(Daniella's POV)

Father quickly snuffed out mother's question, "Of course not! How would I know her? Anyway, this isn't about the woman, it's about something else. It's about what I have been observing for several days now. You...you have no shred of remorse do you? Can't you see what you're doing? You're teaching our daughter the opposite of kindness!"

There was a moment of silence. Then, mother lowered her voice and said, "Firefly, go to your room."

"Mama-"

"Your father and I need to have a little talk. I'll be up with you in a second."

I glanced nervously between my parents before walking down the steps and off towards the set of doors at the side. Since the hallways were empty, I was able to stay behind the closed doors and listen to their argument.

Father was the first to speak, "What happened to that promise you made?"

"Promise?"

"The day we returned to the Enchanted Forest. You said that you'd try to stray from your past, to do better."

"I am doing better! Can't you see that I'm not after Snow White anymore? Isn't that what you wanted-"

There was a tone of sadness within father as he cut in, "No, You're not doing what I've asked you to. A few days ago, I was informed of what you did to Daniella. I let that go, because I thought that maybe it was just a one off. But after seeing you punish Snow's guards in front our daughter, and address your people in certain ways, I know for sure that you're not doing what's right."

There was another moment of silence, but this one more dangerous than the last. I could feel the poison in mother's words as she seethed, "Who told you about that incident?"

"It doesn't matter who, and I will definitely not inform you if you're simply going to hunt them down and torture them! Besides, you're now denying that you almost killed our daughter!"

"No! Daniel, I'm not denying that but I certainly didn't mean to use magic on her! It was a mistake, she knows that. Besides, she wouldn't have been in that situation if it wasn't for Snow's guards!"

"But you nearly killed her! That's my point. You let your anger get in the way of your rationality-"

"Stop it Daniel!" Mother screamed. I could hear heavy panting. Then, she continued, "I'm sorry! I never wished to hurt our daughter and I deeply regret what I did. I'm her mother, do you not think that I love her?!"

"Fine, but nonetheless, you still allowed your hate to take control of you."

"Daniel...I," Then, her voice shifted to a stronger tone as she replied, "I never meant for it to be this way."

"But you didn't change. You tortured those guards in front of our daughter. She's still a child and even I cannot bear to watch you do that to anybody!"

"You were spying on me?!"

"Regina, you're my fiancée. I have every reason to worry about you and I have every right to know where you are. But every night you keep hiding your feelings from me. Don't you trust me with your thoughts?! I wanted to help you but you kept shutting me down. You think that you know all...so you never listen to what I have to say! It's like as if you don't trust my opinion anymore."

Mother replied in a strained voice, "I do trust you, but I also know what I have to do-"

"So that's your answer then? You don't consider me as your equal?"

No reply. Father then said slowly, "You keep saying that I am your true love, yet you don't care about my feelings. Has there been one time where you've actually sat down and talked about my day? Or have you just used me to satisfy your pleasures? To keep your bed warm?"

Ok, maybe I shouldn't have stayed. At the same time, I wanted to go in but I feared that both my parents would kick me out. I pressed my ear on the wood of the door and continued listening as father made one last comment, "I have no idea what your mother told you that day you met Zelena, nor even if you still see her often, but I'm worried that she's influencing you in some way. Remember when you told me you'd never want to grow up and be like her? Well, you should remind yourself of that again, Regina."

Finally, mother spoke, but it was between broken breaths. "I'm. Not. My. Mother."

"Then listen to the people. Have mercy on them. Use your powers for good. Stop with this façade. I'm concerned about our daughter because she's so close with you. I do not want all of this to shape her, because I know she'll become everything that you once hated."

I released the breath that I was holding as I heard footsteps walking away in the other direction.

Then, mother's voice called out, "Daniel?" The footsteps stopped. After a brief moment of thick silence, she said quietly, "I will allow for the child of that woman to be born in the palace and raised until you deem her village 'safe' enough for her departure. Afterwards, she will get the standard sum to cover her expenses for two years."

Father replied under his breath, "Thank you."

He tried walking off again but mother stopped him. "Daniel-"

"What?!" I frowned at the annoyance in his voice. Mother must have been taken aback too, for there was a second of silence between her next words, "I...love you."

I could have been mistaken, but I don't believe he replied. I pressed my ear harder against the door and waited for a response but nothing came. After I could no longer hear his footsteps, I decided to re-enter the room. I was surprised when mother whispered with a sad chuckle, "I know you wouldn't have left, firefly." I went over to her cautiously and gave her a hug. The jewels embroidered onto her bodice pressed uncomfortably onto my face, but I didn't care. Mother pulled me in tightly and cried.

