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"So what are we going to do now?" Zelena suddenly asked in a small voice. Regina looked confused at her sister but quickly remembered that she had revealed Cora's presence in Storybrook to her sister.
"Well, we try to find her. Of course there are a lot of possibilities to hide for a witch in Storybrook, I know that from personal experience but we will find her eventually. I think we can safely assume that Rumple will help us regarding the fact that Cora put the mask in front of his apartment door and came quite close to Belle. He doesn't like that at all."
"I see" Zelena said. "Do you think that there would be a chance that I could help?"
Regina looked worriedly at her sister. On the one hand it of course made sense to let such a powerful witch like Zelena, who was probably even more powerful than their mother, help to track down Cora but on the other hand Regina feared Zelena's reaction if being confronted with their mother for the first time face-to-face.
"Don't worry, I promise I won't do anything stupid." Zelena said still trying to persuade her sister.
"The thing is you can't promise me that you won't do something stupid in the heat of the moment, maybe even something that will result in you having to stay in prison for a long time." Regina sighed. "But I will talk to Emma, maybe we can arrange something."
Zelena nodded satisfied. It was a start.
"Maybe we could arrange a meeting with, this, what was his name, Dr. Hopper, right now? The earlier the better, right?" Zelena suggested and Regina smiled and nodded. She pulled her phone from her pocket and was just about to dial the therapist when Zelena stopped her.
"May I do it? I really want to use this magic box!"
Later that day, Regina drove over to the apartment where Emma and Henry were currently living with Snow and Charming. She wanted to talk to them about Zelena's release. Only a couple of seconds after Regina had knocked on the door Henry opened it. Every time she met her son and he looked at her in that way that undoubtedly showed that he still did not remember who she was her heart broke and for a moment she had the feeling that she was suffocating. Quickly she caught herself and forced herself to smile at the boy.
"Hello young man. May I talk to your mother?" Henry nodded and stepped a step aside to let her enter.
"My mom's in the bathroom but she will be here any minute. Do you want some tea?" Regina nodded and sat down at the kitchen table while Henry made her tea. This gave her the opportunity to finally look at her son properly without him getting uncomfortable. He had grown immensely in the last year and he looked a lot more mature although he still was only eleven, almost twelve, years old.
After the boy placed a mug of tea in front of her he took a seat across from her. Regina smiled gratefully at her little Prince.
"You know, I've met your sister yesterday." Henry stated and Regina looked at Henry in surprise. Zelena obviously had forgotten to tell her.
"Really?"
"Yeah, she was very nice. She invited me to join her in exploring the town." Regina smiled she was grateful that Henry seemed to like Zelena and obviously also the other way around.
"Yes, she's gotten herself into some trouble but she will be out of prison in no time. You two will have a lot of fun."
"Yes, I think so too! Maybe you could join us?" Henry suddenly asked.
"Oh, you don't have to feel obligated to invite me along."
"Oh, no I think it would be fun having you around." The boy emphasized which led to Regina accepting the invitation. It was in that moment that Emma came down the stairs still with wet hair. Regina stood up and greeted the blonde sheriff. Henry was not very interested in their, what he assumed to be a boring conversation on paperwork and so he decided to go upstairs.
"Regina, what a surprise. What can I do for you?"
"We suspect that my mother is back in town and also committed the murder and my sister would like to help with finding our mother but she can only do so if she was to be released from her cell." Regina explained and watched Emma's thoughtful expression closely.
"Well, I can see your point but I don't know how trustworthy your sister actually is. I might regret it."
"I vouch for my sister. I mean, you cannot keep her there forever anyway so why not release her now and let her prove herself?" Regina proposed.
"I see your point…alright, I will let her go under one condition: you will watch her closely, alright?" Emma said and lifted her forefinger.
"I promise. Is there any new information on a possible hiding place of my mother?"
"No, not really. As expected she did not leave any traces behind. Everything we know is what she wanted us to know. It's infuriating!" Emma exclaimed sounding something in between of angry and desperate.
"I know and I promise that Zelena and I will do everything I our power to prevent my mother from committing any further crimes." After having said this Regina turned around and was just about to leave the apartment when Emma stopped her.
"Do you really think that releasing Zelena is a good idea? Will she be able to control her anger? I don't want to imprison her again this time for a more serious crime." Emma said quietly. Regina took a minute before answering.
"I understand your worries but I promise I'll watch her closely. She's a good person only very emotional. But I believe in her and for the beginning this is enough."