The only people in Storybrooke who knew that Regina wasn't dead were Gold, Tink and Roland. Tink had often visited them outside the town and Roland had a phone that he used to contact them. The fairy arranged to meet them at the border under the cover of darkness.

Tink grinned and ran into Regina's arms as she stepped out of the car. The former queen was wearing one of her signature pants suits but had a hooded jacket on to hide her face, just in case. The last thing they needed was for the Crazies to find out that she was alive before they were ready and she wasn't taking any chances. "It's good to see you again."

"You too, Tink, but we can catch up later. I need to know what we're walking into."

"You won't find much resistance or anything. Everything is boring, dead, lifeless. Emma doesn't care about anything anymore. Her parents and Henry have pretty much given up. She's usually drunk or sleeping, although passed out would be a more appropriate word."

"And Robin?"

"You'll get more information out of Roland about him. After Robin and Emma thought you died, they almost killed each other. The only way there would be peace was for the Merry Men to be banished to the forest. They can't come into town because Emma doesn't want to see their faces. Roland is the only one allowed because he meant a lot to you. But there's something else."

Regina arched an eyebrow, glancing around. "What is it?"

"Before you left, Emma thought she could use magic to prolong your life. A last ditch effort to keep you alive when she thought you were dying in the hospital. An aging curse to freeze time."

"You're telling me Henry is still 12 years old?"

"Yes, but Roland is almost the same age now."

"How is that possible?" Belle asked.

"It's what happens when fools play with magic." Zelena answered. "Emma can barely light a candle, much less cast a curse."

"Go to the well and siphon off the magic." Mal commanded. "See if you can break this stupid curse as well. She's not very advanced so something is probably connected to the curse. Destroy it and return to the house." Zelena nodded and teleported away with Belle. She turned to Lily and Ruby. "Get the kids and Regina to the house. Settle in. We'll go talk to the idiots in the morning-"

"And Regina? Wait a minute." Regina grabbed her hand and made her pause to look at her. "What are you going to do?"

"Talk to Gold about this map. Apparently, it's not a map of this world. It's one called the Forbidden Lands. I need information before we open a portal."

"May I accompany you, please, dear?" Mal glared at her before nodding.

"I would prefer that you-"

"Mal, we both know I'm not going to do that."

"Fine."

The group split up and Regina got into the car with Mal to drive to Gold's. At night the town looked desolate, unkempt. Most of the buildings were in need of a paint job, many of the street lights weren't even on and it looked like a couple stores had been vandalized. "Looks terrible." she commented.

"It does." Mal agreed.

Regina sighed, looking at how far her precious town had fallen. Months of planning and designing mostly down the drain. "It's been 10 years. Are they really that upset? Even I managed to move on from a broken heart."

"It took you more than 10 years." Mal replied. "But I suppose if you hadn't stayed with Leopold and Snow and been reminded every day of that loss, things would be different. Considering they remained in a town you built, with people you cursed, I'd say they were surrounded by reminders too."

"Then should I stay a secret? Let them move on?"

"No. You can't live your life walking on eggshells because Dumb and Dumber are heartbroken. They will move on whether you're dead or alive. Of course it will hurt. Of course they will be angry. But they tried to murder me, our child and nearly killed you. There is no "sorry", no "but I love you", that will ever fix that. If everyone who got their hearts broken went crazy and tried to kill their ex's new lover, the world would be a madhouse."

"I get that." Regina said. "I just wish it hadn't come to this."

"Me too."

The pair was silent for the rest of the ride and thankfully, Gold was up when they arrived.

"Well if it isn't the former Madame Mayor." Gold smirked from behind his counter. "I'm guessing Miss Swan and the thief don't know you're back yet. If I had known you were coming, I would've called them. That would've been entertaining at least."

"I will speak to Emma and Robin on my terms, Gold. I would appreciate it if you kept my arrival a secret."

"Oh, so you want to make a deal?" He grinned.

"Cut the crap, Gold." Mal said. "What are the Forbidden Lands?"

"A world like any other?" He shrugged, walking into the back and returning with an old book. He flipped through it for a moment. "Ah, yes. A world specifically created to house the worst of your kind. The entire land is cursed, you can't eat the food or drink the water or you can never leave, blah, blah…" He turned a few more pages before just holding out the book. Mal reached for it and he moved it back.

"What do you want now? To be an audience when Regina comes back from the dead?"

