AN: Edited: 02/01/23
Introducing: Dylan O'Brien as Puck
Despite being next to Regina for the first time in decades, the redheaded assassin struggled to sleep as her mind wonder to what the next day would bring to the town of Storybrooke. At the moment the Queen's was too unpredictable to feel comfortable. So instead she turned her attention to the book of stories she was given by an eleven-year old the previous night.
Given to her after her visit to the loft, the assassin sat in the Queen's living room with only a single lamp on to read through it's pages. It barely touched her life before she reunited with the Evil Queen. Only her darker side could be seen, meaning that Henry only saw her dark side, and yet t didn't stop him from believing in her last night.
He truly believed that no one was pure evil. Even the so called Black Widow.
Leaving the mansion the early the next morning, she left the Queen sleeping as she traveled on foot across town to return to her mediocre two-bedroom apartment, she found a fresh outfit for the first full day of being her un-cursed self. She didn't seemed to mind her cursed-self sense of fashion as the skin-tight black jeans she found would easily accommodate should the need arise to run.
Pairing them with a red short-sleeved shirt and one of the many leather jackets she owned, the assassin noticed a closest she never seemed to have paid attention to in the corner of her bedroom. Upon opening it she was relieved to see just a few of her things from back home in it, more importantly, her weapons. Including the pair of flintlock guns that she was particularly pleased to see again.
With the comforting weight of her gauntlets on her forearms under the long sleeves of the tan leather jacket she walked across town to the loft where the Prince had taken Henry the previous night leaving the story book on the doorstep knowing it wouldn't be long until either David or Henry found it again.
Venturing to the town hall she found residents starting to gather to find food and shelter after the wraith had destroyed or damaged many homes on its warpath towards her and Regina. There were also people trying to find their loved one's after being separated from them for nearly thirty years.
Her presence didn't go unnoticed as she found the fairies (or now nun's) setting up a stall for bottled water. nearby, finding Blue/ Mother Superior guiding them as their leader.
Coming to stop at the stall none of them had seen her until she announced her presence to the full sized fairies by clearing her throat. their heads snapped in her direction becoming defensive as soon as they saw the Black Widow herself in front of them.
"Fairies" she gruffly greeted them with her hands stuffed in the pockets of her jacket making eye contact with every single fairy until she landed on Blue.
"Assassin" Blue stated indifferently, the only one staying calm "If you're here the Queen must be close by" her eyes tried to look out for the woman herself in worry.
"I'm here alone" she tells the fairy keeping her head held up high "I don't want to fight, I just want to help" she tells the fairy.
"Why would we let you? Haven't you done enough damage" she sneered at the redhead.
"I have there's no excuse for it, but I'm all for second chances" she tells her taking her by surprise. The redhead almost looked remorseful for everything that had happened. Almost.
"My ledger is full of red, I'd like to wipe it out, drop at a time if need be" Blue's expression softened at the Assassin as she thought through Amelia's words "I'd like to prove to Henry that my story in his book isn't as it seems, I'm written as a villain when I'm not. Or.. I don't think I am. I was cursed as well because I helped Charming get Emma to the wardrobe. Let me help"
Blue softly nodded at her. She found the truth behind her words despite the animosity over the years "Okay Assassin. But if you step out of line-"
"Then I'll surrender myself to a punishment fit for the crime" she states "And I do have a name. Its Amelia".
Blue simply nodded as she put the assassin to work.
As the morning wore on, more and more residents came to the town hall seeking help. Dr. Hopper/ Jiminy Cricket was offering counselling sessions to anyone who needed it. While the redhead saw Red or Ruby as she now went by here, handing out blankets to whoever needed them.
The assassin had been assigned to the medical tent, tending to some of the residents that had been hurt during the wraith's attack searching for her and the Queen, with Blue keeping a close eye on the woman that had been partly responsible for the curse. But she had been surprised to see how patient and attentive with residents who had been weary about the Widow's presence.
She had even kept calm when a few brave residents started to jeer at her as the walked past. Expecting a reaction the redhead kept her cool and carried on with what she was doing. The fairy had to admit to herself that she was good.
Between injured residents, the assassin saw Geppetto/ Marco walk up to the notice board full of sketches of missing people. She knew he was looking for his boy. and she was the last person to see him before the curse engulfed took them. She had to tell him his boy was safe in the wardrobe. if it was the other way she'd want someone to tell her Thomas was okay.
Quickly finishing up with a difficult resident, she quickly crossed the square to speak to him, managing to walk through the crowd of residents with no one else looking to pick a fight they knew they would lose, she finally reached the carpenter.
"My boy…My poor boy" he said to himself as he pinned a sketching of his son on the board.
"If you are looking for a family member, come to the front table" the redhead heard the waitress continued announce over the noise, out of the corner of her eye she saw a mess of red hair she knew from back home making her way through the square, heading straight to Marco as she watched as Amelia tapped the older man on his shoulder.
Whirling around hoping it was someone that could help him, his face dropped seeing who was waiting for him.
"Assassino" he seethed at her as he stood his ground with the woman who continuously harassed the royal couple he served. She could only roll her eyes at the man.
"I have information about your boy". She should have phrased that better.
"What did you do!" he exclaimed in anger making bystanders look towards the pair. Quickly shushing the man, she pulled him back away from prying eyes and curious ears as Ruby becoming aware of her friends sudden fit of anger.
"I found him in that enchanted tree you built for the royals during the attack" she whispered to the man, he seemed to start panicking at the woman's knowledge of his son and the wardrobe. No one else knew but him and the fairies "I didn't touch him, I've done a lot of things, but I have never hurt a child" she tells him. He could tell that she was telling the truth as he calmed down at her discovery "He was still in the tree when I left to find Charming, he may be in this world since Emma made it through, but I don't know anything more".
