do. "No. I didn't know. If I had, don't you believe it would be something that would have come up by now?"
"I don't know," Regina said, moving her hand away from Emma's. She tossed the brush down to the ground. "My parents have no problem lying to me so why should you be any different?"
Emma could hardly believe Regina had said that, but she wasn't about to let that question linger between them.
"I didn't know," Emma reiterated. "I was as surprised as you were to find that out."
This entire time Regina hadn't looked at her directly, but now she did.
"I'm sorry," Regina said. Her features softened quickly. "I know you didn't know. I just … I'm just tired of my parents withholding things from me. I mean why can't they trust me to handle knowing these things? What is it about me that they think I shouldn't know these things?"
"What did your parents say to you?"
Regina looked around as if wondering if they were truly alone. "Let's go to our rooms."
They walked in silence, only getting interrupted once on their trip up there when an adviser asked them a quick question. Once they were in their common room Regina sat down and told Emma what her parents had told her. The only part she held back was what her mother had told her about the sleeping curse having been made by her.
"Wow," Emma said. "So your mom and Maleficent were close."
"I feel like I don't even know her," Regina said. "It's so frustrating. I keep thinking how close I used to be with her and then when I learned she had magic it all fell apart. Yet, maybe I never knew her."
She fell silent and Emma wasn't sure what to do.
"I don't want to take away from what you are feeling about this, but I do kind of understand a little bit – my parents never told me either," Emma said. "I don't know why either. I get that they are concerned about Maleficent getting free, but I don't know …"
She thought back suddenly to the time before they were married – how she found it hard to verbalize what she was thinking about things and she again felt that way.
"Look, what do you want to do?" Emma asked. "Your parents are supposed to be here for a few more days. Whatever you want, I will stand by you."
Regina stood up and Emma recognized her expression as one she made when she was deep in thought and she knew she wouldn't be able to say anything to her until Regina had come to a decision. It was a long time before Regina turned back to her.
"I want to end this, end the lies," Regina said. "The only way to do that is to confront my parents once and for all and see if they are willing to finally come clean, finally stop the lies. And when I do this, I want you there beside me. I want them to see that I don't keep secrets from you."
Emma got up, and hugged her, and kissed her. "I'll stand by your side always."
…
It was nearing dinner when Snow and Charming went down to the library to meet with Cora and Henry. Snow felt bad for Cora even though she didn't know what happened when Regina left the storyteller competition.
When they got to the library Cora and Henry were already there. As soon as the door closed behind them Cora went up to it and she waved her hand across the threshold.
"What are you doing?" Snow asked.
"Ensuring that we are not interrupted or overheard," she replied.
"Is that necessary?" Charming asked.
"I am not taking any chances," Cora said.
"Sorry for asking this," Henry said. "But did either of you tell anyone, Emma or anyone, about Cora's involvement?"
"No," both answered.
"I know you probably have reasons to doubt us," Snow said. "But I swear to you we did not. Mother to mother, Cora I swear to you."
"I believe you," Cora said.
Snow looked at Charming. "Tell them what you found out."
"After the storytelling competition," Charming began. "We too were wondering how this man could have known that so I borrowed a cloak from one of Emma's guards and I followed him. At first, nothing. He stood around talking with the other storytellers and to others who came up to tell him how much they enjoyed his story. He then took in one of the other shows. His demeanor was relaxed, much what you would expect from anyone who was at such an event. No one unusual approached him and honestly, I almost gave up when he returned to the inn he was staying at."
"I stuck around though, in the bar area, I don't know, maybe it was out of stubbornness or maybe I just wanted an ale but it was a good thing I did. Midas' grandson came in and went directly up the stairs. It wasn't easy to get up there without being seen but I had to know if he was visiting someone else there or if it was the storyteller. And it was."
"The storyteller had to have learned of your involvement from Midas, whether it was him directly or if Midas' grandson revealed it after learning of it from Midas," Snow said.
"Damn him," Cora said. "Why won't Midas leave our family alone?"
Henry put his hand on Cora's shoulder. "I will make certain he does from now on. It's well past time that I deal with him."
"I can understand why you would want to confront him," Charming said. "Believe me, I wanted to do it the moment I saw his grandson disappear behind the storyteller's door. But Snow pointed out that we have no idea why Midas would do this. There has to be something more than him simply wanting to cause you some momentary hardship."
Cora stepped away from them as she thought this through. Suddenly it felt like everything was unraveling – all the lies and secrets seemed to be on the verge of coming out. While those lies had always made her feel conflicted after Regina had left their chambers earlier her thoughts had remained on her daughter. Whether Regina believed it or not, Cora loved her daughter more than life itself and if Midas meant her harm in any way Cora would ensure Midas never had the ability to hurt anyone ever again.
Even as she thought it, she also thought of a time when she tried to get another to turn from such a path.
"Why? Why do this?" Cora asked.
Malificent laughed that now-familiar and somewhat taunting laugh. "Why not do it?" she replied. "Why should I cower before the kingdoms when I have more power than any of them ever dream of? Besides, that brat Snow needs to be taught a lesson."
"What about the lessons you taught me?" Cora said. "You have drilled into my head the need for control. The better control you have over your emotions, the better control you have over your magic. This, this need for revenge that isn't about control. That is exactly the kind of foolishness that you have warned me against."
Maleficent walked up to her young protégée and gripped her chin, forcing eye contact with her. "I am not out of control," she said. "No, I have thought about this long and hard. We have a legacy, Cora. A legacy of magic but those people out there – those rulers and their underlings, they look at us like we are some gutter trash. They speak out against magic and force us to hide who we are because the truth is, they are afraid of us. They fear us and with good reason. We are more than them. It's time we show them this."
Maleficent turned from her and went back to her work table which is where she had been Cora had approached her. It was only the night before that Mal had told her of her plans and while Cora had been quiet about it that night, she knew today that she had to say something.
She didn't want to be a part of this, but she was torn. Maleficent was the only one who seemed to understand her, the only one who looked at her magic as a gift and not an oddity or something that made her somehow lesser. This was her mentor, the woman who had taught her how to control this power that was inside her.
It was why she had to try and get her to give up on this idea.
"You realize that even if you succeed in taking the White kingdom, not only would you have a rebellion on your hand with the citizens there, but the other kingdoms would not sit idly by and let you do it," Cora said.
This time when Mal made eye contact with her she was smiling. Cora thought suddenly how that smile, which had always been a source of pride when it was bestowed on her, now appeared to be twisted and cruel. "Don't you worry," Mal said. "I've been planning this for a long time. I have allies, not just you, but others. And when the time comes those allies will ensure that I ascend to the throne."
Something about the way Mal said it made Cora decide to cease her protest. She knew Maleficent well enough by now to know when she wasn't about to be stopped.
Now she was faced with having to find another way to stop her best friend.
"We all have to be at this dinner this evening," Charming said. "I suggest we try and act as normally as possible. If nothing else for Emma and Regina's sakes. We're here to celebrate their kingdom and their marriage."
Cora could have laughed at the idea, but she merely nodded. She knew no matter how many fake smiles they might put on, it wouldn't help Regina's mindset.