Chapter Fifteen.

Regina had forgotten what the view was like from the Forbidden Fortress. The way it sat, you could see miles and miles. The mountains blocked the back view, but the ocean was beautiful with the setting sun dipping down, leaving darkness in its wake. It spread out like a shadow, and she remembered her first time laying eyes on it. She'd been young and angry. When she'd met Maleficent in the woods, looking up at the structure in hopes of providing distraction from her miserable life, she had mistaken her for a fairy. It hadn't been long after her introduction to Tinker Bell, so she'd been hesitant, but the blonde sorceress had been entertained by her. It hadn't been until she'd driven everyone away that she and Maleficent had grown close, though. She'd never been a teacher or mentor, but she'd been a friend. Often advice was given, born out of many years of existence, and there were times that Regina thought the elder woman did care about what happened to her. Cared a great deal, in fact. If she still did, though, it was hidden far behind the walls she'd constructed over the last thirty years in which she'd had nothing better to do than stew in her anger, reminded of the betrayal from time to time. If there was one thing that the Evil Queen regretted about her curse, it was that she'd trapped her only friend in that way. She could have just as easily wiped her memories as she had everyone else, but instead she'd let her anger betray her and she'd left Maleficent to rot, just as so many had before.

"You have some nerve showing up like this and expecting my help," the elder woman was saying. Diaval hadn't followed them in and Regina supposed she couldn't blame her old friend. The last time she'd let her little pet near the Evil Queen without a quick route of escape, it had cost her, and she did love him as a unicorn.

Regina tilted her head. "You know it's important if I was willing to reverse my entire curse."

Maleficent studied her, those blue eyes catching the fading light in a way that reminded Regina of the heritage that they never spoke of. "Why should I care if it's important to you?"

"Oh don't be petty, Maleficent. You and I both know you're little show out there was more than enough-"

"More than keeping me locked away in some strange world as a dragon? Or perhaps sending the little saviour down to try to kill me."

Reminding her that it was actually Rumple who had set it up so that Emma had to put her father's sword through Maleficent's chest would hardly encourage her cooperate. "Thirty years is nothing in your lifetime," the queen snapped back.

"Nor is the length of our friendship, apparently. Was your little bout of revenge on Snow everything that you hoped?"

So that's what it boiled down to. Maleficent was still sore over what she saw as a betrayal. It wasn't as if she hadn't undermined Regina more than a few times, but this had hit her as nothing else had. She saw it in those eyes and in the lines around her mouth that was pulled into a frown. She was cross with her, and more than that, she was hurt.

Regina pulled in a deep breath. "I can't say I regret it," she murmured slowly. Navigating truthful waters was difficult for her, but thinking of how far she'd come just recently helped, if only a little. "That curse brought my son into my life. I wouldn't give Henry up for... Well for anything. He's the one that Pan is after."

Maleficent blinked. "You found a way to fill that hole again."

"In the most unexpected of places, yes," the Evil Queen answered, surprised by the softness of her own tone.

The blonde straightened, but some of the tension relaxed even as a table and chairs appeared suddenly, knocking Regina's knees so that she sat down hard. Maleficent reached for the newly appeared tea pot and poured a cup, offering it to her old friend. "I do believe you owe me a story."

Clara - the healer that had been assigned to help them - had explained shortly after Henry and Neal had arrived that she was keeping Rumplestiltskin asleep intentionally to keep him from shifting his ankle too badly. Once he'd woken up enough to see that his son and grandson were alive and well, that had been enough for Neal and he'd settled in for the wait, explaining to Henry that it'd give his grandpa some time to recover his magic too so that he could handle his injury on his own.

His dad had a funny outlook on magic, and Henry wasn't sure he fully understood it yet. Sometimes he acted like he hated it, with a nervousness bordering on the fear brought about from deeply ingrained childhood trauma with magic as the driving force behind it, but then other times, he seemed to surface from that and think practically about it. Henry wasn't certain enough about the reasons that drove the opinions to risk bringing what had happened up to him yet. He didn't even know exactly what that had been, but if anyone would, it would be his Grandpa Gold.

