AN: Please to refer to Chapter 3 of the companion book The Hidden Tales of the Black Widow . There's some info in that chapter that's going to come up in this chapter.

Quick Disclaimer: I don't own the scene(s)and the relevant dialogue I used for the purpose of the story which is owned by Disney.


A new day dawned on the residents of Storybrooke as the Mills/ Montague household prepared for the day ahead with their son' Regina and Henry were headed to her office to search the storybook for the hidden clue's the author might've have left. The former assassin and her son were headed for the into their clearing in the wood's they had taken over as their training ground.

With some the help from the dwarfs and Marco, the open space had been transformed into makeshift climbing apparatus for the pair to train on. Using the forest environment around it to its full advantage to serve as a quiet space for the resident and her apprentice to burn off some pent up energy that had built during a busy week. Allowing them to take out their frustrations out on unsuspecting training dummies made of hay and straw.

Preparing for the day ahead the redhead put the finishing touches of her training gear that included a pair of black training leggings with a matching tank top underneath a loose fitting grey hooded zip-up. Her long thick hair tied up in a messy ponytail as she glaces up from tying her trainers on the stool of Regina's vanity to see Tom walk past in his own gear, tightening his gauntlets to his forearms.

"Hey" she called the teen back making him backtrack to the threshold of the master bedroom "You won't need those today" she tells him.

"Why not?" he asked clearly annoyed at his mothers sudden decision "We always train with them".

"Plans change" she tells him as she stand up straight "We're focusing on climbing today, you've gotten sloppy over the last few weeks"

"But you have yours" he argues seeing her pair of brown leather and metal gauntlets placed on the vanity table. Something that became a habit between her and the Queen that had remained over the years.

She didn't need any excuse for the towns new residents to turn on them. Especially her sister. With no clue on what her state of mind at the moment, she didn't want to take her chances if she saw Romeo's old gauntlets on her son's arms.

"I don't care just put them back and hurry up" letting out a huff the teenager shook his head before stomping back to his room as she made her way downstairs to see Regina and Henry putting on their scarfs and coats ready to leave for their day at her office.

"Those don't sound like happy stomps" Regina commented to the red head having heard the light stomps that had come from upstairs.

"He needs to learn" she grumbled at the dark brunette before heading out the door. She had feeling today would be a long day for all of them.


Returning from their honeymoon at the summer palace, newlyweds Snow White and Prince Charming ride on horseback back to their castle as Snow spurs her horse on faster eager to get back to the new reality that faced them away from the bubble of the honeymoon.

The Evil Queen's promise at their wedding had played on her mind the whole time. Despite her or her Widow not being able to physically touch them, time would only tell what either woman had planned to get their revenge on the couple that had defeated them for the last time only weeks ago.

"Should I be worried you're this excited for our honeymoon to be over?" the Prince asks his new wife as they dismounted their horses at the bridge that led up to the castle sat in the middle of a lake.

"Look, the summer palace was wonderful, but it's time to face reality" she tells her husband "The Queen is still out there. We have to figure out a way to deal with it".

"And we will. Whatever she and the Widow throw at us, we'll find a way to overcome it" he tried to reassure her only to get a grimace from her at the mention of the Black Widow.

Somewhere underneath that darkness her friend was still there. She saw it time and time again over the years, but it seemed to get buried further into the darkness that surrounded her heart as she barely recognize the woman under the hood that slaughtered their guards at the Queen's execution. That's why it was so easy to send those bolts into her friend's shoulder and thigh.

As she became lost in her thoughts she just saw Sleepy the dwarf asleep on guard duty once again "I thought I told the dwarfs not to put Sleepy on guard duty" she said to her husband as he looked over to see another guard slumped on the ground sound asleep.

"Snow, it's not just Sleepy" he points out to her.

"A sleeping curse" she realizes.

"Regina" the Prince gasped pulling his sword out of his scabbard as they looked to castle in fear.

The couple rushed into the castle ground to see that everyone inside it's walls were on the ground deeply asleep having fallen where they were when the curse had struck.

"Regina! Amelia!" Snow yelled out seeking out the only people she knew that would do something like this.

"Show yourself Widow!" he growled out looking at every shadow he could see to find where the Black Widow was hiding.

"No one's hiding" a voice said behind them as Snow pulls out her own sword. The couple whirl around to see Maleficent stood before them in her human form.

"Maleficent" the Prince states recognizing the sorceress.

"I was afraid you wouldn't recognize me" she greets the Prince "Have you met my associates Cruella, Ursula and Anastasia?" she says as the three woman joined the sorceress. One that drew the eye's of the couple straight away with the distinct hood that covered her head and face from view.

Reaching up the hooded female pulled the hood back to reveal herself to the couple as she came to stand next to the powerfully sorceress.

