TW for discussions of spousal abuse and miscarriage.

To Regina's relief, after her and Robin's conversation, their relationship went back to normal, almost the way it was before she'd seen the tattoo.

He was a little more affectionate with her, which she should probably discourage, but then he was fairly tactile with all of his friends, so she let it go and soaked it up.

Unlike Regina's birthday, Snow's was never going to pass unnoticed.

By the time it arrived, Regina had just about had enough of the discussions, but in the spirit of reconciliation, she was determined to keep a smile on her face and give her stepdaughter the birthday she wanted.

Snow had, after all, gone against all of her instincts and ensured that Regina's birthday had been as she wanted (i.e. almost non-existent).

She was surprised, however, when she opened her bedroom door on the morning in question to find Snow loitering outside with Ivy and a breakfast tray.

"Good morning," Regina greeted automatically. "Happy birthday."

"Thank you," Snow said, looking nervous. "Can we … Is it okay if we have breakfast just the two of us this morning?"

"Of course," Regina agreed, waving them both inside. "Sit down, dear; thank you Ivy." She poured the tea, glancing at her stepdaughter. "So what's going on? Have you and David had an argument?"

"No," Snow said quietly. "I just … I needed my mom. Zelena's not going to come today, is she?"

Regina hesitated. "I don't think so. As far as I know, she's got nothing against you, and putting you under extra stress isn't good for the baby, so I don't think she'll make an appearance."

"I've been wondering," Snow said. "If she's your older sister, and she wasn't caught up in the curse, why does she still only look a few years older than you? Shouldn't she be in her sixties by now?"

"She should," Regina agreed. "I don't know, but she's clearly been watching me for a long time. Either she came over before I cast the curse - although if she did, she was stuck here with Mother for 28 years so she had more than enough time to meet her - or she froze time in Oz as well so she could get her revenge once the curse was broken."

Snow shook her head. "That's just … I mean, I know you were hellbent on it, but at least you had the death of a loved one in the background - what's Zelena got, other than Cora kept you and not her?"

"And Rumple," Regina said. "He used me to cast his curse not her."

"Could she cast the curse?" Snow asked. "Rumple said that you'd have to … sacrifice someone you loved. Who would she sacrifice?"

"Probably Rumple," Regina said dryly. "That's probably why he didn't want her to do it."

Snow nibbled at a piece of toast. "You know, when we told Emma about the plans to come back here, she wasn't very enthusiastic. I didn't understand it then but … what I wouldn't give for Storybrooke medical equipment."

"Not coping with Whale and Doc?" Regina asked.

"It's not that I don't trust their judgement," Snow said, "but they are mostly working on guesswork and … the risk is so much higher here. I wasn't too worried with Emma, but I didn't know that then."

Regina reached out. "May I?"

Snow nodded, and Regina rested a hand on the bump, smiling when the baby kicked.

"Do you know what you're having?"

Snow shook her head. "No. There's no way of knowing here, is there?"

"You knew with Emma, didn't you?" Regina asked.

"David's mother, Ruth, had a necklace," Snow said. "It was charmed by gypsies and told you the sex of your first child. Doesn't do anything with the second; I've tried."

Regina nodded. "Would you like to know?"

"You can tell?" Snow asked.

"They have a soul now," Regina said, "and their magic is reaching out to me. So yes, I can tell."

Snow nodded eagerly. "I want to know."

Regina smiled. "You're having a boy."

"I knew it!" Snow cried, beaming. "I just … I knew it." She grasped Regina's hand. "I'm glad I know. It means I can talk to you about names."

"Names for the baby or names for me?" Regina asked warily. "Because I'm telling you right now that I am too young to be Grandma."

Snow chuckled. "Names for the baby. I have a boy's name in mind but I wanted to talk to you first."

"You don't need to run it past me," Regina said. "He's your son, not mine. You're … You're considering Henry, aren't you?"

"No," Snow said hastily. "I was … I was thinking about Daniel actually."

Regina hesitated, more to get her emotions under control than out of any reluctance. "That sounds … That sounds nice. You don't owe me anything though, Snow. Or Daniel, for that matter."

"I know," Snow murmured. "I just thought it would be nice."

"I think Daniel is a great name," Regina said firmly. "And if you do choose that name, I would be honoured, and I'm sure Daniel would be as well."

Snow smiled, leaning against her stepmother. "Thank you."

Regina wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Now you still haven't told me what you want for your birthday."

"I did," Snow said.

"Yes, well, I can't do anything about Zelena or Emma I'm afraid," Regina said. "Maybe try something I can do."

Snow sighed, and Regina knew immediately that she wouldn't like the answer.

