Regina tried to stay calm while she cooked the apple turnover. She only had one chance to get this right and she absolutely could not afford to mess up. She thought back the day Emma Swan had first wandered into Storybrooke, a lost and pregnant teenager with no one looking out for her. Maybe it was wrong of her to take advantage of someone who was in such a vulnerable position, but honestly she had done Emma a favor. In her state, she could have possibly have given her baby a good life. She had nothing.

Regina had ground so bored and lonely over the years, and the temptation to have another child was too sweet to resist. Alexander had died, Snow and Red had betrayed her in the cruelest ways. She had gotten her revenge but it was not as wonderful as she had thought it would be. She could control the town with an iron fist, but she had no one to love her.

Perhaps she should have thought harder about how Emma had wandered into town. At the time she thought it was odd, but she decided to brush it off as a miracle, as the universe finally gave her what she really wanted - a child that loved her unconditionally.

So what if she had to take Emma prisoner? So why if she never intended to tell Henry where he really came from? She gave him a wonderful life, much better than what Emma could have him. He grew up in a mansion, and why the finest clothes, it always had the newest toys. No one bothered her because they were all afraid of her. He had everything a little boy could want.

That's why Regina did not understand why he had turned against her too. Was there just something about her that was fundamentally unlovable? That couldn't be it. Daniel had loved her. Her father...

Regina shook her head and refocused on her efforts to cook. This apple had been the last bit of magic she had left in this land and she would readily sacrifice it for Henry's love. Once Emma and her toxic influence was finally gone, she could work to genuinely rebuild her relationship with her son. And she would finally be happy. As the apple turnover began to bake, the sweet, cinnamon scent filled the kitchen.

"Mom? What are you doing?" Henry had just woken up and wandered into the kitchen. It was still early in the morning. Regina had gotten up early for this, because she wanted to get the turnover to Emma as soon as possible. "Are you..baking?"

"Don't worry about it sweetheart, just something for a friend."

"You don't have any friends." Henry said bluntly.

"You don't know what I do when you're not around," Regina brushed off his comment playfully. He won't be saying things like that once Emma was gone, so she tried not to let it bother her. "Go get ready for school, since you're already up."

Henry looked suspicious, but at last he obeyed her.


At the head of a group of soldiers stood the Dark One, Zelena's former teacher.

"Why are you here, just to trouble me?" Zelena struggled to maintain a polite tone. "I have clients."

"This is such a waste of your hard-earned talent," the Dark One shook his head pityingly.

"Your purpose for being here." Zelena demanded coldly.

"Please, let us speak in private." The Dark One meaningfully toward Mulan, who stood behind Zelena gripped her sword tightly. "There's no need for violence dearie."

Zelena did not trust him, but she did not want to upset him, especially when he had so many swords at his disposal. She nodded curtly and told Mulan to go downstairs with her friend and brother. Then she sat her former teacher down in the living room. She said down in a stiff chair while he stopped on a small sofa. They look at each other with mutual distaste, with the air of two people who resented the fact that they knew each other very well. The Dark One looked around her living space lazily, appraising it, which made Zelena angry and self-conscious.

"Now what do you want from me?" Zelena repeated. "You're little stunt scared my clients half to the death."

"Just a drop of blood. It's for-"

Before he had even finished his sentence, Zelena denied him. "Absolutely not. I would be a fool to give you something like that. Blood magic is very powerful and I would never trust you with my own blood."

"I have no intention of using it against you."

"Maybe not now but someday you might. I refuse to take that chance." Zelena stated. "If you're not planning to use blood magic against me, you're probably planning to use to against Regina. I may not like my sister, but she doesn't deserve whatever twisted horror you have in store for her."

"On the contrary, Regina sent me on this mission."

"Don't be coy, it doesn't suit you." Zelena sneered. "You somehow manipulated her into thinking it's her idea, but it's really yours. I want no part of whatever it is."

"You're not even curious what I want your blood for?"

"Nothing you want can possibly be good."

"I could say the same of you."

"Are you going to leave now or are you going to keep harassing me until I give you my blood?"

The Dark One pulled out a scroll from his cloak and opened it. A slash a red on a thick parchment. "I got this from you niece, Rose Red."

"So you have blood from a relative of Regina's. What do you need me for?"

"It's tainted. She's a werewolf now, that prevents the spell from working as it should."

"Well, I suppose you should have seen that coming when you were planning such an important spell," Zelena said mockingly. "You always think you know everything. I quite like seeing you get knocked down a peg. Why don't you try getting blood from my other niece, Snow White?"

The Dark One glared at her, "I will get what I need eventually, and this spell will affect you regardless of what you choose to do. Cooperate and I promise to reduce it's unpleasant effects just for you. But if you insist on making this difficult for me, I'll make sure the spell's effects are devastating for you."

His voice was as cold as the north wind, and as serious as a headsman's ax. Zelena paused, genuinely worried about upsetting him further.

"What unpleasant effects? What kind of spell is this?" Her voice took a low, more cautious tone.

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"It's my blood, after all. Don't you think I should at least know what it's going to be used for?"

The Dark One smiled thinly. "It will take all of us to the Land Without Magic. Don't look so shocked. I know that no one has been able to reach that realm since it lost all its magic, but this spell will get around that. I'll be honest with you for once, it comes with a high cost. Regina will have to kill the person she loves most in the world-"

"Her father!" Zelena gasped, horrified by the mere thought. Neither of her blood parents were worth any grief, but she had deeply loved her adoptive parents. The thought of killing either one of them was too much for her to even bear. Could Regina really kill her own father?

