She had a family.
That's what went through the assassin's head as she stood with mourners at the funeral of her cousin Baelfire (also known as Neal)
The previous night Emma had confirmed to her everything she already knew about her memories. She was missing the last fifteen years of her life. In that time the blonde had sat with her to explain that she had reunited with the likes of Snow White and Regina before she had been swept up in a dark curse that had taken them to Storybrooke. Cursed for twenty-eight years before the woman in front of her had broken it with True Love's kiss a over a year ago.
The anger of having the truth withheld from her for so long burned through her chest as she fought against every instinct to send the blonde away and to never bother her again. But people like Emma's son were in trouble, by the woman who had taken her memories away from her, Romeo had taught her from a young age that she should never turn her back on people who needed help. But it still didn't understand why.
Emma supposed that she knew the woman well enough that she knew something the Wicked Witch didn't want other's knowing. She held the knowledge that would help defeat the witch but it had been lost for them all to pick up the pieces.
Her eye's drifted to the main group of mourners as her eyes saw a the back of brown hair that belonged to Baelfire. His name was Henry. She knew what it was like to lose a father at a young age. Then her eye's saw Regina who was watching her younger cousin closely as Neal's casket was lowered into the ground.
The Wicket Witch was behind her cousin's death. Whatever she was after, she would pay dearly for his death.
Captain Hook was the first to shovel a small pile of dirt into the grave followed by her old friend Belle, her uncle's true love,she had learnt. A heavily pregnant Snow White and her husband were next followed by Regina. As the the dark brunette returned to her spot her brown eye's met her's, it was her turn. Stepping up she took the shovel into her hands, the other's watched as the redhead shoveled a small pile of ground onto the metal spade before looking up she caught Emma's sympathetic eye.
She was burying yet another family member, one she didn't even remember knowing nor meeting. She heard the dirt sprinkled onto the wooden cask before shoving the shovel back into the pile of dirt and turning and headed back to Regina when she saw a face she hadn't seen in years.
Tinkerbell, the fairy that had started it all. She was the reason she was ever spotted in the Enchanted Forest. Angelo made sure she knew that before John ever hit the water.
The temptation to push a blade into her throat before throwing her into the grave with her cousin overwhelmed her mind as she brushed past Regina and the other mourners as she leave the funeral before she made her vision a reality.
The wake was being held in a place called Granny's Diner. Robin accompanied her as they took up two stools at one end of the bar near the entrance for a quick exit if one was needed, her eye's found the former Queen sat on the other end of the bar looking forlorn in her own thoughts as they fidgeted with a glass in front of her. She knew the source of her loneliness came from the boy that sat with Tom in a booth next to the windows.
She adopted Henry when he was born after the young savior gave him up for adoption and raised him as her own for the next decade while she and the rest of the town were under her curse. Now he had no recollection of his life in Storybrooke or his adopted mother. That's when she saw the flash of blonde hair the made her blood boil in her veins as Tinkerbell walked into the back of the diner alone. Emptying the remaining amber liquid that remained in her glass the assassin excused herself from her friend to follow the fairy into the bathroom.
There was no sound or sign that told the fairy that she had been followed into the bathroom until a sense of deja-vu washed over her as a felt a slender hand wrapped itself around her throat as she was pushed against cool tiled wall of the restroom she was met with an angry redhead that once had her in the same position in the cave in Neverland only without Regina there to talk the Black Widow down from killing her.
"Amelia" she croaked out in fear
"You think you're playing some kind of game with me fairy?" she gritted out as the blonde felt Amelia's hand grip give her a squeeze in warning
"I'm n-not. I swear" hearing the fairy's plea the assassin let the woman go putting some distance between her and the fairy as the latter huffed for air making the redhead roll her eyes at her dramatics, she hardly put any strength in it "I know you're confused Amelia, but please listen"
"Why would I listen to you? All you've caused me is pain"
"Because I'm not lying. You're angry. I would be if I found someone was the reason for losing the person I loved, but I would never lie about someone's soulmate"
"How do you know I lost someone I loved?"
"This isn't the first time you've tried to kill me over that night"
"Kill you?" the words made the redhead grown in confusion "I may be an asassin of the Brotherhood, but I would never kill anyone who wasn't a target. Why would I want to kill you?"
No one told her about the Black Widow, Tink realized. Maybe it was for the best she didn't know at the moment.
"It doesn't matter now" she brushed the subject off "You have a chance again to fall in love with Regina again"
The sentence made the assassin pause for thought. What she felt for the Queen wasn't love when they first met. It was a crush she had to push aside to return to the Brotherhood and the life that had been planned out for her since the age of five. Never to fall in love or have a family to call her own.
