Emma walks towards the gazebo and finds Cora standing until the pale light.

"I'm so glad you could join me tonight Miss Swan." She says, her voice predatory.

"Yes, yes okay. Let's cut to the chase here, what was so life and death?"

"My, how crass you are Miss Swan."

"Crass, unrefined, stubborn, you name it lady. But I thought I came out here to talk about Regina and not me." Emma sighs, "Look I know you want the best for Regina, and believe me I do as well."

Cora scoffs, "How would someone like you know what's best for my daughter hm? You're just an undisciplined street rat that has never learned their place. A pathetic orphan who has and will always remain alone."

"Wait, how did you know that I was an orphan?"

"You think I didn't look into you? I searched for you but nothing came up. Therefore I can only assume that you are either a criminal who is hiding her past or an orphan that no one in this world would miss."

"That's not true. I have Regina."

Cora laughs, "Oh please dear. She doesn't really love you. You are just the first warm body that has been able to charm her with your words. She doesn't know what love is, how can she possibly love you?"

"Do you hear yourself? 'My daughter doesn't know what love is?' What a cruel thing to say about your daughter."

"Everything I do, I do for her. To ensure her success, to be perfect. She is perfect unlike my failed attempt with my firstborn, Regina is special. This love you speak of is nothing other than weakness." She takes a step forward, "I have made her strong. Broken her bones and crushed her will until she bent according to my design. You would destroy her. Love, true love, is not real Miss Swan. It is simply created by people too weak to stand on their own. But not me, and certainly not her. I will be sure to see to that."

"You will ensure nothing other than her hatred towards her for the rest of her life."

"I can live with that. Hatred is something that can be nurtured and harnessed. Her hatred towards me will make her strong, your love for her will only make her weak which is something I cannot allow." She snaps her fingers and suddenly two men are on her. Emma struggles against them, trying to loosen their grip but they are too big for her to fight alone. Twice the size of her, she has a feeling that they would break her arms as she stands now with little effort.

"She will come looking for me. Wherever I am." Emma spits.

She laughs, "Don't flatter yourself, Miss Swan. If there is one thing I know it is that you could disappear right this moment and nobody, and I mean no one, would ever miss you. Goodbye Miss Swan."

This is the last thing she hears before the cloth is put over her face and everything fades to darkness.

"Have you found her yet?" Regina paces around the room, her eyes wild.

"Not yet, Regina." Zelena says, giving her sister a sad smile. "But we will."

When the show was over Regina changed quickly before going straight to the after party. Eager to see Emma. She waited and waited for the woman to show but she never did. She asked the cast and crew alike if they had seen her but no one had. It was as if she vanished into thin air.

"Regina stop pacing. You're making me nervous and that's not going to help to find her any faster."

"And what would you know huh?" Regina glares at her sister. Usually she would be met with a remark that is equally as spiteful from her sister, but instead Zelena looks at her with only pity. Regret wrenches in her gut. "Look, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you I'm just-"

Zelena puts a hand on her shoulder, "I know Regina."

Regina looks up at her, tears in her eyes. "I love her," she says, her voice cracking at the end. "I just love her so much."

Zelena pulls her into a tight embrace, stroking her hair, "We will find her. We will."

"Ma'am," a maid approaches, "It appears that Miss Swan has checked out earlier this evening."

"What?" Regina says, her eyes wide. "When?"

"During your show, right after intermission it seems according to the time stamp."

Regina looks at her steely, "No she wouldn't do that."

The maid steps back, "I'm sorry Miss Mills. It says right here in the log." She passes the book to Regina.

Regina looks down at Emma's script. The time stamp is clear, 9:15, right after intermission.

Regina swallows deeply, unable to believe what she sees before her. She shakes her head, "I would like to see her room please."

"Pardon?" The maid looks up at her confused.

Zelena steps in, "Miss Mills would like to see the former room of Miss Swan please, if you would be so kind," she gives the woman a threatening smile.

The maid looks at the women before her, clearly frightened. "Yes of course," she mutters out, "right this way Miss Mills."

She leads them to Emma's former room and unlocks the door. Regina walks in and sees that the room is empty, completely. As if it hasn't seen another living being. It is undisturbed. She does not doubt the housekeeping of the hotel staff but something about the room isn't quite right. The room is clean and perfect. Too perfect. It clicks all at once. "Thank you," she says, exiting the room. "I've seen all I need to see."

She walks down the hallway, hands in fists and fire behind her eyes. She knows who she must see.

"Mother!" she yells, as she opens the door to her room.

Cora is standing near the couch, ordering the staff to pack up her room. She looks towards her daughter with an unchanged expression, as if this sudden outburst was to be expected.

"What the hell are you doing?" Regina grits out, her chest is heaving and she is trying her best not to explode.

"Well, packing up your room dear. We leave early tomorrow and as it seems that you haven't bothered to pack up yet," She responds nonchalantly, picking up the wine glasses from the night before with disgust and placing them into the trash. "I have taken the liberty of doing so."