"It took me a long time to feel ready to look through Mother's things," she said softly, "but I could never find them. I think Daddy had everything, but …"

"His rooms are sealed," Regina finished heavily. "Finish your breakfast and I'll unseal the doors."

Snow brightened. "Really?"

"Of course," Regina said. "I haven't touched anything in there. I believe his valet cleaned up; other than that, I just sealed the doors."

"Thank you Mama," Snow said, returning to her toast with renewed vigour.

As promised, once they had eaten, Regina and Snow walked through the castle to Leopold's chambers, part of the castle that Regina had been avoiding, not just since her return, but since his death.

If she was hoping that time and distance had allowed her to recover from her seven-year-hell, she was sorely disappointed. As soon as they turned into the hallway outside the king's chamber, her own screams and cries seemed to echo through the years around her, causing her to falter.

"Mama?" Snow asked. "Are you okay?"

Regina took a deep breath. "I'm fine, dear. Come on."

"Can't you do it from here?" Snow asked. "You don't have to stay with me."

"It's your birthday," Regina said. "I'm not leaving you to do this on your own. Besides, if I don't do this, then he is still controlling me, and I refuse to allow that." She raised a hand and sent a puff of smoke at the doors, unsealing them and practically blasting them open.

The room was, as Regina had promised, exactly as it had been the morning Leopold was found dead.

Snow frowned, cocking her head to one side. "Was the bed always there?"

"No," Regina said shortly. "It was moved."

Her tone did not encourage questions and Snow didn't ask, moving to her father's writing desk. "Where would he have kept Mother's things?"

"I don't know," Regina admitted. "He hardly kept me in his confidence." Stubbornly turning away from the bed, she began to search the closet for any sign of what Snow was looking for.

It was ridiculous, given how much time had passed, but she swore she could still smell his cologne, finding herself glancing over her shoulder numerous times, half-expecting to see him looming over her.

But then came a voice that couldn't fail to make her smile.

"Papa, the doors are open!"

"Roland, be careful."

Robin's caution went unheard and Roland squeaked with excitement. "Princess Snow, we found you!" He handed her a small posy of flowers. "Happy birthday!"

"Oh, thank you!" Snow bent down with difficulty to give him a hug. "They're lovely. Mama, can you …?"

Regina waved her hand to create a small vase with some water for her, before crouching down for her own hug. "That was very thoughtful, Roland."

"I've taught him well," Robin said, lingering in the doorway. "Happy birthday, Your Highness."

Snow beamed at him. "Thank you."

"These doors have been locked since we arrived," Robin said.

"They were my father's rooms," Snow explained. "We were trying to find my mother's belongings. I think Daddy had them put away after she died, but I can't find them anywhere else."

Regina turned back to the closet, scanning the shelves, but there was nothing that might contain heirlooms or letters or … whatever else Eva may have left behind.

"Well, in my experience," Robin said, "people keep things with sentimental value close by, and hidden away."

"So speaks the thief," Regina said, with no heat in her voice, closing the closet doors. "What do you suggest?"

Robin stomped a foot against the flagstone floor. "Hidden compartment maybe? Or a safe." He cast a glance over the walls. "No paintings or portraits though, so that's unlikely. Maybe under the bed. May I?"

Regina stiffened. "I wouldn't …"

But it was too late - Snow had already nodded and Robin had given the bed a push, causing it to move over with a horrible scraping noise.

"What the …?"

Regina hastily swept Roland up into her arms, causing him to giggle, shielding him so he didn't have to see the obvious bloodstain.

Snow gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. "Oh gods …"

"It's not your father's," Regina said hastily.

"That much is obvious," Snow said, a little sharply. "He was poisoned; there wouldn't have been any blood."

"Can we not?" Regina asked, tickling Roland to keep his laughter going so he wasn't paying attention.

"Good heavens, why are the doors …" Ivy hurried in, skidding to a halt. "Oh, sorry Your Majesty."

"Ivy, can you take Roland please?" Regina asked hastily.

Ivy's eyes landed on the bloodstain, her eyes darkening. "Of course. Roland, do you want to come and help me bake cookies for Princess Snow's birthday?"

Roland nodded eagerly, squirming out of Regina's arms to take her hand. "Yes please."

"Wonderful," Ivy said brightly, leading him out of the room.

Regina closed the doors behind her with a wave of her hand. "Any chance you're going to let this go?"

"Mama, that's a lot of blood," Snow said, her voice trembling. "It's not from the night he died."

"No, it's from about six months earlier." Regina heaved a sigh, folding her arms across her chest. "I told you I had four miscarriages."

"I'm sorry, milady," Robin said quietly. "Marian miscarried once. There was quite a bit of blood, of course, but nothing like … like that."

"Mama?" Snow asked again.

