Hey guys! We're super close to the end of this story! Two more chapters after this. I hope you guys have enjoyed this story, I've loved writing it :) Thank you, as always, for the reviews and follows. It means the world to me!

"Do you have it?" Elsa asked as Regina entered her vault. Holding up a vial of blue liquid, she nodded. They had all gathered in the vault to see the Snow Queen's history, between her mirror and the memories in the stone, the potion Regina had made would allow them to watch the events. Regina took the stone and used her magic to draw out the magic of the stone, sending it into the mirror and pouring the vial over top, took a step back and watched the young Snow Queen flicker on the surface.

Regina watched the scenes unfold, glancing occasionally at Elsa every so often. The Snow Queen was a lot like Elsa, close with her sisters and terrified that her magic could hurt people, especially the people they cared about. Regina wasn't sure if she wanted to see how the Snow Queen had so drastically transformed into who she was today, It wouldn't be good.

The group watched as the Snow Queen, Ingrid, continued to ostracize herself out of fear and how encouraging her sisters were. Regina felt her stomach twist as she mentally fit together an idea of what might be about to happen. She could identify with many aspects of what Ingrid was experiencing, probably because she had once been exactly like her, scared about dancing with magic, terrified she would cross that line into darkness.

The support of Ingrid's sisters was what made her heart start thumping, it was strangely reminiscent of Daniel, bold and hopeful in the face of magic, the support coming unflinchingly. Daniel had hope that her mother would allow them to be together, even with her magic that she could do anything with. That was the same hope Ingrid's sisters placed in her, that no one else would ignorantly misunderstand their sister and her magic. If what Elsa had said about her kingdom, they didn't seem the most welcoming toward magic.

Regina's heart started to beat erratically as the Duke accosted Ingrid, she watched with bated breath, knowing this was the moment. She watched Helga as she stood up for her sister, the hateful accusations that the Duke spat, how Ingrid was growing upset until she lashed out, and Regina watched as the Duke pulled Helga in front of her. Ingrid's blast hitting her in the heart.

Regina closed her eyes as the terrified and helpless cries of Ingrid filled the room, the sound so eerily familiar, so much like her own as she watched her mother rip Daniel's heart out and crushed it. Another voice could be heard coming from the mirror, Regina opened her eyes to watch as Elsa and Anna's mother, Gerda, joined the scene. She watched as Gerda's horrified expression turned to fear, she watched as Gerda uttered words that haunted Regina as much as they had to haunt Ingrid.

You're a monster.

She watched as Gerda trapped Ingrid in the urn and went to the rock trolls, asking them to erase the memories of Ingrid and Helga from everyone in Arendelle. The mirror faded and no one spoke. The silence in the room was deafening, Regina glanced at Elsa, her face holding disbelief and a touch of horror at what her mother did to her own sister, to someone who had powers like her. Reaching her hand out, Regina took Elsa's and squeezed it gently. Elsa gave Regina a watery smile as she squeezed back.

"How could our mother do that to her own sister?" Anna's shocked voice said.

"I, I don't know. Fear makes people do anything." Elsa said softly.

"How does this help us though?" David asked from where he stood next to Mary Margaret, both of them with mirroring expressions of shock and sympathy at what they had just seen.

"We have something to use against the Snow Queen." Emma said, echoing Regina's thoughts, "She wants Elsa and I to be her new sisters, her own family of people who understand her because we have magic, this can help us against her curse."

Regina's eyes widened in shock, "What? When did you find that out?"

Everyone else was murmuring around Emma, apparently this was the first time any of them had heard the news as well.

"I had a confrontation with her yesterday. She appeared in the sheriff station to talk, I think she was trying to rile me up so I would lose control of my magic-"

"Did that happen?" Regina asked quickly.

Emma shook her head, giving Regina a small smile, "Nope, your exercises and lessons work! She mentioned vaguely about this," She gestured at the mirror that had played the scenes about the Snow Queen, "She was saying that soon, Elsa and I would love her and she'd have the family she wanted. Belle stopped by later that day and said that she was in the Snow Queen's palace and there was a mirror that showed her the worst parts about herself. Her bitter, angry feelings. She looked it up and found the spell of Shattered Sight. Essentially, it turns you into the worst version of yourself."

Regina felt sick, her stomach twisting as she recalled the passage about that spell in one of her books. They had to stop the Snow Queen from casting that curse. She knew what the worst version of herself was and she had worked so hard to change, to leave that in her past. If the Snow Queen succeeded- Regina didn't want to fathom what she would become again. That scared her more than anything because she knew the things that she could do. She could hurt the people she loved and be powerless to stop it. Suppressing a shudder, she shoved that fear aside,

"We need to stop her. We need to make a plan." She said, making eye-contact with everyone as they nodded their agreement.

