The following day, the Doctor, River and Regina met Emma, Mary Margaret, and David at the Blanchard loft to discuss the next move. But, first, to figure out where this Wicked Witch was. And who she is.
"So, now that we know whom we're dealing with, how do we find this Wicked Witch?" David asked.
"Maybe we find the person who has the greenest skin?" River asked.
"No, no. She'll be in a cursed form too," the Doctor said. "Just as what Regina was in the last curse."
Regina nodded. "She'll look like any one of us."
"Then we start somewhere we know she's been," Emma stated. "Regina's office."
"I went over it with a fine-tooth comb," Regina told them. "She left no trace."
"But you were combing for magic. So maybe there's physical evidence that you missed."
"Good idea. We'll track her," David said.
"If you want to waste your time playing Nancy Drew, be my guest," Regina began. "But we can't let Henry wander around alone with that witch and her flying monkeys out there."
"Not if one of those monkeys turns out to be Baelfire," the Doctor said. "Neal, I mean."
"Still no sign of him?" River asked.
"No," Emma answered.
"Point being, someone needs to protect Henry," Regina said. "He doesn't even know what's going on."
"I'm guessing you're volunteering?" Emma asked.
"If you find anything, call me," Regina told them.
"Just remember, he thinks we're here because I'm on a case." "Well, look who's gotten better at lying."
"I don't want anyone to slip up. But, as far as Henry knows, you're just Madam Mayor, and that's it."
"I'm well aware of how Henry sees me," Regina stated. She didn't need reminding either. It was all she thought about. And it broke her heart every time. Finally, she turned to leave and exited the apartment.
Zelena went down to her outside storm cellar again. Once again, she used magic to open the door. And closed it too. Descending the steps, she went to the cell that kept Mr Gold. And now, he was spinning straw into gold on his spinning wheel. Something that she had given him to pass the time.
The wheel creaked as he spun on it.
Zelena reached up and turned on the light above her, giving them light. She watched him. "Enjoying your little toy?" she asked.
"Spinning," Mr Gold said, in tune with the wheel's spinning. "Cleans the mind … Soothes the soul. It cleans the mind … Soothes the soul. It cleans the mind ... it soothes the soul …."
Zelena laughed. "You look as awful as you sound," she said. Mr Gold stopped, placing his hand on the top of the wheel to stop it, and he glared at her. Zelena caught on to what he was doing. "What?" She asked innocently. "You're not enjoying your cage? Hmm? Not appreciating your jailer? Oh, no. You look like you want to hurt me. Go on then. Give it a go." She moved a hand over the clasp of the cage and unlocked it. "I'd love to see you try. Especially when we both know that you can't."
Zelena slowly entered the cage, and Mr Gold got up. Ready to move forward. To make his move. To inflict pain upon his captor. But something made him freeze. Zelena had taken out the Dark One dagger. His Dark One dagger.
"Not when I have this," Zelena continued, ensuring she held the dagger up for him to see. "You're a slave to it. And to me." Mr Gold slowly backed into the corner. "Frustration can be so intoxicating. On others." She smirked at him. "The only one that can do the hurting here is me. So why don't you be a good dog and sit back down?"
Mr Gold stayed silent but did as Zelena told him. He did not want her to use the dagger on him. He sat on the stool opposite her. He shakily took a breath. What exactly was going on? "Well?" he asked. "What are you waiting for? Don't let me stop you." He leaned closer and touched his forehead. His temple. "All the voices in my head will be quiet when I'm … dead," he sang.
Zelena laughed. "I'm not here to kill you, Rumple," she told him. "But you need to keep up appearances."
"Appearances? Appearances? For what? For why? Let me spin. Spin the madness away," Mr Gold said as he began to spin on his wheel again. "Spin away the madness."
"No," she said, and he stopped spinning. She cleaned the dagger with a cloth. "I think the spinning is bringing the madness. Here. Come closer." She reached toward Mr Gold, grabbed him by the chin and brought him closer to her. "Now, hold still. Lest you want me to nick that pretty face." She lifted his head and brought the dagger against his skin – shaving him. Making sure his face was clean-cut.
Zelena chuckled as she did so. "You're probably wondering how I know how to do this," she mused and cleaned some hair off the dagger. "Did I ever tell you about my father? His hands used to shake from drink. Or worse. I didn't ask. He didn't tell me. But he couldn't abide going a day without a shave." She brought the dagger to his left cheek and began to shave the hair off it. "So, I had to learn how to shave him. He used to say that no matter what we were feeling on the inside, we had to put on our best face. You and I never had that choice in our land, did we? No matter what we did, our outsides showed exactly what was rotting on the inside.
