A/N- Thanks for all the reviews already :) The idea for this fic came out of my curiosity about exactly what worlds actually existed. If the Enchanted Forest exists, why not Oz? At any rate, I hope you enjoy and as always, I do not claim to own anything from the existing literature. With that said, if I get a detail wrong, shoot me a message and let me know. I really need to brush up on my Oz history and am liable to make mistakes. Happy reading!

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They had hit the tree line and were stopped under the towering and ancient pines. Emma's feet simply refused to move further. "For real?"'

"Is this any more difficult to believe than any of the rest of it?"

The blonde looked around at the seemingly innocent forest. "I guess not….I just don't like being blindsided."

"Then for all intents and purposes, assume all fairy-tales, urban legends, and stories of epic adventures are true." The brunette turned once again and started through the woods, her heels softened by the pine needles.

"So you and Elphaba were friends?"

"Yes."

"And Glinda?"

"Well, Elphie and Glinda were more like best friends and Nessarose was more obnoxious than anything." The woman puffed a dark lock out of her eyes. "I visited Oz when I heard of the wizard's arrival; I sought knowledge."

"But I thought the wizard had been there way before the witches."

"Time is different here." Regina said simply as if this explained all. "At any rate, he wasn't forthcoming. All smoke and mirrors." She huffed. "I'm almost certain he didn't know how he had done it. Hot air balloon my ass." She scowled.

"But you met the Wicked Witch?" Emma asked in curiosity.

Regina stopped in her tracks and the blonde knew immediately that she had said the wrong thing. "Wicked Witch." The brunette turned slowly. "It's so easy for you isn't it? To see black and white? Glinda was painted as good while Elphaba took the fall for all in Oz."

Emma looked down, tempted to rebuttle. But her intrigue got the better of her. "I don't know the story. I'm sorry." She glanced up and Regina gave her a strange look before turning and continuing through the forest.

"As I said, the wizard was a sham, but I also toured Shiz University while I was here and met the girls. They all showed promise, especially Elphaba. Imagine my surprise and dismay when I returned barely a month later to check on her progress to find her holed up in some dank castle with a strange chattering monkey and a delusional old woman." Emma couldn't see the woman's eyes but she could see the tension in her shoulders as she strode behind her. "Years had passed, Miss Swan, and they had not been kind to any of my friends. Elphaba had lost both her best friend and her true love in her quest for greatness. She had been vilified by the wizard and by those she fought so desperately for." Regina's voice took on a quality that Emma had only heard twice before and the blonde was mesmerized.

"But she's dead now?"

"They all are, I'm afraid." Regina said quietly. "I don't know who is in power; last I heard it was Ozma the Great…but I do not know if her lineage survived or was overthrown once again."

Emma wracked her brains for the details. Hadn't Snow read the books? Hadn't she been trying to get Emma to read them? The blonde could kick herself now for not picking them up. Lucky she had Regina. Yeah, lucky. She scoffed internally. "So magic is stronger here because there are no witches?"

"I'm sure there are still those practicing magic." The woman said vaguely. "But I would hazard a guess that it is not quite the number that it used to be."

"So does that make us safer…or in more danger? Does that help us find Henry?"

"I do not know yet if that makes us safer or not. We are certainly in no danger of actually being harmed…but hunted is a different matter."

"Why are we safe from being harmed?"

The brunette chuckled darkly. "Because of me." The answer was simple and Emma felt stupid for asking it.

"How do we find Henry?"

"Elphaba had a looking glass the likes of which I've never seen anywhere else."

Something about a crystal ball surfaced in Emma's mind and she didn't feel so terribly out of sorts. "It can show you whatever you want to see, right?"

"Yes and no."

"Thanks for the clarity, you almost lost me there." Emma sniped. Her feet hurt, she was pretty sure she had swallowed a gallon of that swampy water, and her stomach was grumbling miserably.

Regina gave a long suffering sigh. "Miss Swan," She began, "magic is rarely that simple. It is not something so cut and dry as all that. It is to be finessed, to be respected and coaxed. Magic is not tame or easily defined; one cannot simply walk up to an enchanted mirror and bark orders at it."

"Didn't you?"

"Yes, but I had a genie trapped in mine." A soft smile curved at her mouth, "foolish man." She mumbled. "Elphaba's was different; it had been made for her by a close family friend and she was one of the few that was able to decipher its visions."

"But not the only one?"

"No, I too saw clarity in the murkiness of the glass."

They passed through the pines and the trees became sparser and farther apart as they trudged on. Emma became more aware of the buzzing in the back of her brain, she rubbed at the back of her neck as if this would relieve the sound and the tension. They walked silently on; the blonde followed her companion, trusting that because Regina had been here before, she knew where she was going.

Emma was not disappointed as they came upon a brick road. She stepped out onto it and looked down. "I was expecting it to be yellow."

"That's only the main one, dear." Regina stepped out, swiveled her head back and forth and then proceeded down the primitive highway with Emma in her wake. "We need to head South West."

"How do you know?"

"Because we just came out of the only large forest in Oz and that forest is North East of Kiamo Ko, which is our destination for now."

Emma tried to wrap her brain around the words. "Right, and Kokomo was where-"

"-Kiamo Ko."

"Whatever…" Emma continued, "this is where Elphaba lived?"

"Yes."

"You don't think the angry villagers would have ransacked Choccolocco?"

"It's Kiamo Ko!" The brunette stopped and whirled. "And yes, I'm sure they have. But Elphaba would have been smart enough not to leave her treasures lying around."

"Ok." The blonde held up her hands as a way of appeasing the brunette. "How far are we from K-kia-kam….the place?"

"It will take weeks without magic."

"And we are traveling without magic?" Emma noticed.

"Magic leaves traces and the amount it would take to transport two people ahead several weeks would draw attention."

"Like a disturbance in the force?"

"Yes, Luke, like that." Regina scoffed but Emma smiled slightly. "What?"

"Well, I believe you just made a joke, Your Majesty."

"Did I? Must be the nerves." She flipped her hair.

"I would be Han Solo anyway; not Luke. Han was a total badass."

The brunette shook her head in what Emma was sure was unwilling amusement and looked down the road at the trees. "We should be coming up on the river in a bit, there should be houses and inns; we can find a place to stay."

"How will we pay?"

"Let me worry about that." Regina turned on her heel and headed down the road, leaving Emma with no choice but to follow in her wake.