Chapter Nine

Zelena strode quickly down the street, barely even responding to Regina's concerned chatter from the cell phone. That man, the one who saved her. Oh, God, Oh God, it was real! The instant she'd turned to look at him, she'd been blinded by a lime green glow, radiating off his skin like poison. Destiny sure had a screwed up sense of humor. The first night in and she'd already met him. Her…soulmate. Zelena curled her lip in distaste. Another hapless soul to fall victim under her stilettos. She almost felt sorry for him.

Unlike her erstwhile savior, she had quite the knack for faces and remembered his in crystal clarity. He had a blandly handsome face, straight-set nose and lips surrounded by smile lines. His hair was flat atop his head and had attempted to stick out over his face but the bangs had swept to the side, giving him a roughish side similar to that of the one-handed pirate.

His eyes were suddenly, violently green, the color of Zelena's own magic, of the spires of the Emerald City, of her jealous skin. Despite his smile and his words she'd seen a deep intelligence there. The kind of intelligence that's tuned to the epitome of social interaction and wavers on the edge of conniving. At least he wasn't a complete pansy. That'd be too easy. She would have destroyed a man like that without even using magic. This one would qualify a little bit of flamboyance.

Her lips curved into a small smile. Maybe she would get the fight she was looking for. Regina repeated the question she'd been asking for the past minute, finally loud enough for Zelena to actually register it.

"WHAT HAPPENED!?"

Zelena held the phone away from her ear for a second so the ringing would stop.

"Jeez Sis, no need to shout."

"If you'd be so kind as to give me an answer, I wouldn't have shouted."

"Alright fine, I think I just met him."

Regina didn't need an explanation.

"Wow, really? How?"

Zelena chuckled lightly. "I almost got hit by a car."

"WHAT!?"

"What did I say about the shouting?"

"You almost got hit by a car! How did that include him?"

A mild heat rose in Zelena's cheeks. It didn't make sense to be embarrassed. The stupid driver hadn't been looking where he was going.

"He saved me."

There was a silence on the other end and what sounded like a muffled squeal. Then a deep breath as though her little sis had to gather her maturity around her before the next question.

"What does he look like?" The question still came out relatively high-pitched and adolescent.

"Is that really important?"

"I thought you didn't care."

Zelena tched. "Well he looked fine I guess. As far as men go. Really though, does the appearance of one person really matter? I could care less about how he looks."

"I never took you as the kind of woman to care more about personality."

Regina's voice was still girlish and slightly mocking and Zelena had to resist the urge to ask her how she was able to judge what kind of woman her sister was after knowing her for mere months.

"Why do you assume I have an opinion on anything of his? No, don't even start with that 'hope' stupidity. I'll be home soon, and won't you be happy to see me."

Zelena hung up, assuming easily that the red button terminated the call. Regina always assumed, always accused. For how sympathetic her sister was to anyone with half a heart, well wasn't that irony, she was also awfully quick to judge and be sure that her assessment was correct. True, wickedness was generally easy to identify and classify. But in her own hypocritical way Zelena wished to be judged by her potential and not by her past.

The restaurant she eventually found was a small outdoor place with small red, yellow, and blue umbrellas over each table. The actually building where the food was made sat behind her, and men and women in blue polos and black aprons rushed in and out despite the late hour. Zelena found a tiny table away from any other people and quickly ordered a small plain Fettuccine Alfredo and a small lemonade. If she turned around and looked far off over Millennium Park, she could see the shadow blue, spray fringed edge of Lake Michigan. Shade fell heavily over her suit, turning the rose pink to a maroon.

She sipped the lemonade half-heartedly and made to look at the lake again. A beautiful array of colors stretched across the sky, spilling from a sunset slightly beyond her eyesight. She had never seen a sunset in her early years in Oz. Sundown was when her father expected her home and it was always a rush to get there even near time.