"Yes," The Dark One nodded. "It's a shame. Prince Henry is such a nice old man, but his days were numbered from the moment Regina learned about that curse. It won't be easy for her but I know she'll do it."

"Why does she want to get to the Land Without Magic so badly? What will she find there that is worth more to her than her father's life?"

"Revenge. Against her daughters, against her dead husband, against the rebels who asked her from power, against anyone who has ever caused her pain. The curse will take many people from this realm to the Land Without Magic, but that's not where it stops. Those under the curse will not age or die. Instead they will forget who they are and where they came from, all except Regina. She will have complete control over them all and be free to torment them for the rest of eternity."

"She'll be the queen of her own little hell." Zelena began to feel ill. "Why would you help here? Why aren't you stopping this? No, I don't expect you to have a conscience. But you'll be under the curse too. Even if you don't care about the rest of us, you must at least have some sense of self-preservation."

"Because I know something Regina doesn't. The curse has a loop-hole. It can be broken, but only by someone of Regina's own bloodline. When the spell is cast, someone who is pure of heart and who shares Regina's blood will be magically tied to the curse, and that person will break the curse. But need someone else of Regina's blood to make it work. I can't get to her father, he's under heavy guard. Snow wouldn't ever listen to me. And Cora's dead. You're the only person who can do it now. When the curse breaks, we'll still be in the Land Without Magic, but we'll have our memories back. You won't even notice any time has passed. You can just open a portal back to this hovel at your convenience."

"But why let the curse be cast at all?!"

"There's something I want in the Land Without Magic, and this is the only way I'll get it."

"A child..." Zelena said thoughtfully.

"What?" the Dark One looked genuinely surprised by her comment.

"Only a child can truly be considered pure of heart. One of my nieces must be pregnant and you're planning to involve her child in your plan."

"Yes. It's Snow."

Zelena's face crumpled in anger and disgust and sadness. "An innocent child, having to grow up under a curse, being tormented by Regina. I always knew you were cruel, but I never realized you were this evil."

"Says the woman who murdered her own blood mother."


Regina took some time to mentally prepare for her meeting with Emma Swan. The mere mention of that woman's name filled her with rage, but she knew she had to play it cool for her plan to work. If Emma decided to be argumentative, she would just have to stay calm and try to de-escalate the situation. She didn't have much practice playing the peacemaker, and for almost the last thirty years she had never had a reason to, but Regina was determined to play the part perfectly.

That morning she dropped Henry off at school with a kiss on the forehead and an extra cookie to go with his lunch. Everything would be perfect after today and she wanted to savor it.

"Goodbye Mom!" Henry waved as he walked into the school building.

Regina's heart lifted as she watched him. After today, he would be her little boy again, and she'd never have to share him with his birth mother ever again. She even managed to suppress her disgust when she saw Mary enter the school with Emma's two brats, who had once been Hansel and Gretel. In fact, it kind of amused her that she had once gotten them to retrieve the very apple she was going to use to get rid of their foster mother. Oh well, at least they still had Mary.

In high spirits, Regina drove straight to the police station, where she knew Emma had a shift that morning. It took all her self-control to keep her eyes on the road and not to keep at the Tupperware container that held the apple turnover. She was so excited. She hadn't felt that buzz since she had first learned of the Dark Curse.

After what felt like hours that was really just fifteen minutes, Regina finally arrived at the police station. She walked in with the Tupperware container tucked under one arm and a huge smile on her face. When she passed by Graham, she gave him a greeting nod and tried not to be offended by his look of surprise.

She found Emma at her desk. "Good morning Miss Swan."

Emma looks completely startled. "Madam Mayor? What are you doing here?"

Normally, Regina probably would have snapped at her, but she had to be pleasant. "I want to pass you an olive branch. I know we haven't always gotten along, I think it's time we bury the hatchet. This little feud between us is so silly, I'm embarrassed I ever even let it get this far."

Emma stared at her for a minute, clearly unsure of how to respond. "Okay. Why now?"

Regina took a deep breath. Calm, stay calm. "Well, first off, I just want you to know that I'm not angry at you for seeing Henry behind my back."

"Madam Mayor-"

"I'm really not! It's fine," Regina lied through her teeth. "Seeing how much he cares about you made me realize something: We're both important people in his life and us fighting can bring nothing good to him. I just want what's best for my son, and I think that burying the hatchet can only help him."

"I didn't mean to undermine your authority Regina," Emma said. "But Henry just seemed so lonely and upset, I wanted to be there for him."

"I understand," Regina nodded, though on the inside she felt the urge to slap Emma. How dare that bitch think she had any right to sneak off with my son? "And I know that you would never do anything to intentionally hurt Henry. I trust you with him."

"Really?"

"I'll admit, you've done a lot of good for this community. I was wrong about you and I hope we can have a better relationship in the future."

Emma still look slightly skeptical, but she smiled. "In the past, I had a lot of difficulty trusting other people, but that has changed since I've come to Storybrooke. I trust you Regina and I hope we can be friends."

"That sounds lovely." Regina wanted to puke. "And I'm sure Henry will be glad to hear it. Here, I made this just for you."

"Aw, thanks. I really appreciate it."

"I have to get back to city hall. I hope you enjoy eating this turnover as much as I enjoyed making it."

"Wow, you made it yourself."

"I love baking," Regina shrugged in forced nonchalance. "Well, I better run. I'll let Henry know we had this talk and we can work something out so you two don't have to sneak around to see each other. Have a nice day!"

"You too Regina," Emma waved.

Regina walked out of the police station with her head held high in triumph.