(3rd Person POV)

Snow was in a meeting with members of her inner circle when a pair of her guards came in. She didn't expect them to barge into her discussion so she only assumed that it was for the worst. However, she was wronged when they bowed and gave a brief description of what they were faced with. "Your highness, our scouts regarding the massacre has intercepted three women who claim to have been sent by the Resistance by their leaders in Wonderland. Should we present them to you?"

David answered in place of his wife. "Of course. Bring them to us."

The guard left with that order and immediately their previous discussion was put on hold. Emma was the first to speak, "Can we trust them? What if they're spies or Cora's minions?"

"It depends on their answers to our questions. If they're legit and if they seem to show no agenda, we cannot assume that they are on Cora's side."

Very soon, the three women were brought into the room and presented before the royals. They bowed and received a warm smile from Snow. "We've been informed that you are messengers from Wonderland. What do you convey?"

The tallest out of the three women spoke first. "Your highness, we were sent by the headquarters to investigate the location of those who have escaped from the Queen of Hearts, for we fear that they would meet an untimely end considering that the Queen also seems to have left Wonderland. We arrived at a village and saw the massacre, and..." The woman's voice shook and trailed off. As she was comforted by her companion, the other resumed their story. "And we've concluded that the Queen of Hearts was responsible. It's the only explanation to the heartless victims."

There was a brief pause as Snow and her circle comtemplated these words. They exchanged looks, that clearly threw around Regina's name. Finally, David answered, "But how can you be sure that it was Cora? Many others have the ability to perform dark magic in the form of ripping out hearts. Do you know for sure that it was her?"

The woman replied, "Who else has an agenda to murder our innocent people? It must have been her! Please, help us. We...we must return to Wonderland to convey this tragic news to the others."

Emma frowned and stated, "Just how exactly do you expect us to believe you're telling the truth when your story makes no sense? If you were indeed 'messengers' for your cult or whatever, why haven't you brought along something to allow you to return back to Wonderland?"

The woman who spoke first quickly replied, "No! Please don't doubt us. We had a way to return to our homeland but it was destroyed. You see, we arrived here via a looking glass, and the second we stepped out, it was as if the Queen was aware of our presence. The mirror cracked and it's magic has been rendered useless."

Emma gave her parents a look and murmured, "It could have been Regina."

Snow looked conflicted so she reaffirmed, "You're saying that when you came to the Enchanted Forest, the mirror portal broke, and when you arrived at the site of the massacre, you recognised immediately that it was the work of the Queen of Heart's. Could you explain why the village was burnt to the ground? Does she normally set everything ablaze before she leaves?"

The woman who hadn't spoken yet replied with a shuddering nod. "Yes. Every village she terrorizes, she leaves in flames." After a little pause she added, "Your highness, you seem to be aware of this issue?"

David replied, "We were informed of a massacre but our suspicions have always been on someone else, despite what Anastasia's been telling us."

"Anastasia? One of our leaders?!" the three women exclaimed in surprise.

"Yeah, she's here. Didn't you know that? She informed us of the massacre-"

"But she's in Wonderland!" The woman argued with a worrying frown.

Everyone was instantly shaken up by that piece of information but Snow shook her head and said slowly, "No, she's here with us."

"I'm sorry your highness, but that couldn't be her! It was Anastasia who gave orders to check the locations of the escapees who have fled to the Enchanted Forest."

David stood up and muttered, "So you're saying that our Anastasia is an imposter?!"

The three women didn't dare answer the angry prince, aside from nodding their heads. Snow put her hand onto her husband's arm to tell him to calm down. The situation just got even thicker. It was David who cracked the code. He begun slowly, "We've always had an inkling that it was Regina who murdered the innocent refugees. It might be true. Consider this; she burns the villages just like she's always done, and she rips out some hearts for good measure so that we could be fooled into believing that it was Cora. And...it must have been either her, or someone else who disguised themselves as Anastasia, so that we could be convinced that Regina isn't at fault. Anastasia was the perfect disguise because she is the leader of the resistance, and she would naturally point the finger at the Queen of Hearts. I say its Regina, without any doubt!"

There was a brief silence before Granny chimed in, "She was missing that day the massacre occurred."

"And Henry's told me that Regina's daughter has spent time with Anastasia recently. What if she was simply spending time with her mother!" Emma breathed in realization.

The pieces seemed to fit together so well, yet the three women were obviously confused. One of them finally asked, "I'm sorry, your highness, but who is Regina?"

Snow sighed and explained, "You'd probably know her by her moniker; the Evil Queen. She's the daughter of Cora, your Queen of Hearts. Hence why she probably had a motif to end the rebellion that is uprising against her mother."