"Does she know it was me?" she asked the fairy
Tink gently shook her head at the redhead "She knows that her soulmate is a woman with red hair with a lion tattoo on her right arm"
Her fingers absentmindedly brushed over her jacket sleeve where her tattoo rested on her forearm. Now the previous day made sense. They way she panicked after seeing the lion tattoo as Tinkerbell contiued to speak "I know you don't believe in destiny but it brought you two together twice already even if you don't remember the second time, destiny will bring you together again"
Shaking the thought out her head she came back to her scenes as Tink repeated the words she had said to her Neverland "People linked by destiny will always find each other"
"To hell with destiny" Amelia quickly tells the fairy with the same vigor she told her in Neverland as she stormed out of the bathroom and headed back into the diner leaving the fairy to think of another way to get the pair of soulmates together
With her mind muddled from the conversation she had with Tinkerbell in the restroom she went to retake her seat at the bar only for a heavily pregnant Snow White to intercept her from her goal of drinking the bar dry, the prominent bump making her stop short in front of the younger woman she hadn't seen since she had been a young girl herself.
"Snow" she greeted the grown Princess with a tight smile "You've gotten…" her eyes drifted from the woman's swollen stomach "…taller" she finally finished
"Lia there you are" the Princess she last remembers seeing as a fifteen-year-old "I was hoping to introduce you to Henry"
"I don't…" the red head started only to get interrupted
"Please, I think he would like to meet you" she pleaded with the assassin. The redhead relented and let Snow take her towards a booth where the young boy was sat with the young Tom next to him and David opposite them waiting for her and Snow to join them.
"Henry" Mary Margaret called out to the young boy gaining his attention as they slid into the booth opposite the boy leaving Amelia to stand awkwardly over the table "We wanted to introduce you to a friend of ours Amelia Mon"
"Smith" the redhead quickly corrected the grown princess "Amelia Smith"
"Nice to meet you" Henry greeted the redhead he saw at the funeral, he held out his hand towards the woman who took it.
"It's nice to meet you too" she replied with a gentle smile, she grabbed a nearby chair from another table before perching herself at the end
"My Mom mentioned that you're related to me" he questioned the woman as Tom watched her closely
"We are" she hesitantly replies to the boy "Your grandfather on your father's side was my mother's brother" she explained to him"Your father was my cousin"
"Really?" he asked in excitement of meeting more of his family
"Yeah" she confirmed
"Does that mean you knew my Dad growing up?" he pressed gently
Amelia paused not knowing how to answer the boy, she had to do the kind thing "When we were your age, we were very close. But after my mother died our families drifted apart, I only re-connected with him recently. I'm sorry you lost him; he was a good man"
"Thanks" he gave the woman a sad smile as his head fell.
"I know what it's like to lose a parent at a young age, my mother passed when I was a lot younger than yourself. One day she was there and the next she wasn't"
"And your Dad?" at the mention of Romeo; Mary Margaret gripped her husband's hand under the table. This cursed Amelia had forgotten that she had reunited with her father on Neverland only to be cut short as he left the dream shade in his blood to kill him.
"He died when I was eighteen" she told the boy the truthfully with the sadness of losing him so quickly still as fresh as the day it happened.
"I'm sorry" the boy told the redhead with sympathy lacing his voice "do you miss him?"
"All the time" Taking a breath Amelia placed a comforting hand on the boys shoulder making him look up at her again "But where I come from death is not the end. It's more of a stepping off point. Both our fathers will be waiting for us when we are much older, for you when you are much, much older"
Mary Margaret had to blink back the tears that threatened to fall as the redhead gave the same speech as she did when she was only little older than Henry.
"Our father's wouldn't want us to be sad for too long even thought it's been a while since mine did, I know it hurts, but it will get better, you have to want it to"
Henry gave his cousin a watery smile before he changed the subject "Thanks"
"Your welcome Henry"
"So, what do you do Amelia?"
"I'm an Assas…"
"Assistant!" Mary Margaret quickly answered for the red head making the distant cousins look at her in confusion "She's an assistant, at the mayor's office. She's Regina's assistant" she supplied
"Cool" the young boy commented as they saw Captain Hook approach the table with Emma follwoing close behind him.
"Henry" Emma addressed her son "Do you remember Killian?"
"Hello Henry" the captain greeted the boy with a wide smile
"Would you excuse me?" the redhead said to the others as she didn't wait for anyone to excuse her she got up and left the table turning her back on the pirate to re-join Robin at the bar snatching up a new glass tumbler from the counter downing its contents in one gulp. She felt the satisfying burn the liquid left behind as the thief looked to his friend in amusement. She absentmindedly pulled her right sleeve up her arm exposing her tattoo.
"Don't ask" she tells him before pouring herself another glass he held up his hands in a mock surrender before joining her.
Down the bar Regina watched the red head taking to her son Henry in a booth before returning to the bar and taking a shot of alcohol. Unknown to the Assassin, Tinkerbell had her own way of getting the two soulmates to talk even after her conversation in the bathroom.
A small smile grew on her face as she watched Amelia drink so heavily at the other end of the bar with a man with a similar tattoo as hers.