"Please you cannot tell them" he quietly pleaded to her.
"I haven't told either of them, nor do I plan to, it's not my place".
"Thank you" he sighed and closed his eyes in relief, hearing the words come from the woman in front of him.
"But I can't tell you how Snow would react, she's lost the last thirty years with her daughter. I can't see she would ever forgive you for saving your son over her daughters. Parents always want to protect their own children" she said as the man realized she knew what she was talking about.
"You have children?" he looked at her with disbelief.
"I did" she swallowed "A boy" she simply states as the carpenter saw a flash of paln through her eyes. She lost him, but not in the same way he did. Pinocchio was simply missing, this was something no-one should ever experience.
"I'm sorry" the older man sympathized to the woman. It was the worst pain in entire world to lose a child.
"I understand why you did it" she quickly changed the subject "I would have done the same if it came between my son and someone else's"
"Amelia!" the red-head looked for the voice to see Henry running towards her. Marco saw her expression soften hearing Henry's voice and chuckled making the woman turn to him confused.
"I can see you have already fallen for the boy" he told her with a smile and turned to walk away as Amelia shook the comment off knelt down to meet him as she eleven year old jumped into her arms into a warm embrace like he had known her for years, not only for a day she had been un-cursed for.
"Henry. Where's David" she asked him once she pulled him off her.
"He dropped me here while he went to speak to my Mom" That was either very brave or stupid of him to do 24 hours after the curse was broken "Did you read it?" he asked referring to the book.
"I did, last night when I couldn't sleep" she tells him.
Hearing this the boy suddenly become concerned for the assassin in front of him "Are you okay?" his voice wavering in worry for the redhead "That doesn't sound good".
"Don't worry, I've learnt to continue on small amounts of sleep I'll be alright" she reassured to the boy with a gentle smile.
"That's so cool, could you teach me how to be an assassin, you know running in trees and hiding in plain sight" the excitement made Amelia smile even wider. He had been doing that to her a lot recently, she couldn't help but to smile at the optimism in his voice.
"Maybe when your older, but you need both your mother's permission for that first".
"Really?" he whined.
"Yes, now let's to work" Henry nodded and helped around the square as much as a ten-year-old could anyway. Ruby watched the whole exchange between Henry and Amelia. For a long as she knew the Black Widow, she never went to harm a child she even saw her protect one, it made her wonder more about her past.
Sat in the Queen's carriage as it made it's way through the endless woods, the Black Widow sat in her black and red set of assassin robes that had been designed for her, with one leg over her knee, chin down on her chest and arms folded across her chest. She tried to drown out as much noise as she could to make this trip go any quicker, than it already was.
The Queen needed to pay a special visit to an old friend of hers; Jefferson. He was in possession of a hat that allowed its users to travel between worlds without the need for magic beans.
"You're brooding dear" the Queen's voice cut through the comfortable silence between them as she sat opposite her assassin.
"I'm not brooding" she told her Queen dryly "Simply thinking of ways to disembowel Snow White and her Prince in their sleep".
"You shouldn't have trusted them in the first place dear" the Queen chastises the redhead.
"They had information I needed" the redhead argued which was only met by a glare.
What she needed was the Dark One. Rumpelstiltskin was currently being held in the royal couples dungeon after had been caught out by an enchanted quill, tricked by a princess nevertheless. Cinderella. Which reminded her, she needed to pay a visit to the woman once she was done with the Queen.
The only upside was that she was free of his contracts for the time he was imprisoned for.
"At least you know now you can't trust Snow White with your secrets" the Queen tells her as the carriage comes to a stop.
Looking out of the window she got a good look at their final destination. A small cottage that held little to no value that currently held the portal jumper.
A guard opened the door allowing the Queen to step out of carriage with a helping hand from the faceless knight as the assassin slowly followed her out, quickly slapping the guards hand away as her calf high boots met the ground.
"Wait out here" the Queen ordered her assassin "Maybe the good weather with help with your current mood" the redhead scoffed in response of the order as the Queen headed to the cottage to speak to the portal jumper alone.
Once seeing the Queen inside the small home the assassin surveyed the forest that surrounded the cottage bored out of her mind that she had to wait. Blinking on her since sense the world around her turned differed shades of blue as she slowly looked around to see all the different kind of game and pest alike that lived withing the forest, only to come to a stop when she saw a dark blue mass that resembled a small child hiding in the foliage.
The world around her went back to normal as she saw the child; a girl, keeping a close eye on the small cottage the Queen had just entered.
"Stay here I'm going for a walk" Amelia tells the guards as she started walking away from the carriage.
"Yes Mi'lady" the faceless guard instantly replied, knowing it was no good telling her she should stay by the carriage to approach the girl from behind.
"Are you lost?" grace suddenly heard a voice ask her from behind her. a squeak of fright left her lips as she whirled around to see a woman that she had seen accompanying the Queen suddenly behind her as she started to crawl backwards away from the woman in fright.
Showing the girl her hands the redhead knelt down onto her knees "Easy. I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to know why you're hiding" stopping her retreat the girl saw the friendly smile that accompanied the woman with the long red hair. The reassurance seemed to calm the girl down to stop trying to get away from her. "My name's Amelia. What's yours?".
"Grace" she told the red head.
"That's a pretty name Grace. Now why are you hiding?".
"My Papa told me to hide while he talked to the Queen" Grace tells her. This was Jefferson's child, Amelia quickly connected the dots as her lips quirked up in the corner with the piece new information.
"Well your Papa sounds like a smart man".
"He is, I like you hair Amelia" she said pointing to the fiery ringlets of red hairs that fell over her shoulders.
"Thank you, Grace. I like your dress" the girl smiled at the woman who spoke to her, she wasn't as scary as she first though she was.
"Assassin!" Amelia heard the Queens voice call out for her.