When she was twelve, it became harder than ever to hide her magic and working in peoples' houses was a lot more risky. But she had to work to feed her father and herself although it would have been nice if most of the money didn't slosh down into the base of a tankard. Then one day a man came into town with promises of jobs in a mine to any able bodied young man wanting to earn a little extra "dough" as he called it. He was obvious obviously not from the West. Out of work, and running out of money, Zelena had to do something.

So she grabbed a pair of her father's leather boots, the ones that made her look taller, threw on work pants, a baggy shirt, and finally a lopsided cap before joining the teenage boys carrying axes out of town. She quickly learned that whatever hard work she thought she'd been doing was nothing compared to this, this " .Labor." As the prospector put it.

She mostly kept to herself those days, refusing a drink after work for obvious reasons, and a dip in the pond with the boys for even more obvious reasons, returning home promptly before sundown with just enough money to be broke by her father's last shot glass of the night.

Zelena barely remembered what kept her going all those years. The vicious cycle of work, loss, and hauling her father's drunk body home, never really ended or changed so anyone would assume that she'd just give up. But no, her work ethic was already too ingrained and probably somewhere, deep inside herself, Zelena had hope. Maybe if she worked a little harder, tried to take the glass from her father's hand a little earlier at night, that just maybe she'd manage to save something.

Her goals were small. She didn't dream of a palace or fine clothes, both of which Regina received, but a new dress, or a sharper pickaxe. How funny, to think she wanted something that would help her work more.

Ten years and a curse later, now that twelve year old who could pass as a boy was an age-blind woman, who could watch the sun set whenever she wanted. But she wasn't here to do that. Zelena grimaced. She was on a "mission." Sent out to find, "True Love." And apparently that smart looking man she'd only just met was supposed to be able to love the Wicked Witch. She dropped her face into her hand and laughed, uncaring of how crazy she looked to the other customers. He must be quite the man. Quite the man indeed. Zelena sighed. Regina would expect her to make at least some effort.

How did humans usually meet? Zelena remembered a show she'd seen back in Storybrooke, on a particularly boring night of pretending to be a midwife. Or being a real midwife but pretending to care. In the, frankly bland, plotline, the lovers had met at work then went on enough dates that eventually they were brave enough to say "I love you." It was disgusting. Did she cry a little when the man died? No, of course not, witches don't cry…ok, maybe a little.

So a job huh? Zelena steepled her fingers. She should probably try to find one of those. Creating money by magic was one thing but without the trappings of a rich woman, extravagant spending looked suspicious. When the waiter came over to hand her the bill, a sandy haired man whose name tag said, Timothy, Zelena stopped him before he left and requested help with something. The man gave her a slight head nod. She smiled coyly, enjoying the flush that went to his ears then inquired, "Do you know of anywhere around here that is in need of new staff? I just moved into a new apartment as was looking for something to augment my income."

The young man lowered his eyes, probably a college graduate and well used to the pain of job hunting. "Well ma'am, there is one place I know of where they might be hiring. I shouldn't be telling you this but I'm friends with someone who works there and last night he let slip that there might be something huge coming up in the company and they're going to need a lot of new staff. Probably for secretary work. Is that the kind of 9-5 you're looking for?"

"It sounds perfect, what's the name of this place, Timothy?"

He looked surprised at her use of his name but a point glance at his tag prompted an easy laugh. He gestured vaguely over at a group of buildings then said, "The headquarters is somewhere over there. Marie Christine Domestic Products. You can't miss it."

Author's Note:

Omg I have been gone forever. So sorry guys. Think of this as an early Christmas present. I also would like to apologize for the shortness of this chapter but I am kind of sick right now and don't feel up to writing much more of this particular chapter which really only serves as a transition of sorts. If you do follow me as an author, you'll find I have posted many stories in other fandoms, mostly anime, and if anyone is interested, please go R&R those. Let me know what you think of this chapter and again, I am sorry for my unplanned hiatus.

-Ragingstillness