"If we show her the letter, would that help?" Mary Margaret asked, "I mean, if what she wants is her family, maybe we could show her that she never truly lost it. That Gerda still loved her and spent her last moments trying to make it right."

"That might work!" Anna said excitedly.

"It's worth a shot, but we should have a back up plan in case it doesn't work." Emma said. The others murmured their agreement and started to sketch out ideas."

"Elsa," Regina called as everyone started to file out of the vault, Elsa turned around after saying something softly to Anna, "I think I figured out how to save Marian but I'm going to need your help."

Elsa's face split into a wide smile, "That's great, Regina! What can I do?"

Regina pulled a book from the nearby shelf and flipped it to the page she had carefully marked yesterday, "I think if you isolate the ice magic and then I cast this healing spell, we should be able to wake her up."

"How do I isolate the ice magic? Will it be difficult?"

Regina shook her head, "No, it should be fairly easy. All you are is drawing your type of magic out of her, it should work like a magnet."

Elsa grinned, "I stand by what I said last night, those things are cool!"

Regina gave her an amused grin, "You ready to try?"

Elsa nodded and grabbed the book, they made their way to Regina's hidden room where Marian's body was. Robin had been the one to suggest that they keep her by Regina in order to help her research and test out various things if she needed. They also hadn't wanted Roland seeing his mother like that. Regina waved her hand and the door appeared. They walked inside and over to Marian's body. Elsa stretched out her hands, eyes closing in concentration as silver streaks flowed out of her hand. Her eyes popped open,

"Wow, you weren't kidding about it being like a magnet. This is really simple!"

"I'm glad, once you have it all, try forming it into a ball. It'll be easier for me to do my spell with it all grouped together."

Elsa nodded before twisting her hands, forming the now white magic into a ball. Regina drew her hands up, letting her purple magic flow from her fingertips. The two colors collided, forming a lavender sphere. Sparks flew out of the sphere as Regina's magic attacked the ball, it grew darker, the lavender turning into lilac, then amethyst, it shifted to indigo, shaking violently.

Regina forced more magic out of her, feeling her brows start to sweat with the energy she was pouring into the spell. The shaking grew worse and the sphere shifted to dark violet before exploding, violet sparks lingering in the air before fading. Regina let out a long breath, a smile slowly spreading across her face as she looked down at Marian's body and saw the ice fade, leaving tan, rosy skin in its place. It worked! She and Elsa grinned happily at one another.

"Thank you for your help."

"Anything for a friend, I'm just happy we finally did it!"

"You and me both."

Elsa had left, promising to tell Robin to go to the vault. Regina had gotten Marian's heart out of the box in preparation. Once Robin arrived, they would put her heart back in and she would wake up. Robin would get his happily ever after. She tried not to let the bitter feelings in, she deserved this fate after everything she had done. The Evil Queen wasn't who she was anymore, but she still had that hanging over her, she always would.

It was time to accept that. The only thing she could do now was show everyone that she had changed, to take control of her life and allow herself to become the person she had always wanted to be. Without the influence of her mother and Rumpelstiltskin this time. She wasn't trapped in the palace with Leopold anymore, she didn't harbor that hatred for Snow White anymore, she was free and she was going to make the most of it. To never take it for granted again.

She picked up Marian's heart, examining the glowing red light that it had. Showing how good Marian was. She thought of her own blackened heart, the swirls of red mixed in, painting it a deep maroon in certain spots. It would always remind her of who she had been and who she wasn't anymore. Always showing her what she was fighting for. As she shifted the heart in her hand, she frowned, it was still an odd shade of red.

She had noticed it back when she had first taken the heart out, chalking it up to an effect of the ice. But the ice was gone. Was there something else affecting Marian's heart? She set the heart back down in the box and headed over to her books. She wasn't sure was making her look into this, but Robin and Roland's words floated in her head.

She doesn't feel like a mommy.

But she really does seem different. The more I think about it, the more I believe that I'm not just making it up. I don't think it's time. I think something is wrong.

She started skimming chapters, looking for anything about colors of the heart. She remembered reading a passage about it back in the Enchanted Forest, memories of Henry circling in her mind, the gaping wound in her heart, thoughts of the heart of the Truest Believer, how it had glowed red and gold. It had been something she had never seen before and wondered if there were any other colors or shades that held meaning. She had discovered that gold held symbolism for wisdom, a caring and empathetic nature, and how that can be ingrained into a person on such a level that their heart reflects it. She set the first book aside and picked up the next, flipping through, skimming each chapter briefly, waiting for something to pop out at her. She found the chapter that she was looking for but before she could start reading it, footsteps echoed coming down the stairs.