The mouths of the three women dropped open in shock. Shakily, the one who first spoke said, "This is her castle is it not? I'm terribly clueless about matters of the Enchanted Forest but weren't you all swept up in her curse? I mean, I'm glad that you're here but-"

Snow chuckled and replied softly, "Yes, we were affected by the curse. But now, we've returned and although everything is a mess right now, we're trying to sort out how the Enchanted Forest would be governed. Our palace is under reparations and soon, our government will relocate there. We wanted to return to Regina her freedom to reign, but if she was really behind the massacre, I'm afraid we cannot let that happen. We do not want her rule of terror to repeat again."

"That would be awful. We've heard tales about her and...well, the famous Snow White of course," the woman replied with a nod towards the Princess.

Snow then answered, "Well, I'm sure most of the rumours are hyperbolic stories but I cannot deny the terror that has occurred under my stepmother's reign. And speaking of, we must give you protection. Whilst we confront Regina about this, rest assured that you will not be harmed in any way. Emma? You can take care of these lovely ladies, can't you?"

Emma nodded, "I've had my fair of odd jobs as the sheriff. I can do this." She stood up and introduced herself, "Oh, I'm Emma by the way. Mary Mar-Snow and David are my parents." Seeing the reactions on the women's faces, she laughed and said, "Yes, they look the same age as me, but that was because of the curse. Time stopped for 28 years."

"I've heard that time runs differently in each realm. They say that in Wonderland, time passes much slower than it does here in the Enchanted Forest," one of the women responded.

Snow immediately thought about Daniella, and how despite being born within the first year of Regina's marriage with her father, Wonderland slowed down her age significantly. Daniella's maturity still confuses Snow because it was as if a teenager is speaking through the body of a child.

Snow was drawn out of her thoughts when she responded, "Anyway, before I let Emma take you away for some rest, I ought to learn a little about you."

"Your highness, I doubt we're of any interest. We're just lowly spinsters."

"Spinsters?" Snow whispered.

"Yes. I'm Irene, and this is Lyra and Linota. We joined the resistance against the crown after the Queen of Hearts raised taxes on us for the 4th time. For a long time, we've been struggling to earn money for food and fire. A decade ago, in terms of Wonderland time I suppose, we took care of a young girl who was left on our doorstep as a baby. I know it must have been awful for her to have such a childhood, but we didn't have a choice. We had to put her to work from a very young age. Having extra hands to spare meant that we would earn a little more money to help us. However, she disappeared when she was nine years old. We assumed that she had been kidnapped as children had started to disappear in our village. It seems like the struggle throughout the realm had made some people take desperate measures. Instead of hiring adults, large production houses would take children and hide them away so that they could work for the stupid production tax.."

Snow gave the others in her circle a look before she stammered, "And what do you companions think, regarding the missing child?"

Lyra's voice shook as she uttered, "The child?" There was a sense of reluctance laced in her voice. Snow sensed that immediately and pressed, "Yes, what happened? Do you agree with Irene about her disappearance?"

Lyra's eyes glazed over as she swallowed and replied truthfully, "It might have been my fault. You see, the child reminded me of my past and over the years, I've grown to despise her. I don't think the economy nor pressure from the royal tax collector helped either. We were all antsy, and irritable but I might have taken it a step further."

In order to get Lyra to speak about the whole situation, Snow said softly but in a shaky voice, "Look, I won't condemn you for what you did. I know this may sound really bizarre, but your story with this child interests me. What did you do to her?"

"I-," Then, Lyra took a deep shuddering breath. Irene and Linota looked pitifully at Lyra until she finally replied in a quiet voice, "I would take out my anger on her. I think she escaped for that reason. I had not only destroyed a young girl's life but I've lost my own integrity because of that. Besides, I've hurt my companions for we lost our helper. Our work slowed down with her gone."

Snow stood up and walked over to Lyra. When she put her hand on her shoulder, Lyra recoiled a little, but Snow gripped it tightly and said, "I understand your anger. For a long time, I was so upset that I was a princess without a kingdom. However, David here, made me realise that if I continued on a wrong path, I would end up just like the woman who wanted to kill me. And my rational mind would never want that to occur. So it's alright, Lyra. You were...you were hurt because of your past weren't you?"

Lyra nodded, with her head down and in tears. Then, she murmured as she shook her head, "I'm sorry. I really shouldn't be overreacting here, I-"

"No, it's alright. If you wish, you can start over again with your companions here in the Enchanted Forest under my reign. There will be so many more opportunities here for you all."

