Emma felt like all she had done was pace back and forth ever since the moment Regina disappeared. Now she was pacing back and forth in anger. Her father and Cora had returned from Midas' kingdom and had given her the message from him.

"How dare he even suggest such a thing," she said.

"He dares it," Charming said.

"Well, the answer is no. Why would he even think I would agree to this?" Emma asked. "I will give him my no in person if that is what he wants and stick my sword through him if he refuses to tell me where Regina is."

"You do that and you start a war," Charming said. "I think that is what he is counting on, that you won't make such a rash move."

"And you won't," Cora said. "We can't go to war, none of our kingdoms can."

"Why not? Am I supposed to sit back while he has my wife?" Emma practically shouted.

"Firstly, I don't think he has Regina," Cora said. "Secondly, if you were to do as you say, the other kingdoms for sure would not stand with us. Some of them may fight against us. We can't risk the lives of the people of any of our kingdoms in a war like that. Whatever we do, will have to be done with those here with us now."

Merriweather and Fauna had arrived, and Henry was also there as they had sent a messenger to the kingdom as soon as they had left Midas' and read the message. Cora needed him there even if it meant pulling them both from their kingdom because while she was trying to keep on a calm exterior inside she was a wreck.

Emma had stopped pacing, but she didn't look any happier for having stopped the action.

"Why is that clause even in the marriage contract?" Emma asked.

That is what this all boiled down to – her marriage contract and a particular clause in it that allowed for an annulment of her marriage to Regina. Emma hadn't ever read her marriage contract so she had no idea what it contained, and when she read the letter that accompanied a copy of the contract she had become even angrier.

"It's standard to have such a clause in a marriage contract," Snow said. "While anyone who enters into such a contract hopes that it will never have to be used, it's there as a protection for the wronged party to have an out."

"Ok, but I'm not the wronged party here," Emma said. "Regina didn't abandon me."

The clause included terms for an annulment. Firstly, it had to be done within three years of the marriage and before any heirs were produced. Secondly, there were reasons listed for why an annulment could be granted – such things as infidelity. But the specific clause that Midas pointed out in the letter was abandonment. He was suggesting that Regina had abandoned both her wife and the kingdom, which in turn gave Emma the power to enact the clause and have their marriage annulled.

If that weren't bad enough, Midas offered his grandson Patrick as a replacement spouse for her. As the contract stated that if she was to annul the marriage, she must remarry within two years of the annulment.

"How can you say he doesn't have Regina when he planned this?" Emma asked.

"Because there is no way Maleficent would hand her over to Midas," Cora said simply. "She would not give away the one piece of leverage she has in all of this. Make no mistake, this plan of Midas' is not Maleficent's plan."

"Then what is her plan?" Emma asked.

"I believe Maleficent took Regina for a reason. She said it even – that she would teach Regina all the magic that had been denied her," Cora said. "Everything I denied her."

"To what end though?" Charming asked.

"The curse," Cora answered. "Maleficent needs Regina to learn magic so she is capable of casting the curse that the seer predicted she would. It will be Maleficent's ultimate revenge on not only me but everyone who she believes has wronged her."
Cora looked over at Snow, knowing the two of them were the ones with the biggest targets on their backs.

"How long will it take for Regina to learn that kind of magic?" Snow asked.

"I don't know," Cora said. "For me, starting from scratch like I was with Maleficent when I went to learn with her, I would say it would take years, maybe."

"That is good," Snow said. "That will give us time to find Regina and rescue her."

"You need to understand, Maleficent for all her faults, is a great teacher," Cora said. "The first lesson I gave to Regina, I left it thinking what I failure I was and how Maleficent would have known exactly how to get Regina to manifest her magic with control. And from what Emma said, Regina had indeed been able to control her magic thanks to Maleficent's guidance. Regina is also stronger in magic than I am or ever was and that will give her certain advantages in learning once she breaks through her mental blocks. With that kind of power, the magic will begin to become easier for her. Then there is the matter of us not knowing what this curse is. It could be simple, it could be complex, but again, with her power, Regina may not need to worry so much about it being complex as her magic will overcome certain obstacles."

"She's not going to cast the curse," Emma said. "She wouldn't."

"We wouldn't be standing here if there wasn't a chance of it," Flora interjected. "I know you want to believe she isn't capable of it, but the seer must have seen it as a possibility."

"That seer also said my love for Regina would stop her from doing it, and I love my wife," Emma said. "Finding her is the priority, nothing else is."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean we can ignore other factors such as Midas," Henry said. "We have some damage control to do with the other kingdoms. If he has indeed contacted the other rulers, then we must address that. Our silence will make them believe in Midas' narrative."

"What do you suggest we do?" Snow asked.

"We're going to have to reach out to them, and not just by messenger, we will have to make at least some in-person visits," Henry said. "We may not be going to war, but we need to secure allies. As the heads of the families, that falls to you and I Snow."

