Fiona sighs in exasperation when yet another knock is heard upon the door to her newly acquired domain of darkness. Imbecilic quivering man-servants, and an underworld town full of tiresome insipid suck-ups; that's what Hades has left her to oversee. Yes, she asked for the position and the reason why she did so will more than make up for all this incessant ridiculousness, but at the moment, she's trying to comb her way through his meticulous records of who's who in the underworld and she would really prefer to just be left alone for a few hours.

"You may enter." She calls out plainly and then studies the woman who does, escorted by Pain and Panic, with ten seconds worth of curiosity before turning her eyes back to her reading. "Thank you, Gentleman. You are excused." Her visitor tries unsuccessfully to disguise apprehension as the servants exit silently with bowed heads.

Confused to find the new warden of the underworld seated at a Queen Anne style desk and matching chair cushioned in black satin as opposed to the obsidian thrown that used to reside in the center of the room, her newest visitor is silent for a beat before she begins. "Mistress, If I might have just a few mo –"

"Name?"

"Pardon?"

"Your name? You do have a name, don't you, dearie?"

I am Bellatrix of the House of Lestrange."

"Former realm?"

"Rowlingshire." Bellatrix studies the woman dressed head to toe in black lace and feathers accented by undertones of gold with great doubt that she has found the new ally she had hoped for.

"Alright then, Bellatrix of the Rowlingshire Realm, now that the formalities are out of the way, let me assure you, I am not in need of a second in command, a handmaiden or anyone else that may reside somewhere between the two."

Outraged that anyone would dare to suggest she might come seeking a position as lowly as that of a handmaiden, Bella takes a noticeably long moment to temper her response. "I've come to offer no such service, Mistress. I come because legend speaks of your great power. I only wish to tell you that I believe you to be strong enough to leave this miserable place if only the proper knowledge is provided. I know of a spell; a dark spell. One that may enable you to leave this dismal afterlife."

The dark fairy glances up from her reading to finally make eye contact with the crazed female before her. "I see Bella. And, if that is the case, why are you here?"

"As I said, to share the information with you."

"No dear, I mean, if you know of such a spell, why are you still here in the underworld?"

"Alas, Mistress, I have no access to magic here. I cannot cast a spell myself. But, I am confident that someone as powerful as you could."

"What, may I ask, is it that you expect in return for this information?"

"I ask only my own ticket out of here, nothing more. I have a score to settle with the one who sent me here."

"Well, I can certainly understand the motivation. Can you recite this spell for me?"

"It pains me to say no, Mistress, but I do know where it may be found."

"And where might that be?"

"In my former realm in a spellbook located in … what assurance do I have that you will honor my request, and not just simply take the information for yourself?"

"Why, none, of course, but you may have my assurance that if you do volunteer the rest of the information I will refrain from sending you someplace worse this very minute."

When Lestrange hesitates briefly, the Black fairy simply arches a perfectly sculpted eyebrow.

"Yes, well alright then." The dark witch fidgets compulsively. "Riddle Manor; in the spellbook of my former master, Lord Voldemort."

Fiona folds her hands on top of the desk before her; lacing her fingers together. "And why is this Lord Voldemort your former master? Because of your own death, or his?"

"My death preceded his, but he was destroyed by the elder wand." Her lip curls in disdain for the one who wielded the wand.

Fiona perks up a bit; having heard tale of the wand and its unyielding power. "And, tell me, do you know, where is the wand now?"

"I cannot say for certain. Word has it that the wand was destroyed by its last owner."

Fiona's dark eyes go wide. "Who would dare to destroy such a coveted instrument?"

"Harry Potter." Bellatrix spits out the name as if it leaves a rotten taste in her mouth. "A snot-nosed arrogant little mudblood of a wizard."

"Mudblood?"

"He isn't a pure-blood wizard, Mistress. His mother was muggle-born. In my former world, a muggle is a human with no magical ability. The wand may be gone, but my lord kept a spellbook of various enchantments and curses he created. Had he not been obliterated by the elder wand, I'm quite certain he would've risen again."

"Because he had a spell that could restore life?"

Bellatrix nods with crazed certainty. "I know he was working on one. I saw it. I saw it with my own eyes."

"Do you know for certain that he completed it?"

Hesitation flutters across Bella's face. "My lord always made it a point to finish what he started. I suppose I can't guarantee it, but it would be worth some investigation; would it not?

"Indeed. The only question now is how to acquire his spellbook."

"I may have come up with a way to achieve that." Bellatrix offers in a forcefully modulated tone as she wills herself to stand still and not dance about with joy at the prospect of a fresh new dark life.

Meanwhile, at Granny's in Storybrooke Regina sits in the early afternoon sunlight at one of the outdoor patio tables watching her niece and daughter happily consume parfaits; peach and blueberry for Eliana, and pineapple banana for Norah. Regina sips tart chilled cranberry juice and awaits for an opening in the conversation as, between bites, the girls chatter with the kind of cranky camaraderie that is typical for young children.

Norah tells her cousin, "Guess what?"

Eliana shrugs." Dunno, what?"

"Tomorrow, I getta go school."

"Na uh, you're too little."

"Na huh! I getta go school and have lunch with Rowand!"

"So, that just means you're having lunch at the school. It doesn't mean you're going to school. Who cares about eating lunch!"

"Me, I do! He's my brother!"

"So, what's so good about brothers? You can have mine if you want him."

Regina reaches out and touches the girl's arm gently. "Eliana, you don't want your little brother or sister?"

The ginger-haired preschooler shakes her head vehemently. "He's a boy. Daddy says so. And no, I don't want him."

Norah squints in confusion. "But why? Brothers are fun. I got two of 'em?"

Eliana shrugs. "You want three?"

