Chapter 37

Will looked over at Danni. She was leaning in her saddle. She was obviously tired. They had been riding for hours and only taking small breaks. It was time for them to find camp for the night, but she could tell that Danni would want to press on. They didn't exactly know where Dedrick was, but they knew that he was the problem.

"Danni, we need to stop," Will said pulling up closer to her.

"Just a little further," Danni told her.

"Danni, we need to stop. If we don't, the horses will kill over. We need to stop so we can be fresh, too, when we meet up with Dedrick's army," Will stated.

Danni hung her head. She knew that Will was right, but she wanted this to be over with. She nodded her assent and they started looking for a place to camp. Will went ahead and found a clearing.

Nick and Danni made their way into the clearing a few moments later. When they did, Will already had her horse unsaddled. Nick started working on her horse's and while Will took care of Danni's. Danni had pulled out her maps and was consulting them. She ran her fingers over the map letting her fingers graze of the topography. She was studying the lines and boarders between the different kingdoms trying to figure out where Dedrick was hiding. They had ridden out without a clue.

"We need to send ravens," Danni stated.

"If he knows what they are, he'll kill them," Nick stated.

"Can we protect them at all from him?" Will asked.

"As long as they have magic, no. He'll

know they are coming. I wish I knew who he had working for him. If I did, I would know more to tell you," Nick answered.

"Then, I'll send trained ravens. We need eyes on him. We don't know where he is or where he is going. We have an idea, but we don't know for sure," Danni said.

"I agree, but can we risk it?" Will asked.

"We have to...for all oursakes, " Danni replied.

Will nodded. She understood how hard this really was for Danni. Keeping her magic at bay, protecting her family, and trying to just live in this world was a full time job. Will loved her and was willing to do anything for her. She just wondered what she could do to help her now besides being by her side.

Danni conjured a raven. She pulled out some parchment and began to scribe a note to her mother. She would ask Regina for some ravens, but they would need to not have any magical charms on them, but able to take direction. She wondered if Regina had any ravens that could do that. She knew that if she didn't right at the moment, that her Mom would train them to do what she needed. That would be enough for now.

Nick and Will continued to make their camp, while Danni wrote her note. Nick eyed the raven but didn't say anything. She wished for some of the birds from Vulcannon, but she knew that the Rocs were long gone. They were smart and they could help. She couldn't help but wonder though.

"Wilhelmina?"

"Yes, Aunt Nick?"

"Are there any Rocs left?"

"I don't know. I haven't been out to the islands in years. Why does that matter now?" Will questioned.

"We could use the Rocs to help us find Dedrick," Nicola told her.

Will looked at her. She wasn't sure. She remembered the Rocs from when she was growing up in Vulcannon, but she couldn't remember seeing them in years.

When Will didn't reply, Nick looked over at Danni. She could tell that she was almost done with the note to Regina. She knew she had to take a chance.

"Ask her to see if they're any Rocs left in Vulcannon, Dark One," Nick stated.

Danni just looked at her. She had no idea what Nicola was talking about, but she knew that the woman was older and probably wiser than she was about the mythical creatures of the Enchanted Forest. What she knew about it didn't mean a damned thing anymore, because the world that she grew up in didn't exist. She'd made sure of that. So, if Nicola wanted to know about Rocs or whatever, she would ask her Mom, Regina about them. She nodded and added the note at the bottom. She rolled it up and handed it to the raven. The raven took it and flew away, back towards the Winterlands' castle.

"How long until we know something?" Will asked as she watched the raven fly away.

"A couple hours at least," Danni stated.

She was still hunched over the map. She knew that the Silver Army wasn't in Ulfland. The wolves loyal to Ruby had made sure of that. And, thanks to the their human protectors, lovers, and friends that lived on the outskirts of Ulfland where it butted up to other kingdoms, they were protected. They main battery of those sworn to the Brannonulf had moved into the interior and were protected by human guards. A few had made their way to the castle to protect it, regardless of the threat of silver. They would not abandon their Queen or her consort.

"Where are you, you prick?" Danni said aloud as she scanned the map again.

"Who has the largest silver deposits?" Nick asked.

"The Gold Kingdom of Midas and the Dark Kingdom, which Belle would be queen following Rumple's death. Or, would it go to Henry? I don't know. But, no one really lives there and those that do hate outsiders. They would attack without provocation and wouldn't ask questions later," Danni explained.

"Actually, due to the fact that the Dark One rules the Dark Kingdom and you are technically Belle's sister and the Dark One, it falls to you," Wilhelmina stated.

