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The next morning Regina was the first one up. She decided to prepare breakfast. She brewed some coffee, boiled three eggs and got some flowers from her garden to decorate the breakfast table. Then she called Emma to inform her about what had happened the evening before.
"Smells well, honey." Cora said as she entered the kitchen with a genuine smile. "Good morning"
"Good morning, mother." Regina said and in that moment also her sister entered the kitchen. As soon as Regina saw Zelena she raised one perfect eyebrow.
"Is that my blouse?" It was the grey silken blouse that Henry had once given Emma when she'd just gotten to Storybrook.
Zelena blushed slightly and refrained from making a comment on how it looked better on her than on her sister.
As if Regina could read her mind she said "Old habits die hard, don't they?" Zelena nodded. Cora only looked back and forth between them not quite understanding what was going on between them.
"Are you two fighting?" She then asked.
"No, mother, we are not fighting. Regina, if you want I can go back up and change." Zelena suggested not to annoy her sister but Regina only shook her head.
"Don't be silly, I'm just joking."
The three of them sat down around the table and enjoyed their breakfast. Afterwards they decided to explore Storybrook because neither Zelena nor Cora had spent much time in town. Regina showed them the park, her vault in the cemetery, Gold's pawn shop where they met Rumpel, the supermarket and finally several fashion boutiques.
"Is this where you buy your clothes?" Cora asked her daughter curiously. Regina nodded.
"When the curse was not yet broken I sometimes took Henry on trips out of town to buy my clothes. But since the curse broke I come here to get clothes. The staff is very friendly and keeps out of my way unless I've got a request or something and also the quality of the clothes is very satisfying." Regina explained as they entered the store.
A young woman behind the counter was at first taken aback when she saw who just entered the boutique but quickly caught herself and smiled at the three women. She asked if she could help but Regina quickly declined the offer.
"Honey, these are all very nice things but I don't have any money to buy them and I think stealing would be the wrong approach if Zelena and I want to be a part of the community in the near future." Cora said to Regina who only rolled her eyes.
"Oh mother, of course I know that you don't have any money. It's on me, I'm going to pay."
"Regina, you don't have to, I mean these are all very expensive and-" Regina interrupted her sister quickly.
"I've been mayor for twenty-eight years in this town and the curse gave me so much money that I'll probably never be able to spend it all. You know I could buy the whole boutique if I wanted. So don't worry about the money." This seemed to calm Zelena and Cora and they started looking for appropriate attire.
Regina was looking at a pair of black dress pants when she heard the tiny bell over the door ringing and in the next moment Zelena saying: "Hello, Henry. Good to see you again."
Regina quickly put back the trousers and went to her sister who was still talking to her son.
"So you are out of prison again, cool." Henry sat and the smiled at Regina.
"Oh yes, I was released only two days ago. Now I'm buying some new clothes so I don't always have to wear my sister's clothes. What are you doing here by the way?" Zelena answered and Henry turned around to point at the door where his blonde mother just entered. Emma made her way over to her son and greeted Zelena and Regina.
"Emma, nice to see you." Regina said a bit breathlessly. Zelena looked at Regina knowingly.
"I didn't expect that." Emma replied with a smile. "I thought you would say something like: Hello Emma, did you get lost? Your clothes look as if you had gotten them from the rummage table and not from an exquisite boutique like this one."
Zelena laughed out loud and Regina blushed a bit. A year ago this would have been exactly the thing she would have said.
"No, to tell the truth I'm looking for a present for my mother." Emma continued and Regina nodded. It was Snow's birthday next week.
"Yes, and my mother blackmailed me into coming along. But she promised me some ice-cream afterwards." Henry added and smiled politely at the two women.
Suddenly Cora who of course did not know about Henry's loss of memory joined the group. "Henry, nice to meet you in person! I've seen so many pictures at your mother's house! Such a grown-up boy!"
"I'm sorry but do I know you and when were you in our apartment?" Henry asked suspiciously. The three other women tensed while Cora looked confused.
"Don't worry" Zelena cried out and pulled Cora some steps away. "She is old and she doesn't know what she is talking about. Our mother is confused. She of course wasn't in your apartment that would be creepy, wouldn't it?" Zelena laughed unconvincingly while Cora stared at her in horror.
"Henry, why don't you already go to the diner and I quickly get the gift card?" Emma suggested and handed her son some money. Henry used the opportunity and left the store.
As soon as he was out of the door Emma laughed wholeheartedly.
"Wow, Cora you truly have changed. I bet if someone had said something like that last year you would have bidden this person's head off."
"Definitely. But now it's oaky, I'm not angry." Cora said and laughed quietly. "Although I think now he's afraid of me. But what happened to him?"
Regina quickly explained what had happened to his memory.
"Why didn't you restore his memory yet?" Cora asked and frowned.
"Well, because I don't know how! Don't you think I would have restored it by now if I just knew how?!" Regina cried out and buried her face in her hands.
"I know honey, I'm sorry. Do you know that sometimes when you cannot bring back memories with a potion of some sorts you can try bringing it back with personal belongings?" Cora asked. All three women looked confused.
"But this is not a normal amnesia. This memory loss was caused by magic and I thought it also had to be undone by magic." Regina whispered and wiped her eyes.
"Not necessarily. Come on, Emma needs to get to Henry and on the way I will explain this to you."