Tinkerbell walked towards the former Queen as the latter saw the tattoo from her place at the bar. Faking her surprise the fairy quickly joined her knowing what she had just seen again.
"It's the lion tattoo" Tink pointed out the red head's tattoo whispering to the former Evil Queen "And the red hair. It's what was prophesied. She's your soul mate" the fairy tells the woman
"I know" Regina whispered back to the fairy trying to keep Amelia from hearing her.
"And you didn't tell me?" Tink replied in disbelief.
"Well, right now I have better things to do than gossip about girls!" Balancing three glasses, Amelia joined the pair interrupting the exchange.
"Drink?" the red head offers the fairy and the former Queen. Tinker Bell takes one. Amelia turns to address Regina "I hope I didn't upset you yesterday"
Regina quickly changed the subject sitting up "Amelia, Tinker Bell. Tinker Bell, Amelia" Tink held out her hand to the red head trying to get the woman to play along with the conversation.
"I've been wanting to meet you for a very long time" Tink said to the red head
"And no, you didn't upset me" Regina tells the former assassin "I just found a clue trail that needed to be followed. One that didn't lead anywhere" Regina gestures towards the offered glass, then stops herself "I don't daytime drink"
"Tonight then?" the red head retort's before nodding and takes her leave.
Tink turned on the Queen "What was all that about? Didn't you learn anything from the last time you screwed this up? If you had been open to the possibility of love when you first saw her, maybe your life wouldn't have turned out so-" Tinker Bell stops herself mid-sentence.
"So what?" she asked the fairy "How did my life turn out?"
"Why am I even bothering?" Tink scoffs to herself walking away from the Queen.
Amelia re-joined Robin at the bar as she saw Captain Hook leave with Henry and Tom wondering what the hell Tinkerbelle was up to when the door to the diner rang out making the assassin look towards it to see a woman with red hair holding the dagger she recognized as the one that belonged and controlled the Dark One. The dark magic that rolled of the woman matched the same magic that she felt at the farmhouse making the hair on the back of her neck stand up on end. It was her.
It was the Wicked Witch.
"My condolences" the other red head announced as the diner became tense at the woman's presence. Amelia stood from her seat on full alert at the sight of the enemy as Robin followed her as her hand slipped into her pocket to take hold of a small knife that she had brought with her.
Today was a bad day not to wear her gauntlets.
"So sorry I've missed the funeral" The witch continued "but I could never pass up to wake. Oh, did I miss the speeches? Shall I make one? I mean, I am, after all, responsible" Emma leapt forward to attack her, but Mary Margaret seized her arm to stop her
"No" Mary Margaret told her daughter firmly "Too many people will get hurt"
Zelena made her way through the tables as Robin and Amelia followed her closely, cutting off the exit "Listen to your mother dear. She's right" she told the savior as she twirled around to address the whole diner "Anyone who tries to interfere with my plan is gonna have to deal with the Dark One!"
She waved the Dark One's dagger in her hand to show the hero's she meant business, until she met the eye of one of her intended targets for the day meeting her threatening glare with a wicked smile.
"That also means you Assassin" she drawled out "Don't' think I don't know about the knife in your pocket" a questioning brow arched on the assassin's face at the witch as she dagger wielding witch stepped towards the assassin.
"Oh I know all about your little trick's Amelia" Zelena cooed approaching the assassin, grazing the edge of the dagger against her face making the Assassin freeze in place watching the blade closely "I know all about your little tricks" she whispered almost seductively in the Assassin's face he nose grazing against her cheek as she whispred the last word loud enough for everyone to hear including the former Queen "Intimately"
The diner watched in a mix of disgust and surprises as Zelena kissed Amelia full on the mouth a look of heartbreak grew on Regina's face only for Amelia to push the woman off her lips wiping them with the back of her hand with her own disgust on her face from the assault.
"Still a good kisser I see" Zelena sent the redhead a sickening smile and a wink before turning to the Charming's swinging the dagger carelessly around, it came a whisker away from her face as she felt Robin pull her back from the weapon to stand protectively in front of her.
David shielded his wife's large stomach "Don't come any closer" he warned her putting protective hand over his wife's stomach.
"Don't worry. I'm not here for your baby" the Witch tells the Prince "Not today, anyway"
"Then why are you here?" Regina sneered at the woman that kissed Amelia.
"Now, that my cover's blown, I can finally pay a visit to my little sister, and my former lover" Zelena tells the former Evil Queen
"What?" Amelia gasps out loud
"Who the hell are you talking about?" the dark brunette asked the Witch
"Why you, of course, Regina" she clarified "And your own love, Amelia"
"I don't even know you" the assassin spat wiping her lips from Zelena's cold touch
Zelena added "Well that little memory potion I gave you shaved a few years off now didn't it"
"I'm an only child" Regina told Zelena confidently
"Cora lied to you, Regina. I'm your sister. Half, if you to get technical"
"Why should I believe anything you say?"
