Chapter Seven:

Zelena's curiosity got the better of her and woke her up mere hours after she had fallen asleep. A glance at the convenient digital clock on her bed stand informed her it was now seven at night. Giving in to a state of alertness she pushed her body onto her forearms.

The bed she was lying on had a large gingerbread colored comforter and several thinner clean white sheets on it. Like most inns in Oz, the staff had also provided her with an inordinate amount of pillows as if they expected her to create a fort.

The main bedroom was connected to a hallway that led to the front door but turned a slight corner first for privacy. To her right was a door through which there appeared to be a bathroom. The colorful sea foam tiling gave it away.

The other side of the room was not directly separated from the bed by anything but space and contained a desk with outlets arrayed right above the flat surface. A black leather swivel chair was pushed ever so slightly into the desk but also artfully turned towards the occupant, inviting them to sit and work. Once she noticed that touch the rest of them became apparent in every corner of the room.

The kitchen beyond the office space was cut off by a wall but the wall had a rectangular hole cut into the wood, big enough for the cook to see and speak to the occupants of the other small rooms.

The walls behind her had closets built surreptitiously into them and just beyond the kitchen she could see a balcony. The room was small but not cramped and the balcony would be the biggest benefit. As this was the corner room, the balcony would stretch the length of both walls.

Zelena picked up her bag and began to array the items she had magically packed into it on the bed. Piles of clothing, money, a couple of fake documents Emma had insisted she needed, and other assorted trinkets soon were scattered across the cover.

The clothes went immediately to the closet, hung on hangers for other days.

The jewelry went into a safe she discovered at the back of one of the closets. It asked her for a password and with a touch of irony she keyed in R-E-G-I-N-A.

The money she put into a drawer as it was very easy to magically produce and was still unlikely to get stolen. The documents she tucked into a black purse with green accents.

Finding her riding outfit hopelessly wrinkled by the trip and her nap, she unzipped it and put it into a laundry bag she stored in another closet. When she entered the bathroom before even stepping into the shower she opened all the packaged complimentary toiletries as she knew it would only annoy her to have to open them later. After a couple of frustrating minutes, she learned how to work the shower and passed the next half hour scrubbing the boredom out of her being.

Zelena found a medium sized white towel that was especially fluffy and wrapped it around her body and another around her hair then scrutinized her closet for an outfit. She couldn't dress to kill in this city but she couldn't afford to look so weak the doorman would stop being afraid of her. Everything she had at the moment fell a bit too deeply under "dress to kill."

She'd have to blend in properly if she was going to live here for a while. At least until she managed to scare her soulmate sufficiently and then could return to Storybrooke and then hopefully to Oz, empty-handed. She never entertained the idea that she could actually click with her soulmate. As far as Zelena knew, murderer, witch, and apathetic cynic were extreme turnoffs in any realm. She'd find her soulmate, get to know him just enough to have a story to tell, then do something flamboyantly magical and return.

Maybe she'd get into a fight with the doorman. Her lips twitched into something nearing a smirk at the thought of fighting someone with reasonable magic. Regina had won because she had help, but honestly her magic was rudimentary compared to Zelena's. The doorman would probably have been trained under a master and would give her a run for her money. How nice it would feel to let all her magic just roll free. She'd destroy the entryway first, then crack the sidewalk outside….Zelena started. She'd been smiling creepily at her closet for about a minute now.

Dousing her expression, Zelena waved her hand and both towels disappeared, her hair now dry and a two piece, blush pink suit gracing her slim body. The skirt was skintight but professional, reaching the tops of her knees. The jacket buttoned about halfway down her chest with turned up cufflinks and an arctic blue undershirt. Satisfied with how the outfit could make her look deceptively threatening and simultaneously timid, she flounced out the door.

After prowling past the doorman with a saccharine smile, she walked outside, referencing a map for the route to Lakeshore Drive where she'd find dinner. The Magnificent Mile it was known as. It wasn't the Yellow Brick Road, but it'd have to do for nostalgia.

Deftly memorizing the route Zelena had just set off when she felt a small vibration from inside her purse. Fishing around past her favorite intimidation lipstick and the papers, Zelena located the source of the buzzing and found it to be a flip phone. She'd never learned how to work one so Regina had deigned to give her a quick tutorial before she left. Flip it open and press the green button. Ok, not too hard. There was a small antennae poking out of one end and Zelena felt it press hard against her cheek as she held the object up to her ear. It was kind of uncomfortable and she wondered why Henry had been begging his moms for one when he'd seen hers.

Regina's voice came suddenly from the device.

"Hello. Zelena?"

For a second Zelena paused, then remembered seeing Emma use the desk phone in the Sheriff's office and began to speak aloud.

"Who did you think would be on the other end?"

Regina sighed audibly. "And here I was going to help you. Ah well. Tink wanted me to call you and see if you had stopped anywhere as well as give you the instructions on what to do when you do stop."

Zelena rushed across the crosswalk, pink stilettos barely even audible over the rush of people.

"Tink wanted to know if I had stopped anywhere?"

"No, that was me."

"Oh. What does the winged one have to say?"

"Why should I tell you? You haven't even been courteous enough to answer my first question?"

Zelena rolled her eyes then remembered Regina couldn't see her. "I just rolled my eyes at you. In case you wanted to know. Yes I have stopped. The dust hasn't been visible since I entered this city, my map says it's called Chicago."

"That sounds correct. When that happens Tink says it means…." There was a pause. "Yes, yes, it means your soulmate is in the city and when you see him there'll be a green glow around him but even that will disappear soon. You'll have to memorize his face."

Zelena frowned, now being herded into a huge crowd. She maneuvered to the front and walked forward.

"Are you actually consulting Tink as we talk? Because that's ridiculous; I can't hurt her through the phone, just put her—"

There was a sudden tugging sensation around her waist, a rush of air, and then a violent impact with the ground.

Author's note:

So, so sorry about the lateness of this chapter. And the shortness. School starting combined with sports and me being sick just refused to allow this chapter to be written. I thank you for your patience. Please, please, please leave reviews. I really want to know what you like, what you don't like, how I can improve. That's the only way I grow as a writer. Also, after this chapter I am going to switch to Zelena's soulmate's point of view. Hooray, so excited. I plan to switch off between them. Sorry if this isn't what you wanted but I planned to write them both falling in love not just one person's side.

-Ragingstillness