"We haven't actually" the young blonde tells her counterparts as she eyes the pair that outwitted her sister and the Evil Queen only a month or so ago "A pleasure Princess" she greets Snow with a smirk that played on her lips.

The princess couldn't help but notice the green robe's the young blonde woman wore. Recognizing the style instantly having seen it on her Godfather and Amelia before that included the hood that had pulled over he head with the distinct beak shaped point at the point at the front. She was an Assassin.

The gauntlets confirmed any suspicions seeing the a pair of hidden blades every assassin wore. Completing the signature look.

"What do you want with us?" The Prince demand out of the four women in front of him.

"Relax, dear prince" Maleficent speaks up "We're not here to fight. We're here to make a deal".


In Granny's the royal couple watch the new residents of Storybrooke with weariness with their son in his stroller as the witches waited for a drink that Granny herself was slowly making. Taking note that Anastasia wasn't with them, which only made then all the more anxious. She could be anywhere.

"Uh, darling, how much longer for those drinks?" Cruella asks Granny try to chase their drinks up only for the older woman to ignore her. The door to the diner opens and Will Scarlet walks in heading straight to the counter.

"Hello, mum. Usual, please" he asks her.

"Ah. You betcha" Granny replied getting two to go cups from the counter, giving them to the man with a 'cheers' from the man before leaving as the grandmother continues to ignore the pair sat at the counter as she went out back.

"You know, if that old bag still wolfed out, I'd turn her into a coat for my collection" Cruella sniped out in annoyance as the bell to the diner rung out behind them.

Looking to the door they saw Regina enter with her young adopted son Henry accompanied by Amelia and her slightly older son.

"Regina! Amelia!" the sea witch greeted the couple with a wide smile "We could use a heart rip over here. Granny needs a little encouragement in taking our order" she tells the former Queen before looking at the redhead "Or you get those nifty little knives out of yours and convince her the way we know your sister enjoys doing" the sea-witch says with a smile.

"Yes, a very effective tactic" Cruella added looking at the woman with their sons "Didn't you once rip out the heart of every villager in the north woods?" she asks the former Queen as Regina took Henry's hand into her own. The redhead simply stood her ground with them as she folded her arms across her chest taking an extra step to stand in front of her son, who closely watched the interaction.

"Or was it the south?" Ursula quizzed the pair "Oh I remember..you took the north" Ursula pointed to Regina "..and you the south" she finished pointing at the redhead who simply stayed silent at the women's attempt to rile her.

"Uh, why don't you and Tom head to my office, get started on the book?" Regina quietly suggested to the boys seeing the fight her partner wanted to start for bringing up their past's in front of their sons.

"Sure" Henry nodded along to his mother "Make sure to get chocolate frosted doughnuts, not chocolate doughnuts, okay?" Henry reminds his mother.

"Mm-hmm" Regina agreed with a smile before Henry left the diner leaving Tom behind who clearly didn't want to go to the office.

"E la formazione?(What about training?)" Tom quietly asked his mother in their native tongue grateful for his judgement in the tense situation. Cruella and Ursula watch the interaction between mother and son with interest seeing his clear distrust as he looked at them over his mother's shoulder.

"Ci incontreremo più tardi (We'll meet up later)" she tells him turning to face him, only to be met with silence as he tried to silently ague with her "bene?"(Okay?) she pressed getting grunt of annoyance as her answer as he followed Henry out of the door, slamming the diner door shut behind him.

"Let us be clear, ladies" Regina started as the pair turning to address them "If you bring up our former sins around our sons again, you'll find yourselves across that town line faster than you can say 'costume jewelry'".

"These are blood diamonds; I'll have you know" Cruella retorted.

"They'll be covered in your blood if you're not careful dearie" Amelia glowers at the woman through her teeth. The pair seemed to flinch at the redhead's use of her Uncle's term of endearment, seeing the blood relation come through light threat.

Sensing the raising tensions Ursula stood up from her seat "Come on, let's take our business elsewhere" the sea witch tells her ally before the pair go to leave only for the Widow's voice to stop them.

"Where's Anastasia?" she asks the pair as they stopped at the door as the Charming couple in their booth sat up a little straighter to listen.

"Your sister's gone on a little jaunt of her own" Cruella informs her "You know assassin's better than anyone here" she says with a sly smirk "Can't stay in one place for too long".

"Didn't stop me from finding them" she reminds the pair before the door to the diner shut behind them.

The pair let out a relaxing breath that they had been holding once they saw the pair leave as the redhead felt her partner's gloved hand slip into her's, one that told her calm down seeing how easily her's sister's whereabouts had made her so tense. However the pair couldn't relax for long as they were pounced on by David and Mary Margaret.

"So, what's the plan here?" David asked the former Evil Queen and Assassin.

"What plan exactly?" Amelia queried with the Prince with a sigh as she gave a her Queens hand reassuring squeeze before letting it go to bury her had's into the deep pockets of her grey sweater.