"Of course."

"You really are bored."

"You have no idea, but really, I just want to meet the children. I've very good with them. And after all, I am a dear friend." He smirked.

"Fine." She took the book and Regina's hand, quickly leading her out of the pawn shop. "That man annoys me so much." Regina smiled and kissed her hand, choosing to say nothing for the moment. Mal held her hand as she drove them back through the small town, passing the place where her mansion once stood.

"Mal, stop." The dragon hit the brakes. Regina squinted into the dim light, seeing a figure sitting on her old porch. "It's Emma." She looked at her wife who simply nodded. They both got out of the car and Mal walked behind her as she approached the babbling blonde. Her hair was a mess and and even in the darkness Regina could see her red eyes. Not to mention the tall bottle of liquor she held in her hand. "Miss Swan, what are you doing?" Emma slowly looked up at her, a range of emotions crossing her countenance until she settled on indifference. She tossed the bottle to the side and rubbed her eyes. Regina waved her hand and cleared away the fog of the alcohol, cleaning up the blonde and healing her. "Is that better?"

Emma looked up at her and slowly rose to her feet. "Regina? You're alive?"

"She never died." Mal said.

"What?" Emma shook her head before suddenly throwing her arms around Regina's neck. "I thought you were dead." She stepped back. "What do you mean you never died?"

"I mean, I was never dead. I faked it." Regina said, brushing off her hands.

"What? You mean to tell me you've been gone for 10 years, not dead. You just leave? Then you show up now- I mourned you. Do you get that? I cried for you." The happiness in Emma's eyes disappeared in an instant, replaced by nothing but anger. "What about Henry? He thought he lost his mother!"

"Watch your tone." Mal growled. "I suggest you lower that volume just a little bit or I will be tearing out your tongue."

"Fuck you." Emma snapped. "I know this was your idea anyway."

"No, it wasn't." Regina stepped between them, gaining the blonde's attention again. "You attempted to murder my wife and my child. You hurt Ruby and Belle, while they were pregnant no less. You and Robin deserved death, but we spared you and we left and we lived our lives."

"Well, what about us? You get a new family, some new friends and you just drop us?!"

"I was nothing here!" Regina screamed. "Nothing. You might've loved me once-"

"I still do! I always have!" Emma roared.

"You goaded Robin and his men to attack us! You told him my baby was a threat!"

"He's the one who attacked you!"

"And you blinded Mal so he could shoot her." Regina returned. "Lily hacked into your phones the day we left. We know everything. I talked to Gold that day too. I know about that as well." She snapped her fingers and the green spot on Emma's arm and hand was revealed. She was a little confused as to why it would still be there though. "I left because of you, Emma. Because you left me no choice. You and Robin were threats to the people I love, to my own child. Why would I ever stay here for that?"

"I loved you." Emma hissed, grinding her teeth together. "I wanted to be a family, you, me and Henry. You were all set for that to happen and then she steps into the picture." She threw at a smirking Mal. "And you just forget all about that."

Regina ran her hands through her hair. She was literally trembling with anger, with confusion...Just… "You and your little buddy tried to KILL MY WIFE AND CHILD! What is not registering about that? We broke up, lots of people do it. They don't try to murder their ex's new lover and child. The way I see it, you're as guilty as Robin is."

"And just as crazy." Mal added. "Let's go, Regina. You know the kids will be up bright and early tomorrow."

"Wait, kids?" Emma asked.

"Our baby survived." Regina said simply, following Mal back to the car.

"Regina, wait!"

Mal didn't wait. She pressed the pedal to the floor and roared off. They made it back to the mansion in record time but neither made a move to get out of the car. "If that's how Emma acts, I'm going to kill Robin." Regina said.

"Then we can just adopt Roland." Mal replied, making her smile. "But in all seriousness, don't worry. They can't do anything to us that they haven't tried already and if they come up with something new, then they will die. Simple."

"Yes, very simple." Regina sighed.

"Come on, let's get to bed." They both got out of the car and Mal almost flattened Regina to the ground when the front door exploded off its hinges. All three of their crazy children came barrelling out, throwing fireballs at each other like they were insane. "Oh for the love of the gods. Hey!" Mal snapped. All three took off running and Mal gave chase. Regina laughed and picked herself off the ground. She dusted herself off as Lily and Ruby came outside.

"I swear I didn't teach them anything. They just did it." Lily said.

