"You're telling me, that after I cursed you your daughter, who just so happens to also be Henry's biological mother, broke the curse...and then I married her?"

"Yes! And you two fought hard for it, too." Mary Margaret insisted.

"Right, because she refused Captain Hook's proposal, confessed her love to me, and I immediately ran to her. Correct?"

"Well, not immediately, but yes."

"Well that's as silly of a story as I've ever heard." I laughed. "I didn't know your imagination stretched that far."

We were at my house, sitting at the table and drinking tea. Mary Margaret and David were telling me a ludicrous story about me. It actually wasn't a bad story: a little far-fetched for my taste, but there was a lot of good points. It sounded like an amateur's surprisingly okay first attempt at a fanfiction: they didn't know when to stop throwing curveballs, but they could definitely stir up drama.

"It's true, Regina," said David. "And now Emma is under a sleeping curse."

I studied his expression, looking for a sign that he was kidding. He didn't even twitch. "You're being serious aren't you?" I asked.

He merely nodded in response.

"And I'm sorry for your loss," I said, trying to be sympathetic, "but I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do about that."

"Use true love's kiss! Break the curse!" Mary Margaret shouted.

" I can't! I'm sure she's a lovely girl, but I can't love someone I've never met."

"But you have! You married her, for God's sake!"

"Well, I don't remember doing that, so it makes no difference. How can you love someone you don't even remember?" I was getting frustrated. Did they not understand English? "If you love her so much, why don't you break the curse?"

"We tried," a different voice said from the doorway. I whirled around to see Henry, leaning against the doorframe.

"Henry!" I lept up and embraced my son.

"Hey, Mom." He hugged me back, gently squeezing me comfortingly. "You doing okay?"

"I...I don't know. I think so."

"Good." Henry took my hand and started leading me out the door. "Come on, you have to save Mom."

I stopped in my tracks, letting go of Henry's hand. I felt my heart grow heavy in my chest. "...Mom?"

"Yeah. We need to find Mom."

"But...but I thought I was Mom."

Suddenly, Henry's eyes widened in realization. "Oh, no no no." He stuttered, blundering to find the words to make everything okay. "Mom, th-that's not what I meant. You're still Mom...but so is she."

"But...but I don't understand. How could this have happened? How did she even find you?"

Henry's face fell, and he looked down at the floor. I heard David clear his throat behind me. "Or..." I said in terrified realization, "...did you find her?"

"Mom..."

"What happened? Why did you have to go find her? Henry..."

"Just listen to me, this isn't..."

"Did I drive you away, Henry?"

"No! Well, not really..." Henry rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, his face turning red. I could always tell when he was lying.

"I have to go."

"No, wait. Please, just-"

I waved my hand and disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke.

When the smoke dissipated, I was in the woods outside of town. The trees towered over me, their limbs stretching and reaching out to form a thick canopy above me. It gave me a sense of calm and security, like they were protecting me from all of the chaos of the outside world. I guess that's why I always came here when I needed to escape, or to think. Right then, however, what I needed was something to grasp onto, to give me some structure or stability. I needed something to make sense. My feet started walking if their own accord, following the familiar path deeper into the woods. To most it didn't look like a path at all, but I knew every inch of it. The faint symbol scratched on one of the trees confirmed that I was going in the right direction: a circle with what looked like a crescent moon with a line in it. I knew it's true meaning, however, and kept on the hidden path until I was at the edge of a small clearing. About half a dozen tents were set up in a faintly semi-circular configuration, all facing a small fire pit in the center of the clearing. There were three or four men milling around, completing the chores they had for the day. My attention was fixed on one standing near the edge, helping a small boy notch an arrow on a miniature bow.

Robin.

I smiled fondly at my two boys. This was the life I remembered, when I was the happiest. This was my stability. I watched as Roland pulled the strung back to his cheek, struggled for a few seconds, then let go. The arrow wobbled and landed a yard in front of the target. Roland's shoulders slumped in disappointment.

Then I saw another shape appear from the trees. The stranger was tall and lean, with a very athletic and graceful body. She wore very tight, stretchy jeans and a tan flowy shirt with a floral design and fringes along the bottom. She wore no shoes, despite the fact that she was walking in the middle of the woods. Her long, black hair was braided over her shoulder, ending just above her waist, and tied off with what looked like a strip of leather. She walked over to Roland, kneeled next to him, and leveled his bow. When he fired his next shot, it hit three inches below the bullseye. Roland jumped up and down in his excitement, pulling at his father's shirt and pointing. Robin laughed joyously and picked Roland up off the ground, bursting with pride. The woman stood up and took a step towards Robin. He smiled, wrapping his arm around her waist, and kissed her full, pink lips.