"To deal with our... Latest crisis" Mary Margaret clarified referring to the villains that had left.

"Those two might be tactless morons, but... They couldn't magic their way out of a paper bag" Regina informs them "I wouldn't worry. And they're here to seek redemption".

"You don't actually believe that?" the former Princess pressed.

"If I didn't think it was a distinct possibility, I wouldn't have let them in town in the first place" Mayor argued.

"Now that they're here, we have to be certain, which means keeping eyes on them 24/7" the second sheriff suggested.

"Which sounds like a job for the sheriff's department. I have bigger things to worry about" Regina tells the couple.

"And I have a teenager to deal with" the redhead announces to the pair glancing towards their new born in the stroller "Enjoy Neal while he can't talk back" the red head tells the couple, before turning to her partner, seeing David run out of the diner.

"I know where Anya is" she quietly tells the former Queen "Let me sort her out before she set's fire to a car or something".

"What about training?" the Mayor asks her.

"I'll have to make it up to him somehow" She knew she would have to put training to the back burner for now, just until she knew what her sister wanted. And it certainly wasn't for redemption.

"Do I need to tell you to be careful?".

"You know how warm and gooey it makes me feel when you do" she tells her with a smirk making her roll her eyes at the redhead.

"Be careful" she says making the redhead's smirk grow wider and a bubble of warmth grew in the pit of her stomach at her words.

"See warm and gooey" she tells the Queen.

"Go" she tells her.

"Love you too" she tell her leaving a chaste kiss on the Mayor's cheek "Don't forget the chocolate frosted doughnuts. Save a couple for me" she reminds her as she leaves the diner to find David talking to Emma and Hook.

"-They're up to something. If we hurry, we can pick up the trail" he tells his daughter as he see's Amelia walking down the pathway and past them.

"Lia!" he calls after her "What about Anastasia?" she heard David ask her as he ran after her "She could be anywhere. She's an assassin".

"Please" she scoffed at the second sheriff as she came to stop on the sidewalk to look back on the three "She'll see you a mile away, I know exactly where she's gone, just tell Regina, I'll pay her for any damage done" before any of them could reply she left them to go find her sister and get their long-awaited reunion over with.

"Look's like duty calls" Emma tells her boyfriend with a peck on his cheek as she and David get to work following two out of the three new residents.


As he waited for his mother to find him once she and Amelia spoke to Cruella and Ursula. Henry sat at her desk with the storybook opened in front of him as he re-read ever word and looked over every picture again and again looking for clue the Author would've left behind.

Turning the page he came upon the pages that August had added to the book before the first curse had broken. Pinocchio and Geppetto's story as heeled boot's entered the office and a Granny's to go box was placed in front of him making him look up from the book.

"Chocolate frosted doughnuts" his adopted mother tells him "How are we doing? You find anything?" she ask taking off her gloves.

"Not yet. But if the author left clues in the book like mother superior said, we'll find them" he informed her "How about you, mom? How are you doing?".

"I'm fine, Henry" she answers a little taken aback at his sudden question.

"You and Lia didn't seem fine when we ran into Ursula and Cruella" he said remembering the way she took his hand in her's in the diner when they started talking about their past and he could tell when the assassin felt uncomfortable. there were no visible tells but she felt uneasy by having her past as the Widow.

"Well..." his mother pauses as she take a seat in front of him, taking her time to answer his question "I suppose that's because they remind us of a time in my life we'd rather forget. Time when I was a true villain. It makes me doubt if my happy ending's even possible".

"You can't think like that".

"I know, but sometimes I wonder if I'll ever be as happy as I am when its just you, me, Amelia and Tom. That feeling is... The closest I've ever been to happy" she admits to her son.

"You will, mom" he tells her as he slowly broaches a subject that had come to his mind over the last few weeks "Maybe..you could start by asking Lia and Tom to move in with us" he suggested to his mother, taking her by surprise.

"Would you want that? To have her and Tom around all the time?".

She would be lying if she hadn't thought about asking the redhead to live with her permanently. They both dreaded the mornings the red head would have to return to the apartment because of the late shifts she was pulling at the bar the following evening.

They had also agreed to take things slow between them. But as the weeks went by the assassin would find herself calling the mansion her home by accident the more time she spent there, they both called it home. But they had to think about their son's first. Tom was still unsettled by his father's sudden departure to Arendelle. Neither of them wanted him to think that the Captain was forgettable.

"Mom, we've all seen how happy you are when she's around and the same with Lia. And I know she's been waiting or you to ask" he informs her.

"She has?".

"Not out-load, but I know" he tells her with a knowing smile "We're gonna find the author, and when he rewrites your ending, everything will be the way you want it to be" he tells his mother as he takes a bite out a chocolate frosted treat.

