Since this next chapter's getting quite long, I decided to split it in two and give you a more timely and reasonably sized update. There's a long-overdue encounter in store in this part, and some Outlaw Queen cooperation as well (and more of that in the next chapter!). Thanks for sticking around, and enjoy!

Robin's fingers tingled over the blade behind his belt. His eyes darted from tree to tree, watching for enemies. Regina seemed unperturbed, but was also scanning the landscape for something.

"Over there," she muttered, more to herself than him, and a smug smile played on her lips as she set out towards a large moss-covered boulder.

Robin followed, doubling his watch - if the Witch knew about the passage, the danger was bigger here than anywhere. Ever scanning the greenery, he strove to keep Regina in sight, too. With the simplest gesture, she stood before the rock, and Robin's head turned when the boulder rose gently, travelled through the air, and settled on the ground feet away. A shiver ran down his spine, as it was often the case in the presence of magic. He shook off the sensations creeping up on him. Thoughts of stolen magic wands and dear Marion would certainly do them no good now.

He stared hard into the dark mouth of the tunnel. Thank goodness he had a torch ready - otherwise no doubt Regina would take care of that with magic, too. But she wasn't squeamish about the gaping darkness, and descended first without looking back.

The passage was in good shape, with very few minor cavings along the way. Perhaps this was magically enhanced somehow. Regina pushed forward.

"Has anyone been through here?" She had suggested before that she, unlike him, could sense magical traps, so if there had been any intruders, maybe she'd notice.

"Everything seems to be the same," she replied. That didn't precisely answer his question, which made concern rise in him. He gripped the dagger tighter. How foolish of him, really, since that would hardly be much use against a magical foe. But better this than nothing - he certainly wasn't one to scare easily or just give up.

"I've been thinking," she turned to him abruptly. "Before you dismiss it, listen to me first."

"What is it?" It sounded as though what she was going to say wouldn't be to his liking.

"Maybe I should go get Roland by myself." Judging by the earnest look she was giving him, she really meant it, and clearly she had concerns about his reaction.

Well, she was damn right about that.

"You can't be serious," he said.

She wasn't giving up so easily, though. "You can watch the passage. That way you won't have to put up with my magic," she reasoned, and her voice caught for a moment, "and Roland won't be at risk of losing his father in the skirmish."

Was she really actually worrying about this? Robin himself entertained the thought much too often - Roland had already lost his mother, and putting himself in danger repeatedly during his banditry had often been cause for concern to Robin. But Regina was different, her concern was…well, touching, frankly.

"Regina, I appreciate the thought, I really do. But this won't do."

She sighed. "I knew you'd say that. You know, I could just bind you here magically until I come back."

There was no threat in her words, though.

"But you won't," he said and watched her carefully.

"No." She gave a humourless laugh. "You'd probably kill yourself before you gave up trying to get away. I know that's what I'd do if it were my son."

She ran through the words smoothly enough, but it had cost her a huge effort, and Robin was almost overcome by an urge to reach out to her. His heart broke at the thought of how difficult this had to be for Regina. This mission to save his son was a constant reminder of her own child, who was lost to her forever.

"You're right, I would," he managed finally. This wasn't a good time for heart-to-hearts, and what could he have said to make her feel any better anyway?

They soon came across one of the traps Regina had talked about before, perhaps not a magical one but deadly all the same: a minefield of sorts, and a slightly rusty crushing device that looked macabre enough without magical enhancement. Then they found themselves at the end of the passage and facing an open door.

"This can't be," Regina blurted.

That was when Robin's mind clicked.

"Is this the door you sealed with blood magic?"

"Yes! Only I can get through, no one else."

"Well, someone must have." This was most disturbing. If the Witch could do things even Regina thought impossible, they were in more trouble than they'd anticipated.

"But that's impossible," she insisted, "my whole family are dead, it just doesn't make sense."

"There must be an explanation…" Not one he could provide, and understandable though her agitation was, denial wasn't helping. "Either way, this Witch seems like a formidable foe, and more so by the minute."

"No one gets away with this." She balled her fist, and the dangerous glare he had seen before returned to her eyes. She marched through the door, and for a moment Robin didn't breathe - what if there was a new enchantment in place she overlooked in her distress? But she passed without problems, and he after her.

They entered a crypt of sorts, with shelves piled high all the way to the ceiling, and boxes lining them - heart boxes. Robin shivered.

"Shall we go?" Regina said pointedly, gesturing at the exit.

"Of course."

"Wait..." she held out a hand to stop him just as he was about to slip past her and through the door. "If I get to Roland first, he needs to know he's not to fear me. Is there anything…?"