That's one of the many reasons Henry volunteered to keep an eye on him when Neal went to go get their breakfast the next morning. Rumplestiltskin hadn't stirred all night, so when he did start to shift, the boy was instantly by his side. His grandpa looked like he was battling his dreams. It had been some time since Clara had been in to check on him, so whatever they were using to keep him under was obviously wearing off. Henry pulled the chair up to the side of the bed and thought carefully about what his father would do to help. Hesitantly, he took one barely trembling hand in his own smaller one. "Grandpa Gold?" he called softly.

Rumplestiltskin came out of his sleep in a rush, eyes flying open and a soft sound escaping him, as if it were just cut off. Henry waited with wide eyes until he got his bearings, and finally those same eyes flickered over to him and his grandpa seemed to ease a little. "Henry."

"Hey. How're you feeling?"

The elder man shifted, taking inventory of the hurts and pains. "I'll heal," he murmured noncommittally after a moment. His eyes fluttered closed again, and for a moment Henry thought he'd drifted again. "Where's your father?"

The question came out rough, his voice tight while waiting for the answer. Henry had seen the way that his dad and grandpa had interacted and the fear that had been there when Rumplestiltskin had woken before. It made him wonder why the elder man was so determined to be afraid and what he might know that Henry did not. "Just getting breakfast," he assured him.

Rumplestiltskin nodded tiredly and reached up, his hand coming to the side of Henry's face. "Glad you're alright," he murmured and Henry could see him fading again.

"Grandpa?"

"Hmm?"

The boy's dark eyes flickered to the door. He needed to know. If it was important that anyone else know, he shouldn't keep it from them, but if it would freak his dad out, he didn't want to do that either. "Can I ask you something?"

Heavy looking lids slid slowly back open and it took a moment for the sorcerer to focus on his grandson. When he did, his brows drew closer together. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know if it's wrong or not," Henry said softly, glancing back to the door again. "Zelena said some weird stuff when she came after me."

This seemed to catch his grandfather's attention and he blinked several times, clearing his vision and shifted, wincing as he did. The pain seemed to bring some clarity though and he took on a look that Henry had seen when he was intent on solving a problem. "Do you know why she was after you, lad?"

"I think so, but Dad knows that already and… I need to know about something I haven't told him yet."

"What would you keep from your father?"

"I… kind of think I used magic. I didn't mean to, but I was so worried about Dad and you and Gramps… It just threw her back. I didn't mean to and I -"

"Henry, slow down," Rumplestiltskin said softly, his hand returning to the side of his grandson's face and Henry hadn't realized how wound up he was getting. "It's alright."

"Dad's going to be mad, isn't he?"

This actually brought a soft chuckle from his grandfather. "Of course he won't, Henry. He won't. I'll promise you something that you'll learn for yourself someday when you become a father: your child's safety trumps everything else. He'll just be glad you're alright, no matter how it happened. But -" he winced, the sentence cut off by it and he closed his eyes briefly. Finally, he reopened them and pulled in a breath. "But it's still best you tell me what happened. Untrained magic can, in the right circumstances, do more harm than good."

Henry pulled in a deep breath and focused on what had happened. "She was going to take me with her. She said she needed me for something and that I was going to help her. All I could think about was getting to you guys and it just… hit her. It felt really warm and she started steaming."

"Light magic," his grandfather mused. "So I was right about that. I knew you had it in you, but I wouldn't have thought it would have come through so strongly. I underestimated you, Henry. You'll have to forgive me for that."

The boy gave him a crooked smile, feeling a bit of pride welling up inside of him, but it instantly faded as Zelena's words echoed in his mind. "She said something weird, even after. She said I was the product of True Love and that she didn't need Grandma Snow's baby." He felt a little sick even as he forced the question out. "What would she need with Grandma Snow's baby?"

This caught the injured sorcerer's attention. "What were the other things she said, Henry? What did she need you for?"

"I don't know for sure. She said something about my courage, my mind, and my heart."

The door opened and grandfather and grandson looked over to see Neal walking through, a tray of food in his hands and no matter how tired appeared, his face lit up a little. "Hey, Pop. How're you feeling?"

