The next few days passed without incident. They were traveling through yet another town and though the villagers seemed quite curious, it was nothing in comparison to what Emma felt. "Holy shit! They're Munchkins!" She cursed quietly.

"Miss Swan!" Regina hissed in a combination of amusement and exasperation. "Hush!" She gave her a warning glance. "We will draw enough attention as it is; try to act normal-" She gave Emma a once over and then smirked. "Well, normal for you."

"I hardly think you have any authority to decide what is normal and what isn't." Emma said pointedly as she tried not to stare about at the locals.

"Perhaps not; but I at least know how to control myself."

"I'm not so sure about that either." Emma mumbled.

"What was that, Miss Swan?"

"Nothing." Emma said innocently as they traveled down the road. She watched Regina as the brunette inspected the village.

"We need food." She muttered more to herself than her companion. "I think it wise that I negotiate these items considering your incredible lack of tact and culture." She said snarkily and entered the general store; leaving Emma to stand outside and gaze around.

Green eyes traveled over the various shops and stores as she leaned heavily on one foot and braced her hand casually against the hilt of her sword. She noticed that the town was much larger than it first appeared and seeme to be rather more metropolitan than she had judged initially. There was even what seemed to be a mayoral estate of sorts on the outskirts of the town. The blonde tried to seem unaffected and disinterested in the goings and comings of the little people bustling about their day. However, when her eyes lit upon a crumbled and dilapidated farmhouse, she started abruptly and stood up straight.

Emma almost rubbed her eyes so astonished was she to see what she was seeing. Without a backward glance, the blonde strode purposefully up the sloping brick pathway toward the slumped and haphazardly placed house. Upon coming abreast to the structure, she noticed a plaque posted to the swinging screen door and squinted at the writing.

Here sits the house of the White Witch Dorothy, who brought down Nessarose Thropp, the Witch of the East before conquering her sister, the Witch of the West. Aided by Glinda the Good, Dorothy Gale vanquished the two greatest threats of our age before ascending to another realm with the Great and Powerful Wizard of Oz.

Emma felt a small swoop in her stomach; similar to the one she had felt when she had learned that Regina was the Evil Queen and Mary Margaret was Snow White. It was the moment of realization that reality was indeed, stranger than fiction and that sometimes it was impossible to tell the difference between that which was real and that which was imagined. The blonde had also begun to realize that it often didn't matter; because all tales are relative to the story-teller and considering only one perspective was about as useful as reading half the story.

Regina stepped out of the general store and glanced around. The blonde was nowhere to be seen. She narrowed her eyes and scanned the immediate area once more as cold panic began to creep down her spine. Where had the nuisance run off to? The brunette began to consider her options as she resolved that the woman had abandoned her. Very well, I'm accustomed to being on my own-

"Regina?! Have you seen this!?" A voice called out and the brunette turned.

A surge of relief flooded her system suddenly as the brown eyes lit on the annoyingly disheveled figure of her favorite enemy. "Miss Swan? Where-"

"Up here! It's Dorothy's house!" She said with a great deal of excitement and the witch was reminded forcibly of her son. Emma took the packages from the woman's hands and stuffed them into her pack before grabbing her hand briefly. "Have you seen this?" She spurred the brunette forward. "There's a sign and everything."

Regina tried to summon up anger and hostility but found that she couldn't. In all honesty, she found she was so relieved that the woman had not left her that all she could manage was mild indignation. "Miss Swan, stop dragging me." She growled and snatched her hand back but followed her willingly up to the house.

"Look! It really happened!"

Regina peered at the sunken house. "Yes, it seems that Nessarose was actually crushed by a house." She peered down at the place the witch's body must have laid. "The odds of actually being hit by a flying house are astronomical."

"Kind of like the odds of our fucked up little situation?"

The brunette let out a quick chuckle of dark humor. "Yes, Miss Swan. However, you will find that Rumpelstilskin manipulated the vast majority of those variables. It was his curse; he used me to cast it just as he used you to break it."

Emma considered this a moment. "To find Neal."

Regina nodded. "Yes, he created the curse, found a young girl, heartbroken, weakened, and vengeful and he molded her into a tool as easily as he spun his wretched gold." Her hand gripped the post of the fence tightly. "He watched us all very carefully; your parents especially."

"Mary Margaret and David?"

"No, Snow and Charming." She corrected. "He knew their's was a true love and that the product of true love would be the only thing capable of destroying the curse he had given me to cast."

"Me."

"Yes." Regina said softly and turned her back to the blonde before her; realizing she had said quite a great deal. On some level, however, it felt cathartic to admit her past.

"But how did Gold know about you in the first place?"

"My mother."

"He and Cora were pals?"

"They were lovers."

Emma made a face, "Gross." Her mouth frowned then her brows creased, "Wait, she didn't have a heart."

"Correct."

"How could she…"

"Love?" Regina turned back to Emma and looked her in the eye. Some part of her wanted to see the horror in the blonde's face. "She ripped out her own heart because the power my father's family could give her meant more to her than love."

Emma blinked slowly. "She ripped her own heart out? What the fuck, Regina!?" Emma clutched her own chest protectively. "That shit hurts! I mean…she didn't even get it out of me but having her hand in there tugging on it was bad enough. I can't imagine…" The blonde trailed off. "The only pain I can compare it to was labor with Henry. It was terrible and I felt like I was being ripped apart." Emma's face registered horror but also sadness. "To do that herself…that's sad. What made power so important?"

Regina hesitated. The blonde was watching her with curiosity; she had questions she wanted answered but the brunette loathed the idea of handing her past over to her enemy for it to be judged and studied. However, to have the chance to explain everything; to be heard….Regina found that the opportunity definitely had its merits. Hesitating a second longer, Regina spoke.

"Miss Swan, it is a very long and complicated story. I will tell it to you should you wish to know it." Emma made to speak but the brunette held up a hand. "Be warned, however, that you will hear many unpleasant things." The brown eyes bore into the green and it was the blonde's turn to hesitate.

"I want to know. Your history caused my history, Regina. I want to know."

"So be it."