"A safe word?" She nodded. Of course she'd know about safe words - she had a son, too. "You won't need one. He'll know."

His answer startled her, and she looked back at him with a curious expression on her face. Her puzzlement was hardly surprising, since his response had been unplanned. Yet it still felt true. Roland would be fine once either him or Regina or both got to him.

The hallway was dark and sombre, but no enemy was in sight. Things were going well so far - maybe too well? He had barely made three steps when he gasped in pain and grasped his foot. Regina appeared beside him, ready for battle, but no attack came. Robin pulled a jagged shard of glass from the sole of his boot. Dozens of fragments of all shapes and sizes lay strewn across the hallway, shimmering grimly, reflecting pieces of the walls.

"Damn bitch," Regina spat through gritted teeth.

Robin followed her eyes and groaned inwardly: there was a dark red heart lying inconveniently among the sharp-edged remnants of the mirror.

Whose heart was it? Why had it been placed there? Evidence was piling up fast to suggest the Witch was plotting something, and all her little hints had been aimed at Regina. Clearly this was a trap if he'd ever seen one.

"Regi-"

"The dungeons are that way. I need to take care of this first."

"Can't you see this is a trap? This Witch has it in for you!" He couldn't, wouldn't let her rush headlong into some horrid ambush.

"I know," she said simply. Her face darkened as she continued: "And I intend to give her just what she wants - for now, at least."

Surely she couldn't mean that. He opened his mouth to protest, but she silenced him before he had a chance to speak.

"No time to argue. Now go get your son, I'll be there shortly. This won't last long."

Roland. Roland needed him. He was defenseless. Regina, on the other hand… As he looked on, she picked up the heart from the bed of shards, and cleared a path in the debris with a casual wave of her hand.

"Regina."

She turned, annoyance clear on her face, and her eyes flared. Before she could let out a retort, he said:

"Be careful."

Her features relaxed, and she nodded with a strange glimmer in her eyes.

Robin turned and rushed away the way she had indicated to him. Finally he would get his son back to safety.

By the time she reached her chamber, Regina had worked up quite the rage. Anger had always been a good place to go from when it came to fuelling her magic, and the Witch's excesses made it superbly easy to sustain the rage. What was she thinking? Who was the Witch to assume she could just throw pieces of Regina's past in her face?

The heart beat away in her hand in rhythm with her heels click-clacking against the marble floor. She burst into the chamber in full stride.

"Enough with the games," she thunder at the room at large. "What do you want?"

"Not so fast, dear. Introductions first."

A figure that hadn't been there before now rose from behind Regina's old dressing table and turned to face her. Flaming red hair contrasted sharply with her skin - green skin. Great. But that wasn't all: the impudent bitch was wearing one of Regina's dresses.

"The name's Zelena.

"Forgive me if I don't bother to even pretend to be charmed."

Regina's fingers twitched around the heart. She needed to control herself -it wasn't really the heart they yearned to squeeze, more so the wretched Witch's neck. But that wasn't why she was here now, and moreover, if she succeeded, she'd never know why all this nasty mess had been for.

The Witch smirked at the sight of the nervous twitch, and Regina felt the heart in her hand disappear and reappear in the Witch's. A trickle of ashes issued from her closed fist; the Witch didn't even blink an eye, but kept them fixed on Regina as she squeezed the life out of some unlucky victim.

"Just your old friend, the Cyclops," she shrugged, and smoothed down her dress - Regina's dress. "It looks good on me, doesn't it?" she ran a hand along her hip. "I was beginning to think you might not come," she said as she strolled casually around the chamber. "It almost made me feel…neglected." If it was supposed to be a jibe, it had come somewhat short - something had actually shifted in the Witch's eyes at the words. Perhaps the Witch was telling Regina more than she was intending to, if Regina only paid attention… "Perhaps you were just afraid," the Witch sang inches from Regina's ear.

"Afraid. Of you?" Regina threw back her head and laughed.

"Ah, but you don't know who I am." The Witch stepped towards her abruptly, sticking her sickly green face close to Regina's - so close they were almost nose to nose. Regina didn't flinch. I believe you just introduced yourself. Not that it was needed, the green skin was quite a giveaway. The Witch's identity didn't, however, explain why she'd been targeting Regina specifically, and most of all, how in the hell she knew about things from her past no one was supposed to know. "Perhaps I am to be feared. You'd be wise to," the Witch spat.

Regina didn't scare easily, but those little things the Witch had used against her before managed to get under her skin. It was maddening, really, and - yes - scary. Regina balled her fists. She wouldn't make it easy on this shameless intruder. She might have her clothes and her palace, but Regina'd have something to say about it first.