Snow nodded even though she wanted to argue that she should continue here watching over things while Regina was gone and Emma was working toward finding her wife.

"In the meantime, we will continue to work with Emma on her magic," Flora said.

"What about Midas himself?" Charming asked.

"I will respond to him," Emma said.

"Are you sure?"

"It's my responsibility," Emma said. "He will get my no and let that be the end of it."

"It won't be," Cora said. "I fear Midas still has moves to make."

…

Cora pulled Flora aside after their meeting, saying she needed to speak to her about possible ways to get Emma's magic to manifest. Once they were alone, she turned to Flora, "I need you to take the lead with Emma," she said.

"Why?" Flora asked, immediately suspicious.

"As soon as Henry and Snow leave, I will be leaving as well," Cora replied.

"Where are you going?"

"To find Maleficent."

"I thought we agreed the best way to do that was to get Emma's magic to manifest," Flora said.

"I do believe that we will need her magic before this is all said and done, but in the meantime, I can't just sit here and wait for that to happen," Cora said. "I need to find my daughter and given my history with Maleficent I do not think she will be able to resist meeting me if I give her the opportunity to do so."

"Wait, what exactly are you talking about here because we both know that you can't take on Maleficent by yourself?"

"I know, and it's not about that," Cora said. "She wants her revenge against me, and I'm willing to let her have it if it means Regina is safe."

"You can't be serious. Maleficent will not give up Regina just because you offer yourself up in her stead," Flora said. "Even if she said she would you know she can't be trusted to be bargained with."

"I have to do something," Cora said. "Regina is in danger because of me. I can't sit idly by and hope that Emma's magic will manifest in time."

"We have time," Flora said. "You said it yourself, it could take years for Regina to learn what she needs to know about casting a curse. Not to mention that whatever this curse is, it has to be crafted first and that is no small feat in itself."

"It already exists."

Flora took a step back. "You know which curse Regina was prophesized to cast?"

"Specifically, no," Cora sighed. "When Henry first told me about the seer, I started trying to find out what curse it could possibly be. Regina wasn't born yet and I hadn't made the decision to give up my magic at that time. I researched what I could on any curses of that magnitude, but came up with nothing. I never considered that the curse would come from Maleficent. I was a fool to think we could keep her locked up forever."

"Then we are all fools," Flora said. "But that still doesn't explain how you know the curse exists."

"Maleficent was focused on her revenge against Snow," Cora said. "But she always said that she had a fail-safe to her plan, something that would be unstoppable, something that would change the world. I think it's the curse. Maleficent knew how to craft them. She was the one who taught me how to do it. If anyone could pull off a curse that would devastate the world, it would be Maleficent."

"Say you are right, then why bother taking Regina at all? Why not cast this curse and destroy us all?"

"I don't know," Cora said. "Maybe since she knows about the prophecy she thinks Regina is needed to cast it or maybe she just needs Regina's power. Once she comes into her power, Regina will be the only one who is an actual match for Maleficent."

"Which probably put her in more danger than anything else," Flora said. "Maleficent is not going to allow Regina to be a threat to her."

"That is another reason why I need to get Regina away from her," Cora said.

"Speak plainly to me, do you think Regina would cast this curse?"

Cora didn't answer immediately. It was a question she had pondered ever since she learned of the seer.

"Yes," Cora said finally. "She would. I would like to be like Emma and believe that Regina would not, but I have seen the anger that Regina experiences when she is hurt. She left with Maleficent because she felt betrayed by all of us, especially Emma. I don't know that she would have left it weren't for learning that Emma knew about the seer. When she gets hurt, Regina turns to anger and to cast a curse like this it would have to come from a place of anger. The decisions I have made, the decisions others have made, make no mistake, we put Regina on this path."

"Even so, your plan is foolish," Flora said. "Don't expect my support either. I won't condone you going out on what is essentially a suicide mission."

"Maleficent won't kill me outright," Cora said. "After all, what would be the fun in that."

"I understand you feel the need to do something more proactive to find Regina, but this isn't smart. You know it isn't smart. Putting yourself out there as some sort of bait for Maleficent won't accomplish anything," Flora said. "I know you want to do anything in your power to find your daughter, but you have another daughter here who needs your help. Emma doesn't know me, or the others, but she knows you. Manifesting magic is about getting to the heart of it so you give us the best shot of that with Emma because you know her. Let's not forget, the seer said Emma is our hope in all of this, so she is where we need to concentrate on."

Cora knew what Flora said was true, but the idea of not being out there actively searching for Regina went against every instinct she had. This was her only daughter in the hands of her greatest enemy. But, Flora was right – the seer told them where their hope was and that was Emma.

"Ok," she said. "Let's get to work then."

…