So, it's been just over a year I think? I really didn't pick the best time to start a fic since I had a levels and then I started uni. But I'm here now with a new chapter and another already half written. I really hope you enjoy it :)

Belle, Zelena and Robyn had been in Oz for a few weeks before anything big happened. Over the time they had spent together they had been trading small stories about their lives. Belle remembered one such instance that had occurred just a few days after they got to Oz.

"Zelena, do you know if there are any secret passages in this castle?"

Zelena stopped walking, looking at Belle strangely,

"Why would there be secret passages?"

It was Belle's turn to look confused,

"For escapes? Usually, castles have a series of secret tunnels and passages in case it gets attacked and the occupants need to leave discreetly. Rumple's castle certainly had them, as did my own."

Zelena stopped short again, almost causing Belle to walk into her,

"Your castle?"

Belle nodded, not at all bothered by the fact that Zelena didn't know,

"Yes. I used to be a princess; I suppose I still am if you look at it technically. Our kingdom was under attack during the Ogre Wars. My father's only option was to marry me off to the heir of the neighbouring kingdom as we needed their armies. I hated Gaston, he was awful. So I came up with another option, I told my father we could ask for help from a powerful sorcerer I had read about…"

"Rumpelstiltskin."

Zelena breathed the name out in disgust; she hadn't known the story of how Belle came to work for the Dark One. She also hadn't known that Belle was a princess,

"Well, your majesty, I am unaware if there are any passages in this castle."

Belle scoffed,

"Don't call me that, I haven't been 'your majesty' or anything like that in years. I'm just Belle French now."

Zelena nodded,

"Anyway, I don't know if there's passages in this castle. I didn't grow up here and by the time I claimed it I didn't need passages to escape."

Belle seemed thoughtful for a moment,

"Well, I could help you find some, if there are any, if you're not opposed to that. It's a kind of tradition in castle households that children are introduced to the passageways at an early age as a lot of them are too small for adults. It might be nice for Robyn to experience that."

Zelena hadn't thought of that. When she took over the castle, she hadn't thought to look for secret tunnels as she certainly didn't need them. Nevertheless, it would be good for Robyn to have these types of childhood experiences, something she never got. They walked along in silence until Belle spoke again,

"Where did you grow up? Was it close by?"

Zelena stiffened in her walk. She detested talking about her childhood. However, she would do so as she knew it would please Belle,

"I grew up in a little village about two days' ride from here. It was very small, maybe 300 people lived there; children weren't common in the village, perhaps about 70 during the whole time I was there. We, my adoptive parents and myself, lived in a small hut on the outskirts of the village. My father was a woodcutter so we had to live near the forest, and my mother sewed for a living. It was her that kept us afloat, my father spent all his money on alcohol. I left as soon as I could after my mother died. What about you? What was it like growing up in a castle?"

Belle looked thoughtful for a moment,

"Well, at the time it was wonderful, before the Ogre Wars reached us. I got to go to lots of different kingdoms and I had plenty of other children to play with. It was quite tiresome at times, I had to be 'ladylike' at all times and the clothes were horrible. Looking back, I realise just how stifling it was which I suppose is why I was always so anxious to go exploring and travelling."

Zelena nodded. She could understand how hindsight had changed the way Belle thought about her childhood.

Another one that had occurred was when Belle had inquired about Ozian cuisine; she hadn't tried any before but had heard it was very good

Belle was staring dubiously at the pots in front of her,

"I'm not sure I can do this. I've never had to cook before, it could turn out terribly."

Zelena chucked,

"Don't worry, it'll be okay. And if you make a mistake I'll correct it."

Belle nodded, although she still seemed unsure,

"When did you learn to cook?"

Zelena smiled, apparently this was a happy memory,

"Well, my mother started teaching me from a young age, she said it was always useful to have the skill, in case you ever needed it. Of course, after she died it was down to me to keep my father and I fed. He said it was a woman's job to cook so he never bothered to learn. Eventually, I began to branch out from directly following recipes and made my own adjustments. I've always found it to be very relaxing, it's also good practise for making potions."

Belle nodded thoughtfully. It had never occurred to her to learn how to cook. Rumple had refused to let her cook, preferring to use magic, and her father deemed it unseemly for a princess to be cooking. Belle was tempted to ask more about Zelena's mother, but she didn't want the witch to shut herself off; they had been having a great day so far and she didn't want to ruin it.