Henry watched as a slow, calculating smile crossed Rumplestiltskin's lips. "I think I know what Zelena's up to."

Everything hurt. It was like acid had rushed through her veins, pushing and shoving its way through. It made her bones ache as it settled in, refusing to release her even after she'd teleported away, and as she landed she felt the room sway a little, the floor unsteady beneath her feet.

But that was okay. That was all temporary and the brat's magic would wear off and she'd be ready next time.

"You look a bit too happy for a dark witch that just had light magic shoved down your throat by a twelve-year-old."

Zelena's eyes flickered over and she saw Pan lounging on her fainting couch - the fact that it was actually Regina's didn't seem to matter - and he wore a lazy sort of expression with a very faint smile tilting his lips. He knew she had something more than when she left. She shouldn't tell him, shouldn't trust him, but she could hardly contain herself. He had, after all, set her on the track to the boy. "It was worth the price," she said as she dusted off her dress. There wasn't any dirt there, not really, but she felt as if some had been left after the painful experience.

"Do tell," the fake-teen replied and Zelena tipped her nose up in the air.

"Henry is the product of True Love. I won't need Snow White's baby after all. I can use Henry for all of it."

"That'll take more than the one stone you managed to take from poor old King George."

"Don't say it like you actually feel anything for it."

"Why not? You pretend to be fond of me just so that you can use my powers. Your welcome, by the way, for the power boost. Are Prince Charming and my resilient grandson good and buried?"

Her expression darkened. "Rumple managed to get them out."

This caught Pan's constantly wavering attention. "Rumple was there? Why?"

The witch shrugged. "How should I know? He decided he wanted to go. He can be… difficult to predict."

As quickly as he had seemed interested, Pan drifted again, amused by a flock of birds flying right past the window. "You retrieved the stone though?"

"Of course I did."

"Well let's see it then."

"I don't have it yet. I sent one of my pets after it."

Pan snorted, but Zelena only smiled as a monkey came screeching through the open balcony window and landed in front of her. "What a good pet," she praised. "Did you bring me what I asked for?"

"Which one is it?" her accomplice asked as he finally roused from his reclined position.

"The pirate. I thought he'd be a proper thief, and it turns out that I was right," Zelena mused as Hook handed her the stone, bowed, and was off to go about whatever her monkeys did when she had nothing better for them to do. She turned it over several times in her hand and she touched the smooth surface. This had been the Witch of the North's pendant. When the former Witch of the West had taken the stone from George, she'd immediately felt the telltale signs of her magic radiating from it, even if the life of its owner had been cut short. That pendant's magic had been steeped in wisdom, and the moment she'd laid hands on it she could feel that it would amplify that requirement for her spell.

Her fingers traced over this one now and she could feel the power radiating off of it, but there was something different. "There are four stones," she explained, feeling Pan's eyes on her. "The one we collected earlier is wisdom, and this one… This one should be courage."

"Should be?"

Zelena turned it over in her fingers again. Everything felt normal when it came to the power, but there was something… just slightly off. If she hadn't had one of her own, if she weren't so very well acquainted with the way the stones harnessed their magic, and if she hadn't seen the absolute courage in the elder witch's eyes as she'd plucked her heart from her chest and crushed it, Zelena would never have known, but there was something lacking. "Rumple," she growled out suddenly, feeling rage build up within her.

Pan chuckled. "Had the stones been swapped, he might have pulled it off, but as it stands, the village coward can't seem to pull together enough to provide that level of courage."

"The pirate-"

"Is not a problem. He's a fool that can be handled later. What we need to do is to teach my son a lesson."

His tone was light, but Zelena heard the darkness behind them. The need for vengeance worked its way through her system as surely as Henry Mills' magic had. Perhaps deeper. "And what do you have in mind?"

Pan grinned toothily. "I think it's past time that we pay Belle a visit."

"Who's Belle?"

"The little flower that broke his curse, of course."

Zelena felt her lips stretch into a smile. "So that's her name. I agree, we have been rather rude. My dears," she called out to several of her monkeys that were lingering nearby. "Find me this Belle and we'll pay her a little visit."