"That's me" she tells Grace as she stand back up in one fluid motion "It was nice to meet you Grace. Now run along to your Papa" Grace nodded and got up from the ground and ran off.
Quickly making her way back to the carriage she climbed into the wooden box, re-taking her seat opposite the Queen with a smile on her face that was in complete contrast to what she looked like when they had arrived.
"Well I see that the weather has helped with your sour mood" Regina observed out-loud with a hearing the hint of bitterness behind it. The meeting with Grace's father hadn't gone quite to plan it seemed, this seemed to only amuse the assassin further.
"What's wrong Your Majesty?" she started with a smirk "Maybe we should stop and walk, the weather might help with your current mood.
A little while after Henry's arrival at the crisis center, the assassin turned back to her assigned post as Henry helped out with the other's until she noticed the red pick-up truck that David drove arrive in the distance.
The Prince was instantly swarmed by resident's hounding him with question he couldn't answer as they looked to him to lead them into these uncharted water's, and without his wife, the redhead saw he was drowning as he made a beeline for Blue. She felt like she needed to help, it was an odd feeling but she understood where he stood in that moment, having been in his position before back in her home.
"Blue!" he called out to the fairy over the other residents voices. Quickly making her way over she stood back and listened to what he needed from the fairy once he had reached her "Could there be a tree on this side? The one we sent Emma through as a baby. Maybe I could go after them that way".
She sighed "Its possible, but without fairy dust to guide us here…No, its hopeless".
"You'll find another way" Henry's small voice spoke volumes to his grandfather "In the book, things always look worse right before there's good news" the boy told his grandpa with hope in his voice. This brought on another smile on Amelia's face.
"Terrible news! Terrible news!" Leroy's voice hollered across the square as he and other five dwarf's ran towards the Prince, joining crowd around the hero. "We were out at the town limit" he started before turning to Sneezy "Tell them who you think you are, Sneezy".
"Oh, will you stop calling me that" Sneezy answered "You know who I am. I'm Tom Clark. I own the Dark Star Pharmacy. What's going on here?" He answered as his cursed self, the Pharmacist that wan the local drug store when he was constantly sick, making the redhead smile to herself in amusement. She had to give Regina her praise for that.
"If you cross the border, you lose your memory all over again" Leroy deduced for the town.
"A-And coming back doesn't fix it?" Archie asks.
"If it did, would I have come running in yelling 'terrible news?! If we leave, our curse selves become our only selves" the crowd began to panic and yell at the prince looking him for guidance since Snow was missing.
With no answer, the Prince tried to separate himself from the crowd to try and leave while Henry and the rest of the crowd followed. The man only made things worse as he turned back to try and get the crowd under control only for them to panic more.
This was getting them no-where. Soon I won't be her or the Queen killing them, they be doing that themselves.
Pulling the flintlock out of the back of her jeans the assassin pointed the gun up and pulled the trigger, creating a loud back to echo the entire square as the crowd going silent flinching in fear at he sound.
As the white smoke disappeared the resident all looked towards the Black Widow as her own ear's rang out in protest. It had been a while since she had fired one.
"Everybody be quiet, or I'll give you all something to be worried about" her threat seemed to do the trick as they all stay remained quiet at the prospect of dealing with the Black Widow. Looking towards the Prince the assassin gave him the go ahead to speak having silenced the residents earning a nod of appreciation to be sent her way as Henry simply watched in awe how the woman took control of the situation.
"Everybody meet back here in two hours" The Prince tells them "I'll tell you my plan to fix everything" he tells the crowd waving Amelia over to join him with the young werewolf following along with Henry trailed behind.
"What's the plan?" the werewolf asked him.
"I don't know" he admits to his wife's friend "But I got two hours to figure it out".
Turning to the assassin, he knew she had people who worked for her to help for the time being "Amelia. Do you think you can get your thieves to patrol the border, make sure no one gets out".
"I'll do my best, but they're not cheap, they'll want something in return" the red head told the Prince.
"Give them whatever they want, we can figure it out until we can get Mary Margaret and Emma back" Amelia nodded headed for her car parked on the side of the road.
This temporary alliance would certainly be interesting.
Amelia observed from the shadows as Jefferson took his daughter to the local market place. The town square was full of people trading goods. Jefferson was guided to the toy stall by Grace. Regina's plan was to play on Jefferson's anxiety on not being able to provide for Grace. She watched at the 'merchant' refused Jefferson's coins for a stuffed rabbit.
Watching the girl, she wandered onto her former life she had made for herself with John on The Godspeed. Would they had been able to provide for Thomas?.
She forced herself to shake the thoughts from her head. She couldn't have that life again until they were all dead. She was nearly there. She only had Lady Ophelia and Claudius to send to the other side. Her friends there would see to their eternal damnation for their crimes against the Brotherhood.
Getting Puck and the others to agree to help was harder than Amelia had thought once she got to the bar she owned, The Hidden One's, hesitant about working for the Prince, but in the end they complied with her request making sure they knew they would be doing it for her, not the man.
It wasn't long until she heard the man himself, informing her they they needed to find a someone called the Mad Hatter. There was only one person that fitted that name in the Enchanted Forest. He would be easy enough to find on her own.
Accompanied by Puck the assassin quickly found the man in question in an upturned care in the middle of the street with Jefferson still in the driver's seat. Like she thought. Easy.
With Pucks help they dragged the portal jumper out of the car. onto the concrete ground gently patted his cheeks to wake him up.
"Wakey, wakey portal jumper" she sang-song above him. She was tempted to hit a lot harder only for man's eye's to finally flutter open to meet a pair familiar green eye's above him, a pair he hoped he would never had to see again.
The hatter fluttered his open to be greeted with a toothy smirk that made him miss Wonderland "Hello Jefferson, miss me?".