A mighty crash resounded from somewhere beneath them, and the floor shook under Regina's feet. Damn. Either Robin had learnt some ready-to-go magic, or he was in serious trouble. She should be heading down to help, or else he'd probably meet his end sooner than he'd care to. And there was Roland down there, and who knew how many other children. She needed to focus now, not let her anger cloud her judgment. The Witch seemed hellbent on torturing her anyway, so the showdown wasn't probably going anywhere.

"Look," Regina said with her chin stuck up, "I'm fairly certain we've never met, so what you have against me is beyond me." The Witch scoffed, but no matter how curious Regina was, she didn't have time for her deranged explanations now. "But these children have done you no harm, and they're coming out of here now."

Strange - the Witch didn't seem in the least bothered. Perhaps all of this, including the abductions, had just been a ruse?

"See, that's a funny little story," the Witch resumed pacing in circles around Regina.

Regina refused to follow her movements, never turned or craned her neck, but discreetly made sure she stayed remotely within line of sight. It wasn't clever, perhaps - she was actually putting herself at risk - but it was dignified, and showed the Witch wasn't in control as much as she'd have liked to. Of course, some might have said Regina was just letting her pride triumph over reason…but those people weren't there to judge her anyway.

"Apparently, a child should vanquish me." A small laughter escaped the Witch's lips. Not again. Hadn't Rumple been enough? "There's a children's books somewhere that says so, did you know that?" Of course Regina bloody knew that, everyone in Storybrooke must have read about the Wicked Witch of the West. "A children's book would say that, of course - it would always say a child."

This was getting ridiculous, clearly the woman was crazy. There was no time to spare for her lunatic babble.

"I don't care," she cut in, stressing each syllable. "We're freeing these children, and making sure you never get anywhere close to them ever again."

"Ah, but I don't care anymore," the Witch scoffed. "Who I'm looking for might not even be a child anymore. Irrelevant, really. I'm looking for a different kind of solution now that you're here - dear."

"Why me?" Regina couldn't suppress.

"You really have no idea, do you?" The superior tone, the jeer, and above all the fact that it had succeeded in making her feel small for a second all contributed to Regina's animosity towards this Witch growing by the second.

"What do you want?" she growled.

"Simple. I'm going to take everything away from you." The accursed greenie didn't move a muscle as she uttered the cold threat.

It might have discomfited her once, but now Regina just felt the hollow place in her heart come to life with renewed pain.

"Too late," she replied, fighting the urge to clutch her chest. "I already have nothing left." Henry, her raison d'etre, was gone forever. So was the life she had tried to build up from scratch in Storybrooke - and failed, to a large extent, but still she would have preferred that life to the Enchanted Forest.

The Witch's face distorted into a grimace. "Oh, but you're wrong. How very silly of you to wallow in self-pity, when you've had everything…" Everything? When on earth had Regina had everything? Not once - that was exactly why she'd cast the Dark Curse. Somewhere behind Regina's indignation and bitterness, the reality of the Witch's utterance dawned on her: the Witch was jealous. Of what? Despite time being short, Regina would have asked, but the Witch spoke again.

"You have more now than before you cast the Curse. You'll see."

That was a threat if Regina had ever heard one. It was her turn now to stroll to the Witch and spit a retort in her face - and she made sure it contained every ounce of contempt and fighting spirit she had in her.

"Bring it."

Oh, what she wouldn't give to wipe that smug smile off that irritating green face. But now was not the time.

That they seemed to agree on at least, for the Witch waved her hand in the air and hopped on the magically summoned broom. How utterly unoriginal. Regina didn't bother stopping her. If the Witch was fleeing the palace, so much better for them. If Regina's suspicions were right, she wouldn't have to look for the bitch later - the Witch would find her.

"Oh, one thing," the irritatingly stoic voice rebounded from the ceiling as the broom headed for the window. "That handsome thief you have with you is most likely in some rather nasty trouble by now. You might want to…ah, give him a hand - sis. Unless you wish the fate of your dear late husband on him, of course."

Shards of glass and chipped stone flew out of her way as she stormed through the hallways of the palace towards the dungeons. Robin had gotten far enough, for she hadn't come across him yet, but she'd met no enchantments on the way either. That was strange - the Witch leaving a clear path unobstructed by magic or other protective means. Robin had been right, this was highly suspicious. Hopefully, he'd been clever enough to proceed with care.