"Oh, you shouldn't. It's a lot to swallow. This is why I brought a gift to help"
"I don't want a gift from you"
"But you shall have it" Zelena insisted "See, my gift to you is that sad, sad day. Use it to dig into our past, Regina. You need to learn the truth and you must believe it. And then, meet me on Main Street tonight. Say, sundown"
"And then what?"
"Then I'll destroy you" she turned to Amelia "And I expect you there as well Assassin, I'll show you chose the wrong sister"
"This isn't the Wild West" Regina continued
"No, dear. It's the Wicked West" she seethed at her half-sister and turning around to face the assembled guests. "And I want everyone to be there. To see the Evil Queen and the Black Widow lose"
There was that word again. Widow. And it wasn't said by itself this time. Black Widow.
"I don't lose" Amelia growled behind the Witch making the other red head to turn and face her
Zelena chuckled to herself "Neither do I. One of us is about to make history. See you tonight, sis" she spat at Regina leaving the diner
"And you're sure Cora never said anything about her?" David asked Regina, they all had gathered around the counter waiting for Regina to give them information about what Zelena had told them as Amelia stood near the entrance watching the hero's discuss what had just transpired with another glass of amber liquid in her hand.
Only this time she hadn't even take a sip out of the drink as she repeated the words Black Widow in her head over and over again.
"I think I would remember if my mother told me she had a love child with a scarecrow!" she snapped at him irritated at the line of questioning.
"It doesn't matter if Zelena is your sister or not" David argued "She wants you dead. Any idea why?" he asked as the redhead finally took a sip of the liquid amber that sat in her glass.
"I've never even met her before today" her mother told the group
"Doesn't mean you did something to piss her off" Emma added
"You did manage to step a lot on people's toes back in our world" Tinkerbell went on further
"Well, none of them were green" Regina replied
"There's that missing year. Maybe you did something to her then" Granny interjected
"Stick to the lasagne, lady. It's starting to sound an awful lot like you're on her side" Regina stood up and went to put her coat on passing Amelia on her way out.
"Where are you going?" Emma asked the former Evil Queen
"To find out exactly what this witch thinks I did to her" Regina left the diner with a new mission. The hero's looked towards Amelia
"Lia?" the Princess called out to the Assassin
"I'm missing the last fourteen year's of my life Snow, so no I don't remember her or ever being with her"
"We weren't…" Emma tried to speak up for her family.
"You were fifteen years old the last time I saw you Snow" Amelia snapped at the Princess "The last thing I remember was my husband being killed in front of me and my son being taken away. So stop asking question I can't answer" she told the group lowly, making them go silent "How about I ask the questions this time?" she threw back at the others "What the hell is the Black Widow and what does she have to do with me?"
You could hear a pin drop at how quiet the room became at the question that all been avoiding to hear from the redhead, all their faces where in readable as she looked at each one in turn as no one was brave enough to tell her the only missing piece she still had to fill.
"Screw you guys" she seethed at the group "I'll take my chances against the witch myself" at that she stormed out of the diner to try and find some sort of peace in this storm of lies and deceit from people she was supposed to trust.
With her mind full of more questions than answers from the people she was supposed to help the faint of sea air took her to the town's docks, were she found an empty bench with her own thoughts to keep her company as she watched the calm waves lap against the hull of fisherman's ships that sat in the harbor.
She would do this on the Jackdaw and the Godspeed whenever she had a quiet moment to herself, often John would join her with their son in his arms. Nothing was said between them but the sound of the sea crashing against the side of their boat as she lied her head on his strong shoulder allowing her eye's to close and just breathe in the sea air letting it rock her into a light sleep. He knew when she needed her mind to rest,
She missed those moments the most.
"There you are darling!" a shrill voice she recognized interrupted her thoughts as she looked up to see none other than the Wicked Witch herself quickly approaching the bench "I thought you'd run away again"
"Again?"
"Oh right you don't remember" she gleefully reminded herself with a toothy smile she joins the assassin on the bench "Memories. Such a fickle thing when one thinks about it. They come and go with time, but with one little potion you can make someone forget whole decades in seconds"
"What do you want?" Amelia got straight to the point of the 'meeting', if she could actually call it that anyway "Aren't you a little early to your own fight?"
"I came here to give you a chance to turn your back on those so called hero's and join me" Zelena tells her
"Not to burst your bubble but I'm not here to do anything but to stop you" making her point the assassin stands to leave the witch to herself
"Even if your so called family have lied about who you really are this whole time?" Zelena called out to her making her stop
The former assassin slowly turned to speak to the witch "Honey, people who have called themselves my family have always lied to me, makes no difference"
"Not even if it concerns the Black Widow" Amelia tried her best to keep her poke face, but the Wicked Witch seemed to see right through it "Ahhh so you are interested" she drawls as she stands up to meet her "How about we make a deal? I'll tell you all about the Black Widow in return for your services to defeat my little sister?"
"No deal" the assassin reply's turning to leave once again only for the witches next sentence to freeze the woman on the spot.