Regina chuckles. "I'm afraid it doesn't work that way ladies. You can't just give your brother away, Elia. But, Norah is right. She has lots of fun with her brothers. How is it that you don't want yours?"

Eliana scowls and kicks the table leg causing the umbrella overhead to sway erratically. "I don't like him." She announces plainly.

Regina bites her lower lip to keep from laughing aloud and reaches out to stabilize both the umbrella and the table. "Honey, don't kick the table leg, please. And how can you not like him? He's not even born yet. You haven't even met him. He might be very nice."

"No, he's not!" The little girl raises her voice. "He's making Mummy sick! And, Daddy likes him better than me just 'cause he's a stupid old boy!" She angrily backhands her plastic cup across the small table before crossing her arms over her chest.

Seated between the two girls Regina reaches out to catch the cup, but the cup tips over, splattering yogurt and bits of fruit in her daughter's face and hair.

Norah sits in shock; wide-eyed and silent for a long moment as Regina grabs a paper napkin and attempts to wipe away the sticky mess from her face. "I'm sorry I splashed it on you, Norah. I was trying to keep it out of your lap. Eliana, you apologize to Norah, right now." Regina demands quietly when she realizes that the other little girl is smiling with smug satisfaction."

"Why? You did it; not me?"

Surprised, but not shocked, Regina eyes the girl sternly and takes a deep breath before speaking. "Yes, I made the cup tip over, and I've apologized for that. It would not have been necessary for me to try to catch the cup if you hadn't batted it across the table, to begin with. "Your little brother or sister may be making your mom sick, but that's not the baby's fault. The baby can't help it. Just like you couldn't help it either when you had your turn to do the same thing before you were born. No matter what, I promise you, your father does not like the baby more than he likes you. He loves you both the same.

"That's dumb! I came first! They should like me better!"

This time, Regina does offer the girl a look of mild shock, but it doesn't last. It's as fleeting as the twitch of a pinched nerve. "Elia, honey it doesn't work that way. I have three kids now and I love them all. I don't have a favorite. Each one of them is special for different reasons, and I promise, you're still going to be special no matter who comes next. And you get to be the big sister which means you get to teach the little baby how to do all kinds of things.

Eliana seems to ponder this for a moment. "I do?"

"Of course, you do. When the baby gets here, it won't know how to do much of anything. Somebody will need to teach the baby how to do almost everything. She tries again, a tad more firmly. Now, you owe Norah an apology."

The angry child sits rigidly; silent and stubborn as a stone.

In response, Regina quietly picks up what's left of her niece's treat and pitches it into a nearby trash can.

"Hey, no fair! That was mine!"

At home an hour and a ½ later, after dropping a very sticky, not to mention, sulking Eliana off with Zelena, and then going home to wash yogurt out of Norah's hair, Regina puts the little girl down for a nap, and collapses with a heavy sigh onto the sofa beside her husband.

Robin studies her face momentarily, and in response to the tension he reads there, he leans forward, just far enough to catch her behind the knees and lift her feet into his lap. Removing her heels and letting them fall to the floor, he runs warm calloused hands over supple calf muscles as he asks, "Tough day with the girls, milady?"

Regina chuckles wryly. "The sour apple does not fall far from the tree!"

Robin shakes his head. "If you want to talk about it, love, I can sit here and pretend I don't already know which one you're talking about."

Regina rolls her eyes. "That child! She doesn't want the new baby. She doesn't like the new baby. She's worried that they love the new baby more, which is all fairly standard behavior, but by her own estimation, she came first, they should like her better than the new baby!"

Robin repeats; his voice devoid of humor, "The sour apple…"

I tried to make her feel better. I tried to reason with her, which was a mistake. You can't reason with a four-year-old. She had a temper tantrum and shoved her parfait across the table. I didn't want it to land bottom-up in Norah's lap, so I grabbed for it, the cup tipped over Norah got splattered. I told Eliana to apologize. She refused. I threw her treat away. She protested vehemently. I turned my back for two seconds to ask Ruby for a warm towel to wipe up the sticky mess, and by the time I turned back around, Norah was out of her chair and dumping her own cup over the top of Eliana's head. Of course, Elia howled like she'd received a fate worse than death. I turned to fuss at Norah; before I could say a word, she was telling Elia, 'Next time, just say you're sorry!' Elianna kicked her and, for a second, I thought Norah was going to cry, but before I could get between the two of them, Norah was on top of her. I had to physically pull them apart. And then, I'll be damned, 20 minutes later, in the bathroom at my office while I was trying to clean her up as best I could before taking Elianna back to her mother, Norah was sharing a stick a gum with her."

Robin chuckles. "Girls! Do you think it would cause some sort of irrevocable rift between you and Zelena if I locked the little goddess in a dungeon for a few hours."

"Robin!" Regina tries not to laugh and fails miserably. "I have enough trouble keeping such thoughts out of my head without you encouraging them.

"What? I'm just asking. I wouldn't actually do it."

"As it is, I don't think we'll see Zelena for a few weeks. Elianna wasn't seriously hurt, but let's just say she might think twice before she kicks Norah again. My sister isn't exactly livid, but she isn't happy either. And, I don't want to do it, Robin but we're going to have to talk to Norah. She may be physically stronger than Elianna, and Elianna may be the one who instigates things, but one of these days…"

"When Elianna decides to fight back with a magical assist…"

Regina nods. "If we force them apart, that's going to cause a problem with both girls, not to mention Zelena; and probably Hades too."

Robin shakes his head. "That's not the answer anyhow. Part of me wants to pat Norah on the back for not taking any guff off Elianna, for standing up for herself, but magical or not, she's going to have to learn to deal with difficult people in ways that don't involve knocking them down and sitting on top of them while she pummels them."