"It's fine, dear. They have to learn sometime. Tomorrow is going to be funny though."

"Why?"

"You'll see."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"This is not as fun as I thought it would be." Mel said. "Why are these things so heavy?" She asked. Regina couldn't resist laughing at her daughter. She was currently in her cute little dragon form, sitting on her head because her horns were so heavy she fell over. She looked so much like Mal. Dark as night with a slender build akin to her blonde mother's and two dual horns on the top of her head, except her horns were spiraled, like Kudu horns and they were a bit too large for her. "Mommy!" Regina leaned down and pushed her over. There was a thud nearby and she started laughing again at Sarai walking in circles with her head almost dragging the ground. Her form was much different being part dragon and part wolf. She had a wolf's body with scales along her head, down her spine, covering her chest and belly, to the tip of her tail that was the tail of a dragon except covered in fur. Two horns sat atop her head, also a product of Mal's gene pool and she had two wings that were currently dragging the ground.

"Keep your wings up, Rai, so they don't get dirty." Lily said, leaning her large head down to nuzzle her daughter.

"If you could tell me how to do that, I would love to do as you say, but- aaah!" She tripped over said wings and slammed into the ground. "This is crap! This is complete and utter bull-"

"Rai." Ruby warned from where she was warming her fur in the sun. Across the yard, Mal was stretching her wings, warming them next to Lily, who was mostly just sitting next to her, snickering at the kids.

"This is so hard." Mel growled, walking into Regina's leg. "I'm so glad our misery is amusing you, MOTHERS!" Regina almost snorted as she bent and righted Mel's head. "But they're heavy."

"They will get lighter in time. Here," She offered a little of her magical energy to give her daughter some of her strength. "That better?"

"Yeah. I can see where I'm going now." Regina smiled and did the same for Sarai.

"Thank you, Grandma, but can you get rid of these stupid wings."

"You don't want to fly?"

"No, I want to learn how to walk first." Regina nodded and removed her wings, only for her to trip over her tail.

She laughed and went to take a seat next to her sister as the two attempted to race over to Mal. "Where's Jade?" She ventured to ask.

"She was a little bored, so I told her to pick an animal and I would change her into it-" Zelena started to say until a figure dashed between them and ran over to Mel and Sarai, knocking them over. It was Jade of course, in the form of a golden monkey. "Isn't she cute?" Zelena said.

Regina smiled. "Yes, they all are."

"Heard you talked to Emma last night." Belle said from behind her as she came out of the house. Zelena conjured a chair for her and she sat down. "Can't imagine that was fun."

"It was like I never even left. Same argument. I get that I broke her heart but trying to kill Mal and sending Robin as an assassin to kill my daughter is a little extreme. She doesn't seem to get that. Did you break the aging curse?"

"Yes, she was using a small fairy crystal she probably found in the mines. We destroyed it and time should flow normally again." Zelena answered.

"Good. I should go find Roland and bring him to meet the kids."

"You might not have to." Zelena suddenly got to her feet, her staff appearing in her hand almost instantly. Mal roared and Regina got up as well. Ruby was rushing the kids back to the house and Lily and Mal were growling, watching the trees nearby. Regina conjured the staff Mal had made for her. It was a deadly, black weapon that had a hidden blade in it. Zelena's was the same. The sisters approached the dragons and tried to find why they were so upset. Then she saw them. The Merry Men walked out of the woods, Robin and Roland at the head. Roland burst into a smile when he saw her and started to run to her, but Robin grabbed his shoulder, preventing him from moving. "What is this?" Zelena demanded.

Robin put a finger to his lips as he sauntered forward, almost holding Roland as a hostage. "Seems a little too comfortable in territory not his own." Ruby growled, coming to their side, her teeth bared for a fight. Robin made a sshing motion again as he came to stand in front of Regina. He looked like absolute hell. He looked like he'd lost weight and was in desperate need of a haircut and a shave. Roland didn't seem to be faring much better. He was much thinner than she last saw him and his beautiful curly hair looked like it had been hacked off with an axe. He didn't seem hurt at least.

"10 years." Robin sighed, his voice barely above a whisper. "10 years, I have wallowed in the mires of guilt and shame, thinking I had murdered my soulmate." Regina opened her mouth to speak, but he raised a finger again so she rolled her eyes. "10 years, I thought you dead. I thought I had killed you!" He suddenly roared. Ruby snarled and Lily roared, moving closer. Robin didn't give either of them a second glance. "I drank myself into stupor every night. My men were banished from town. We've had to live in the woods, which we're used to, you know, but, let's just say that Emma tried to make life as hard as possible for us. For my son."