"Even if I could reunite you with your son?" the Witch offered in a last ditch effort to turn the former Black Widow against the other's. With her they would be unstoppable with the Dark One in her control.
Slowly the assassin turned to face the witch again to be met with her toothy grin knowing it had worked as stood still as the witch prowled around her knowing her bait had been bitten "All those years you spent with my sister. You never once tried to look for poor Thomas, too afraid to show him the monster you had become. You call yourself a mother yet you'll allow you son to think you abandoned him, spilling so much blood in the meantime to earn the name of the Black Widow"
"What do you want?"
"Simply your...assistance in destroying the hero's that lied you for so long and my sister and in return, I give you the life you a chance to raise your son. You have the day to think on it" at that the Wicked Witch disappeared in green smoke leaving the assassin with a decision that could decide on the outcome of the town's survival.
She didn't stay at the docks for much longer as the assassin sought out her peace and quiet of the forest that surrounded the town to make her decision. Her son was alive. Bu why didn't she ever try and find him?
She knew why Angelo didn't just kill her and Thomas right there and then on the deck of the Jackdaw all those years ago. They were still valuable. He would've most likely inherited her sixth sense like she had from her father and that skill was rare in the Enchanted Forest. Every child that showed signs of having it were quickly taken from their family to be trained by the Brotherhood, she was no different despite her true parentage. Romeo only accelerated her training by a few years.
The forest remained her of the woods that surrounded Monteriggioni, she would spent hours training in them and when her training was done for the day it was her safe haven away from the older Assassin's only to return to the Brothel in the evening to sleep for the night. It almost felt like home if hadn't been for the town behind her.
Zelena's deal was tempting. It's not like she knew these people and she would be able to protect those few that she did know to care enough about. But would she be able to fight Regina. She was her soulmate after all. It was bad enough to lose her true love the way she did, but could she be the person to actually en her life. To look into the eyes she had dreamt of after seeing them for the first time to see the spark behind them dull into non-existence.
Her muddled thoughts ended when she saw the woman herself sitting on a log, holding a letter in her hands close to her face as the re-read the words that etched the piece of paper over and over again. Distracted by seeing the former Queen there her foot stepped on a twig making it snap under her weight alerting the woman to her presence, she turned on her seat to see Amelia through the overgrown tree roots that protruded from the ground.
"We need to stop meeting like this" the redhead greets her with a sigh as she sees the Queen pocke the letter she was reading as she approached her.
"Did the Charming's send you to give me a pep talk?" she asks the redhead "Cause I don't do pep talks"
"If you're referring to Snow, David and their grown daughter then no" the redhead answered the Queen as she sat down next to the woman "I came out here to get away from the questions I can't answer"
"Sounds about right" the older brunette huffs out.
"So, you're gonna tell me what's in that letter you've been staring at?" the redhead started.
"What letter?"
"This one" she tells the brunette holding up the letter to Regina "Pickpocketing is lesson number one. I spent many years learning how to rob from anyone, even Queens"
"You're lucky I'm saving my strength for that witch" Regina sneered at the redhead bringing her face close to the other woman in warning.
"I think, deep down you want to talk about what's in there" the assassin points out to the woman.
"What makes you think you know me so well?"
"Well, for one thing I'd be dead, if you didn't"
"True"
"Can I read it?"
"Not stopping you"
Opening the piece of paper Amelia read out the words written on it "Cora, dear. I've finally got my hands on your first born. Never thought I'd find her, did you? Now I know why: She's the most powerful sorceress I've ever encountered. Even more powerful than you. Stunning in every way" Amelia finished before looking back up to the Queen "Why is this troubling you?"
"I've seen that letter a hundred times before. In my darkest moments I'd go to it for comfort. For solace. For brace when I needed it. Because I- Because I always thought it was about me" Regina explained to the red head
"It's about Zelena" Amelia easily deduced
"Rumpelstiltskin thinks she's more powerful than I am"
"Why do you care what the Dark One thinks?"
"Because, if the man who taught me everything I know about magic, thinks she is stronger than I am, then there's no way I can win this fight"
It was that moment Amelia knew what she was going to do about Zelena's deal. This wasn't the woman she knew all those years ago, that woman fought tooth and nail to her when she needed it. joining Zelena when she needed her the most was only going to add to the bloodshed the witch had told her about, even if didn't get her son back.
"Well then" Amelia said handing the letter back to the Queen "It's a good thing you won't be the only one fighting her then" she tells the woman "If I let myself think the people who trained me were too strong for me, I wouldn't be here talking to you today. I'm all the proof you need to know you can beat her, and if she wants a fight with me she's going to get one" a the side of Regina's lips quirked up seeing the confidence in the redhead "So? What do you say? Fancy a partner again?"