"Oh Crap" he groaned out seeing the Black Widow above him.
Sat on the edge of the ornate sofa in the Queen's chambers the redheaded assassin and Queen waited for the guards to escort Jefferson to them. He seemed to have changed his mind. Rising from her seat, the portal jumper was escorted into the room as the man looked straight at the redhead in the black and red robes, holding a tan leather hat box as the Widow quickly dismissed the guards, leaving the three of them to speak alone.
"Jefferson. So good to see you looking more like yourself. I assume you're here because you've reconsidered my offer?" The Queen asked the man.
"I want your guarantee. That, if I do what you ask, my daughter will want for nothing" he addressed the the Queen.
"You have my word" The Evil Queen answered bowing mockingly at him.
Jefferson looked to the Queens right to see the young woman that would he would find frequently at the Dark Castle working for the Dark One, only in white and red robes like the black and red one she wore here.
"This is the famous Black Widow? Will she be coming with us?".
"Yes, she will, and you'll find out why they call her that if you keep asking questions" the Queen warned him, getting impataint "Now, let's open that box of yours and see what it can do" J
Crouching down onto the floor he opens the hatbox and takes out a top hat, placing it on the floor.
"I do so like a man who dresses for the occasion" Regina teased the man as Jefferson places the hat on the floor. Jefferson only glared at the Queen, clearly not amused by the Queens comment.
"What about a woman?" Amelia whispered into Regina's ear. The Queen slowly turned her head to the red head behind her and gave her a wink. Ignoring the obvious flirting between the two women he spun the hat making it spin by it self as the man silently warned the pair to step back. Following his instruction the assassin watched with intrigue as a purple haze had bee created by the spinning hat, growing larger by the second, creating a vortex of magic big enough that all would be able to jump into.
"Ladies first!" Jefferson yelled over to the pair the vortex growing vortex.
"Together!" Regina suggested to them as the Queen threaded her arms through Jefferson's and the Widow's. The redhead wasn't sure if the hat had grown of the they had shrunk as they held on tight, jumping into the vortex that would take them to their destination.
The assassin and portal jumper sat in the seating area outside Granny's waiting for David's arrival after informing the Prince of the woman successful 'capture' of the Mad Hatter. On further inspection of the car, Puck had found a girl's tea part set with a stuffed white rabbit, reminding the redhead that he had a daughter. Grace.
With not a word said since the road the minutes dragged from nothing being said after the last time they had seen the other.
"You still with the Queen?" the man asked her breaking the silence between them.
"It's complicated" she answered.
He scoffed chuckling to himself, hearing the doubt in the assassin's voice "Last time I saw you, you hung on every word she said".
"Well things change after being cursed" she replied.
"Does that mean you're working for the Prince now? I mean that is why you sought me out, or was it to reminisce how you left me in Wonderland over tea?" he asked as she didn't get a chance to answer as David had finally joined them.
She watched from her seat as the Prince simply glared down at the portal jumper.
Clearing her throat the assassin gained Davids attention to start introductions "Jefferson this is the Prince" Amelia finally broke the tension filled silence "David this is Jefferson owner of the hat" Jefferson offered his hand to David but it went ignored as the Prince threw the hat onto the table in front of them before finally taking a seat on the empty chair that was waiting for him. glaring at the man across the table from him.
"Can you get me through?" David started.
"No" the portal jumper simply tells the Prince.
"Can you get them back?" David continued to question the man as Jefferson rolls his eyes at the man's question, earning a swift hard kick to his shin under table from the assassin making him groan in pain "Can you get it to work?".
"If you only knew" Jefferson said through his laughter, amused by the man's lack of understanding.
"Okay, Amelia said that you had a little girl's tea set in your car and a stuffed rabbit toy, so I'm thinking you have a daughter you love. Well, I do, too. And a wife. And they're out there somewhere. In the Enchanted Forest, or a void, I don't even know. But I'm going to get them back".
"They're in the Enchanted Forest, that's for sure. I just can't get there" Jefferson says finally gives the man a sensible answer.
"It still exists?" David asked him.
"It exists. I don't know if that matters, since we can't go there".
"So, you won't help me?".
"I'm a portal jumper, and you destroyed my portal, so you're out of luck. The Widow will back me up on this" David suddenly jumped out of his seat to lean over the table between them grabbing Jefferson by his scarf as Amelia yawned at the Princes use of interrogation.
"Well, I'm the closest thing left to a sheriff here, so I can just throw you in a cell until you figure out a way" he seethed at Jefferson.
"Then all we'll do is both sit. Stuck…. Two lives in our heads, cursed worse than ever" Amelia watched the Prince closely as something went through his eyes, guilt, regret before pushing the portal jumper back into his seat.
"Two lives, forever at odds. Double the pain, double the suffering" the portal jumper continues before flipping the table and bolted from the chair and begins running down the main street away from the Black Widow and Prince.
The pair jumped from their seats and started to ran after the portal jumper as the assassin tried to tag the man with her sixth sense only for a sharp stabbing pain to hit the back of her eye's making her slightly stumble making her turn it off.
Fine she would have to do this the old fashioned way. Ready to sprint down the street she and David were stopped as Ruby spotted the pair going after a man she didn't know.
"David, Amelia stop!" the she-wolf calls after them putting her hands on the man's chest to physically stop him as the assassin stumbled into the middle of the street.
"Get out of my way!" he yelled at younger woman's as Amelia continued to run after Jefferson not even getting five feet away from the she-wolf and the Prince when she heard the words she had been dreading the hear ever since Henry left his mother.
"Regina has Henry" Ruby tells the pair making the redhead come to a skidding halt.
Grumbling to herself the assassin had to let Jefferson go as she turned back to see the Prince trying to get away from the werewolf.
"But he has the way!" David ignored her trying to get away from her.