"That's not my fault. It's yours." Regina scoffed.

"I thought I killed my soulmate."

"Please stop with that soulmate nonsense. That's all you know how to say. If it weren't for that, we might not have been together in the first place. Bottom of the line is...you attempted to kill my wife and child and you injured two of my closest friends and family. Roland is the only reason we spared you before, we won't allow mercy again. I suggest you crawl back into your little pit of guilt and shame and rot because you are a despicable man, a delusional man who has lost his mind." She said. And again, it was as if he wasn't hearing her words. They might as well have gone in one ear and out the other. He reached for her and she allowed it, for the moment. She knew she was in no real danger, not with the other Queens right beside her.

"One day, I always hoped to join you. In death." He said softly, releasing his hold on Roland, who rubbed his shoulder. It made her scowl a little. Was he hurting Roland? Was he really that gone? "I'd hoped to be with you then, like I never was in life."

"Well, you won't be getting either of those wishes, because you're mad, Robin. You need help." She whispered.

Robin tilted his head. "When I thought you died, I must say, I was a little happy."

"Is that so?" She pushed his hand away and his face twisted in anger for the briefest moment.

"Yes, because I would rather see you dead than in the arms of a beast." His words shocked her. The smile that adorned his face as he stepped back, it turned her blood cold. "Welcome home, Regina."

Regina quickly tripped him with her staff. Zelena grabbed Roland and tossed her her staff, the blades of both weapons clicking out simultaneously. She stabbed Robin in the shoulder with one and impaled the other next to his head. The Merry Men were quick to draw their bows, but Zelena raised a shield around them. She crouched down next to Robin's head, knocking the staff in his shoulder and eliciting a pained groan. " If you ever threaten me or my family again, I will kill you. This is your last and final warning. Next time, this staff will be buried in your face." She leaned down a little closer and allowed a smirk to shine through. "I would rather see you dead than ever see you again." She wrenched out the staffs as she stood back up. "By the way, Roland is spending the night with me. If I find out that you have hurt or abused him in any way, I will behead you in front of your men. This, I promise to you." She nodded to Roland and the boy scurried in front of her. Zelena dropped her shield and accepted her staff back. The Merry Men helped Robin back up and lead him into the trees. Regina knew Lily and Mal would see them off the property and out of their territory.

"I'm gonna check and see where their camp is." Zelena said, throwing her staff behind her. It morphed into a board behind her and floated down next to her. She stepped onto it and was spirited off across the trees.

"What, are you serious? Mal, how come my staff doesn't turn into a hoverboard?" She demanded. Her mate started making a snickering sound before snapping back to the task at hand. "See how unfair she is." Regina said to Roland, leading him to the house. The boy suddenly threw his arms around her waist, which she returned after a moment of surprise.

"I'm glad you're back, Gina."

"I'm glad to be back. We have a lot to talk about, Ro, and a lot to do. First, we're getting you fed and healed, I'm fixing your hair because whoever cut it needs to be shot, you're meeting the kids and then we pack for a potentially dangerous journey to world filled with terrible dragons and beasts. It's gonna be so much fun." She smiled, patting his head.

"You sound insane. I missed you so much."

That evening, she and Mal raised a barrier around their land, in case Robin decided to try another assassination attempt. After a couple of health potions and a slice of lasagna, Roland was right as rain and Regina made his curly black hair grow out again and she was happy to see some color return to those dimpled cheeks of his. He hit it off well with the kids too. One thing lead to another and the next thing she knew, there was a little T Rex joining the trio of animals wrestling on her living room floor.

"This isn't strange to you?" Belle asked.

"My wife is a dragon. Not at all." She smirked. "I'm heading to bed. Mind the kids for me?"

"Of course."

"Thank you." After the last night and today, she was exhausted. Every moment of her return had only served as a reminder to why she left in the first place. But she wouldn't dwell on it long. When they came for what they wanted, she could leave again and never return and that would be a happy ending. Just not tonight… The doorbell rang and she rolled her eyes as she went to answer it. Emma stood on the other side, her face expressionless. Beside her, was Henry.

"Mom? You're alive?"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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