As the deadline for Zelena's showdown with her sister neared and the deadline to the deal she offered to the assassin, residents of Storybrooke started to gather at the clock-tower. As the crowds got denser Emma, Mary Margaret and David had to push themselves to the middle, to ready themselves for whatever was to come of the fight between Regina and the Wicked Witch with Amelia thrown in for good measure. They had found Tink and Tom at the front
No one had seen nor heard of the pair as the sun dipped into the horizon. Emma and Mary Margaret had joined the former Queen to find any proof of what the witch was claiming in he vault while David searched high and low for the assassin. Knowing full well she wouldn't be found if she didn't want to be.
"Have you seen Regina?" Emma asked her mother
"Not since the vault" she answered her daughter
"If she doesn't get here soon that which will take it out on all of us" Tink told them
"Tom?" Emma turns to the teen who had become more involved than she and her parents were comfortable with "Any sigh of Lia?"
"None" he answered her "Robin's worried Zelena got to her"
"What do you mean 'got to her'" Emma asked the teen to elaborate
"He saw them talking at the dock's"
"Emma" Mary Margaret called out to her daughter "We know Lia well enough to know she wouldn't hurt us"
"Yeah our Lia wouldn't" the blonde pointed out "This Lia know's we've been hiding stuff from her and she's pissed. We all know what she does when she's pissed off"
"Let's take everybody out of here before that happens" David said jumping into action as he turned to face the crowd to address them "Alright, listen up. We need you to get back to your home" but the prince was interrupted
"No one's going show needs an audience" her voice rang out in the street as the crowd turned to see Zelena saunter into the middle of the street holding the Dark One's dagger approach them with Gold trailing behind her, the crowd backing away in fear of the Wicked Witch except from Mr. Clark " Out of my way, munchkin" she sneers at the dwarf
"I'm a dwarf" he corrects her
"That's even worse" she replied as she sought out her sister's presence "Where is she? Don't tell me. She's a coward. This isn't good. For all of you. If my sister and her assassin aren't here in five minutes, I'm going to let the Dark One off his leash"
"How about just little old me for now?" a voice made Zelena and the town snap their heads to the side to see Amelia stood in the middle of the deserted street with nothing but her gauntlets on her forearms alone with no Regina in sight.
"Amelia" Zelena greeted the Assassin with a wide toothy smile "You made it. Did you have a chance to think over my deal?" she asks the assassin as she approaches the wtich
That was what they had been talking about at the dock
"I did" Amelia tells the witch "And I won't Zelena. No deal"
"Even if it mean's sacrificing your own son?" she tells
"Especially then, if he's really here. He'll understand why one day, until that day I won't let people like you bully us into submission" from the sideline's Tom smiled to himself at her words, thinking on how lucky her son was to have a mother like her and how lucky he was to be mentored by someone like her.
"If that's your decision, why are you here first?"
"I thought we could have a little chat before you killed your sister" she tells the woman circling the woman in black keeping her back towards the gathered crowd.
A dark chuckle escaped the witches mouth "Even without your memories you think I'm more powerful than her"
Amelia shrugged her shoulders at the other red head "I don't know about that" she quipped at the woman "No, I wanted to know what made me so much of a threat to you to take away so many years of my memories" Amelia started as she continued to circle the Wicked Witch "Let's do a head count shall we?"
"You currently have The Dark One, my uncle as your personal puppet" Amelia caught the Dark One's eye as she continued to stalk circles around the Wicked Witch "You killed my cousin, his son. That really pisses me off by the way and finally you've trapped the entire town within its borders, or they turn into your personal flying monkey's. Am I missing anything Zelena?"
"What's you point in all this Miss Montague?" Gold drawled out as the assassin stopped circling the Witch and slowly approaches the other redhead closing the distance between
"I'm glad you asked Uncle, you put so much effort into getting your hands-on Snow's child that you went to the trouble of erasing fourteen years of my life from my mind which begs the question-" Amelia paused as her face got closer to the Witches "What do I know about you that makes you so scared of me" she whispered to the Wicked Witch as her hand slowly down the side of the witches coat only for the later to grip onto her wrist tightly and wretch it up into the air.
"You really think you can steal from me?" Zelena gritted out in anger "I know all your tricks Assassin"
"Who said anything about stealing?" Amelia said as a ploom of white smoke burst from the witches' coat. The crowd stood back in fear as the two where engulfed in thick smoke.
Pulling his wife out of the way as Emma pull's Tom back Amelia suddenly re-appears out of the smoke as she is thrown towards the crowd as the smoke disappeared. The redhead spun across the asphalt before coming to a stop at the Charming family's feet sporting a fresh cut across her cheek.
"Lia!" Emma exclaimed in shock and concern jumped forward with Tom to the Assassin's aide with her parents not too far behind.
"Ow" she groaned out in pain as her vision stopped spinning "That hurt" she whispered to the other's holding onto her right arm.