"You figured it out?" Robin's hopeful tone reverberated around the room.

"Yes, Elsa helped me. The ice is gone. We just need to put her heart back in."

Robin took a couple steps forward, a wide grin on his face as he drew her into a hug. She tried not to think about how good it was to be this close to him, to feel his arms around her. She tried to ignore how safe and comforting it felt as she gently hugged him back.

"I knew you could do it! Thank you, Regina." He said earnestly.

She withdrew, letting her barriers come up. She couldn't think about what this would mean for them and their relationship. Gone was any hope that had followed when he said he was in love with her. That love wasn't changing anything. Marian would be back and she would have to see them together, happy with Roland, the perfect family image. She pushed all of her feelings deep down, something she had done so much that it came easily to her.

"You ready?" She asked, not meeting his eyes as she turned to grab the box that housed Marian's heart.

"Yeah." His voice was soft, as if he knew just how much she was hiding. She led him into the hidden room and lifted the lid of the box, taking the heart out. Robin reached over and took the box out of her hands, holding it as she bent down, aligning Marian's heart against the spot in her chest before pressing down firmly.

She took a step back and waited. Marian's eyes flickered open, she drew a deep breath before sitting up, bringing her hand to her head. She looked dazed as she looked around, her eyes going straight to Regina, completely impassive, before darting over to Robin.

"What- what happened?"

"You were cursed by the Snow Queen," Robin said, "You've been frozen, Regina figured out a way to save you."

Marian's eyes lifted in surprise, she stared at Regina for a moment, as if at a loss of what to think, "Thank you." She said eventually, tilting her head in confusion, "How did she curse me?"

Robin and Regina exchanged a glance, "I believe it was from the ice cream we had the day before." Robin said.

"Oh," Marian said, "It froze me?"

"She put some sort of freezing spell on it, yes. It must've taken a bit to completely absorb into your system and actually start to affect you beyond small headaches and cold spells." Regina explained, noting the dip of Marian's head as she affirmed the symptoms that Regina was listing, "Once it was in your system, it began freezing your body, working its way through your bloodstream. We had to take out your heart, luckily we did it before the ice reached it. If we hadn't…"

"I'd be dead."

Regina nodded.

"She's been working on a solution everyday since then." Robin added. Marian's eyes widened and she looked at Regina with gratitude?

"I'm sorry it took this long."

Marian shook her head, "No, it sounds like you did a lot of work. You saved my life and brought me back. You really have changed. No Evil Queen would've done that," Marian's eyes were full of warmth and acceptance, "You're definitely not the same woman who locked me in the dungeon." Her voice was playful, a small, hesitant grin playing on her face. Regina felt the corners of her own mouth turn up.

"What?" Robin's voice interrupted the moment between the two women. Regina looked over at him and immediately wished she hadn't. His face shone with confusion, eyebrows knitted together, eyes darting between Marian and Regina, his mouth slightly agape.

Regina saw the exact moment he had put it together. Knew the split second his face morphed into understanding, his eyebrows relaxing, jaw clenched, his eyes shining. She could feel her heart sinking, knew that nothing would be able to fix what would happen. She felt her breathing quicken and she tried to even it out, feeling her chest tighten as cold spread over it. She could feel herself tilting into numbness, knowing her body was trying to protect her for what was about to come.

"You?" Robin's voice was soft, filled with echoes of disbelief and fury. Regina suppressed the urge to flinch at the way he said it. "You were the one who took her away from me? From Roland?" His voice was growing louder. Marian had stood up, her eyes holding an odd expression as she glanced between Robin and Regina.

"I-I-" Regina started to say, but Robin cut her off,

"How could you do something like that? Didn't she tell you that she had a family? How could you knowingly take a mother away from her son?!" He shook his head in disbelief, she could see his veins pulsing with the weight of the anger he was feeling. He scoffed, "When I met you, the supposed Evil Queen, I figured you were just misunderstood and deeply hurt. I knew you did terrible things, but I thought, who was I to judge you when I too was similar. You saved Roland, you helped Snow White, your sworn enemy, you worked against Zelena and defeated her with light magic. You had me fooled."

He let out a bitter laugh. This time she really did flinch. "Was it all a lie? A great master scheme of the Evil Queen to get her soulmate to fall in love with her? Did you know the whole time that you had killed my wife? When I talked about her, I didn't realize I was talking to her murderer!"