My hand flew to my mouth and I gasped audibly. One of the Merry Men heard me and turned to see what the noise was. "Hey, Regina," he called out. Robin let go of Pocahontas and started to turn towards me. I didn't know what else to do, so I ran. I could hear the confused and concerned shouts of the men behind me, calling out my name, but I didn't turn around. I just kept running and running through the little shortcuts I knew, tears streaming down my face. Despite being in heeled boots, I made good time. Only when I reached my special log did I stop. I turned to look behind me, but I didn't see anyone: I didn't even hear the crack of a twig. Finally I relaxed, sat on the log, and cried.

I couldn't believe what I'd just seen. When did this start happening? I was only with him last...last...

Now that I thought about it, I didn't remember when it was that we were together last. I remembered that we had been together; I remembered when he first told me he loved me; he...I was pretty sure he moved in with me...did we get in a fight?

Everything was becoming blurry. My head started throbbing as I tried to probe further. Finally, I stopped, crying out in pain. Something was definitely wrong. How could I not remember something like that? Suddnely, a more pressing question popped into my head: why wasn't I still crying? My tears had dried after only about a minute. Not to mention, I didn't feel right. I was still hurt...but not as much as I should have been. Why? Why did everything feel wrong.

"Hello, Regina."

I whirled around to see Robin standing behind me. "Robin! You startled me."

"Yes, I tend to do that. Sorry, I'm just really good at being quiet." He turned around to sit on the log facing the opposite direction from me. "So..."

"So.'

"You've caused quite a stir, I've heard," he said. "Or at least, someone did."

"Oh?"

"Well, everyone is looking for you. Henry and the Charmings have the whole town on watch."

"I just needed some...some time to myself."

He nodded. "I understand. It's horrible what's happened."

"Robin..."

"Yes?"

"Please answer this completely honestly, I can't deal with any cruel jokes today," I started.

"Of course."

"Who is Emma Swan?"

Robin cleared his throat and looked at me with a slightly sad expression. "Henry's mother, the Savior...your wife."

I exhaled heavily. "Are you telling the truth?"

"Yes, why shouldn't I be?"

"Because it's the same ridiculous story that Mary Margaret and David told me."

He put a comforting hand on my shoulder and examined my expression. "You really don't remember, do you?"

I shook my head. "How can I forget someone if I loved them as much as everyone says I did? What could have possibly made that happen?"

"I don't know," said Robin. "I do know, however, that you did love her very, very much. In fact, you almost tore this town apart to stay together...figuratively, of course."

"Really?"

"Oh, yes."

I looked into Robin's blue eyes, and I could see he was telling the truth. "I...I don't know what to do," I said, fresh tears beinning to form.

Robin reached up and wiped the tear from my cheek. "You need to do whatever you believe is right," he stated with determination. "Whatever that is, I will support you, like I always have. And I always will."

I smiled in appreciation, and hugged Robin. I inhaled his earthy scent: he still smelled like forest in the best way possible. Even still, I knew that it was wrong. He was wrong.

I pulled back and wiped the remaining tears out of my eyes. "So, who is she?" I asked.

Robin smiled, blushing and rubbing his neck. "Um, her name is Pocahontas. She came in with the last curse, running the outdoor shop."

"When did you guys start...hanging out?"

"Only a couple of months ago. She loves the forest even more than I do, as you probably saw."

"I did notice that. Was she barefoot?"

"Yeah," he chuckled. "She is actually more comfortable that way. She grew up in the forests of our World, way out on the other side from where we lived, though."

"Is that so?" I chuckled with him. "Well, she is beautiful. And you seem happy with her, so I'm happy for you."

"Thank you, Regina."

"Thank you, Robin...for everything."

"You're welcome, Regina."

I started to get up.

"Where are you going?" Robin asked.

"To do what I think is right," I answered. I tried to sound confident, but truthfully I wasn't sure what was right.

Robin smiled. "I'm proud of you Regina." Before I could respond, however, he got up and disappeared into the trees without a sound. In a moment, it was as if he was never there at all.