Hi all! Thanks for the follows and reviews. They make my week that little bit brighter. Here is the next chapter. Thanks to Laura again.


The two women, now captive in the same cage, exchanged a look. Regina tugged on the bonds around her wrists to try and gesture pulling them apart.

"It's a good thing you told them to keep my handcuffs on. I may have gotten away." She mumbled sarcastically as Emma jerked her head defensively. She was too busy trying to think of a plan to put up with the cynicism.

"One step at a time." She whispered back as the trolls came closer to them. She tried to lock a sympathetic gaze with the leader.

"You're not ready to trust us yet - but you can." She pleaded, trying to maintain as trustworth tone as she could. "We just want information. We are probably looking for the same things you are. What cup were you talking about?" She quickly stepped back as the words seemed to trigger a panicked babble.

"They want the cup! They want the cup!" They sang out, spears jangling before the head troll silenced them with a hand raise.

"How can you prove we can trust you?" The head troll growled again as Emma gripped her hands around the bars of the cage.

"We can't." She shrugged as a flash of worry flew over Regina's eyes, but she bit back any comments knowing that Emma generally had a better instinct in situations like this than she did. Proving this assessment was correct, Emma began to work her magic, checking over everything she could see about their captors.

"I do think we may have a mutual friend though. Am I right in thinking you're from Arendelle?" She guessed, deducing that she had only ever heard one account of creatures like these before.

The trolls all began muttering again as the leader silenced them.

"We are soldiers banded together from tribes of rock trolls all over that land. We are here as the first regiment for a special mission."

"And do any of you know Kristoff?" Emma tried, loosely recalling those past conversations during her time with Anna and Elsa. There was a dull murmur again before one of the ones at the back spoke up.

"I know Kristoff..." He squeaked as the leader turned. "He grew up in my family."

"Good!" Emma beamed, hoping this was a start. "And even those who don't know him must know him through the princess. They are the rulers of Arendelle." There was a further whispered discussion among the soldiers as some began to look more attentive.

"We are here on behalf of the Honourable Supreme Elder Court of the Rock Trolls of Arendelle. Not the Queen."

"Yes, but the Queen still rules your land, right? And we're friends." Emma's enthusaism grew, relieved to have found a common ground. "Just check with them. I swear, they'll vouch for us. We helped them when they came to the Enchanted Forest."

"Misthaven" Regina corrected, seeing the blank looks on the trolls faces and knowing more about the history of the two lands.

"I heard of that trip." The friend of Kristoff replied. "They were helped by someone they called the saviour after being nearly killed by an ancient queen."

"Yes! That's me!" she beamed. "I'm that saviour. And this is Regina, see. They know us."

"Regina from Misthaven?" One of the other soldiers yelled, thinking it over before his eyes bulged and spear flew up. "But she is the evil queen!"

"The evil queen! The evil queen!" The trolls began to rabble, copying their stance.

"Hey! I never did anything to hurt Arendelle!" She protested as the rest of the spears reared up again in the frenzy.

"We've been trained to be wary of all evils!" The leader yelled, storming closer to the cage as the rattled rabble turned back onto high alert. "Kill them! We must protect the cup!" one cried. "We've heard the stories!" Added another.

"Of course you have." Emma groaned before raising her arms up again hoping to calm them. "Look this is a different evil queen. That was the evil ice queen - although...once the memories were restored I guess she turned out not so evil..." she tried to relay desperately, even confusing herself as the trail of events came out. She shook her head knowing she had veered from the point. "Either way, Kirstoff meant a different evil queen, not this evil queen."

"Keep on emphasising that word why don't you..." Regina complained as a spear was getting closer to her neck.

"Right, this is my fault." Emma bit back through a harsh whisper. "I'm not the one so infamous that even people literally living under a rock know I terrorised the masses."

As the shouts and heckling grew from the army and the spears began to press against their chests Regina began to tug viciously at the binds around her wrists. Emma frantically looked around the cage trying to understand the way it was bound together.

"Oh this is ridiculous." Regina spat. I don't care if it bounces off the walls. These spears are getting materialised."

"No, wait!" Emma grabbed her hands and snapped out with such a boom that even the trolls stopped their approach. She knew that Regina's temper was a ticking bomb for any hope of reasoning.

"Listen you may not trust us, and you don't need to...but you have a problem right? You are only here to guard the cup but you can't do anything with it yet." Emma desperately reasoned, hoping they would buy that it was prior knowledge and hoping it would at least buy her some time. It seemed to work as the trolls paused, pulling back slightly.

"We are here to protect the cup until we hear otherwise." The leader barked, clearly along the party line.