"I'm going in there."

"No," Belle answered quickly, reaching out and grabbing for Emma's wrist if for no other reason than she knew the blonde was being entirely serious. She was just as upset at being left out to wait as Emma was, but they had to look at the bigger picture. They'd been sent here to mend fences, and while she thought that being left in Maleficent's Great Hall for hours on end was terrible on the sorceress' part, this was most certainly not the worst thing that could have happened in coming to this place. She was sure they'd both dozed at various points, long ago having given up and taken a seat on the steps leading up to the throne, but they'd received no restful sleep that night and the two sorceresses were still behind the closed door.

This wasn't the first time that Emma had stood, declaring that she had had enough, but Belle wagered to was the rising sun that was just barely clawing its way over the horizon that had set her on it again. This time she didn't let Belle pull her back down. "They've been in there for hours. If I wasn't going to be stiff and sore from yesterday's magic lessons, then making me sleep on a set of marble stairs is doing the trick." She tugged her wrist loose and started for the door. "I don't care if-"

It opened as she was posed to enter mid-rant and Regina glared at her and sent her skidding out of their way with a flicker of her hand. She turned her dark eyes to Belle who was standing a few feet away. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"She means I've promised not to side with her wicked sister," Maleficent said with false sweetness. "Though I have a stipulation."

"What is that?"

A smile stretched the blonde's lips. "I'll speak to Rumple directly about all of this."

"He's tied up at the moment."

"Yes, but he'll be back," Maleficent said as she strode past Belle, her deep purple dress flowing all around her in an unnatural way. She reminded the younger woman a bit of what she'd read about sirens, and not for the first time since arriving the night before she wondered what sort of relationship she had had with Rumplestiltskin. "I don't mind waiting."

"At the Dark Castle?" Belle managed.

"Where else? It'll also give me a chance to meet Henry."

"Gold is kind of picky over who he lets in," Emma murmured.

"Gold? What a clever nickname. Do you have trouble pronouncing it in full, little saviour? Most of us just call him Rumple."

Belle stared, the words never quite making it to her lips that very few people, actually, managed to call him Rumple and get away with it. She'd heard Snow call him by his nickname only once to his face and had never heard her try again after the look she received.

"You can let her in, Belle," Regina put in and glanced back at her friend. "The castle listens to her."

"Does it now?" Maleficent purred.

Belle watched them carefully. Rumple was most certainly overrun with visitors, but it this was her price it hardly seemed too high. He would be irritated, but in the end it did seem to be the best decision she had in front of her, and it wasn't like she could pick up the phone and call him. He trusted her to make the right decision, and now she had to have faith in herself that she would.

"They should be back today anyway. You shouldn't have to wait too long."

Maleficent smiled and reached her arm up. The unicorn that had been snoozing in a corner woke, and as he moved towards her he transformed back into a raven and settled on her outstretched arm. "Splendid. Shall we then, Regina? If I take us, the castle will toss me three kingdoms away."

Belle felt magic gather around them and they were picked up from the fortress. Regina's teleportation magic, from what Belle knew if it, was fairly advanced and smooth, so when they jolted off their path she thought maybe exhaustion was the culprit. They had, after all, been up all night.

They landed hard and even Emma seemed to know something was wrong with it. Belle watched the two sorceresses and the princess pick themselves up and look around. They were in the forest that wove through the Forbidden Mountain and linked to Sherwood Forest down the other side. Belle had opened her mouth to ask what had happened when a laugh echoed around them, no one attached to it that could be seen.

Regina froze, brows knit together and lips pulled down. "Come on out, Zelena. We don't have time for your games."

"Don't be such a spoilsport," a new voice said, but this one Belle recognised. Pan swooped down, laughing like the child he appeared to be. He came in close to Emma, toying with her, and barely missed the fireball that Regina threw his way. He landed on a tree branch, head tilted to the side and studying her.

"The next one won't miss," the Evil Queen promised.

"Now now, sis," Zelena chuckled as her magic wrapped around each of them, holding them in place. "We're not even here about you. Wait your turn."