"Careful, Henry" she warns her son rounding the desk to brush the crumbs off the pages of his book "You're getting crumbs all over the book

"Mm. Right" he mumbles licking the frosting from his fingers as his mother notices something different about the pages.

"That's strange. This paper, it's... It's different than the rest" she observes feeling the different texture of the pages with her fingers. Amelia hadn't even noticed them seeing as she noticed the slightest of changes to everything everything around her, down to how much salt or lack of it Granny had used in her food.

"That's because it's Pinocchio's story" he tells her.

"Why would that story be any different from the others?".

"Because August added it to the book. He wanted Emma to know he was Pinocchio as a boy. He wanted her to believe".

"If August took the book apart, he might know something about it that we don't".

"Too bad he isn't around to ask" he mused to her.

"August might not be, but Pinocchio is" she reminds him before looking up to try and find Tom only to see the rest of her office empty.

"Where's Tom. I thought he was here with you?".

"He said he was going to get his gauntlets" he tells her before taking another bite of the doughnut.


Letting himself into the mansion with Henry's key, the teen quickly made his way to the stairs so he could find his gauntlets where he had left them up in his room only to see something odd on the dining room table at the far end to distract him.

His trainers scuffed on the black and white tiles as he approached the object only to see it was the pack of Twizzler's he and his mother had been sharing only the previous night, picking the packet up in his hand.

"Thomas Smith" a voice suddenly called out his full name throw the packet of sweets at the person he had heard behind him to see it was a young blonde woman wearing a grey suit jacket over a white shirt and jeans catching it with her right hand stood next to the staircase. Her blonde hair was tied up in a tight ponytail as she moved her head to the side to make eye contact with her nephew.

"Hiiiii" she greeted him with a smile as she see's what he had just thrown at her. "Twizzlers? My favorite, how did you know?" she says before throwing them back to him.

"What?" he gasped catching the pack of sweets as he see's one of Regina's cooking saucepans on her other hand.

"I made macaroni if you want some" she offered her sister's son, only for the teen to continue o gawp at her in confusion "Well I was starving, and you took forever, so I wanted to make food" she simply tells him before walking past him to place the pan straight onto the wooden table. With no place mat next to a bottle of hot sauce already there.

"What do you want?" he demands out of her.

"Relax Thomas Smith, I just want to talk okay" she says before looking back to him "Are you really not hungry. That drive into town was so long. Its tasty, really tasty".

"Yeah I know what boxed mac and cheese tastes like" he tells the woman who had broken into the house "it's freaking delicious" he quietly adds to himself seeing her walk back into the kitchen to see her searching for something.

"Ahhh forks, forks.." .

"Top drawer to the left" he quickly tells her. Remembering where where the cutlery was kept. He knew he couldn't just leave, not after what his mother had told him the previous night. He would have to play along for the time being and hope he would be able to leave before Regina noticed his absence from the office for too long.

"Ah smart boy, my sister has taught you well" she chimes in taking out two silver forks from the open drawer.

So this was Anastasia, he thought to himself as she walked back into the dining room, offering him a fork.

"Hold on, I am not going to sit down and have dinner with you after you've just broken into my house".

"I did not break anything!" she exclaims in offence slamming his fork onto the table "I am way too talented than that, stop being so defensive, okay, you're so hostile. I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. I don't have any weapons on me" she pauses as she thought through what she had just said "Okay I take that back, I don't have any weapons currently in my hands" she says looking at her hands only to see the pair of gauntlets sat on her forearms "That's a lie also" she adds "Come on take a fork eat, eat please" she tries to encourage him, as she takes a seat in one of the chairs around the table "My Daddy says it's good for you".

"-You're probably thinking 'What?! This is crazy. I'm going to have dinner with the enemy, and she made some really good smelling macaroni'. But in all honesty, if I wanted to kill you-".

"You would've already" he quickly finished for her.

"Right as you open the door" she points out.

"Probably wouldn't even had time to shut it".

"No" she tells him skaing her head with a smile.

"I'd been dead".

"No".

"Okay. Yeah".


After agreeing to help the Queen's of Darkness and Anastasia to the Tree of Wisdom to find a way to defeat the Evil Queen and her curse the six of them had come to a standstill at a bridge that was guarded. The four watched as the couple tried to convince the three guard who stood in thier way stood under a stone archway.

"It is forbidden" the young blonde heard one of the guards tell the Prince making her tsk in annoyance.

"Maybe I should mention who my sister is" she quietly tells Maleficent "That will get them to move".

"I don't think bringing the Black Widow into this will help this time dear" the sorceress tells her "Especially around Snow White" she says as the couple return without the good news they were hoping for "Well, are they going to let us cross or not?" she asks the couple.

"Unfortunately not" The prince informs them.

"You'd think travelling with Snow White and Prince Charming would open some doors" Cruella commented "Do they know who you are?".