"But we're in a new land now, aren't we? A land filled with opportunity. Not the least of which is to look our best." Zelena brought the last stroke of the dagger above his chin, which made him gasp as the dagger's blade nicked him—cutting his skin. Which he knew was on purpose. She had said she used to shave her father every night. She had the practice, after all. She knew what she was doing. So … she needed his blood. Bu t for what?
"Oh..." Zelena let out, lifting his chin, catching some of his blood on her thumb. "Did that sting?" She asked, then laughed. She brushed some of his hair out of his face, admiring her handiwork. Finally, she looked at the now freshly-shaven Mr Gold.
"There. Handsome as ever," Zelena told him and got up from the other stool.
"Appearances?" Mr Gold asked. "You don't care about appearances. If you cared about appearances, you'd change my shirt." It made no sense to him. He turned around as she left his cage. "Just exactly what is it you want?"
"What I'm after, Rumple is something you've spent a lifetime seeking," Zelena told him. "Something that goes against your very nature. Something that I can't afford to wait that long for." Zelena laughed and reached up for the light string. "Luckily, I don't have to," she said, laughing again as she turned the light off on Mr Gold – leaving him alone in the darkness, with only his thoughts. And the spinning wheel.
After leaving Mr Gold alone in the dark in the storm cellar, Zelena paid a Pawn Shop visit, where Belle was at the counter. And the Professor was holding his baby daughter, Ellie Rose. Belle looked up from the book she was reading, noticing Zelena first.
"Uh, hey," Belle said. "Can I, uh ... Can I help you?"
Zelena looked up from the ornament she was looking at. "Oh, you must be Mrs Gold."
"No. I'm not," Belle answered.
"Is Mr Gold around?"
"No. He isn't," the Professor said, slowly moving to the counter. "It's just us."
Belle looked down and cleared his throat. "He … He died."
"Left this shop to us in his will," the Professor said.
"Oh, I'm so sorry for your loss," Zelena said, then noticed Ellie in the Professor's arms. "Is this your baby? Mr Gold's grandson?"
The Professor shook his head. "My daughter. Belle's godchild," he corrected.
"Can I hold her? I was a midwife back in the other land, you know. I'm quite good with babies."
"Maybe another time. She's just drifting off to sleep now. She needs her rest."
"Of course.," Zelena said with a nod. Another time. But he doesn't seem to remember. Good. "All babies need their rest, after all. Who are you? What do I call you?"
"That's the Professor. I'm Belle," Belle replied.
"Belle," Zelena repeated. "That's such a pretty name. Look, I'm so sorry to bother you both, but I was hoping to buy a baby gift for a lovely woman I met at Granny's Diner. Maybe you know her. She goes by Mary Margaret here. See, I'm helping her with her pregnancy, and today is my first day on the job, you know. But, curse or no curse, a girl's got to work." She chuckled.
"Mary Margaret?" Belle repeated. "Well, why didn't you say so? We may have just the thing."
Zelena smiled and chuckled. "Bless you."
"One moment," Belle said and walked over to the side. The Professor followed her carefully, still holding his daughter. He knew Zelena was up to something. He still had his memories of the previous year. But he didn't understand what Zelena had planned. Or why she was here in the first place.
Watching them both and making sure they had turned their backs, Zelena waved her arm, magically freezing them both. Or, at least, she thought she froze the two of them. She then walked around the counter to the painting on the back wall. She pulled it towards her. The picture was a door. And behind it revealed a wall safe.
With Mr Gold's blood on her left thumb, she placed it on the lock and unlocked the safe. She opened the safe door, rummaging through the contents of the safe until she pulled out a glass jar with a black root – Night Root – inside. She took it out of the pot and put the now empty inside the safe, and closed it up, putting everything back where it had been.
However, the Professor had been watching. Or trying to watch. Out of the corner of his eye. He was trying to pretend that he, too, had been frozen by Zelena's spell. He didn't trust her. But he didn't want to give away the surprise. The surprise was that he was awake. That the curse hadn't affected Zelena. He had to think that she was winning.
Zelena stood by the counter again (where she was before) and waved her hand again. Unfreezing Belle (which let the Professor know it was safe again to move).
Belle picked up a baby rattle and turned around to the counter. "Here you are. One rattle," she said.
The Professor turned around, watching everything, trying to piece out what Zelena was trying to do. "Her baby will love that. I know it. And she would too. The shape of it is quite symbolic to her." The shape of a unicorn.
Zelena smiled. "Thank you. Both of you," she said, handing some money over to Belle and taking the rattle. "I hope she does too."