Now the two of them, and Robyn, were down in the vault. Belle had read all the information on the crystals she could find, which wasn't much, and decided to experiment a little. Zelena had accompanied her and was both overseeing her and sorting through all the items in her vault. Although nobody had been there since she'd left she still wanted to take inventory. Zelena had magically constructed a safe area for Robyn just in case something went wrong with the crystals and the baby was now, quite contently, staring up at a projection of swirls of colour that danced across the ceiling, a small sound escaping her every now and then.

"So where did all this stuff come from? Did you collect it all?"

Zelena looked over to wear Belle was gesturing to the various objects around the room.

"Some of them are mine, but the majority are from when the wizard used to collect them in exchange for favours. I haven't looked at most of those as I had no use for them. They might be worth exploring though."

Belle nodded, going back to the crystals in front of her. They worked in silence for a few hours; Belle experimenting with the crystals in different ways to try and figure out the extent of their power whilst Zelena continued to make lists and organise her vault. Zelena glanced around to see how much left she had to do when her eyes landed on the crystal. A third colour was glowing.

"Belle."

Belle looked up at Zelena's controlled tone.

"What is it?"

"I need you to stay here with Robyn. There's another magic user in the castle."

Belle's eyes darted to the crystal that was now pulsing a bright red as well as green.

"Rumple?"

Zelena shook her head.

"No, it's too bright, his is darker."

Belle stared at the crystal. The colour looked familiar...

"Wait! I think I know who it is. That colour, it's the same as Ruby's cloak. She did say she was coming to Oz at some point. Come on!"

Belle left the vault quickly, abandoning her work.

"Hold on! We don't know who she's brought with her. She could have a whole army and we wouldn't know. Wait for me."

Belle slowed to a stop. That made sense. She waited for Zelena and Robyn before continuing down the hall and up the stairs to the Entrance Hall. She skidded to a stop as she took in the sight before her. Ruby was panting, slumped against the door, her eyes focussed on a figure lying face down on the floor. Belle couldn't tell who it was; their hair was covering their face.

"Ruby!"

The wolf's eyes snapped to Belle.

"Belle! Wait, Belle? What are you doing here?"

Belle gestured to where Zelena was stood just behind her.

"I came here with Zelena a few weeks ago. What happened to you? And who's that?"

Ruby sighed, the adrenaline wearing off.

"We were being chased by some kind of lion thing. It caught Mulan on the back with it's claws. We didn't realise anyone was here, it was the closest place to take cover."

Belle nodded, moving closer to Mulan and the now spreading pool of blood around her. She glanced over her, seeing where the lion's claws had ripped through her arm with ease, leaving deep wounds across her back.

"Zelena? Can you heal her please? They're too deep for me to be able to do anything."

Zelena walked over, glancing worriedly at Belle.

"Belle, I...it's been a while since I've done any major healing magic, what if I can't do it?"

Belle smiled softly at her, taking Robyn from her arms.

"It's okay. I believe you can do it."

Zelena caught Belle's eyes and saw she was telling the truth. She believed in her. Zelena didn't understand why, but that she did was enough. Nodding once, Zelena knelt down next to Mulan. She placed her hands over the warrior's back. Concentrating, she felt her magic channel itself through her hands and into Mulan. She watched, slightly satisfied, as the wounds began closing over. They would scar, but that was a small price to pay for a life. Zelena looked up at Belle, a small smile on her face.

"I did it."

Belle nodded, a wide grin on her face.

"You did! I'm proud of you."

Zelena blushed at the unexpected praise. Nobody had said they were proud of her since her mother. Unnoticed, Ruby was glancing between the two of them. She was confused as to how this friendship had come about, but she could see it was clearly on the verge of becoming something more. As a werewolf, she had a sixth sense about these things. Mulan groaned quietly, drawing Zelena's attention back to her.

"She's lost a lot of blood. We'll have to keep an eye on her until she's recovered. Ruby you are welcome to stay as well, if you want."