Lyra, Irene and Linota looked at each with a newfound source of excitement. They gave Snow a bow and said over and over again, "Oh, that's wonderful. We can never thank you enough, Your Highness." Then, Lyra wiped away her tears and stated, "But first, we have to make sure that everyone in Wonderland is warned of the Evil Queen. We cannot let harm befall them-"

David intervened for the first time in a while. "You mustn't worry about her. Once we take care of Regina, and find out the whereabouts of the Queen of Hearts, we'll find a way for you to safely inform the resistance about the massacre. Hopefully, that will bring some peace to their worrying hearts, despite the horrific nature of what has happened."

"I hope it does," Lyra replied quietly. Then, Snow gave a nod towards Emma. She watched, biting her lip as her daughter gestured for the three spinsters to follow her. However, before they could leave, Snow called out abruptly, "Wait!"

They turned around. Snow's expression was unreadable. "The missing girl? What was her name?"

"We didn't choose it. It was the name embroidered onto her baby blanket. We still have it locked up in our home, for memories sake I suppose. You see, even though she was a burden to bear, she made our lives a little more interesting."

"Her name? What was her name?" Snow repeated quickly with a wavering voice.

The three women were confused by the princess' insisting tone but nonetheless, Linota confirmed Snow's doubts. "Her name was Daniella."

(Daniella's POV)

Like the days before the curse, I found myself walking through the palace gardens with a basket in hand. I liked falling back into the routine despite the fact that it made me miss the days when grandpa was alive. As the days passed, more and more people left to return to their sector of the Enchanted Forest. The lands were slowly brought into order and control again. Snow's kingdom, being large in nature, took the longest. "Mama? How much longer do you think Snow will be living with us?"

Mother put a rose in my basket and replied, "I'm not sure, dear. We're anticipating the following month. As neither of us can stand each other, I say she will depart as soon as possible."

In a quiet voice, I added, "But Henry will leave too, won't he?" I still haven't forgiven my brother for being annoying but I knew that mother cared for him. She nodded and replied simply, "Yes."

My mind was never really put at ease, so being alone with mother gave me time to talk about things I've been keeping to myself. "How is father? Is he still...mad at you?"

Mother breathed heavily and pulled me close into her as we started making our way to the apple tree at the landing above us. "I think it's best just to leave him to recover. I know it must be hard for him to be introduced to all this mess." She lowered her voice and continued, "The massacre was a one-off thing. Since it won't happen again, he needn't know."

I nodded and confirmed, "I won't say a thing. You made me promise, and I know better than to break it."

Mother chuckled and took the basket from me gently. "Here, let me carry it." As I let it go, I said, "I wonder what he does down in the stables. He's always gone for the whole day."

"He's happiest with the horses. After our Witch predicament, I'll introduce him to more affairs involving the kingdom. I can't implement it all on him at once."

I murmured something in agreement but before I could say anything, I saw Snow walk rather briskly down the stairs that lead into the gardens from the interior of the palace. Following her, was David and Emma. They seemed to be heading our direction, and I could already feel the atmosphere grow colder by the second. When we reached the apple tree, I pulled on mother's sleeve just as she set down the basket. She looked at me and I pointed towards the approaching trio. I could hear mother mutter under her breath irritably, "What now?!"

"Regina, would you please give us the real identity of Anastasia?" Snow directly asked. I was a little surprised that she'd throw this question at us. Could she have found out that Anastasia was really my grandmother in disguise?

I followed mother's lead and feigned confusion. With a frown, she replied, "What on earth are you talking about?"

"Anastasia, or whoever you got to trick us into believing that Cora was responsible for the massacre. We know your ways of deception. We've discovered that the real Anastasia is in Wonderland, which means that the one we have here, is a fake."

Mother rolled her eyes, "You're absurd. Have you even seen me with this fraud?"

Emma snapped as she narrowed her eyes at me, "No, but Henry has seen her with your daughter. So, 'Anastasia' is either yourself or someone you hired to fool us."

I opened my mouth to reply but mother quickly intervened. "Do NOT put this on Daniella. I don't think talking to a stranger gives you enough evidence to condemn me of having a link with Anastasia."

"Actually, it does. Regina, just admit that you killed those supporters of a movement against Cora. It makes perfect sense that you're behind their deaths!"

Mother growled in response, "I will not have you accuse me of something I haven't done-"

Emma continued, "Do you forget my superpower? I always know when people are lying and you, are in hot scathing water right now."

"Your superpower is barely reliable." Mother seethed. Then, she added, "Besides, why this sudden insistence that I'm guilty, hmm?"

Snow replied, "We were informed."

I held my breath as a thick silence hung in the air. Then, with a voice that stung more than poison, mother asked, "By who?"