"It's mine?"

"Yeah, if you want. If not, it would go to Henry or Belle. The law is unclear on that because Belle was his wife, even at his death, and Henry is his grandson. Also, I highly doubt that Regina would allow Henry to rule it just because he was the grandson of Rumple. She didn't think to highly of Rumple's spawn, Neal or Baelfire, what ever you want to call him. But, I think it was just because he was Rumple's spawn. The man never really did anything to Regina except hurt Emma."

"Great," Danni muttered.

"Besides the land is protected by magic. You have to know the right spells to get in. I think that Regina is the only one that bothered to venture there and she took Belle with her. They were looking for something a few years ago. Some crazy pink potion, I think."

"So, we can rule it out. Unless he has Rumple or the Dark One, which is me, with him, he can't get in. Good to know," Danni stated as she waved her hand over the map and colored in the "Dark" kingdom.

It let her know that they didn't have to worry about it. Vulcannon wasn't colored in the same way, but it was a different color. Danni didn't want to admit, but she was afraid that there were more Vulcannonians out there and that they had returned home. If one managed to hook up with Dedrick, the realms of what they could do, especially if they had a Vulcannonian cloak, were almost endless. It didn't matter that Nicola and Wilhelmina both stated that the only survivors were back in the Real World, Earth, because she knew that everyone wanted to go home eventually. Could one of them come back? And, if they did, were they blaming magic for their problems, too?

There were too many variables and she didn't like it. Regina had made a name for herself and it wasn't a good one before Storybrooke. But, not all the kingdoms had a monarch or dealings with Storybrooke before they got sucked back to the Enchanted Forest. Some of the kingdoms were still wild cards. The Golden Kingdom was one of those.

"We should head for Midas' kingdom," Danni finally stated.

"Why?"

"I am not sure that I trust the Golden King. Sure, his daughter was friends with my mother, but I wonder how much that has translated back. In my timeline, he did side with us, but it was only near the end. He is worried about one thing and that is himself. How else do you end up with a curse of Golden Touch? He is too greedy and too worried about his own interests. Magic is not his friend, but he doesn't want to get rid of his golden hand because of his greed. He is rich in money, but not with life. His daughter learned from his mistakes. I am not sure that he wouldn't back the Silver Army if they promised to leave him alone," Danni suggested.

"That much is true. He does tend to wait to render judgement on anything, but he is an ally to your mother. His lands are bordering, but he has never gone against your mothers either. Be it because of his daughter, Abigail or because he doesn't like magic, I don't know," Will replied.

"Dedrick will not let him be. He will get what he wants and then he'll destroy them. Midas is only a stepping stone, a path to your family if he is using him. I don't think that Midas is smart enough to see that he is only protecting himself for a little while. As soon as Dedrick destroys magic, he'll destroy this world to make sure that magic can't come back. Magic is very hard to eradicate. I do believe that your brother, Henry, tried once. He brought it back to a land with no magic. Midas is only worried about himself. If he can't find a way out, Dedrick will kill him anyway," Nicola explained.

"Then, we need to find him even more. If he is in the Golden Kingdom with access to their silver minds, he'd have an unlimited supply of silver for his armor and weapons. We just need more information," Danni said.

"That is why we are here, remember to get more information and to possibly get a treaty of peace," Will reminded her.

"Do you honestly believe that he'll give us peace?" Danni asked her.

"We have to try, Danni. We have to try. For everyone's sake, we need to try," Will stated, knowing that Danni could level them all if she wanted.

Regina, Rachel and Quinn were in library. She wasn't sure why the two younger women were in there, but she didn't disturb them. It looked like they were doing research. She shook her head and continued to enjoy the quiet and peacefulness that the library afforded her. She didn't have to worry about anyone bothering her too much in there. They all knew that it was her "alone" space. If the servants needed something, they knew to seek out Emma.

But, for Regina, her curiosity always got the better of her. She knew that she shouldn't care, but she did. After a few minutes of internal debate, she got up and crossed the expansive area to sit with the two younger women. They reminded her so much of herself and Emma that it was uncanny on some levels.

"What you two looking for?" she asked.

Quinn looked up to her with her hazel eyes, unwavering and strong. Rachel cocked her head as her finger still traced the words on the page. She was the one who spoke, even though she didn't look up at the queen.

"We are trying to learn about our heritages," Rachel told her.

"From a book?" Regina asked with a slight laugh in her voice.

