Finally a new chapter. I recently found my muse again and am writing one thing or the other pretty much every day (Uh, should be writing these term papers instead :( ). I also started going over the old chapters. I've already updated the first three but decided to give you guys a new chapter before I go on with correcting the others. I hope some of you are still reading this. If you are, be so kind and drop me a few lines. And thank you guys for all the reviews and especially private messages, asking for more of 'The perfect life'.
Happy reading, everyone,
-np

Regina was tiredly rubbing her temple when her father awoke. He was still a bit disoriented when his daughter already started attacking him with her questions.
"Did you meet Henry? How are they, are they alright? Did you hand them the letters I wrote?"
"Regina," her father mildly scolded. "Let an old man find back to his body first, will you?" Regina blushed at his words and remained quiet. But he could see how the words burned on her tongue.
He was secretly more than pleased that his daughter was so excited, that she'd found love, family and friends in the new land she'd created. He had gotten to see how much they cared for her as well and he knew he would get her back home whatever it cost. Because this, the Enchanted Forest? This was not where she belonged any longer.
He slowly sat up and looked at his daughter, only now noticing that she looked tired and was rather pale. The enchantment must've been exhausting her powers.
"Are you well darling?" he asked with concern latching his voice. "You don't look well."
"I shall be fine daddy," she replied, giving him a small smile. "Now can you tell me what happened?"
He chuckled. "Of course, I know you're itching to know how your loved ones have been faring in your absence."
"Well?" Regina asked again, getting rather impatient. She needed to know how Snow and Henry were doing.
"I met Henry," her father started with a big smile on his wrinkled face. "He is a great boy, Regina. So much like you when you were just a girl."
Regina smiled sadly at her father's words. She missed her son. He'd behaved like a spoiled brat the last weeks, even months. But nothing could ever change the fact that the boy was her little prince and she loved him to the moon and back. "How was he?" she wanted to know.
"Quite well," Henry Sr. replied with a small sigh. "But he feels guilty, thinks that the whole mess is his fault for bringing Emma to town."
It hurt Regina, hearing that her son thought he was in any way responsible for what had happened. If anyone was, it was her.
"And… Snow?"
"She misses you, Regina. Terribly." Her father looked at her with a sorrowful smile. "She loves you and wants you to come back to them, Regina. She needs you. Henry and her both do."
The raven-haired woman looked averted her gaze at his words, trying to hide the tear that had escaped her eyes.
"I miss them too, daddy," she whispered. "But it is not that easy. Me and her? We were never to be. And even though she denies it, she is still afraid of me, of the person I was. There life could be better without me. They might miss me for a few weeks but I know they will eventually get over it…"
"But Regina…" her father started but was interrupted by her cold stare.
"I am here. Alone. Just like I finally know I'm supposed to be," she stated bitterly before leaving the room.

"Marcus," Regina approached the chief of her royal guard.
"Your majesty," he greeted, curtly nodding his head. "How can I be of service?"
"I need a list with the names, deeds and determined punishments of all the prisoners currently in my dungeons. Bring it to me immediately when it's done," she ordered before making her way to the gardens to see her beloved apple tree. Maybe some fresh air would help her with the splitting headache that exerting her magic to its limits would give her. It was a shame aspirin didn't exist in the Enchanted Forest.
In the meantime her father was pacing his room, thinking of a way to get her to go to the Mourning Willow before the break of dawn. The old Regina would've jumped at the chance to meet Snow if only to kill her. But this one? This one was a tougher nut to crack. Or maybe it wasn't after all, he thought when an idea hit him.

"Regina," her father was hurrying to where she sat on a bench under her apple tree. He looked worried, she noticed.
"Daddy, is everything okay?" she asked when he came to a stop next to her, heavily leaning against the tree and sucking in deep breaths.
"I fear not," he said after finally having calmed down a little. "Your maiden Mona has fallen deathly sick with the willow fever. Only the…"
"…juice of the Mourning Willow's bark can save her," Regina completed his sentence with a worried frown. She needed to leave now if she wanted to get there in time. The Mourning Willow was deep in the Dark Forest where no magic could be used. The area had once housed the dark witch Morgana's cottage and her anti-magic wards for strangers were still surprisingly intact. She wasn't able to just teleport herself there, cut some bark and get back home within seconds. "If I ride now, I should be able to make it back by noon tomorrow. See to it that she drinks a lot of water and rests until I get back."
Her father nodded earnestly and Regina ran off towards the stables to saddle Rocinante, dressing herself in a beige pair of riding breeches, a shirt and a jacket with a flick of her wrist. There was no time to lose. The willow fever killed a few dozens of people every year in the Enchanted Forest. Mainly because no one got to the tree and back in time. One couldn't just store the bark until one needed it either. The healing powers only worked for 12 hours after cutting it off the trunk.
"Hello, Roc," Regina smiled at her loyal steed. Oh how she'd missed him. How had she ever been able to kill him? The only friend she'd ever had in the Enchanted Forest. Or rather her childhood. Later on, when her heart had already been darkened and she'd trained for a few short months with Rumpelstiltskin, she'd forged a weird friendship with Maleficent. Who was now dead as well. She grimaced as pain flooded her. She'd destroyed everything good there was ever in her life. It couldn't have been helped though. As much as she'd cherished her friend, she couldn't let her son die.
Rocinante's neighing brought her back to the present. She gently stroked his head and led him out of the box, hurriedly saddling him.
"We're going to be riding through the night, Roc," she mumbled to her beloved horse when she pulled herself into the saddle. "And we'll have to ride fast."