"Yes, and they also know who you are" the Princess tells them with a narrowed gaze "So now we're just going to have to find another route to the tree of wisdom"

"If we walk south, we can circumvent the ravine" he suggests to the women.

"That will set us back two days" Ursula protest's.

"Perhaps you should show those guards just how skill you are with your blade" Cruella suggests to the Prince allowing their blonde assassin to slip away unnoticed by the royal couple.

"Now those men are just trying to do their duty. And frankly, I would do exactly the same" Snow tells her as she looked to where Anastasia was stood only to see an empty space next to Maleficent "Where's Anastasia?".

"Doing what an assasin like herself does best darling" Cruella tells her nodding her head towards the bridge with a knowing smile.

Turning around they see Anastasia's form crouched walking across the archway until she was directly under the guards.

"No" Snow shuddered in fear having seen Amelia so this to unsuspecting Black Knight's over the years, knowing what was coming next.

The couple couldn't do anything as the skilled assassin stood up straight before both her hidden blades slid out of her gauntlets before she dropped onto the back of two of the guards pushing the blade's through the back of their throats, severing their spine from the skull, the guards lifeless bodies falling onto the floor alerting the third guard as he tried to pull out his sword to fight the sudden attack.

"No!" the couple exclaimed the Prince rushing forward to stop her attack only to be too late as threw her arm out for the tip on the blade to slice through the third guards neck. The guard dropped his sword as he choked, blood poured out through his fingers as he tried to stop the open wound from bleed.

Only the blonde didn't stop there as she shoved her blade, straight into his chest one, two, three times before she flung him over the edge, to let his body fall down, fresh blood dripping off the ends of her golden blades before they snapped back into place.

"I don't believe that detour will be necessary" Malificent tells the couple pleased with Anastasia's quick work.

"You should've given us another chance to talk to them" the prince angrily protested at them.

"Talk, talk, talk" the blonde parroted at them as effortlessly picked up the dead bodies before pushing the bodies off bridge making the couple turn back to her "You weren't willing to do what was needed. We were".

Snow wanted to scream at the woman who carelessly took three innocent lives just like that. And so brutally. She wasn't the assassin she had grown up looking up to. No this was one that didn't care about innocents.

"Oh, well done, darling" Cruella compliments the assassin.

"I'm sorry. Is there a problem?" the sorceress ask the couple only to get nothing but silence from both of them "I didn't think so" at that the three walked through the couple to step onto the bridge that had been cleared by The Duchess.


Once he had sat down, nothing more had been said between them as she ate the cheesy macaroni straight from the pan as he simply sat there absentmindedly spinning the fork in his hand. He wasn't hungry enough to eat with the woman his mother had warned him about.

"Are you done?" Anya suddenly asks him pointing to the food.

"Yeah".

"I go?".

"Sure can" he tell her as he throws his fork on the table.

"I can put hot sauce on it?" she asks as she picks up the bottle of sauce from the table and sprinkles onto the mac and cheese "Oh I love hot sauce. Yeeeesss".

"What do you want?".

"Well, its my first time in Storybrooke, but it's a business trip so time is limited but I do want to see some things. But hey Thomas Smith you've been here for a while now, you must have some recommendations for me?".

"Y-Yeah. T-There's Granny's. The uh, the clock tower, the docks. Um, I'm not quite sure those are the right fit for the bloodthirsty assassin type" he says making the blonde assassin laugh at his words.

"The bloodthirsty assassins!" she chuckled out in amusement "Is that what my sister told you?".

"She told me enough" he states to her.

"Sometimes you're funny Thomas Smith".

"Do you keep saying my whole name just to point out that you know it?".

"Yes" she confirms "I know a lot about you. Mother; Amelia Montague, lives here with Regina Mill's The Evil Queen, currently Mayor and her adopted son Henry Mills, your best friend. Father Captain John Smith, alive but in another realm. Very Sad" she adds seeing the way his face fell at the mention of his Dad.

"-You and the saviour Emma Swan son, Henry recently tried to fool your Uncle and Grandfather, which I'll admit is pretty cool, and you got a few points from me on that" she add's impressed at their effort to try and find out who the author was by looking through his shop for the answer "Uh School GPA: 3.7-".

"Right okay we get ." he snaps at her to get her to stop talking " Are you in Storybrooke to talk to my Mom, is that why you're here?".

"No, no,no,no, no, no. I'm here to kill her" she tells him with a straight face that made his heart skip a beat in his chest "Why do you all risk your life for her?" she asks him as she forgets about her food and leans forward on the table "Amelia Montague. How has everybody forgiven her for her past?".

"She saved us" he tried to argue with his 'aunt'.

"No, our father saved you all" she corrects him having gotten the story from Rumple in New York "Romeo Montague. He saved you all. It was his teachings that stopped the Black Widow from Emma Swan getting to the magical wardrobe, not her".