Looking up to the clock tower she saw that Regina's deadline had finally come with no show from her sister, she finds the assassin back on her feet with Tom and Emma aiding her "Time's up Assassin, if my sister isn't here your dear uncle will be the one to kill you this time"
With Regina's deadline striking, the town waited with bated breath for what the Wicked Witch would do to them as the defeated assassin cradling her elbow still in pain and the burn of the cut on her cheek stinging in the cold air. Tom clung onto her like she would disappear if he le her go and fight Zelena alone again.
"Time's up" the witch announces "Who'd you wanna kill first, Rumple?" Zelena sent the question towards the Dark One as she held his dagger in her hand she lifted it up and pointed the tip of the blade towards "How about we start with your little niece" Amelia went to step forward only to be held back by Emma who stepped in front of the hurt assassin.
"He's not killing anyone. If you wanna fight someone, Zelena, fight me" Emma announced to the woman
"Sorry dear. I don't dance with amateurs. I wouldn't mind going a second round with Amelia though"
"I'm not an amateur. I'm the saviour" the blond tells her
"Looks like someone has an inflated sense of self-worth"
Zelena looks at Mr. Gold who directs his magic at Emma causing her to fall backwards where she crashes into the crowd. David quickly ran to his daughter and helped her back up.
"Anybody else wanna give it a go?" the Wicked Witch asked the crowd as Regina finally made her appearance.
"I do" the younger sister announced as she walked towards her older half-sister the crowd dividing letting the woman through "Didn't anyone tell you? Black is my colour" she sassed at the red head
Zelena let out a dark chuckle at her sister's humor "But it looks so much better on me. I was beginning to think that you'd sent you assassin to fight for you"
"I fight for myself; I couldn't let my sister off that easily"
"So, you've finally accepted me into the family?"
"I accepted that we shared a mother, yes. But I still have one question: What the hell did I ever do to you?" Regina sneered at Zelena
"Isn't it obvious? You were born"
Regina slaps her in the face taking the crowd back in surprise "I've been waiting to do that. All day"
"Rumplestiltskin can't save you this time" Zelena tell her sister as Amelia quietly makes her move towards the sister's, the crowd we're paying all their attention to the brewing fight between half sisters to notice the red head assassin move from her spot.
"They should've chosen me" Zelena went on
"Who?"
"Rumpelstiltskin and Amelia"
"That's' what this is about? You're jealous of me?" Regina deduced as she focused, her magic on a traffic light above them causing it to fall towards her older half-sister. The crowd flee outwards out of the way as Zelena sent the item in another direction. Amelia used the distraction to grab the back of Rumpelstiltskin's suit, turning him around with the momentum and sending her right first on his face.
The crowd gasped in shock as the man stumbled back holding his hurt cheek with one hand, he looked back up to the redhead in a mix of anger and shock that she had managed to catch him off guard
"Trust me dearie this isn't a fight you want" he warned the woman with gritted teeth
"Oh but I do" Amelia told the older man as she threw out her arms to her sides unsheathing both her hidden blades "I can do this all day" she didn't give the man a chance to retort as she ran towards him jumping up only for the man to brush the woman aside with his magic sending her to the road again.
Quickly recovering from the magic and stood back up on her feet as she saw Zelena throw Regina into a parked car. Reaching in her hoodie she quickly grabbed a small knife and quickly threw it towards the wicked witch. The small knife spun through the air as it made it's way closer to the Wicked Witch's head only for the woman to stop it mid air with her magic.
"Shit" she breathed out as the blade was sent back her way. She stepped to the side to feel the air shift around her face as the knife flew past her head giving Regina the time she needed to recover from being thrown in the car roof and walk up to her older sister with venom in each step as she formed a ball of fire in her hand.
However, before she's able to use it Zelena snuffs the fire out and magically lift's Regina and Amelia up in the air by their throat's choking the pair as the town could only watch on as both women were suspended into the air.
"You can't beat me, little sis. Everything Rumplestiltskin taught you, he taught me, too. But I was the better student" Zelena finished by throwing her younger sister up in to the night sky into the clock tower, breaking through it's clockface and into the tower itself. Green smoke engulf's the wicked witch as she disappeared from the street. At the same time Amelia felt the pressure on her neck release as gravity pulled her back down onto the concrete, her knee's buckle as her feet met the solid ground until she fell onto her back once more.
"Lia!" Emma's panicked voice rung in the assassin's head as she opened her eye's to see the royal couple with their daughter and dwarves surrounding the woman with concerned look's on their face.
"A little help?" were the first word's that wheezed out of the Assassin's mouth as she came to. Emma held out other hand for the Assassin to grasp with her injured arm making the red head grimace in pain as the blonde helped her off the ground, she felt the Prince's hand's on her back as she regained her footing, slightly teetering to her left as her head spun.
"Are you alright, do you need an ambulance?" the blonde asked her in concern seeing the woman in pain.
"I don't know, what that is. So, no" they were taken out of their concern for the redhead as Zelena emerged from the broken clock tower on a broom before flying away into the night. She needed to leave now, if the next part of their plan was going to work.
"I need to go" she told them as she started to make her way down the street. Emma and her father let the assassin go turning their attention to the clock tower.
