OK, back to Storybrooke now!

Present Time

Storybrooke, Maine

Mary Margaret stared down at the apple in her hand. Red, like the one she had eaten all those years ago to put an end to the fighting between her and Regina. She had never liked apples after that, in fact she rarely even held one in her hands, but now she did, while sitting by the kitchen island in Regina's kitchen as her former stepmom cleaned up the dishes.

"I want to apologize, Regina", she said and looked up at the woman in question, "for Cora, for..."

"Murdering her?" Regina filled in, her voice solemn. She did not turn around as she spoke and Mary Margaret was left looking at the back of her pale golden blouse.

"Right, yeah", she said and turned her gaze towards the apple again. "Don't take it lightly; I think about it every day."

"So do I."

The bitterness in Regina's voice caused Mary Margaret to look up again, just as the Mayor turned around. She leaned against the counter as she continued.

"And when I do think about it", she said, "I remember... that she did kill your mother. So I'll admit that it's complicated."

Mary Margaret forced a smile.

"Thank you. I'm sure you had some things you wanted to say to her."

Regina shifted her gaze towards the bowl of apples on the island as she scoffed.

"Yes, well", she said and crossed her arms over her chest, "I'm realizing that my mother walled off a lot of her life from me."

Her gaze met Mary Margaret's again and the younger woman could see the tears forcibly held back in Regina's eyes.

"She wasn't the warmest mother, but", Regina said and swallowed, "but at least I thought I occupied a singular spot in her heart."

She sighed and shook her head.

"A sister. Zelena."

She walked forward and leaned on her elbows on the kitchen island, fidgeting with her fingers. Mary Margaret considered placing her hand on her arm as comfort, but despite their newly discovered understanding and friendship she doubted that would be accepted as of yet.

"Why would she give her up?" Regina eventually asked, leaning her had in her hands. "Why would she make us strangers to one another?"

Mary Margaret considered the questions, trying to come up with a suitable answer. Before she could a squeaking sound from the second floor caused her to turn her gaze upwards.

"What's that?" she asked. Regina straightened up once more, a light frown visible on her forehead.

"I have no idea."

The sound continued on and Mary Margaret could not help but think it sounded a bit like a squeaky wheel rolling over uneven ground.

"It's upstairs", she said, mainly to have something to say. Regina would already have figured that out herself and she now pursed her lips momentarily before hesitantly walking out of the kitchen. Mary Margaret followed her as they headed up the stairs to the second floor. She flicked the light switch, but nothing happened. A fuse must have blown, she told herself, even though her heart was by now beating wildly in her chest. Regina led the way through the dark corridor of the mansion's second floor, seeming equally unsure of what they should do. The squeaking got louder and louder.

"It's in there", the Mayor suddenly whispered, pointing at a door at the end of the corridor. It was closed, but a strange light seemed to come through the small crack between it and the floor. As they neared it Regina glanced back and as her gaze fell on Mary Margaret's belly, the other woman saw the silent plea that she would stay somewhat behind, for the sake of her unborn child. She smiled reassuringly and pulled to a slow halt while Regina neared the door. Seeing her face from the side Mary Margaret was able to make out the slight frown on her forehead.

"There isn't anything in this room", Regina mumbled, before reaching out towards the doorknob. "It's..."

The moment her fingers closed around the knob the door flew inwards, ripped off its hinges by an unknown force. Regina gasped and stepped back, her arms pushing Mary Margaret back even further in a protective manner. The room that now lay visible to them did not look like it belonged in the white mansion; the walls were crooked and the windows dirty. A cold wind blew out towards the two women in the corridor and seemed to bring unnatural, agonized screams with it. In the centre of the room, illuminated by the unnatural light shining in through the windows, stood a spinning wheel. That was what had caused the squeaking sound. The spinner had his or her back towards them, ghostly blue and the body shifting as if it was made out of smoke. Regina took a shocked step forward again, her left arm still holding Mary Margaret back. Mary Margaret did not object; whatever this was it was not something she would be able to deal with. It was magic and that was Regina's forte.

As Regina took yet another step forward the spinner slowly turned its head, revealing a beautiful, young, pale woman with full, dark lips and equally dark eyes. Mary Margaret thought she looked familiar, something that was confirmed by a shocked gasp coming from Regina.

"Mother?" the Mayor whispered. Mary Margaret's eyes flew back towards the ghostly creature again and this time she could see the resemblance between the middle aged woman she had always known as Regina's mother, Cora, the Queen of Hearts, and this younger version of her. Again her heart started beating wildly, especially when Cora's spirit pursed her lips and squinted her eyes at them in a way that was all too familiar; she was not happy, at all.

Clarissa grinned as Emma closed her eyes in concentration, focusing her magical power on the cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream and cinnamon that Granny had placed for her on the counter. The blonde was taking every possible opportunity to practice using magic and she had now transported the drinks of everyone else present to their table. This was the final one; Emma's own special drink.

With a small pop the cup vanished from the counter and appeared on the table by the others, causing Emma to open her eyes, grin widely and smack her hand on the counter in triumph.

"Boom!" she yelled triumphantly, before turning and walking over to them. "Granny's to go. I should open a franchise."

"It's impressive", Hook agreed, although he sounded less than impressed. Emma kept smiling as she slid into the booth next to Clarissa.

"You want to see something really impressive?" she teased. Clarissa choked on her drink as she found herself imagining a series of things that Emma probably did not mean by that statement. Emma grinned in her direction, before flicking her hand. A clinking behind them caused everyone, except for Emma, to turn. Hook's eyes widened and he quickly looked down at his left arm, confirming that what was now hanging from the coat hanger by the door leading to the bathrooms was, indeed, his own hook. Wolfgang howled with laughter and when Emma giggled at Hook's expression the three other girls at the table – besides Clarissa also Catriona and Arianne sat there – started laughing as well.

"That's bad form, Swan", Hook growled and rose, "tampering with a man's hook."

Emma chuckled and leaned over the back of the couch to follow him as he walked to fetch his hand replacement.

"Okay, seriously", she said, "what is up with you?"

Hook fastened his hook once more, before sighing and walking back to them.

"I apologize for my rudeness", he grumbled and sat down. "It's a long story; too long for now."

He took a swing of the bottle of rum he always carried with him, causing Emma to raise an eyebrow at him.

"Okay", she said and leaned onto the table, "but obviously something's..."

The door to the diner flew open with a bang, causing everyone in the group to quickly look up. Belle came running in through the door, quickly followed by David and Rachel, who had remained outside to talk something through after they arrived. The brunette looked pale and she clutched an old book in her arms.

"Emma!" she gasped and ran up to their booth. "Emma, I found it."

She placed the book on the table in front of them, flipping it open and pointing at something on one of the pages. Clarissa reached over to read it but did not understand what language it was written in, something that Belle obviously did not realize.

"We have to tell Regina and the others", she rambled on.

"Okay, Belle; slow down", Emma ordered, obviously also unable to read what the text said. "What did you find?"

Belle took a deep breath before managing to answer.

"Zelena's plan. I figured out what she's doing."

Well, that escalated quickly...