"She has Henry! She's threatening everyone" she tells the pair.
"She has Henry?" Amelia asked the she-wolf making her turn to face the read head and nodded.
"She showed up at your town meeting" she added turned to David "the one you missed. Her magic's back. Everyone's panicking. They want to leave town – they're going to lose everything".
"Okay. Okay, but I have to go after him first" David tried to reason with her "He's my only hope of finding a way to get Emma and Snow back" David tells Ruby in desperation.
"Back to what? This town is about to come apart. You've got to do something".
"David!" the prince looked to the Assassin who looked scared, he'd never seen her scared before.
"Ruby is right. Go to the town line. Let me deal with Regina, catch up when you can" David couldn't reply as Amelia turned and sprinted down the road towards the Mayors house.
Once Amelia had got her bearing from the 'jump' she surveyed her surroundings in wonder to see the velvet lining of the top had and several doors different designs set within them. Some weren't even doors, one was a just a golden archway with a green and gold curtain. But she knew that shade of green. She didn't want to go back to OZ anytime soon.
"I forgot how magnificent you are" Regina said in awe of the man's abilities.
"I'm not here to relive the past. I'm here for my daughter" he reminds the Queen and points towards a door that looked like a golden framed floor length mirror "Here – this is the entrance. It's important that we stick together. Same amount of people that go through have to come back. No more, no less. It's the hat's rule, not mine" he explains to the pair.
"I understand" Jefferson looked to Amelia who looked too interested in the door that sat next to the 'mirror' who gave him a nod in understanding.
Hesitantly Jefferson pokes his finger into the 'mirror' making the glass ripple like water around his hand as he pushed himself through into the other world.
Amelia followed him through and stepped out onto a yellow path, closely followed by Regina herself. She couldn't help but look around her new surroundings an awe from being in the new realm. Grass and mushrooms towered over her as everything around her seem so much brighter than in the Enchanted Forest. Possibly one of the traps of this world, everything looked so much more wonderful.
She knew from her lessons when she was younger that such a place like this existed and it's magical mushrooms were sought out by many in the Brotherhood for what they could do to a person.
Leading the two newcomers down a yellow stone path, they came to a stop as they come across a giant caterpillar with a small velvet hat on its head and an eye monocle resting over one of its eyes, smoking a pipe. She was never taught about that.
"Who...are…you? Who? Who?" he spoke between puffing out circles of smoke which floated into Jefferson's, Regina's and Amelia's face.
"I hate Wonderland" Jefferson grumbled out as they continued down the yellow path.
Short tired pant's left the assassin's lungs as she sprinted across Storybrooke to the mansion as her heart thumped in her chest as she urged her legs to continue their hard pace as she neared the street where the mansion was located.
Her legs cried out for a break as she jumped over the gate leading up to the house to run up it's stone path, but she couldn't grant their wish as she saw Henry trying to escape his mother's clutches as he climbed down a makeshift rope made of bed-sheets from his bedroom window with his backpack on his back.
Nice try kid. But that was too obvious. Even for her.
The adrenaline that coursed through her veins pushed her forwards as the seasoned climber scaled the side of the house, reaching the boy in seconds, taking a fistful of the back of his shirt, making the boy exclaim in freight at the forceful touch as it went ignored as the short haired redhead hauled the eleven year old back through the window he was trying to escape from
Once back in his room she and the boy ended up on the carpeted floor in a heap as Henry saw who it was who stopped his escape attempt as the assassin struggled to catch her breath as the sweat on her brow was viable from the energy she had used to get to him in time. Her body reminding her that she hadn't run like that in twenty-eight years. She needed to work out.
"Lia! What are you doing!" he yelled at her in disbelief at the red head as he sat on his carpet floor in a heap.
"Saving your ass kid" she forced out between panted breaths, as the door suddenly opened for the assassin to see the Queen stood there with a new air of confidence about her since getting her magic back, having heard the commotion, only to see Amelia on her son's floor with the boy himself splayed out on her back, trying to catch her breath.
Looking at the widow the Queen saw the tied up bed-sheets she quickly connected the dots to see that her assassin had stopped her son from trying to escape.
"Hey Queenie" the assassin wheezed out from the floor as she let the muscles in her thighs scream out in pain as she saw black dot's starting to appear in her vision.
The Queen simply smirked at the redhead "Hello dear, I was wondering where'd you gotten to".
"You want to go in there?" Jefferson asked the pair as they came to a stop at the entrance of a large (to say the least) hedge maze. Even she would find it hard to find her way out of it if she ever went in by herself.
"What I want is a short walk through" Regina demanded out of the portal jumper.
"A short walk?" Jefferson scoffed at her. Regina looked to the redhead who was already one step ahead of her Queen. Using her sixth sense her eyes darted back and forth and she shook her head as she found she struggled to use it the vision in the maze to find a way through to the center.
"You know who this belongs to" the portal jumper reminded her.
"The Queen of Hearts. She's not one for subtlety" she drawled looking back at the heart made of roses that decorated the entrance to the maze.
"This wasn't part of our deal. You know what she does to anyone that crosses her" Jefferson argued with the Queen, crossing his arms in defiance.
"Indeed. Better than most" Regina mused, she knowing exactly who sat on the Wonderland throne. The Queen had told her assassin all about the Queen of Hearts. She was someone she shouldn't trifle with.
"You can't leave Wonderland without us" the Widow pointed out the the portal jumper speaking up for the first time since arriving in Wonderland, having given up on her vision to give them the advantage. "Three go through, three go back. You're not going to let the Queen of Hearts keep you from returning to your daughter, are you?" she challenged the man knowing how to push his buttons to do exactly what they wanted.
The Queen smirked at her assassin seeing what she was doing as Jefferson stays quiet and starts to follow the Queen through the maze "That's what I thought" the redhead added before joining the others.