"You're really my Mom's sister?".

"Yes" she answers him.

"She's Romeo's daughter. Your sister" he reminds her "Why are you after her?".

She gently shook her head at the teen in front of her seeing the love he held for her older sister "You are so fond of her" she observes out loud tilting her head at him "It tells me you don't really know who she is".

"She protected me, when I had no one, even before she knew I was her son. She loved m-"

"No, she does it to protect her reputation" she interrupts him "Do you know how many people she's killed?".

He couldn't. He didn't know. His mother probably didn't even know how many people she killed over the years to get revenge for losing him, her first love and her father.

"-That it holds so much power, you call her a hero no matter what she does".

"It means that when you choose to spend the rest of your life trying to help people, there are going to be things that you lose" he tells her "When you face the kind of threats that she has, there's going to be collateral damage".

"My husband" she loudly tells him seeing the grief present in her eyes "Is gone. Because of her. He's gone. Is he collateral damage?".

"No. There is no way that is true, she would not let that happen?" he tried to defend his mother knowing how much she cared for the blonde in front of him.

"How long have you known Amelia Montague?" she asks him wanting an honest answer from the teenager who seemed to barely know the woman he called his mother "It will not be difficult for me to complete this assignment" she tells her nephew.

Her nephew was lucky that Rumple had his own plans for his niece for the time being, all she needed to know was once his use for her Uncle was up, then she would be able to kill the woman responsible for Dimitri's death.

"Wait a minute, somebody hired you to kill her" he asked with a raised brow. She didn't correct her as she relaxed into the chair "All I'll say is that if there is someone out there that is telling you my Mom is a bad guy still, then maybe you should ask yourself what kind of person hired you to kill your own family. She is not perfect. Nobody is perfect, but she is good".

"Truth is it doesn't matter, we are defined by what we do, not by nice words. Like it or not there is no escaping this" she tells him. whatever her assignment was she was warning him.

"Thank you for dinner, truly. I have been wanting to meet my nephew, for a very..long..time" she says really taking in his features that resembled so much of his grandfather. She wondered how her sister could stand looking at him for too long without ignoring the knot in the pit of her stomach she knew her sister felt. Because she felt it as well.

"You look like our father" she tells the teen as the key in the front door is turned making him snap his head around to the source of the noise in panic.

"Your Mommy's on her way in. I would sneak out the back door while you still have a chance" taking his chance he stands from his seat and rounds the table to head for the back door only for Anastasia's voice to stop her "Oh and Thomas Smith. Do not get in my way".


The mansion would be the first place her sister would be waiting for her. After an initial sweep of the ground floor she heads upstairs to find Tom's gauntlets after their plans had been changed last minute. They still had time to get to the training ground for some drills if that's what he really wanted to do before they lost light.

Venturing down the hallway with the gauntlets in her hand she goes into the Master bedroom to find her own, only stop herself as her eye's drew themselves to the white skirting board behind the vanity table. To anyone passing by it looked untouched but since the Queen's returned with her sister she had out something there for a rainy day. After their encounter with Cruella and Ursula earlier it was already spotting.

With the weapon safely tucked behind her back and her gauntlets on her forearms, she would be ready for whatever her little sister threw at her as she descended the stairs with her father's old gauntlets in her hands.

Coming down the stairs she she smelt something caught her nose making her freeze.

"Mac and cheese?" she whispered to herself as it dawned in her that she hadn't been completely alone the whole time she had been back. Placing the gauntlets on the stairs, she reached back and pulled out the gun she had for emergencies as she took her time descending the stairs withe the gun in both her hands, pointing out in front of her, as she searched for the intruder.

Stepping into the foyer she heard her sister's voice for the first time in years "I know you're out there".

"I know you know, I'm here" she replied as she tried to find the source of where the feminine voice was coming from. Her eye's trailed each room around her. Living room. Clear.

"Then why are you skulking about like it's a minefield?" Anya replied. Study. Clear.

"Cause I don't know if I can trust you" Amelia tells her.

She heard her sister chuckle to herself "Funny I was going to say the same thing".

"So…are we gonna talk like grownups" Dining Room. Clear

"Is that what we are?" she whipped body towards the voice to meet the sight of her sister in front of her gun trained right between her eyes. Found her.

Princess Anastasia. Or Anya as they called her. With her own gun pointed at her.

Pushing past the skip of her own heart she made her feet move forward making her sister step around the round dining room table back into the hallway, with her gun trained solely on her as guided the younger woman through the house room by room.

"Put it down before I make you" Amelia warns her younger sister as they moved in unison.

"You put yours down".

"Watch your step" Amelia warns Anya and she walks backwards over a tricky sill between the hallway and kitchen until they both came to stop in front of the square counter island, their guns almost nose to nose, not making a move until they both moved to disarm the other only to switch guns.

