A/N: I wasn't overly fond of the other theme days, so I've waited for one of the official un-themed days to post again. The last chapter shall be posted tomorrow.


At Red's pleas for caution, the band of Snow's rebels journeys to a further camp than had originally been planned. Snow is solemn, and Red breathes a little easier when they're tucked safely away in a familiar clearing.

Red is first to the caverns just on the edge of where camp will be set up. The excitement of familiar scents, though faint and almost nonexistent, are enough to settle her roiling stomach after their close call earlier in the day. Her tongue lolls out as she grins up at some scratches high on the innermost cave wall.

Her proud mother Anita had howled half the night away the day Red's reach had surpassed her own. Even for a were, Red is considered large in her wolf skin. It has served her well in protecting her pack.

Mostly.

She's back in her human skin by the time someone else enters the caverns. Red's fingertips linger over what she knows are her mother's marks. She clenches her jaw and turns away.

"Oddly emotional for a few scratches on the wall," Regina quips once Red's facing her.

Red's lips purse. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm not allowed to help, so," Regina shrugs and lifts a hand to flick backward.

The feigned disinterest doesn't work on Red. "So you thought you'd follow me?"

"Something like that." Regina shrugs again.

Red sighs. She doesn't want to be irritated with Regina - it had been Regina who'd called out a warning just moments before the earlier ambush - but it's rather difficult with her current high emotions.

Just as Red is about to stalk away from Regina, Regina speaks.

"I actually came here to say...that I'm pleased you heeded my warning."

"Is that a thank you?" Red turns on her heels, her eyebrows arched in surprise.

Regina's eyes narrow. "I should thank you for not being a moron? Hm, well, I suppose that is a feat for one of Snow's crowd."

Red almost growls. She paces forward a few steps. "We've been over this before, Regina. No one's forcing you to be here, especially if you hate Snow so much. We've done fine on our own long enough.

She clenches her fists. It's not her place to banish Regina from camp, but Red's hackles are up and she can't fathom Regina's presence - despite Regina's timely help earlier in the day.

Regina's expression morphs from indifference to rage in a heartbeat. "Is that what you think? Tell me, Red, has Snow told you of the night she escaped my mother's royal massacre?"

Red's anger falters, her confusion keeping the fact that Regina's used her name from registering. "Yes. I found her in the woods scarcely a few nights later."

"Perfect," Regina grinds out with a fierce smile. "That night, what did you think when you saw her?"

The memory returns quickly, the distinctive and important night one that Red could never forget. She'd been fourteen, with her mother's encouragements ringing in her ears. "I thought Snow was lucky to have survived that long," Red says honestly.

She tilts her head. Snow had definitely been a product of her princess upbringing, but time spent with Red's pack had turned Snow into a formidable young woman.

"Lucky? Something like that. Her luck has always been better than mine," Regina murmurs.

There's a strange glint in her eye that unsettles Red.

"The night I was to marry her pig of a father, I gave Snow a trinket. One of her mother's necklaces I'd had mended. It was no ordinary trinket when I finished with it." Regina begins pacing, her eyes almost feverishly intent on Red's face. "Did you really think a brat like her could escape my mother's melee on pure luck? Or survive the woods long enough to find her way to you?"

Red swallows, uneasy. Snow still wears her mother's necklace. "What did you do to it?"

Purple flares in Regina's eyes, bright and oddly luminescent in the cavern interior as she draws closer to Red. "Enchanted it so that no man or creature that bore her ill will could stand to move within a few paces of her. Your fairy friends will tell you that such enchantments work well for the children pure of heart; an easy feat for Snow, who was raised like the princess she was."

"I don't understand. You hate Snow, everyone knows that." Red takes a step backward when Regina moves closer. It's automatic, a response to the magic crackling in the air. It isn't its normal pleasant apple scent.

Regina stops, a soft smile on her face. "You're right, I do hate her." She sobers and raises her chin. "But she was scarcely twelve years of age. Say what you will about me, but I've never enjoyed taking the lives of children."

"That didn't seem to slow you down much over the years." The response is automatic, and perhaps one might come to regret later. She isn't certain what bodies can be linked to Regina's name, but Seaton and other incidences come to mind. Whatever Regina's intent has been over the years, there have been more than a few innocent casualties.