Regina hesitated. She could ask Robin to leave - he would, without question, acquiesce to her wishes. But his very presence was making her feel more relaxed, although she didn't want to examine that too closely.

"The first three I lost fairly early in the pregnancy," Regina began. "It wasn't pleasant, but I dealt with it. The fourth … I was three months in, possibly four. My … The king wanted a son. He … Goodness knows where he got it from, but he got it into his head that the reason you were a girl was because he was always gentle with your mother. That if I was to have a boy, he needed to treat me … rougher. I mean, he was never particularly kind to me, but it got worse. A lot worse. And then finally … the inevitable happened."

"You blamed yourself," Snow whispered.

"He blamed me," Regina said, her eyes fixed on the floor. "Rumple had already convinced me that it was inevitable. Afterwards, he shoved me out of bed, as usual. Normally I'd pick myself up, dress myself and return to my rooms, but … I couldn't move. The pain was too bad. I don't know how long I lay there, drifting in and out, but he eventually summoned the guards from the hallway and had them carry me back. The maids managed to clean up most of the mess, but I'd been there for so long that they couldn't get that. So the bed was moved over to hide it."

Moving with as much grace as remained seven months into her pregnancy, Snow threw herself into Regina's arms, hugging her tightly. "I'm so sorry."

Regina stroked her hair automatically. "You asked me once about Ivy's loyalty to me. She'd been my handmaiden for a few months and … Well, she saw the fallout. I told her that night that I was going to kill him."

"What did she say?" Snow asked.

Regina smiled weakly. "I assure you, Your Majesty, I won't see a thing."

"I'm sorry," Snow said again.

"Listen to me." Regina pushed her away gently to grasp her shoulders. "None of this was your fault. And frankly I think we've had enough excitement for one day; we'll have a look for Eva's things tomorrow."

There was a knock on the door and David stuck his head in. "Ivy sent me?"

"Your wife needs a lie-down," Regina said firmly. "She's had a shock."

"You're not staying here by yourself," Snow argued. "You won't wait until tomorrow."

"I'll stay with her," Robin said.

Snow faltered, but nodded, giving Regina another hug, before giving Robin a hug as well, whispering something in his ear.

Robin nodded. "Just look after yourself, Your Highness."

With a slight sniffle, Snow allowed her husband to guide her out of the room.

"You don't have to …" Regina began.

"How often?" Robin asked.

Regina raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"How often did he hurt you like that?" Robin asked, his jaw working in a way that made her think that he was holding himself in check.

He wasn't looking at her either, his body rigid with obvious anger, and Regina swallowed before giving him an honest answer. "Several times a week."

"For seven years."

It wasn't a question.

Regina sighed. "Yes."

But his next words were not what she expected.

"Did I … I said that if you didn't want me there, I wouldn't be."

It took Regina a second for her mind to catch up, remembering his words before he kissed her, and her eyes widened.

"You didn't do anything I didn't want," she said hastily.

His eyes snapped to hers, taking her breath away with the emotion there.

"It was different back then," Regina said. "I was … When I started learning magic, I wasn't actually very good at it. It took a while. For a long time it was … unpredictable. Even if I could stop him, he would have had me executed for treason and witchcraft, and I had no way of trusting that I could save myself."

"What about Rumplestiltskin?" Robin asked. "Couldn't he have helped you?"

Regina shrugged. "He knew. So did everyone else in the castle. With the exception of maybe Daddy. I never told him."

"Why not?" Robin asked.

"Because he couldn't help," Regina said sadly. "Daddy was wonderful. He loved me dearly, but he wasn't a strong man. He wouldn't have been able to protect me and … Well, that would just be torture for him." She hesitated. "I was the one that killed him, you know. Leopold."

"Good," Robin said bluntly. "Whatever you did, it was too quick. What I don't understand is why it took seven years."

"I needed a scapegoat," Regina admitted. "I didn't want to get executed for it."

"I wish I'd known you back then," Robin said. "I would have done it for you."

Her heart was thudding in her chest. "And how would you have avoided execution?"

"I wouldn't have entered the castle," Robin said glancing out of the window. "I'd have taken the shot from that tree. I never miss, remember?"

"We should keep looking," Regina said in response.

"I've upset you," Robin said.

"No, you haven't," Regina said. "I'm not upset." She shouldn't say anything else, should not say what was actually running through her head. "It's just not something I was expecting to have to deal with today, that's all."

Robin nodded, but didn't look at all convinced - or reassured.

"Also," Regina added, against her better judgment, "if you were right about what we talked about last month … Well, you'd be testing my resolve right now."

He had a smile just for her, she'd noticed over the last few weeks, one that riled her up and soothed her all at once.

"My apologies, milady," he murmured, his lips just brushing her cheek as he passed her.

