Regina had carried Roland off to what was now considered his bed chambers. At least he deserved a decent nights sleep, because the night she felt coming would be one of the most tiring. "I think we need to check the library in the opposite wing of the castle," Regina announced to the group as made her returning appearance, "I brought many of my own family books that my Mother had in her possession." She watched the slight cringes that over took everyone's faces as she spoke of the Queen of Hearts, her mother. "With all of those, and the books Leopold had collected, we must be able to find something on this Wicked Witch."
"I think you're right, Regina," Snow voiced her agreement. "We should go search the library. Some should stay here for watch, in case anything were to happen. For Roland's sake." Regina glanced up at Robin, the distance between them from her trip to put Roland in bed had diminished quickly, but they kept a small space between them with everyone around. Robin would stay here with Roland, and she'd be stuck with the Charming's. Regina nodded in agreement.
"Oh, I'm coming," Robin gave her a stern look. "Robin, it might be best if you stayed here. What if Roland wakes?" Robin shook his head, "Roland knows Belle, and Belle is staying here with the dwarves. You, Snow, David, and I can all go search the library. And maybe with a professionals assistance it won't take as long." He gave her a stubborn smirk.
"Professional? You think you're a professional at going through a library, thief?" Regina raised a brow, not noticing everyone's eyes on the couple, and Snow's small grin at the interaction between them. "I'm a professional at finding what's needed. That's what thieves do when they break into a castle, wouldn't you know Queen?" Regina only rolled her eyes. Robin and his stubborn ways... He would be coming along.
"Stop it!" Regina tried to sound serious with a quiet voice, but the grin on her lips wasn't helping her case. Robin grasped her waist from behind again, causing a light laugh from her throat. "Robin, stop." He listened this time, taking her hand instead as they stalked down the hallway. Regina couldn't deny her small thankfulness Snow knew her way around the castle and was leading David a ways ahead of them. She wasn't ready for her comments on her knew found love, not just yet...
David opened the door to the library for Snow. Regina squeezed Robin's hand as they began to catch up, but let go of his warm touch before the Charming's turned around. Regina couldn't help but watch the hand that Snow lightly ran up and down her stomach. It was a constant motion she was doing since they'd arrived. The woman was having another baby. Even after the ordeal she'd gone through with Emma as a newborn, and being forced to leave her again as Regina had to leave Henry. Even though it seemed, with the Wicked Witch around, she might possibly be putting any new baby in the face of danger just as before.
But with a small glance at Robin, and a warm smile as their eyes met, the thought of her own hand rubbing across her own growing belly filled Regina's mind. A growing person inside of her, with the best parts of her and the man only feet away. The man with the lion tattoo, her soulmate. Could she do that to Henry though? If she was ever able to see him again, how would she explain... He was her little boy, but he also belonged to Emma. The aging boy was finding more and more comfort in his biological mother in the years before Regina was forced to cast the rest of the town back to the Enchanted Forest. With no telling how much time before she saw him again, he'd be even closer to the blonde. Besides, was something like that even possible? Regina had lived more years, Enchanted Forest and Storybrooke, than she enjoyed admitting.
"Regina...?" Robin studied her as she seemed to be staring off into space, "Regina?" Her eyes widened as she was pulled back from her thoughts, "Yes?" Robin stepped a little closer to her, his hand lightly brushing against her arm, "What's wrong?" She gave him a warm smile as she starred up into his blue depths, "Nothing, I'm okay." He smiled back at the smile he loved, wishing he could give her just a small kiss. Regina didn't pull way from his touch, but turned her attention to Snow and David.
"We could find anything in here..." Regina tried to think of where to look, but nothing was coming to mind. "Regina?" Snow began and Regina turned to meet her look, "What if you and I take the back, and Robin and David can stay up here and search through these shelves?" Regina nodded although unhappy about the discussion she could already feel coming. Robin on the other hand, nodded with a small grin to Regina, "I think that'll work just fine, M'Lady."