Ruby nodded, bracing herself against the door as she stood. She was still completely confused, the last time she had been in Storybrooke, Zelena had been trying to wipe out the Charmings and Belle had been hopelessly in love with Gold. Hopefully she would get some answers soon. She staggered after the others, still pretty unsteady on her feet. Zelena was using magic to levitate Mulan along the hallway whilst Belle walked slightly behind her with the baby. Shuffling slightly quicker, Ruby fell into step beside Belle.

"So...what exactly is going on? It seems I've missed a lot."

Belle laughed slightly,

"That's an understatement if ever I've heard one. It's a very long story, and right now I think you need to rest. I'll tell you everything tomorrow, don't worry."

Ruby nodded, she was truly exhausted. They had been running from the beast for quite a while and despite her strength as a werewolf, half carrying an injured Mulan for the last stretch to the castle had not been easy.

"Rest, yeah. Sleep sounds pretty good right now. And in an actual bed."

Belle giggled,

"Thought you didn't mind sleeping outside on the ground?"

Ruby shook her head.

"I don't. But after sleeping in a bed for 28 years...well."

Belle nodded again. She thought back to the days before the original curse. She had done her fair share of sleeping outdoors and while it wasn't as pleasant as a bed it also wasn't bad. She looked ahead of her where Zelena had stopped outside one of the guestrooms.

"I'll put her in here since it's fairly close to our own rooms. Ruby you can have the one next to it. Ours are right down the hall."

Zelena moved Mulan into the room and placed her on the bed before returning to Belle and Ruby.

"I'll place a spell that lets me know when you're awake so one of us can come and bring you to the kitchen. Other than that, I don't think there's anything pressing. There'll be pyjamas and things in the room for you. We'll see you tomorrow."

Ruby nodded, slightly overwhelmed by how nice Zelena apparently was now.

"Goodnight, Ruby."

Ruby smiled at the bookworm

"Night, Belle."

She disappeared into her room as Zelena and Belle walked down the hall to the nursery.

Zelena slumped down into an armchair as Belle placed a now sleeping Robyn in her cot.

"That was certainly something. I haven't done that much magic in while."

Belle nodded, leaning against the back of the armchair.

"Are you tired? Can I get you anything?"

Zelena shook her head, huffing slightly,

"I'll be alright. It's been a long time since I've used magic to heal someone like that. The last time I tried it...I tried to save my mother. I hadn't ever tried to fix someone that sick before. It didn't work. She died right in front of me. I rarely used healing magic after that; I was too scared that it wouldn't work."

Belle's heart broke for the redhead. She couldn't imagine what that must've felt like. Belle's own mother had died trying to save her but she didn't remember it all too well.

"Zelena, it wasn't your fault, you know."

Zelena scoffed, her fingers digging into the arms of the chair.

"Of course it was! I was too weak, too wicked, to save her, my own mother!"

To her embarrassment, Zelena felt herself start to cry and was immediately grateful that Belle couldn't see her face. Apparently, Belle seemed to know anyway as gentle fingers began to weave themselves through Zelena's curls, softly playing with them.

"You were only a little girl though. And sometimes, people are just too sick to recover. It happens. It doesn't make you weak or wicked that you couldn't save her. Not at all."

Tears were pouring down Zelena's face now but she didn't care.

"But, if I'd just been stronger...I could still have saved her. She could be alive."

Belle felt herself tearing up at these words. Continuing to play with the other woman's hair, Belle slipped round and sat on the arm of the chair. Zelena turned to look at her and Belle could see how much the death of her mother had affected the other woman. The broken look in Zelena's eyes was almost too much for Belle.

"I'm so sorry. I wish I could tell you it hurts less but it doesn't. But it wasn't your fault. You did everything you could which, awful as it is, isn't enough sometimes. Your mum was too sick for you to save her with magic, but that's not on you. There's no one to blame there."

Zelena nodded although it was half-hearted. Belle swiftly wrapped her in a hug, she couldn't stand to see her friend so hurt like this. Zelena rested her head against Belle's shoulder. She'd had an emotional night and just wanted to go to sleep. She stood up before pulling Belle into a tight hug and a whispered

"Thank you."

Zelena kissed Belle on the cheek before strolling out of the room.

Belle stood there blushing as she gazed out the door after the redhead, her skin tingling where Zelena's lips had been.

I'm not too sure about the ending, I feel like I rushed it. What do you guys think?