"Wait" he called out making the women stop short of the maze. Picking up a branch from the ground he throws it towards one of the hedge walls. The hedge grabs the branch and pulls it into the wall as the pair watched in wonder.
"Stay away from the walls" he warned them.
"I've got a better idea. The walls should stay away from me" the Queen says magically creating a fireball in her hand, she throws it at the hedge creating a path straight through to the middle.
"It seems you've found your short walk my Queen" the Widow tells her Queen with a upturned smirk that was mirrored before she wrapped her arm around the redheads, proceeding to walk arm in arm to the vault leaving Jefferson to follow them.
The two of them walked until they reached the vault in the middle of the maze. Letting go of the Queen's arm the Evil Queen proceeded to the vault leaving the assassin to keep an eye on their surroundings knowing it wouldn't be too long until the Queen of Hearts would be notified of the trespass into her Kingdom.
Hearing the Queen walk out of the vault the assassin and the portal jumper turned to see that she had the box they had been here for in her hands.
"Okay? You got what you need. Shall we?" Jefferson said hurrying the Queen out of the vault. The assassin led the pair out but were stopped when several guards ambushed them.
"Shit" the assassin hissed to herself as as her boots skidded on the
"Trespassers! Halt!" the armed guards yells running towards them.
"Go!" the Widow ordered the pair pointing them down another path as she found the small black ball tucked away in her pocket, throwing it tot he ground a screen of thick white smoke separated them from the guards allowing them the more precious second to run.
Seeing the Queen and the portal jumper turn a corner, she ran after them seeing the hedge archway starting to close in on itself. Pushing her legs forward she threw herself through the closing gap, landing in a forward roll onto the ground as the living hedge put a wall between her and the incoming guards.
"Melia!" The Queen called for her assassin, making the redhead push herself off her knees and followed the other's down another path of the maze.
Once she reached the pair, the Queen used her magic to send the guards that had caught up to them into the hedge allowing the wall to engulf them before Jefferson threw another guard in the hedge allowing the trio to double back on themselves back to the vault to the path that the Queen had cleared for them with a ball of fire, setting them both on the road back to the mirror.
"Amelia!" the redhead heard a familiar feminine voice behind her call out her name, making her stop as the other's carried on. Turning the Widow saw Lady Ophelia stood there with the open vault behind her, wearing a set of assassin robes that doubles as a dress. Her blood boiled under her skin simply by looking at the woman that she and her father trusted with their lives.
She was in Wonderland. No wonder no one had seen her.
Having noticed that Amelia was no longer following her and Jefferson, the pair stopped, as the Queen tightly clutched the box in her hands to look back to see the redhead stood frozen looking back towards the vault a figure that wore a similar hood and robe to Amelia's stood there.
"Bring her to me alive" Ophelia ordered the guards that ran in either side of her to the intruders. Hearing the order the Queen ran back to her assassin who still hadn't moved grabbing the redhead's arm trying to pull her away from the oncoming guards, only to try and fail as Amelia fixated on the figure down the pathway.
"Amelia we need to go" she pleaded to the assassin only for it to go over the assassin's head.
"Come on!" Jefferson called back trying the hurry the pair up.
"Amelia please!" she begged the assassin, but she didn't move as the guard got closer. The Queen tried again pulling harder on the assassin's arm still not getting any reaction from the woman.
"Melia, please!" hearing the desperation in the Queen's voice the assassin snapped her head to the side to see Regina holding onto her, feeling just how tight she was holding her arm, sure it would leave a bruise behind.
Reaching in her belt she took out another black ball and threw it front to them making the guard's run into the white smoke screen making them stop to cough and splutter as Amelia grabbed Regina to catch up to Jefferson who continued to run after seeing the Black Widow snap out of her day dream.
Running back through the burnt path hand in hand, the Queen hadn't let go until they reached the entrance to the maze. Handing the box over to her assassin the Queen waved her hand to make the living hedges to reform behind them, catching the guards that had caught up to them.
The three paused to see the guards being swallowed by the think green foliage, with their weapons, making the Queen darkly chuckle at the guards misfortune and their small triumph.
"Regina" Amelia called out for the Queen retaking her hand to take her back to the looking glass.
"How long am I in prison? Till I grow up?" Henry asked Regina. Amelia stood downstairs using her sixth sense to listen in on the conversation upstairs, their voiced vibrated through the walls as her temporary enhanced hearing picked up on Regina and Henry's voice upstairs.
"Henry, I rescued you because I love you" Regina replied.
"So, I'm a prisoner because you love me. That's not fair".
"You know where I come from. That was really not fair. Of all the places I've seen, this is the fairest of them all".
"You ruined lives. You sent away Mary Margaret and Emma".
"That was an accident" she argued.
"The way you treated me wasn't an accident. You made it so no one believed me. You made me feel like I was crazy".
"But that's all going to change, now. Henry, you can know all the secrets. You can live in a house with magic. Look what I could...and I can teach you. You can do this and so much more. You can have all the friends you want come over any time, and you can show them everything in your book".
"No one's going to want to come over here. They're scared of you".
"You can make then not be scared" she said a little too harshly making the assassin wince downstairs "You can make them love you" Amelia couldn't help but feel a shiver go down her spine.
"I don't want that. I don't want to be you" he told their mother.
She didn't want to hear anymore and turned it off. A sharp stabbing pain went through her head as the world around her went back to normal. She wasn't worried about it for now, but she would have to keep an eye on it. It was her ace up her sleeve.
She waited at the bottom of the stairs as Regina walked down the stairs alone. "I take you listened in on our private conversation".
"You know I did Regina" Regina walked past the Assassin to the dining room as Amelia followed her "You can't keep him here against his will. How long will it be until the Prince rallies the town behind him to get him back. We both know I won't be able to hold off everyone".