"Wait, please don't go" Snow's concerned voice made her stop as Emma and Charming left the pregnant woman on the street.
Stopping in her tracks she suddenly saw the fifteen-year-old girl in the middle of the street instead of the almost thirty-year old. She looked the same way she did when she had to leave her with her father. She had begged for her not to leave. She didn't want her only friend to leave her. But her father had told her she had to; she had no role to play in a royal court.
Stepping towards the younger woman a soft smile grew on her face as she placed her left hand on her shoulder looking at her straight in the eye's
"I'll be fine Snow" she repeated the words that she told the fifteen-year-old years ago "You'll be fine. You have more things to be worried about than little old me" the assassin's hand slipped onto the woman's stomach.
A sob escaped the Princess mouth as she threw herself at her old hero latching herself around the red head with her arm's holding the older woman against her. She left Amelia's good arm wrap around her shoulders as she rested her chin on the Princess's head. Her heart broke as she heard quiet sob's escape her.
"I missed you" she heard Snow's muffed voice from her chest
Snow heard a chocked laugh escape the assassin as held the woman tighter against her chest "I missed you too" she relied before Snow pushed herself off the assassin to look at the redhead through her tear-filled eye's
"I promise you; we'll get your memories' back Lia. We need you"
"Do you really want the Black Widow to help you?" Snow was taken aback. She knew what she became. Someone must've told her "I know what I did Snow, I know what I became, tell me do you really think I want them back after everything?"
"Lia you were hurting. You lost your family. You changed for the better" Snow tried to plead to the woman. It sounded like she didn't want them back
"And yet I never tried to find him again. Tell me if the roles were reversed would you do that to your children," Amelia stated to the woman leaving her speechless. The red head took a step back from Princess "I'm sorry but I need to go" turning the redhead ran down the street at a steady pace, leaving the Princess with more question's needing answered
With her sister with her tail between her legs for the time being, Regina ran through the wood with what little light the torch gave in the dark, looking for the woman she had left in the street fighting Rumple. Coming to an abrupt stop when she reached the tree trunk they had agreed to meet at once the fight was over.
"Melia" Regina whispered into the woods, lifting the torch up the light caught Amelia's glowing gold eye's shining bright in the darkness as they reflected the light from the torch that was shone on her face.
"Did the plan work?" Amelia asked the woman holding her right arm to her body as her golden eyes faded back to their normal green.
"That depends - is it still here?" the brunette panted out from the rush into the woods.
"Right where we left it" the assassins says as she knelt at the root's of the tree they had met at digs at the earth to find what she way looking for. The former Queen letting out a relived breath when she saw her heart safe and sound in the assassin's hand.
"Then it worked. I just needed to find the one thing I had that Zelena didn't"
"And what exactly was that? See how much of a hit I could take" Regina let out a laugh at the assassins attempt of a joke as she took her heart back from the redhead. Seeing the tattoo that was inked on the assassins arm she forgot the significance of over the years as anger and vengeance consumed them both.
"My heartless mother" she starts tucking her heart into a small satchel as Amelia stood from the ground cradling her arm "My sister was right about something. She said I don't always realize what I have right in front of me"
"And what's that?" Amelia asked her
"Just, that I didn't always appreciate things" she pauses looking at the red head assassin in front of her. She'd been there through it all, how come she had never seen her until now. Regina glanced down to Amelia's right hand to see blood dripping down her finger's and onto the ground.
The Queen's eyebrows furrowed in concern "You're hurt" Amelia's graze looked down to see what Regina was seeing her hand dripping down onto the forest floor.
"It's nothing, just a scratch" she tried to reassure the Queen only for Regina to snatch her hand up as gently as she could not caring about getting blood on her red leather gloves tucking the satchel underarm and using her free hand waving it over the injured arm to heal the wound that was bleeding.
Regina watched closely as pain Amelia held in her face relaxed as it faded away into nothingness. She stood still as the former Queen continued her work as her had rose up and over the cut on the assassin's cheek healing the wound leaving her skin unscarred.
"There" Regina breathed "All better"
"Wasn't that my job?" Amelia asked the Queen remembering their moment in the upturned carriage.
A soft chuckle left the Queen's throat at the fond memory "Your welcome" still holding Amelia's right hand she turned it over and placed the satchel in the red head's open palm "Would you mind holding on to this a little bit longer?" she asked the assassin
Amelia looked up at the woman somewhat disbelief "You're really going to entrust something so valuable to a stranger, especially after I've stolen from you"
"You're far from a stranger to me and you can't steal something that's been given to you before" brown eye's met green as the pair were stuck in a trance. She turns around breaking the eye contact and starts to walk away.
"You still owe me that drink" Amelia's voiced making the Queen stop in her tracks
"Yes, I suppose, I do" she answered into the night before continuing her way home. The redhead watched in awe of the retreating woman, she still held that elegance about her when she had first met her all those years ago.
AN: Yay! An update!
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