The disbelief in her answer made Rachel look at the queen this time. Their eyes met and held, brown to brown, almost as if they were kin. Rachel closed the book and sat back in her chair. She was used to this sort of scrutiny and she thrived under it in some way. Quinn waited to see how far Rachel was going to let this go.

"How else am I supposed to learn about it? No one back in the world we're from knows anything. All of this is just story and legend."

"Why don't you ask?"

Rachel seemed to be at a loss. She didn't seem to know what Regina meant. No one would have answers about this back in the real world.

"Who would I ask?" Rachel inquired.

"Me," Regina answered.

"Ask what?" Rachel questioned.

"What is it that you want to know?"

Quinn looked to Rachel and then back to Regina. She could see that Rachel was uncomfortable, but she wanted to know. Her fathers had never lied to her about her adoption, but now she felt alone again without really knowing who she was. Quinn wished that she could take that pain from her, but she couldn't. She'd seen it when Rachel met her mother and when she found out that Quinn was given Beth to Shelby to raise. It was a difficult decision for all of them, but in the end, it had been the right one. It had taken months for Rachel and Quinn to get passed that, but they did and were stronger for it.

"What can you tell us?" Quinn asked, curious as well.

"This world has always had magic. A form of mystery that can explain the unexplainable, but it goes deeper than that. It is a part of this world. Magic is like...blood, I guess. It flows through everything here. It is in the trees, the water, the sky. You cannot harness it all, but you can manipulate it. Magic is so ingrained in this world, that you can even write with it, smell it, taste it in the air. There are places so magical that only the daring go to see them. And there are places so dark, that monsters are afraid to enter due to the magic living there. Duality is everywhere here. For every good there is a bad and vice versa. We try to maintain order."

"Is that why you are afraid of your own daughter?" Rachel asked point blank.

"I am not afraid of Danni, Rachel. I am afraid for her. I've been tempted and succumb to the Darkness. But, just like you have your heroes and demons in your world, your gods and goddesses, the light and the dark, so do we. Emma is the Savior. She is the Light and the product of True Love. Her magic is based on love and that is where it comes from. Danni's used to be the same."

"What do you mean used to be?" Quinn inquired.

"She took Emma's place and became the Dark One in a feud between our family and Rumpelstiltskin."

"What happened?" Rachel asked.

"Before she came to you, she sacrificed herself to save our family. She is from an alternate timeline or something like that. She came back to the past to save Emma and myself from the growing dark magics of this realm that became known as the Blackness or the Darkness. She came back to Storybrooke and hid amongst us as Belle's sister for a short time until her magic was revealed. Then, she came clean about being our daughter. We tried to help her figure out how to stop the Blackness and how it came to be. When we figured it out, she gave up her own heart to save her uncle to stop the cursed Blackness from happening. But, in doing so, she started another Darkness to rise. Rumple was the Dark One, the Darkest and most powerful Dark magic being in our world. He was could be controlled by a dagger, and that was his Achilles's Heel. He was mad that Belle took Danni's side and left him. He was a beast that Belle fell in love with. They were married, but she realized that he never loved her the way she wanted him to. He was addicted to power and magic. So, she left him."

"I thought she was with Ruby?" Quinn stated in question.

"She is now. But, then, she wasn't. Rumple didn't take the divorce well. He aimed on getting her back. Only problem was that Danni didn't want them together. She knew that Rumple had something to do with the Blackness as well. She may have stopped the main cause, but she didn't stop it completely."

"Rumple went after her?"

"No, he went after Belle. And, as seeing as Belle and Ruby were the ones that raised Danni in her lifetime, she was have none of it. She decided to fight him, but we all tried to stop her. She charged in and in the end, Emma pushed him over the line with the dagger in is heart. The Darkness should have been defeated, but it wasn't. It was now no longer tethered to the dagger and it was looking for a host. It chose Emma because she was the closet magical being. She got very ill as her body tried to fight the darkness. But, in the end, she rather die than succumb to the Darkness. She chose death to protect us. Danni and I weren't willing to let her go. So, as she lay dying, I took out her heart and made it beat again. Little did I know that I was unleashing the Darkness from her body. Instead of it choosing me, someone who had chosen darkness at one point, it chose Danni this time. Now, I know why," Regina explained.

"Which is?"

"She has the ability to be the greatest among us, good or bad. She is the daughter of one of the most powerful sorceresses of this world, me, and one of it's greatest heroes, Emma. She was born from True Love which already makes her magical, but being the dichotomy of us...well...she was marked from birth."

"That is why she is so afraid to get angry..." Rachel mumbled.