Regina approaches her mother, her anger seething. "Where is Emma?"

"Who?" Cora asks innocently, she loves pushing her daughter to the brink, "Oh you mean the blonde. Miss Swan I believe it was. She left, or so I was told." She takes a step closer to Regina, "It's for the best, dear." She puts her hand gently upon her daughter's face, the slightest feeling of long nails grazing her cheek, "She was just going to hold you back."

"No," she takes a step back, maintaining eye contact with her, "We were going to be happy. I was going to be happy."

Cora laughs, "And did you really think that Miss Swan, an orphan, of no means or connection was really going to provide you with the life that you deserve?"

She shakes her head, "None of that matters. We could have lived in a shoebox for the rest of our lives. It wouldn't have mattered, as long as we were together," she takes a breath, "I love her, mother."

Cora scoffs, "My dear head-strong, stubborn daughter. You don't even know what love is, besides what have I always told you, love is weakness."

"No it's not," she responds defiantly, "You've spent my entire life telling me that love was something that made you weak. But the truth is that it's not," she stops for a moment, thinking of all the moments that she has spent with Emma over the last several days. She smiles despite herself, "It's strength and wherever Emma is I will find her. I don't care if it takes me the rest of my lifetime to do so, I will do it. That's a promise mother." She turns and begins to walk out of the door.

"Regina!" Cora follows her, "Regina, you get back here right this moment!"

Regina continues to walk down the hallway, ignoring her incessant screams.

"Where will you go Regina?"

Regina stops but doesn't turn around.

Cora continues, her voice is deadly calm, "You have little money and resources. I control the vast majority of your earnings. You will have nothing," she begins to walk closer towards her, "Don't waste your life for her. You meant nothing to her. Can't you see, my dear child, that she left because she doesn't love you."

She continues to walk closer towards her daughter, "After you all but made an open declaration of your love what does Miss Swan do? She runs away. She doesn't love you." She finally reaches her daughter and puts an arm on her shoulder, "Now come back Regina, there's so much to pack still."

Regina slowly turns to face her mother. Her eyes fixed like steel, yet burning like a thousand fires. "Fuck you," she says slowly before shrugging her hand off and stalking away.

Wait for me Emma. I'm coming.

Emma wakes the next day to a voice calling out to her.

"Ma'am, ma'am, are you alright?" The old man asks. When he went into the stables that early morning to tend to the horses, the last thing he expected was to see a woman in a gorgeous red dress bound and gagged in his stables. He knew better than to ask, he is old enough to know that everyone has their kinks.

Emma blinks a few times, her eyes adjusting to the sunlight which fills the barn. The man removes her gag and sits her up so that he may undo the rope binding her hands.

"Where the hell am I?" She looks up at the man, who is surprisingly unperturbed by the crass language.

"Well, I was hoping you could enlighten me on that ma'am considering you are in my barn after all. Er, well technically it's on hotel grounds but I am its keeper."

"What?" She stands up and suddenly every inch of her body hurts. As if she was thrown on the ground like a rag-doll, I probably was, she thinks. Remembering the sheer brute strength of the men from before. "Oh my god, Regina." She turns towards the man, gripping his arm, "Tell me, did the company leave already?"

The man furrows his brows, "Company..company..oh! You mean the theatre company? Yes they left first thing this morning."

"Oh." Is the only thing she manages to say, so she decided to leave without her. She can't blame her really, it is an amazing opportunity and one thing that Emma promised to herself was that she would never hold her back. Her mind understands this but her heart is all but reeling from the pain. It's okay, she whispers to herself. I am okay, besides it's just a tour. Regina will be back here one day, and I will be here waiting to see her once more.

"Are you alright ma'am? Is there someone I can call?"

She glances towards him, wiping away the wetness from her eyes. "No, there's no one," she says, her voice threatening to betray the vulnerability she feels, "Thank you, I will be going now."

He gives her a nod and watches her walk out of the stables. Catching a glimpse of her long blonde hair and train of her silk dress before she steps beyond the doors of the barn, disappearing from his sight.

Emma walks, slightly disoriented from whatever drugs that Cora's men gave her the night before. It takes a moment before she recognizes her surroundings, spying the edge of the Mifflin house and the very same spot where she first saw Regina. She walks towards it, as if drawn in by some invisible force. She looks out towards the lake where she almost kissed Regina, remembering the slight blush on her tan skin and the low tone of her voice. She recalls the vulnerability of that day, when she was told of the prophecy and the way Regina's eyes suddenly avoided her own. Yet, despite this she cannot forget the scent of the woman when they embraced. The sweetest scent of apples and spice and, above all, the feeling of comfort in her arms.

Emma sits on the grass, staring out at the lake. Her eyes begin to feel wet again but she blinks the tears away. She remembers a quote from long ago, used as words of comfort in times like these, "it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all". She snorts, yeah fuck that she thinks to herself, fuck that.