"Which means you are probably waiting for someone powerful enough who can do something with cup."

"We do not know what the cup is for. We were sent here to find it and guard it until the Honourable Supreme Elder Court of the Rock Trolls of Arendelle gives us the order to do otherwise." He parroted, hitting Emma with a sudden flash of inspiration.

"That's us. That's why we're here. Elsa sent us. She sent us on behalf of the court...elder committee thing." She lied as Regina threw her a confused look.

"Emma..." She began to murmur under her breath before Emma silenced her with a gentle kick of her foot.

"You never said Elsa sent you. You said you were looking for your magic...that you didn't want the cup. " The leader questioned, moving closer to the cage as Emma tried to think fast. "We did say that..." she paused, realising the flaw in her quick thinking.

"But we didn't realise who you were." Regina stepped in, picking up on the plan and hoping the trolls were gullible enough to buy it. "When we told our friends in Arendelle, they suggested we come here and look for it. They said they had already sent an army that we could work with...I just...I didn't realise it was you at the time. That's why we didn't say. We didn't want to breach the security."

The leader scrutinised them for a brief period and then stepped close to the cage, looking deep into Emma's eyes. "Trolls!" He suddenly snapped, causing Emma to jump at the sudden burst.

"Rock conference." He added before zipping into his ball followed by the rest as they rolled to the opposite corner of the plain and leaving Regina and Emma to finally relax.

"That sounds like the boring version of my wilder days." Emma mumbled, gripping her hands around the bars to try and watch closer.

"How can you be making jokes?" Regina chided her. "What happens when they check with Arendelle and find out we just fed them a bunch of lies? They're going to be even more suspicious. They may be morons but they do have spears." She mocked.

"Well considering they don't have any further orders yet I'm guessing they don't exactly have a direct line." Emma hoped, turning back to Regina. "And as you so tactfully pointed out, they don't seem like the smartest. If we can just get them to trust us enough to let us out - "

"And then what? All they seem to care about is this cup they're convinced we're going to steal."

"Well..."Emma folded her arms, leaning back against the wall of the cage. "Maybe that is a clue in itself."

"We're looking for our magic, Emma, not a tea party." Regina panted back before a sudden wash of horror. "Oh God. Please don't say this has that element of Wonderland too..." She winced just before her bag suddenly began to flutter up and down with a hollow hum.

"Quick, get it before they see." She urged the bag towards Emma who was still the only one with her hands free to answer the signalling mirror.

"At least magic works in here, even if it can't escape it." She commented, checking that the trolls were still safely distracted. Turning her back to the trolls she discretely removed the mirror and peered down.

"Please tell me you have information." She said without even greeting her mother and Belle who appeared on the shiny metal. "We really don't have long."

"Emma?" Mary Margaret commented concerned. "Where are you? Are you in a cage?" Her voice suddenly had a shriek of fear as Emma quietened her with a "Shh!"

"We're fine Mom, everything's under control." She lied as Regina scoffed.

"Right. We're absolutely fine. We're just being held captive by the pathway."

Emma threw her another glare as Mary Margaret's eyes welled with concern.

"We can fill you in later. Please tell me you have experience of rock trolls, especially soldiers. If not, then at least some other good news."

"I know a bit about rock trolls." Belle replied, briskly. "Legend implies that the concentrated magic in their necklace crystals is from the northern lights, but only the elders have great conduct of their power. The others can use it but probably don't understand it as well. I don't know much about soldiers but I remember Anna commenting that they are not nearly as friendly."

"Skip down. We figured that much." Emma urged her, keeping half an eye on the troll conference still taking place.

"Is there anything about our magic?" Regina asked impatiently, though unable to see the mirror as Emma didn't want to make it obvious.

"We don't have much but I have a little more." Belle explained. "I found a couple of related legends. The links between them are tenuous, mainly based on timelines or similarities but nothing explicit. One was also from Arendelle about a chalice that was meant to be able to channel great power and seems to tie in with the king we found before. There's also one about a puppeteer with a broken rod that in its full form -"

"Did you say a chalice?" Emma cut her off bluntly, not having heard anything after that word. Regina closed her eyes, knowing what was coming.

"Yes. That's all we know." Belle picked up. "It's only mentioned in a line or two. No pictures or-" They were disrupted by a loud sound from the trolls showing that something was about to happen. Seeing they didn't have long, Emma threw in the only other thing they knew. "And look up riddlers. Flying cat thingies, cryptic messages, Victorian England fashion sense." Spotting the blank faces Regina intervened, frustrated. "We don't have time to explain, just look for anything on flying felines with a secrecy complex and see if you can find what land we are in."