She thinks Regina will be furious, and half expects to be translocated into a fiery pit or some other such place.

Instead, Regina only becomes quiet. She looks up at Red. "You're right."

The words echo hollowly in the cave long after the violet smoke of Regina's magic has dispersed. Red is left staring at the empty space that Regina had recently occupied. She should feel triumphant, she supposes.

She takes a last look at the marks on the cave wall before exiting, her stomach feeling twisted into knots.


"I can't believe it," Snow says some hours later as she holds her mother's necklace up. The golden chain is pinched between her index and thumb, as both she and Red stare at the circle medallion. The rose in the middle is made from fine ruby and emerald chips, but that's not why they're staring.

"Believe it," Tinker Bell insists softly. She shakes her head a small smile on her face. "Regina saved you that night."

There's a lump in Red's throat - at least that's how it feels when she tries to swallow. Tinker Bell's awe makes her uncomfortable, or perhaps it's the edges of guilt licking away at the edges of her mind. She hadn't said anything wrong earlier. Regina has done terrible things over the years, and those things can't be ignored.

But…

Red wonders how many more quiet deeds, how many more quiet attempts Regina has made to soften the blows of her mother's rampage. Regina is famous for her curses, and the people had thought her cruel to leave so many of her victims alive in such states; sleeping curses, stolen voices, stone hexes, and more that Red wouldn't know how to name.

"I've often wondered about her," Tinker Bell says as she looks away. "I still remember her wishes from when she was a child."

The forlorn intonation makes Red's head jerk up, the movement drawing the fairy's attention.

Tinker Bell flushes. "But, that was long ago. Blue says we're not to speak of such things." She looks anxiously around the tent. "It would probably be best if we didn't tell her about this. She doesn't trust Regina."

Snow looks like she wants to disagree, so Red speaks first. "Of course, Tink. Thanks for having a look."

Tinker Bell smiles and nods, returning to her small form and exiting the tent quickly.

"Perhaps," Snow says slowly, "Regina is more of an ally than I've considered."

"She does hate you, Snow," Red affirms with a wry twist of her lips.

"I know, but Regina was infallibly kind when we first met. It was always Cora that was cruel - never Regina. I wonder how much of a choice she had in all of this. She was only sixteen when she was to marry my father."

Red sucks in a surprised breath. Based on Regina's appearance, she'd known that Regina couldn't have been more than nineteen when she was to marry Leopold, but sixteen? Though the nobility of the seven kingdoms often arrange such marriages, such relationships are uncommon amongst the people. Red couldn't imagine marrying someone older than her own parents, especially someone she didn't love.

Snow gives her a sad smile. "I know, but I didn't think of it then. I only thought of how lovely and sweet Regina was. The thought of having her live with us was just so...perfect."

"My lady!" a young voice shouts just a moment before the tent flap is unceremoniously jerked back.

"My lady," the voice repeats. "Snow, there's something amiss."

All traces of softness leave Snow's face, an air of command settling around her. "What is it, Hansel?"

The boy swallows, his chest heaving as he wipes at his brow. It's obvious he's been running. "Lady Snow, some of the soldiers have run off. I heard Basil and his friends talking all upset earlier, but I didn't think nothin' of it. I think they've gone off to stir trouble, Lady."

Red and Snow share a look. Though they'd been lucky with the ambush earlier, they hadn't gotten away totally unscathed. Basil's best friend had fallen in battle.

"How long have they been gone?" Snow asks, worry creeping into her voice.

"I'm not sure," Hansel says with a shaking head, "but no one saw 'em helping set up camp."

Snow frowns. "Is that all?"

Hansel hesitates, his throat working. "Well, there's another thing, Lady."

"What is it?" Red prompts.

"The witch, I think she's gone off after 'em." Hansel is pale and uneasy, wringing the hem of his tunic in his hands.

"Horse dung," Snow says, turning away and beginning to pace.

Red is storming from the tent a moment later. "I'll find them," she says sharply over her shoulder just before the flap closes behind her. She's in her wolf skin long before she reaches the edge of camp, uncaring that her transformation might make the others at the camp uneasy.

She's got foolish boys to catch, and an equally foolish witch to find.

Regina, she thinks with a low growl.