"Then I'll deal with them myself, I'm back to full strength again" she tells the assassin.
"I'm aware. Even you have limits, how would it look to Henry if you're killing his friends his family".
"Like you know how to protect your own son" Regina suddenly spat out bitterly taking the redhead aback, regretting her words instantly as she watched the woman' face drop from that of concern for her and Henry's complete disbelief and hurt.
After a beat of Amelia's stunned silence, the Queen tried to take those harsh words back "Melia…".
"Save it" she told the woman with tears threatening to spill "I'm going choose to ignore that comment about my son, but if you even mention him again, like that you'll find out exactly what it's like to be on the wrong end of me" she warned Regina with clenched fists. Regina didn't take the threat on lightly, she knew how dark Amelia could go whenever someone mentioned Tom or John.
Regina meekly nodded at the red head. Even the Evil Queen didn't trifle with The Black Widow on a bad day "I'm sorry" she whispered as Amelia nodded and turned heading up the stairs. Maybe getting her powers back wasn't the best way to get Amelia and Henry back.
After the near miss with the guards Jefferson escorted them back up the yellow stone path to the looking glass where they had entered Wonderland
"The Looking Glass! There it is! Come-" he exclaimed , only to double back when he looks back to see that both the Queen and the Black Widow stopped at a large mushroom "What are you doing? We can't stop now. We got to get out of here" he says stomping back to them.
"There's something I need to do first" the Queen tells him as Amelia slices a piece of the mushroom off with her hidden blade as former caught it "A little snack" they informed him walking past the man to the looking glass.
"Are you mad? Do you know what the food here does?" Jefferson reminded the Evil Queen as he followed after the pair.
"I'm well aware" she says gently setting the box on the ground before placing the piece of mushroom inside. Stepping back grabbing Amelia's hand as purple smoke emerged from the box before materializing into Henry. Her father.
"Oh Daddy!" Regina sighed in relief as she threw herself into her father's arms, in a warm embrace that grew a smile on the usually stoic assassin.
Pulling out of the embrace with a hand firmly in her father's hand she turned to show who was behind her, happy to reunite her assassin with her father after so many years since the redhead had saved her and Snow White.
"Daddy, you remember Amelia" The Queen's says allowing him to see he young woman that saved his daughter's life all those years ago.
"Amelia?" he questioned the woman he recognized instantly "Is that really you?".
"Hello Henry" the assassin greeted the man before Jefferson inturttped the breif reunion.
"This is what she took from you?" Jefferson questioned the Queen "Your father?".
"The Queen of Hearts has always seen me as a threat" The Queen tells him"So, she wanted some leverage. I got it back".
Hearing heavy footsteps in the distance accompanied by a series of shouts the assassin snapped her head around to see more guards heading towards them.
"The Queen's soldiers – we must hurry" Henry warned his daughter waving the red-head over to him as Jefferson realized the Queens plan all along.
"You knew only three can go through the hat…"he stated to the pair that had brought him here "Which is why you didn't tell me about your father".
"It was the only way to make sure you'd help me" Regina bluntly told him.
Angry at his deception Jefferson tries to go after them, only for the Widow to flick out both her hidden blades in warning to the portal jumper as his feet had been swallowed by the ground by the Queen.
The three headed for the looking glass only to stop as the portal jumper called out to them "Wait! Wait! Wait, please. My daughter. My Grace… She's… She's waiting for me. I promised her I'd… I'd be home for tea".
"A promise which you now have broken!" the Queen snapped at him "If you truly cared for your daughter, you never would've left her in the first place. You were right, Jefferson. You don't abandon family" at that the Queen and her father turned and walked through the mirror leaving Wonderland.
The can only watch as the assassin turns to leave him there only to stopped short from Jefferson's pleaded to her, closing her eyes as she tried to tune out his voice from the side of her head that told her not to abandon him.
"Amelia please! You had a son, you should understand" he begged trying to get through to the part of her that still cared.
Pushing that side down she turned back for the man to jump as he looked upon a face that held no empathy for anyone.
"Get a message to Ophelia" she starts "Tell her I'm coming" at that the assassin walked through the looking glass severing the man's chance to get back to his daughter to be left to the mercy of the Queen of Hearts.
Her anger simmering down she heads upstairs to Henry's room gently knocking on the wooden door before letting herself in after answered in silence. He was staring out of his window of his current 'prison' leaning his back against his headboard, seemingly deep in thought.
"You okay?" he ignored her question as she stepped further into the boys bedroom and sitting herself on the bed facing the door. She wasn't going to push him.
"You know the silent treatment doesn't work right?" she goes on only for the boy to ignore her "I remember giving my father the silent treatment for three days straight, I wouldn't train with any of the others, I shut myself in my bedroom I didn't even talk to Paola. Then he caught me sneaking out of my room on the third night to go to the merchant stalls. I didn't know, but he'd been following me every night I sneaked out for food. The thing is that I found I wasn't even mad at him; the other masters had wound me up so much I took it out on him".
"You didn't know he was your Dad though" he said to her finally breaking his vow of silence to the adults.
"Oh, so you do have a voice then" smiling at the boy he laughed at her trick she had used on him, but the smile quickly grew serious "Look I know everything's a little messy now, but everything will work out".
"How? I'm the Evil Queen's prisoner" Henry asked the red head "And now Emma and Mary Margaret are gone".
"Henry trust me when I say you're not a prisoner, and they'll come back like I said last night. Snow has an annoying way to get back to the people she loves. And I don't doubt for a second the Emma would be doing anything she can to get back to you. I know I'd be doing the same for my own boy".
"I-I didn't know you had a son" he seemed surprised at the piece of knowledge the book didn't tell him.
"It's not in the book. My past is a lot messier than what the book states. And for your Mom" Amelia let out a sigh "She's just complicated".
