Regina opened her eyes and squinted into the light. She sat up and stretched, letting a breathy moan escape her lips. She felt cranky, but what she could expect after sleeping in worse conditions than any peasant. She lifted her eyes to the sun and tried to guess the time. She didn't know approximately, but it was late morning. She was surprised how she could stay asleep for so long, she never did. Maybe crying herself to sleep last night was at least partly the reason.

She had known she cared for Emma. She thought about how it hurt to see her disappear and how empty it felt. She had expected this journey not to be easy, but this was hard. Emma not remembering her and looking at her with that ordinary look, which showed no special emotion, that was crushing.

Regina got up and cleared herself from the dust and dirt. Then she covered her shelter and ashes after fire with leaves.

She left her sleeping place and aimed to the forest path, walking in the opposite direction than the day before. She assumed there must have been a village, because the maiden must have run from somewhere. She buried her hand in her pocket, searching for money so she could buy something to eat. She found a couple of coins of a high value, possibly remaining there since her last time in the Enchanted Forest. She was walking swiftly through the quiet woods and it took her only around what she guessed could be twenty minutes, until she came across a village.

They all looked nearly the same. Couple of smaller brown huts with thatched roofs, a path between them widening into something that could be called village green. There were little gardens with fruit and vegetable and clothes hanging on washing lines tied between the trees.

Regina continued walking through the village, seeing only a few people and bunch of playing kids, the rest was probably working on the field, she assumed.

She found a pub, so she walked in. It was a bit dim, even though it could be close to noon. The walls of stone kept it cold, but the burning torches made up for it. Regina looked around the room and headed to the bar.

"Hello Miss, what will it be?" a grey haired woman with burlap apron asked her over the counter.

"Hello. A tea and lunch, please." Regina answered politely and put the change on the counter. The lady nodded and took the money.

"But what do you want?"

"It doesn't matter, I will take whatever the meal you're cooking is."

"Fine. Someone's going to bring it to you in a minute, you can find a seat."

"Thank you," Regina found a spot at one table. She took her gloves off and ran her fingers across the drawings carved into the wood. Then she lifted her gaze and looked around the room, carefully now. She noticed that there were mostly women, just two men and four teenage boys eating lunch.

She remembered what the maiden had told her. Morgana took the men and boys to make an army.

Regina turned back around to her table when she heard footsteps followed by a gasp.

"It's you!" The ginger maiden from the day before exclaimed and put down Regina's order. "How are you even alive?!"

"I haven't met Morgana yet-"
"What do you mean 'yet'? You are still determined to go there?!" the girl said disbelievingly and took a seat opposite Regina.

"I really do have to," Regina said and took a sip of the tea, warm spreading through her body.

"Why? Did she capture your son?"

"No, my son is safe, far away from here." Regina smiled and her heart got into that steady rhythm as it always did when she thought of Henry, in those times while he wasn't endangered by whichever fairy tale sources.

"A husband then?"

"No, not a husband-"
"A lover?" the ginger smiled playfully and watched Regina's cheek blush a light shade of red.

"No, not a lover either," Regina said and started eating her lunch, avoiding the maiden's studying gaze.

"I don't quite believe you. Who is it then?"

"A… friend. Mother of our child." Regina stated and forgot how unusual it was for people who didn't know their family.

"So a wife!" The girl smacked the table in winning gesture.

"No, we are not- we are just friends."

"You fell out?"
"No, it's complicated, I raised the son and only after 10 years, I met her." Regina looked at the maiden and lifter her eyebrow.

"I see… And she's now captured by Morgana?"

"Yes," Regina nodded simply.

"I'm sorry to tell you but I don't have high hopes for her to be alive," the maiden whispered and reached out with her hand, placing it on Regina's forearm.

"I talked to her yesterday," she smirked and maiden's hand left hers.

"That's only half a triumph, since she's not sitting right here next to you."

Regina took a deep breath to defend herself, but in that moment, the door was opened loudly with a kick. Everyone's eyes shot to the people coming in, but they already knew who it was.

Morgana.

Regina quickly pulled the cape over her head and pushed it into her forehead, but not too much, so she still could see what was going on. She saw the group of teenage boys rising to run away, but being stopped by a green spell.

A tall witch walked in, long black dress tightly hugging her slim figure, hair all styled up, and an amused smirk on her lips. She obviously loved the attention and fear she awoke.

"Well well well, look who we nearly forgot to take into our little army…" she said as she walked to the now quiet pub, aiming towards the frozen boys. "Looks like sufficient addition to my collection."

Regina took time to examine her nemesis. From the tentacle-looking tips of her dress over her swaying hips, to the necklace sitting between her breasts. It was like crystal clear stone with black fog floating in it.

Behind Morgana walked a person with her arm raised and green magic flowing from her palm. So it wasn't Morgana who casted the spell. Regina moved her cape up a bit to have a better look on this servant. Green dress, slim figure, necklace in cleavage, a strand of ginger hair fallen from the bun-

Zelena?

Regina pulled the cape further in her face, afraid of Zelena recognizing her.

"You know what to do, tie them as usual," Morgana growled towards Zelena, but not letting her gaze leave the boys in front of her.

"Of course, Your Majesty." Zelena obeyed and with one flick of her wrist, the boys were tied together.

'Your Majesty'? Regina doubted that Zelena would submit herself to another sorceress just to get to power. It didn't seem like her.

Zelena pushed the boys in front of her and out of the pub. Regina sensed the fear of everybody in the room and the confidence and pleasure Morgana felt.

The sorceress looked around with predatory look and smirk playing on her lips. Then she turned around and swayed out of the door without one word.
And Regina couldn't help but think with a smirk, 'She's got a lot to learn.'