"Stealing kisses now, are we?" Regina asked lightly.

"You knew I was a thief when you met me," Robin said. "Where was the bed originally?"

"Where it is now," Regina said. "Why?"

"In that case …" Robin gave it another push from the other side, covering up the stain again, before crouching down and tapping on the flagstones.

Intrigued, Regina drifted closer to watch, but said nothing, since he was clearly listening intently to … something.

Finally, he nodded, pulled a knife out of his boot, and used it to pry one of the stones up.

And there, underneath, was a cavity, full of papers, books, and a very familiar tiara.

"That was mine!" Regina said incredulously. "He said it had been stolen!"

Robin removed the tiara and held it up to her. "Your Majesty."

"Thank you," Regina murmured, taking it reverently. "It was my grandmother's. I inherited as the only granddaughter. I was supposed to wear it for my wedding, but no one would let me."

"Why not?" Robin asked.

"Mother said it was inappropriate, since the kingdom had been dissolved into Misthaven," Regina said, rolling her eyes. "Leopold wanted me to wear something else. He said more than once that it wasn't right that Eva never had anything like this."

"So you couldn't either," Robin summarised, gathering up the rest of items. "You deserved so much better than that. You know that, don't you?"

"I do now," Regina said softly. "Thank you for the help." She exchanged the tiara for the books and papers. "Do you mind returning that to the treasury for me?"

"You'd entrust something so valuable to a common thief?" Robin asked.

"You can't steal something that's been given to you," Regina said with a smile. "And I would say that an exceptional thief like you would relish a stronger challenge."

Robin chuckled. "True."

As Regina turned, one of the letters slipped free and floated to the ground, and he stooped to pick it up.

"Who was Queen Sarah?"

"George's wife," Regina answered, taking it. It was a birth announcement of sorts, a letter from Sarah to Eva announcing the birth of her son.

Except …

Regina blinked, re-reading the last sentence. "I need to take this to Snow and David."

Snow, thankfully, was not asleep, although she was having a lie-down. Her eyes lit up when she saw the bundle in Regina's arms. "You found it?!"

"Well, Robin did," Regina said. "He was right - there was a secret compartment under the bed. I thought," she added, handing the letter to David, "you might find this interesting."

David skimmed it. "Queen Sarah? George's late wife?"

"That's the one," Regina said, setting the rest of the items on the bed beside Snow. "Have you noticed it?"

David frowned. "Noticed what? It's a birth announcement."

"Not just any birth announcement," Regina said, taking it back again and reading aloud: "It brings me great joy to tell you of the birth of my sons, James and David."

"What?" Snow asked.

"But they only adopted James," David said.

"Because that was the deal George made," Regina said. "Listen: 'You alone have been privy to my great sadness following my horrific curse, so you alone will understand my heartache at learning that my husband, in his great wisdom, has chosen to separate a child, not just from loving parents, but his brother as well. I take my solace from the knowledge that they have been assured a good life. However I will not treat brothers differently in such a way. In writing to you, I hereby acknowledge both of my sons as my rightful heirs.'"

Snow was beaming. "That's wonderful!"

"Is it?" David asked, looking overwhelmed. "I never met the woman."

"Well, if you ever get back to Nolansia," Regina said, "you'll almost certainly have to deal with George, wherever he is now. The thing is, George married into the crown, like I did. By naming you as one of her heirs, Sarah legitimised your claim to the throne. It's not a coup anymore."

"Mama," Snow said, "while David processes, I was wondering something."

"What's that, dear?" Regina asked.

"Rumple said that we needed light magic to defeat Zelena," Snow said. "Is that why she wants the baby? You said he has magic - is it light magic?"

Regina hesitated. "Well, first of all, magic born from true love is almost always light magic. But no child is born inherently light - or inherently dark for that matter, apparently."

"What?" Snow asked faintly.

Regina frowned. "No child is born inherently light or dark. What on earth is wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I don't mean to," Snow said hastily. "I just … I didn't know that."

"Neither did I," Regina said, still watching her closely. She wasn't convinced that Snow was alright, but clearly the girl didn't want to talk about it. "Secondly, I don't believe that's why Zelena wants him. I'm fairly sure Alexandra has magic like that, and she's not gunning for her. Quite frankly 'light magic will defeat her' is no help whatsoever. We need to try and find something else."

As if on cue, Belle knocked on the door, clutching a large book to her chest. "I think I've found something."

"What?" Snow asked hopefully. "Is there something in there about how to destroy her?"

"Not quite," Belle admitted. "But there is something about someone who might know. We need to find Glinda. According to this history of Oz, Zelena banished her years ago to a pocket world, but there's an entrance right here in the Enchanted Forest."