Regina followed Snow down long isle that led through the entire library, looking down each row they past. She was silent, although Snow's silence only lasted a moment, Regina was surprised to find that the question was about their mission, "Who do you think she is, Regina, this Wicked Witch?" Regina looked over at the woman as they both started to scan through the last section of books on the row farthest back, "I don't know... She could be anyone," Regina's gaze wondered back to the shelf, her fingers filing though the books she found of importance. Her mind contemplated telling the woman of what the Witch had said to her, but she decided that it was best she did, "Snow."
"Yes, Regina?" The woman glanced at her, the cheerful look in her eyes causing Regina to continue to stare at the books. "The Witch paid a visit to the castle a few nights ago," Snow was listening intently now, "Before Robin returned. Roland was in bed, so I was more focused on making sure she wasn't going to bother him, but... She said," She hesitated, unsure how to form the words, "She spoke of my Mother, Snow." Snow tilted her head, "Cora?... So you think she's associated with Wonderland."
"No." Her fingers were now just flipping through the books without purpose, "No, I've heard stories of the Wicked Witch before, from Henry's fairy-tales. The Wicked Witch is associated with Oz, not Wonderland." Snows eyes filled with confusion, "Then why do you think she mentioned Cora?" Regina sighed softly, slightly aggravated that she wasn't finding anything of use, "She claimed to be my Mother's daughter," She stopped searching the spines of the books, just starring at them instead, "she said she was my sister."
Snow's gasp was loud enough to capture Regina's attention, "Your sister?" Regina nodded as she pushed away from the shelf and stalked impatiently to the section she was searching for, Snow quickly following, "Don't you think Cora would've mentioned something like that, Regina? Wouldn't she have told you if she had another child?" Regina shrugged, her eyes scanning the shelf of books that spoke of all the lands. The Enchanted Forest, Neverland, Wonderland, Arendelle. Where was it!? "That's what I thought, but she looks around the same age as I am. I suppose Mother could have forgotten to mention it..." Snow shook her head, "That's not something she could've just forgotten about, Regina."
"You know, Snow, at this point it wouldn't even matter if she'd forgotten to tell me. That fact that I was never told about it, and I don't even know if this Wicked Witch is telling the truth." Regina let out a deep sigh, "I just wish there was some way I could ask my Mother, but that would take magic I can't perform on my own. And Gold isn't here, and..." She quickly stopped herself from mentioning the blond around her mother. Regina wasn't sure how she'd react, especially since Regina had taken leaving Henry so hard. A brilliant smile crossed her face as she reached to a golden spined book on a high shelf.
"Did you find something?" Snow followed each step the woman made to a small table. Regina spread the book out in the table, opening it up to the first page. "It could be something." The two of them sat as Regina flipped through the pages, searching through its context for anything of use.
The silence between the two of them had lasted much longer than Regina expected. Snow seemingly content with her hands lightly rubbing the fabric of her dress which covered her belly, although the thoughtful look on her face did make Regina a little nervous. She'd avoided any questions about her and Hood until now, and she'd be happy to keep it that way.
It wasn't until Regina had aimlessly scanned through one dusty book, gone back to find yet another, and taken her seat again that Snow spoke up, "You and Robin Hood seem to enjoy each others company." Regina limited her dagger stares to the book, keeping her voice at a steady tone, ""The thief and I get along, surprisingly." Snow tucked her hair behind her ear, "It's been weeks since the curse brought us back." Regina nodded, unresponsive. "He's spent all of this time here with you, and you allowed it."
The matter of fact tone in her voice was what really pushed Regina's buttons, "Yes, Snow, I suppose he's okay company to have around the castle," She slung through a few pages of the new book.
A small, knowing smirk was making it's way onto Snow's red lips, "He's rather handsome isn't he?" With that simple question Regina could feel the heat rising in her cheeks praying that it wasn't noticeable. Damn Robin... He wasn't even with her and he was making her blush. She kept her eyes on the text, "He's alright."