"What do you mean?" he asked the assassin tilting his head to the side.
"I don't think she knows how to love. She hasn't had the best of upbringings. Her Mother was a monster and her father couldn't do anything to stop her from controlling their daughters life. He could only watch from the side-line's as she used your Mom as a pawn in a greater game".
"And you betrayed her" he reminded her.
"I know, and she betrayed me when she hurt someone I saw as a father. We've both done things to hurt each other. But we know why we did it" she told him "We both we're molded into the worst version of ourselves. Me by the assassins and my past and her by her mother and her past. But there's proof there's a lot of good in her".
"Where?".
"You, silly" she answered with a gentle smile "Why do you think I can change?".
"Because you already have, by letting my grandpa get Emma in the wardrobe".
"No. its because you were raised not to judge people by the actions and their pasts" she tells him "Letting Charming go, is only a freckle compared to the other thing's I've done working for Rumpelstiltskin and the Evil Queen. I've hurt a lot of people Henry, one action doesn't forgive it all".
"But Emma's the savior I must be good" he argued.
"But what if she let everything that has happened to her after going through the wardrobe made her a bad person. She didn't let her past get the better of her present. Even the purest hearted person can get darkened from a single action. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?".
"I think so?" it came out more as a question than an answer making the woman chuckle.
"Think on it and get back to me" the pair were interrupted as the she heard the front door slamming open, the hairs on the back of her neck rose sensing the sudden danger downstairs "Stay here".
The assassin didn't wait for answer from him as she leaves his room and shut his door behind her. Going down the hallway she reaches the top staircase that overlooked the foyer to see David holding his sword up to the former Queen's neck. Regina's brown eye's flicked up to the stairs to see Amelia gripping the banister and her green eyes targeted on David.
"Henry, come down!" Regina called up the stairs. David looked behind him, to try and see Henry only to see Amelia with her fingers wrapped around the banister, so tight that her knuckles turned white. Whirling around he finally see's the deadly redhead above him with a dangerous look on her face as she gripped the banister tighter.
"Stay up there!" David warned her with his sword.
"And here I thought we were friends your highness" she told him sarcastically with a tight smirk.
"You won't be using your sword" Regina told the Prince gaining his attention again.
"Whatever you conjure, I can fight" he told her turning so he could see both between him.
"Trust me she won't need to conjure it Shepherd" she said through gritted teeth "It's already here".
"I mean, you won't need your sword" the former Evil Queen corrected pushing the sword away as Henry ran past Amelia stopping on the flight of stairs as Regina met him halfway.
"Henry, you're going to go home with David" Regina tell the young boy as Amelia let out a breath of relief at the woman's decision.
"Really?" Henry asked his mother.
"Really. I shouldn't have brought you here. I was… I don't know how to love very well. I wasn't capable of it for a very long time. But I know I remember… If you hold onto someone too hard, that doesn't make them love you. I'm sorry I lied to you. And that I made you feel like I didn't know who you are. But I want you to be here, because you want to be here. Not because I forced you, and not because of magic. I want to redeem myself" she said glancing towards the redhead "Go get your things" at that Henry ran back up the stairs passing the redhead on the way to start packing his things as the assassin remained where she was.
"Then prove it" David says making the Queen turn to face him at the bottom of the stairs.
"How?" she questions him.
"Answer one question. Does it exist?".
"You need to be a little more specific Your Highness" the assassin spoke up from her place making him look at her. Instead of the hard glare he was usually greeted with, the redhead gave him a sharp nod urging him to question the question he was trying to find out. He needed to hear it from the Queen herself
"The Enchanted Forest- our land. Does it still exist?" he pushed for the answer he so desperately needed to know.
The former Queen didn't answer him as she climbed down the steps to stand in front of him.
"Yes. But I have no idea how to get back there" she tells him, but it was enough for the Prince to work with. It gave him the hope he needed that he would find his family. "I can see I just launched you on a heroic quest. Just also make sure you take care of my son?".
The pair were interrupted when Henry rushed back down the stairs with his backpack on his back only to stop when he reached the redheaded assassin making her turn and kneel in front of him as David and Regina watched closely from the ground floor.
"I promise I'll think about what you told me while I'm with David" he promises her.
"That's all I ask" she whispered back as Henry wrapped his arms around her neck letting the redhead return the hug holding him tight.
"That, I can do" she heard David promise the Queen downstairs.
Sending Henry on his way she stood back and watched Regina say goodbye, before standing beside her Queen as they saw her son off with his Grandfather, gently taking her hand in hers.
With Henry back in his grandfather's care the pair were left alone for the second time since the curse had broken. Letting Henry go was a big step for the former Queen to prove to her son she wasn't evil, the next was not using her magic
The redhead watched from the entryway as she was tempted to put her mother's spell book in the open fire only to change her mind, instead she opted to lock it away. Away from her and anyone else that might want it.
But as she thought back on her conversation with Blue that morning and Henry. She had to make that leap of faith as well. She couldn't expect Regina to change is she was wasn't willing to change as well. Being only seen as the villain when no one understood why she became what she became. There was still good in her, she just had to find it in her as well.
"Wait" she calls out to the brunette just as she was about to lock the book away making the former Queen look at her in confusion. Unclasping her leather gauntlets from her forearms she approached the woman she loved turning the safety switch on her blades before pulling them off her forearms, handing them over to former Queen.
"What are you doing?" the Queen asked her.
"Wiping the red out of my ledger" she simply told her. "A drop at a time"
Understanding what she means the former Queen took them from the redhead, gently placing them next to the book of spells before locking them away together.
Regina seemed to understand taking them from the redhead, gently placed them up on end next to the book of spells and locking them together in the black cabinet.
She wanted to change, and she was ready for it.
One day at a time.
AN: Thanks for reading!
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