The Witch's words rang in Regina's ears: the fate of your dear late husband… What the hell was that about? What did Robin have to do with any of that? Yet the words gave her a chill, and she hurried down the stairs, blasting an enchanted suit of armour out of her way - her own enchantment, not the Witch's, and Robin seemed to have gotten through this one well enough on his own.

The door to the antechamber stood closed before her. That was peculiar - why would he bother closing it behind him? Regina's senses tingled. The antechamber was directly beneath her chamber - it had to be where she'd heard the crash from. She tried the door - it was sealed by magic. Blood magic. Damn!

"Robin?" she called half-heartedly. Which would be the better sign: an answer, or no answer?

"I'm in here," came his muffled voice. It sounded calm enough, and relief washed over her strained nerves momentarily - he was alright, at least for now. "I could do with some help." Calm, but also forced. What on earth was in there?

"I can't get through," she cried in frustration. "It's blood ma-"

The Witch had found a way to get through Regina's blood magic. Regina had to at least attempt to outdo the Witch's. A shred of their conversation floated to the surface of Regina's mind: sis. She dismissed it immediately - a word only, but it made no sense whatsoever, so why go there?

She raised her hand and prodded the door with a finger - if it was supposed to work, it would be enough.

The door yielded to her touch.

Regina gasped. Blood magic wasn't supposed to work this way, what the hell was going on?

A low hissing sound reached her ears. An indistinct sense of alarm came to life within her, sending shivers down her spine.

"Regina…?" Robin's voice came from the dark. The torch must have gone out by some accident.

Regina conjured a fireball and peered into the room.

Her blood curdled at the sight.

Robin stood with his back against the wall, sword in hand, but it wasn't doing him much good.

A pit of snakes covered the floor, coiling and uncoiling, hissing aggressively at the intrusion of light, baring their venom-filled fangs.

Regina moaned. Had Robin been bitten yet? Fool! Of course not - if he had, he'd be dead by now. The venom worked within seconds - she knew that better than most. She'd used it before, precisely because it was so fast-acting. Damn witch! But how hadn't the vipers attacked yet? Just then, a golden beast shot forward, attacking Robin's calf with its fangs at the ready. Robin fought back, sending the snake flying with the blade of his sword. The hissing grew louder - the vipers were mad. She had to act fast. It was a miracle already she hadn't come too late.

Regina commanded her emotional turmoil to peace - she needed to focus. One bad move could cost them both their lives.

Triangular heads rose and beady eyes stared into the shadows. There were too many to transfigure fast enough, and most spells she would normally use would provoke them to attack. Think. What were they? Vipers. Agrabah vipers. Nocturnal animals. Desert dwellers.

Regina's hands rose in the air, and as they did, a slight breeze rose with them, bringing with it a spray of fine sand. The hiss of the snakes had died out as the wind grew into a strong gale. Grains of sand floated on the air until they were thrown against the walls of the antechamber by a blast of air. The storm died out eventually, gently laying the remaining sand on top of the newly formed, smooth sandy dune in the corner opposite to Robin.

The larger part of the viper nest was now covered in sand. A pair of eyes stared out here and there, invisible to all but those who looked carefully enough. Without a moment's hesitation, Regina summoned one of her trusty fireballs. Bright and larger by the second, it illuminated the room and sent half a dozen snakes into hiding in the sand-hill.

A handful proved more vicious and tenacious, however, and, backing away from the light, inched ever closer to Robin, their venomous fangs at the ready. Robin brandished his sword and struck - one of the vipers coiled helplessly onto the stone floor, its head severed from the body. But there were too many for him to handle. Another pair reared to attack. Regina threw. Fire spilled onto the floor, forming a wall between Robing and the snakes, sending them into rapid retreat. With a quick wave of her hand, Regina smothered the flames. Another flick, and the sand dune disappeared, and its dwellers with it.

Robin stepped away from the wall, his relief obvious. No wonder - he had to be aware what danger he'd just pulled through. "That was close. Good thinking…nice handiwork. Thank you."

Was he really complimenting her magic? He hated it, after all. Well, maybe the circumstances made him appreciate it for once. Hopefully she didn't look too smug. Probably not - the scene had frozen even her blood. The mental image of the den of snakes still made her head spin. Unless you wish the fate of your dear late husband on him… How could she possibly know, and why…?

"Are you alright?" he stepped towards her. "The Witch…?"

"Oh, we met. And we shall meet again." That much was clear, if not the whys and hows.

They had more important matters to deal with for the moment: if Robin had been trapped like this, what fate could the children have met? No child should be subjected to this kind of horrors. This Witch had better not made a mistake like that, or Regina would make her wish she'd never started with her in the first place.

"Now let's get your son."