The princess pressed on, "He seems to really like you." Regina gave her a soft shrug as she turned the page, trying to maintain her nonchalant tone, "At least he's got nice taste in woman."
Snow shook her head, a quite laugh escaping her lips, "Come on, Regina. You don't have to hide anything."
Regina lifted her eyes to the woman's, and the innocent, questioning look she saw staring back at her made her see the young princess she'd spent so many years in thus very castle with. She sighed softly, shaking her head as if she didn't understand, "I don't know what you mean, Snow."
"Regina." Snow playfully scoffed, Regina folding her hands together in front of her. "There is no way you can possibly expect anyone to believe that after all of the weeks gone by, you and Robin haven't gotten...cozy...with one another."
Regina raised a perfectly arched brow, "If you're asking if I've been in bed with the thief, I don't find that to be any of your business Snow." Snow giggled again, the soft noise echoing in the enormous room. The blush on Regina's cheek and quick denial was all the princess needed to confirm her beliefs. "Snow." Regina glared at her.
"Okay, fine. Maybe it isn't my business. But you two do look very lovey with each other." Regina rolled her eyes. She'd just turned her focus back to the book as she felt a soft hand laid over her own. "You look happy, Regina."
Happy, in her eyes, was a bit of a stretch. Robin, Roland, the idea of love with the man was a dream. But with Henry gone, for how long she would never know, she could never be fully happy.
"Henry would be happy to see you like this," Snow interrupted her thoughts, "He always wanted to see you happily in love."
Regina rolled her eyes again, pulling her hand away as she shut the heavy leather book. This certainly was Snow White she was speaking to. "I wouldn't use those words."
Snow watched the Queen over her shoulder as she went back to her work at the shelves. "It can happen, Regina. Anything can happen if you just have hope."
Regina only shook her head. Hope. Happiness. Those were two words she'd never used much.
"Snow!" Regina called from the other side of the shelf. She placed her index finger between the pages as she closed the green book and rushed back to the table where the woman had chosen to stay sitting. The book seemed tiny next to all the other books, but had proven the most valuable so far. "Snow!" She called again as she came upon the table.
"What is it, Regina, did you find something?"
Regina let the book plop down on the wooden surface, the page her finger had held settling in front of the eyes of the black haired woman, "Zelena. The Wicked Witch. This tells about her time in Oz, how she rose to power there, and it also speaks of some amulet she wears that seems to hold all of her magic. I'm not positive, but I think I remember seeing it around her neck."
"What does this mean?" Snow gazed up at the woman standing close by.
"It means at least we have some information about her. It says she wasn't originally from Oz, and talks about the green cyclone that took her from this land. She came from the Enchanted Forest, so she could be telling the truth about my Mother."
Snow searched the following pages, the previous pages, seeing everything Regina had spoken of for herself. "She could actually be your sister." Regina nodded briefly, unsure how she felt about the subject.
"I think you should take this to David, show him, and the two of you take this and tell everyone else what we've found." Snow nodded, "You don't want to come? I mean, I'm sure they would prefer to hear the magic talk from you."
"No. No, you can tell them. I can stay here, see if I can find anything else." Snow nodded yet again, using what looked like much effort to lift herself from the table. She marked the page with her finger as Regina had before and began the walk back to the library entrance where she would find David and Robin.
"And Snow?" Regina called before the woman got too far away.
"Yes, Regina?" She turned back.
"Umm..." She stammered, a faint blush reappearing in her cheeks, "Could you tell Robin to come back here?"
Snow pursed her lips into a small grin, "I'll tell him his Queen has called." With a quiet giggle she turned on her heel and trotted down the isle with the green book in hand.
Hope this chapter gave just a little hint at what is to come in the next few chapters. Thank you for reading! I'd really like to hear what you guys thought of this chapter. To any that read my story 'The Story of Us', the new chapter will be uploaded this weekend!