Belle risked a glance back and they were all caught, even Maleficent by the looks of it. Emma was struggling against it uselessly, her eyes burning with rage as Pan floated back down to the ground, grinning like mad. "Hello, savior," he greeted cheerfully. "How's my great-grandson?"

"You're not getting near Henry," Emma snarled.

"We'll see about that. He may have some uses yet."

Belle's eyes darted forward when she felt the shift and the green skinned witch was standing right in front of her wearing a firm pout on her painted lips. They were dealing with children. Two incredibly powerful children with the ability to turn their tantrums into life-threatening situations for those that opposed them.

"So you're Belle?" Zelena asked sourly. "You're the one that broke Rumple's curse when he came through?" If she could have, Belle would have stiffened as the elder woman leaned in, studying her closely. "You're not much, are you?"

"You don't know anything about me," Belle answered steadily, meeting Zelena's gaze.

The pout turned into a smile. "This little one is brave," she directed at Pan.

"Something that Rumple has always lacked," Pan mused as he floated upward, sitting with his legs crossed midair as if he were merely proving that he could.

"And it cost him this time," Zelena agreed, reaching out to toy with Belle's hair. "Dearly."

Belle turned her glare in Pan's direction. "Rumplestiltskin is one of the bravest men I've ever met. He doesn't lack courage when it counts. Not anymore. You don't know him at all."

Pan rocked back, never touching the ground as he started laughing. "He couldn't even face me without his magic! You didn't see him quivering on the floor like a frightened babe before he got the cuff off."

"You won't face him without yours either, but he'll beat you even without his curse," Belle snapped back, determination in her eyes. "He chose to break it. He's not afraid of you. Either of you, and he will win."

That stopped the laughter and Pan straightened, coming to land on the ground and he glared at her. Zelena snarled and reached out for her as if she'd wrap her hand around the younger woman's neck. Belle kept the knowing smile from her lips, simply staring at her as she reached. She didn't have to be able to See the future to know that the protection Rumple had left her with was good.

Power slammed into the Wicked Witch, sending her flying until a tree stopped her. A loud cracking sound resignated through the forest and she was gone, though if she'd left of her own free will or if Rumplestiltskin's magic had sent her away to keep Belle safe, none of them knew. Maleficent took a step forward, and with a flicker of her hand the rest of them were released as she turned a playful smile in Pan's direction. "Run along."

He met her gaze and returned the smile. "Is that your answer?"

"That's my answer," the Mistress of All Evil responded with a pleasant smile.

Pan shrugged. "Have to keep the game interesting."

They watched him go and Maleficent turned her blue gaze towards Belle. "What did she mean that you were the one to break Rumple's curse?"

Belle straightened. "He's no longer the Dark One. Rumple kissed me when we got home and it broke his curse."

Maleficent studied her for a moment, all playfulness gone. "You're quite a bit more than you seem, aren't you?"

"I suppose that depends on what I seem to you," Belle answered with a smile, but then her expression turned serious as she looked back at Regina. "Did that seem to easy to you?"

The Evil Queen blinked and took a step forward. She reached a hand out and stopped midway. "I'm checking for something," she explained, as if she wondered if the necklace might simply react if Belle felt threatened. When the younger woman nodded, she continued in her search and Belle could feel bits of magic searching over her. "There."

"There what?"

"Maybe you are as clever as Rumple seems to think you are," Regina mused, turning back towards Maleficent. "A tracking spell."

"Hmm. Designed to let Zelena through the wards. Interesting. Do you need help dismantling it?"

Regina snorted. "Just because I don't like to pull spells apart doesn't mean I'm incapable. I can handle my sister's magic."

A weight that Belle hadn't been sure was there lifted as Regina's magic disentangled the spell from her and there was a soft sound of it unraveling and dissipating into the air, the pieces of the spell separated and useless. "Thank you."

"Let's just get out of here before anything else tries to jump out and stop us," Emma groused and magic swirled around them before anyone had time to agree aloud.

TBC

Notes:

Next time - Regina saves Robin from Maleficent in an unexpected way and Rumplestiltskin and the others return to the Dark Castle.