"Yes. It is. She is afraid to be angry."

"Why?" Quinn asked.

"Because the last time she got angry, she brought me the man's head as an offering," Regina replied.

"She's like a Jedi," Quinn stated and then blushed.

"In a manner of speaking,yes, she is. She has to be careful with her emotions because emotions had a great deal to do with magic. If she isn't careful, she could cause some serious damage. And, that is why she is afraid. With you her magic wasn't as strong as it is here, she pushed herself the other day with you Rachel and she felt bad for doing it. It was just another stepping stone for her. She is afraid of what she might do if she gives in completely to the temptation of using her magic," Regina stated.

"Wait, you know what a Jedi is?" Quinn asked.

"I did live in your world for over twenty years and I had a young son. It would only be natural that I would learn about your cultures and such. I did take up some languages while I was there, too. It made the time pass by a little easier," Regina said.

"Some day, I want to hear about that, but today, I want to know about the High Elves," Quinn stated.

"Your researching your origins?"

"Yes," Rachel replied.

"Then, you'll want to start in that section over there. Also, you might want to ask Belle for help. She knows more than any of us when it comes to histories. She had plenty of time to read and study when she was growing up and when she was with Rumple. It is sorta her thing," Regina said.

Quinn looked over at the section in question. The books looked old and worn. She had to admit that it looked like a good place to start, but she wasn't sure that she really wanted to read about elves. She wanted someone to talk to her about it.

"But, what do you know?" Quinn inquired.

Regina looked into her green hazel eyes. They looked so much like Emma's that she couldn't help but smile. She could only wonder what Quinn wanted to know. She didn't know if the girls were upset at finding out that they were from magical lineages or that they, too, were from the Enchanted Forest. For Rachel to be Vulcannonian and Quinn was a High Elf, it had to be something difficult to take on. Not only were they finding out that their best friend and benefactor was a magical being, but that she was also the most powerful Dark magic being that the magical worlds knew. They landed right in a fight and now, they were still trying to figure out who they were.

"The Elves were the first to leave our land and then the Vulcannonians. The Vulcannonians left because they were dying here. We still don't know if it was something that Rumple did because he wanted their cloaks or if it was an actual illness, but either way those that could left, never to be seen again," Regina told them.

"What about Will?" Rachel asked.

"She fled before the Vulcannonian Plague wiped those out that stayed. I don't know if she was immune or not, but she lost her entire family but her Aunt Nicola is seems. It is a very hard subject for her to talk about, so I don't push for details. Besides, she was afraid of what was going on between us when she fled," Regina explained.

"Do I want to know?" Quinn asked.

"How much time to you actually want to talk about this?" Regina countered.

Quinn smiled. She understood snark. She nodded at Regina.

"Fair enough, but the Elves?" she inquired.

"The Elves were a superior race. Immortal and magical. It is said that Vulcannonians are bred from Elves and humans, but no one is sure. Elves were woodland and nature bases and Vulcannonians were fire and mountain based. Maybe they are cousins in the evolutionary chain. I don' t know, but it doesn't really matter. Elves are especially good trackers and archers. Their site is unparalleled," Regina stated.

"That explains so much," Quinn mumbled.

"Is there anything else I can tell you now?" Regina inquired.

"I'll let you know," Quinn replied.

"Will and Nicola would be better to ask about Vulcannon as they were both born and raised there, but Will is a little different. She went into the protection route as a Vulcannonian knight because of her brother. She was raised to be a princess, but a knight more than a queen just like Nicola. Nicola is the Princess Royal and the head of the Fire Legions. She is the protector of the portals, too. I am sure had the plague not started, Will would have taken a similar role under her father's rule or her brother's. That didn't happen and now she is effectively a queen without a country," Regina told them.

Quinn nodded. She understood what that was like. She felt for the two woman that were related to her wife. She hoped that they could all bond better when Danni and crew got back, but she was afraid that Danni wouldn't want to stay any longer.

Just as her thoughts were turning sour, she saw something out of the corner of her eye. A large black raven flew through the high open window in the library and landed next to Regina. Regina looked down at the massive bird and then took the note that was attached to it. She read it carefully. When she looked back up, she found the questioning hazel eyes of the blond High Elf facing her. Rachel was reading histories as the Regina locked eyes with her.

"Want to take a trip to Vulcannon?" Regina asked with a little bit of hesitation in her voice.

Quinn just smiled. She could only guess what the note said, but she knew it was important. She nodded as she elbowed Rachel, hoping she would agree to go as well.