Amelia attempted to do it again only for her sister to get the upper hand by kicking out with her right leg taking the gun out of her hand before grabbing the collar of her jacket jerking her forward only for the more experienced assassin to turn herself under the blonds arm. However, this only allowed Anya to shove her into the wooden doorway smacking her head against it before she was dragged back so her back hit the opposite doorpost.

Using this to her advantage she grabs Anastasia's neck pushing forward she uses the rush of adrenaline from the fight to lift her sister up into one of the wall cabinets instantly breaking the wood in half from the amount of force she used to lift her sister off the ground. Anya tries to fight back by shoving a wayward hand in her face only for the redhead to force her down on the counter-top with powerful grip on the blonds chin and shoulder to keep her still.

"STAY DOWN!" she seethed at her younger sister through gritted teeth "STAY DOWN!" Anya kicked out as she tried to fight off her big sisters grip, only to use her free arms to grab an object above her head that turned out to be a ceramic plate and smash it on the redhead's head to loosen her grip.

Stumbling back with a cry of pain as the blonde grabbed a wet cloth same place as her feet met the floor haphazardly throwing the cloth towards her sister, only for the redhead to catch it and jerk the blonde forward off balance before stepping to the side to wrap the cloth around the latter's neck, she started to pull only for the blonde to catch her boot covered foot on the counter top and using the strength in her leg to pull her sister forward off her feet and into the air as she fell onto her back.

Her sister's body made contact with the doorway leading into the hallway twice before landing heavily onto the black and white marble floor. Quickly sitting up from the kitchen floor Anya watched her sister slowly start to get up from her heavy landing.

In unison the assassins stood back up as they searched each other for any injuries during their fight they could take advantage of, but there was nothing, not even a scratch as Amelia watched her younger sister retreat back into the kitchen to pick out a large kitchen knife that was still in it's holder.

"Anya" Amelia warned her sister shaking her head as the blonde started to approach her with the sharp knife in her hand. The master assassin backtracked through the hallway.

She ducked just in time as Anya slashed the knife through the air towards her, grabbing the nearest thing near her that just happened to be an umbrella she block Anya's next attack with her arm and strength before Anya turned the knife in her hand breaking the block she slashed at the redhead's stomach, they managed to locked their arms together before Amelia dropped to the floor and rolled her body out of her sister's hold before kicking out while still on the ground catching her chin.

The blonde drops to the ground on one knee before going for her sister again with the knife only for Amelia to knock it out of her hand and onto the floor before wrapping her arms around the blondes head, the both stood up Amelia pushed Anya's head back by her chin with the umbrella between the back of her skull and spine.

Knocking the umbrella away Anya took her older sister by surprise as she crouched down low, ramming shoulder into her sisters thighs picked her up. Before she knew what had happened the redhead felt her back meet the dining room wall by the window.

Grabbing the net curtain and ripping it down her sister rammed her against the wall before she could get the large piece of material around her neck, using all her strength to pull the netting tighter around her younger sister's neck, jumping off her sister shoulder, Anya managed to get some of the netting around her own neck before the older sister used her strength to throw her sister onto the floor narrowly missing the table and chairs that sat in the middle of the room, using the momentum against her older sister the blonde forced the redhead onto the ground with her so that they were lying face to face with the curtain around each other's necks as they used there feet to push on each other to tighten to makeshift noose.

Amelia felt her throat constrict as she felt her sisters boot dig deeper into her hip as she did the same to her, they stayed like that for the next few seconds until she really looked at her younger sister for the first time in years. She had changed in the few years between when she last saw her and the first curse being cast.

She had missed her so much.

Pulling her leg away from the blonde hip that was helping her tighten the curtain around her neck she took her by surprise, holding out her hands in surrender "Truce?".

Anya nodded as she let go of her sister, pulling the curtain off her neck as she gulped for air as Amelia watched her younger sister from her spot opposite her.

"You've grown up" the words slipped past her lips making the blonde look towards her.

"No shit" Anastasia spat out as she huffed herself off the floor leaving her sister to roll onto her back.

"Good to see you too sis" Amelia said up to her sister as the blonde held a helping hand down to her sister. Amelia eyed the hand as she saw a golden gauntlet sat on top of her arm, the one their father had gifted her before they left for their final mission together before accepting the hand.

With a tug Anastasia brought the redhead up from the floor and close into her body as she felt Amelia's own blade on her stomach "Happy to see me sister?" the blonde teased her sister feeling the sharp point through her shirt.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Amelia sneered at the blonde before harshly pushing her away as the blade slip back into her gauntlet.

"I wanted to see where you lived with the Queen" Anya answered as she sauntered back into the foyer with the redhead watching her every move "I see you finally grew the balls to take what you wanted".

"Whatever fight you have against me ends with me" the redhead tells her "I didn't kill him".