The next morning, it was still dark outside, Snow White found herself hesitantly dismounting her horse when she reached the Mourning Willow. It had taken her four hours to get to the old tree but there was no one yet to be seen. She softly patted Dewdrop's white fur and led her to a small spring close by. She eagerly started to drink while Snow looked around once again, wondering who she'd be meeting in the middle of the Dark Forest. Despite this place being inside the center of the Dark Forest, it was a beautiful clearing, bustling with life and greenery. She'd even seen a pair of rabbits quickly jumping into the bushes when she'd arrived. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the refreshing air and the chirping of the birds nesting in the old willow.
She wished David was here to see this but her other self had told her to come alone. She smiled, gently caressing her ever-growing belly. David and her had thrown traditions over board and shared a bed before they were married; the result was now growing inside of her thanks to Ruth's sacrifice. It was a pity that their child would have to grow up without a grandmother or grandfather.
When she heard the sound of a rider approaching, she drew in another deep breath and braced herself for what was to come. The other version of her had told her not to immediately leave upon seeing the person she was supposed to meet. If they ever met before, she assumed, they hadn't parted ways friendly.
A dark horse came into view and she saw a black-haired woman in a beautiful set of riding clothes swiftly jump of its back, approaching the tree with long quick strides and pulling a knife from her jacket.
Snow took a hesitant step in the woman's direction, accidently stepping on a small branch. It broke apart under her white boot and the woman jerked around, staring at her with wide eyes, knife firmly in her right hand.
"Snow?" she said with disbelief and Snow's mouth opened in shock.
"Regina?" she uttered, taking a step back at seeing her stepmother. She glanced at the sharp knife in her enemies eyes and cursed herself for trusting the dream. It seemed like it had just been another trap of Regina.
Regina saw the woman's eyes dart to the knife she held and quickly put it back into her jacket. She didn't want her to fear her. She looked the younger woman over. It had been a long time since she had seen her like this and many things had happened. She felt her heart flutter in her chest and her pulse soar. Even back when she was the Evil Queen, she'd always grudgingly admired the young woman's beauty. Snow looked beautiful with her long dark hair framing her face in gentle waves, her cheeks slightly flushed and her chin held high in defiance.
"Right," Regina mumbled to herself. "She thinks I'm the Evil Queen, ready to murder her."
"What was that?" Snow asked confidently, staring at her enemy. She would not go down without a fight. She knew Regina didn't possess magic here. "Another insult, I guess?"
"Uhm," Regina blushed in embarrassment and shame because this was just what her former self would've done; she had no idea what to say. Maybe she should just grab the bark and leave? The other woman looked ready to pounce though if she moved. And she would have to pull the knife out once again. Snow White would probably feel threatened and attack her. She saw the sword dangling on the woman's hip. No. Not a good idea.
Snow was watching the older woman. It seemed like she was contemplating something. It didn't explain the blush on her cheeks though or why she had put the knife away. It was also her only weapon or so it seemed after she'd checked the woman over. Why would she come unarmed?
"Snow, I…" the Evil Queen began, trying to explain herself. She knew she would not believe the truth, especially if it came from her. "I will let you go in peace," she started again, trying to convince Snow of her honest intentions. "One of my servants has fallen sick and I will leave once I've collected the bark I need for making the medicine."
Snow looked at the woman in confused wonder. Had she just heard her right? Was this another trick to lure her in false safety? The Evil Queen would never go on a long and exhausting journey like this just to save a mere servant. "What do you want, Regina?" she spit out, looking at the woman with contempt. "We both know you do not care about anyone else but yourself. Why did you trick me into coming here when you allegedly don't have the intention to end my life?"
Regina took a step back at Snow's harsh words, hitting the trunk of the tree with her back. It was hard to remember that this wasn't her Snow or that she wasn't the one she addressed with such hatred.
"I don't have anything but my word to give to you," she calmly said, looking into the green eyes she'd come to love so much. "However little that counts for you."
She turned her back to the woman, facing the tree once again. Slowly she took the knife out and cut off some bark, somewhat expecting a sword at her throat when she turned around again. And she was right.
When she turned around, the bark safely tucked into her jacket along with the knife, she found herself eye to eye with the tip of a sword.
"Tell me the real reason why you lured me out into the Dark Forest, alone," Snow demanded to know, eyes trained on Regina.
"I did no such thing!" Regina impatiently exclaimed and she felt the tip of the sword graze her neck. She'd obviously startled the other woman by talking so loud.
Snow saw a small drop of blood run down Regina's throat and quickly pulled the sword back an inch. She wasn't like her. She wouldn't kill a defenseless person, even if that person happened to be her stepmother.
"I really didn't, you have to believe me Snow," she said softer this time, her dark eyes trying to convince her.
"So you're saying you did not send me a dream of another version of me, telling me I had to be here today at the break of dawn to meet a mysterious person?" Snow said with disbelief and lightly chuckled to herself. "Frankly, I do not believe you, your majesty."
Snow whistled and a crow landed on a branch of the willow next to her.
She cautiously slid her hand in the pocket of Regina's jacket, pulling out the bark and handing it to the bird's claws, all the while still having the sword trained at the older woman.
"Take this to the Dark Palace and give it to Henry Mills," she instructed the large crow. It flew away at once, getting smaller and smaller on the horizon as it gained distance.
"Just in case not everything you said was a lie," she explained to Regina. "Not that I believe there really is someone waiting for the bark."
"Dewdrop," she called out and her horse appeared at her side. She quickly sifted through the saddlebag with her sword-free hand and finally found what she was looking for: A rope.
She put the sword down and firmly tied it around Regina's hands. 'Why does she not try to defend herself,' Snow thought with confusion. 'Is this another trick? Am I actually playing into her cards?'
She shrugged her shoulders before looking at her newly attained prisoner. "You, Regina, are coming with me."