"We have to go -" Emma cut them off closing the mirror and quickly slipping it into her sleeve

"You know what this means?" Emma sighed looking gravely to her partner.

"We are here for a tea party aren't we." Regina replied, resigned. It was good to have a further clue but the challenge was not one they were looking forward to, especially considering how protective the trolls seemed to be.

"You think the cup could be what sucked our power? It looked more like a funnel or deformed tube..." Emma scrunched up her face but before they could discuss it further there was an avalanche of rolling rocks and their captors appeared almost as rapidly as they had dissipated.

"The troll conference has adjourned." The leader commanded with the authority of a judge. "We have concluded that there is a chance you are possibly, almost telling the truth."

"So they possibly, almost trust us. Great." Regina whispered spitefully to Emma as the blonde instantly shushed her, hanging on every word of the troll.

"Should the Honourable Supreme Elder Court of the Rock Trolls of Arendelle agree and your story is corroborated by the advice from the court of the Queen then we will consider letting you help us."

"OK, so when do we hear from them?" Regina asked agitated.

"When our portal reopens."

"Then open it." the queen barked back, her patience wearing thinner.

"We do not control the portal." The leader replied, outraged at the thought.

"Well when did it last open?" Emma asked, slightly concerned about where this may be heading.

"When we arrived. About 20 moons ago."

Emma closed her eyes. They had as much ease at returning as they did.

"Are you telling us that you have just been camped here guarding a stupid cup for three weeks and the first chance you have at being able to use the damn thing you are not even attempting to use?" Regina spat, furiously.

"We have orders to protect the cup until further help has arrived."

"We're help that has arrived!" Regina fumed, fully losing her temper as the lead troll once again squared up to the cage. "We have a list of people to trust and you are not on it. We are not permitted to allow a security breach unless we have an order from the Honourable Supreme Elder Court -"

"They're trapped on the other end of a portal which they quite clearly have been unable to reopen!" Regina fired back, staggered by the incompetence as the spears once again flew up.

"Enough!" Emma yelled, slicing her hand down and causing the mirror to come hurtling out from where she had hid it in her sleeve. She was immediately met with the prod of a spear tip on the sleeve.

"What is that? What weapon do you have?" The leader barked as Emma's eyes flew between the mirror and Regina's nervous stare. As she tried to think of a way of preventing them taking the mirror, a glimmer of golden dust residue left at the corner of Regina's amulet doused her with another wash of inspiration. Without fully thinking it through, the words came out before she even knew what she was saying.

"It's a method for us to communicate with Arendelle." She blurted out as Regina's eyebrows dived down framing a confused expression and darting a stern look at her companion's urging eyes. "That way we can ask the court directly without the portal." Emma added, looking to the trolls.

"Emma!" Regina whispered, taking advantage of more hubbub from the soldiers to get a word in. "Even if your mirror power works across realms, this one is only connected with Storybrooke an Arendelle has no magic either. Even with all your power you could at best channel it to see Arendelle, not a two way pathway...worst case it fails and we lost even more of their trust, best case it works and they know we're lying. This is a terrible plan."

"Do you trust me or not?" Emma asked through hushed tones as Regina paused before giving her a soft nod as the leader interrupted. "If what you say is true then hand it over."

"You need me to work it." Emma continued with her plan as the trolls looked on suspiciously. "You'll need to let me out of the cage to do so for it to work." She improvised but quickly saw they weren't convinced. "You have my partner in this cage. If I try any magic other than to work the mirror you could easily kill her or exile her to Arendelle or something." Not daring to look at Regina's response, Emma focussed on the body language of the trolls as they deliberated quietly again. "And if it's all an act we are in the same position as we are now. We just lose your trust." Regina's eyes flared. Her explanation of all the things wrong with this plan weren't supposed to serve as inspiration.

"If this is an act then it won't be a hearing you return for." The leader squinted

"It will be a trial."

Regina cleared her throat anxiously, hoping it would act as a clarification to be sure her sherrif had thought this through. Emma bit her bottom lip and though through her plan one more time.

"In that case I better not fail." She added, trying to sound confident as Regina's eyes exploded suddenly doubting whether she had faith in this after all.


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As the blue light filtered through the threading she could feel it tingle and buzz, passing through the mirror and against the metal pressing against her chest. The jewellery started vibrating faster and faster but no picture appeared in the mirror.

"It's not working" the troll exclaimed cynically as Emma winked open an eye and looked down. The chain was dancing furiously now as would the mirror be was it connecting.

"A little more." She said, as the leader beckoned two more trolls to join in, 5 of them now projecting a stream of light to where Emma was poised.