"Robin, it wasn't- I didn't know." She said helplessly. Everything was crumbing apart, she could feel it and she didn't have it in her to try and save it. How could she? Was there even a way to fix this? There wasn't anything she could say or do.

"You didn't know? Did you really kill that many people that you don't even remember all of them?" Her silence answered his question and she let the horror of that realization wash over her as well. Her stomach twisted, she had done so many unspeakable things, done it all in the name of love and vengeance and it would always hang over her. She would always pay the price. Robin let out another scoff, "Wow. You really are the Evil Queen."

It was the present-tense that sent a sharp stab in her heart, "Robin, I was the Evil Queen, I've changed-"

"No, you will always be the Evil Queen. Those things aren't something you can just change. That's who you are and that is who you will always be."

Regina knew nothing could've ever prepared her for those words because the numbness that she had entered in had shattered. If Robin or Marian said anything else, she didn't hear it. She didn't know how she was still standing up, in her mind, she had crumpled to the ground, drowning under the weight of everything that she had ever done.

She had been wrong.

So, so wrong.

She had naively thought that she could put the Evil Queen in the past, that she could take accountability for her actions back then whenever they resurfaced, but that she could work toward being a good person, being a hero. That she could change and that everyone who looked at her would see how different she was. Was that hopeless?

Just another cruel twist of fate?

That she would always be doomed by her mistakes, by her past? There was no fight left in her if that was the case. She had been fighting her whole life and she was tired. She was tired. She felt drained, like she had given everything she had to give and it wasn't enough.

It would never be enough.

Fate always found some way to screw her over. She had gone through so much, experienced so much and when she finally found her soulmate, her one in a million, her person - it was taken from her too. She had thought they truly had something special, something that no one, not even Marian could get between. But she had, because she had killed Marian and that was something Robin couldn't forgive. She didn't expect him to. She had thought he had known.

Although, she hadn't actually killed Marian, not anymore. Marian was alive, not that it mattered, it wasn't an excuse. There were no more tears, she was simply empty. Completely drained and hopeless. She had given Robin everything she had, every single piece of herself had been offered up, hoping that he wouldn't walk away, hoping that it could be loved. They had been so close, he had understood her and that understanding was gone. Everything she gave him was gone. Nothing could get it back and she didn't have the strength to take it back and find someone else to give to. Not when her soulmate couldn't see past her worst mistakes in the end.

Regina didn't know how long she stood there. Hours must've passed. Maybe even days, she wouldn't know. She walked out of the room, wishing that she could leave what had happened in there too. Wished she could lock it up and never have to deal with it again. She sat down on her bench, eyes staring unseeingly like they had been for the past minutes? Hours? However long it had been. Her breathing was strangely even, her body completely relaxed in the strangest way. She couldn't bring herself to feel anything, what was she supposed to feel exactly? She had known something like this was going to happen, it was only a matter of time before her and Robin fell apart.

Completely and irrevocably.

There was nothing after this. This was the end.

The book she had been looking at before lay open, forgotten. She sighed and pulled it toward her. What was she looking at again? Hearts and their colors, the symbolism of that- right, she remembered now. Marian's heart was an odd shade of red, what did that mean? Her finger brushed the faded paper, tracing the inky sentences, not really processing any of the information, not reading any of the words. Until.

A light red colored heart, higher on the spectrum of red, acts as a warning, indicating some sort of danger or mystery behind the person. The spectrum of red, the common color of most hearts, is very broad, ranging from passion, strength, warmth to aggression, anger, and rage. The shade of red says a great deal about the intentions and character. The feeling of the color holds the most indication toward the disposition of the individual. If the heart is a light red, it signifies that someone should be wary, there is a certain level of danger behind that person.

Danger.

Mystery.

Should be wary.

Regina's mind was whirling, she sat up straight, brows furrowed. What did this mean? Roland and Robin both thought that something was off, like Marian wasn't truly Marian. Regina reached out, grabbing another book, flipping the pages with so much force, she was surprised that none of the pages tore. Landing on the page she wanted, she skimmed the theory behind the revelare spell. It was a spell that required discernment, heavily relying on specific instruction.

She waved her hand, the box that had held Marian's heart appearing in her lap. The boxes that she kept hearts in were enchanted, there should be enough residual magic left to indicate whether or not Robin and Roland's suspicions were correct. Concentrating, she let magic flow out her hand, carefully directing it to reveal who Marian was. Opening her eyes, the box held a glowing, emerald green light. Regina's eyes widened, Robin and Roland were right after all. Marian wasn't Marian after all.

It was Zelena.