"Is that why you really think I'm here?" her sister questioned her.

"It certainly wasn't to catch up" Amelia added glancing toward the broken cabinet door in the kitchen and the broken dish. She was going to have one hell of a time to explain that one. She needed to call Marco as soon as she could.

"I just wanted to see you hadn't gone soft sister, all those years serving the Queen, not only on the battlefield but in her bed chamber. Its safe to say you haven't lost your edge even if your heart has".

"What do you want? Revenge? it isn't all its cracked up to be, all It did was darken my heart".

"I do not want revenge" Anya said as her eye caught something on the staircase "Your Uncle made it quite clear in the Forest that I wasn't to get my revenge on you there. Every time I got close to ending your life, he conveniently intervened".

An amused smile grew on the redhead's face "So, you got the full story from him before you ditched him, huh?".

"He confirmed your true origins" the younger woman informed the red head as she reached the base of the stairs where Romeo's gauntlets were left. She picked them up and uses her fingers to trace out the intricate leather work that encased the hidden blade "There were rumors of course, but I never thought Master Romeo stupid enough to be caught out".

"He wasn't" her older sister tells her "Someone tipped Claudius off".

"Rumple said he was banished to a place called Neverland, but you found him before he died anyway. I suppose these are not his gauntlets anymore. Are they?" she asks looking straight at her. Before throwing the gauntlet back to her older sister.

"Do you have a point with this little meet and greet or shall I have you arrested for breaking and entering?".

"I just wanted to say hello again" she stated before heading for the front door "Give Snow and Prince Charming my love, will you?" she said before leaving the mansion through the front door.


With the information that August had added his story to Henry's storybook before the curse was broken Regina had asked the young boy and his father Marco to the office hoping the boy would remember what he did as an adult.

With the new lead she had called Emma and Amelia to the office to see if either of them could get him to talk. With Emma's history with Pinocchio as August and Amelia's budding friendship with the boy he became again during the year spent back home, she hoped either of them could get something more out of the silent boy.

Returning from the mansion without his gauntlets, Tom remained sat at the conference table as he contemplated his conversation with his 'Aunt'. He wasn't sure what to take from it. Was there more she was hiding from him? Over the last year she had aimed to be honest with him about the Black Widow and he always appreciated it. But he never thought about how many people she actually killed, the lives she ruined. It was all to find some sort of justice for him, his Dad and Romeo.

To the life she had to live under the Brotherhood. Was all that collateral damage as they put it worth it?

Yes, she would tell him. Because it got her here. With him. With Regina.

Regina stood next to Pinocchio as he looked over the pages his older-self August had added to the book a couple of years prior "Is anything coming back to you, Pinocchio?" she encouraged the boy in slight desperation "Maybe if you look at the pages again" she was interrupted when she saw Emma and Amelia enter the office, leaving the young boy with the book as she goes to find them.

"Where the hell have you been?" she asked the blonde first glancing at her partner seeing that she had changed out of her training gear.

"On witch watch. I was on the way to the station when I got your call. How's it going here?" Emma inquired.

"It's not. He can't remember anything. But since you and August spent so much time together, I thought seeing you would... Jog his memory".

"Yeah. I guess I could give it a shot" Emma answered approaching the boy leaving the couple to approach the young boy at the desk with his father.

"Where have you been?" Regina whispered to Amelia as Emma took Pinocchio to the sofa. On closer inspection of her partner she saw bruises starting to grow on her face as she noticed the way she was holding herself, she was hurt "You look like hell".

"Long story short. You need to install extra bolt on your doors" she answered in a low voice "And… I may have broken a few things" she admits to the older woman.

"What?" Regina quietly exclaimed before Emma spoke to Pinocchio on the couch.

"You remember me, right?" Emma asked the young boy.

"You're Emma, the sheriff" he sweetly answered seeing Amelia in the room who gave him a friendly wink and smile.

"But you know that back when you were... O-older... We were friends" Emma tells him "You were a really smart grown-up. So smart you knew how to take that entire thing apart and add a story to it. And then you put it all back together. Do you remember doing that? Or anything else about the book?"

Pinocchio looked up at the adults that stood around him cautious of the company around him, Amelia still could tell he was still a little weary around her, but they grew closer during the year back home as a friendly face that would play with some of the younger children from time to time with Tom. It was a massive improvement from how scared he still was of her when he changed back to a small boy.

"I know everybody wants me to remember, but... I just don't" he tells.

"You went to Phuket" Regina suddenly snapped at him getting more frustrated with the boy "You rode a motorcycle. You wore leather and didn't shave!" she yells at him.

"Regina" Emma and Amelia warned the mayor seeing how she was scaring the boy.

"No, he's not trying hard enough" Regina argued to the women "All you need to do is concentrate and think! Or is that head of yours still made out of wood?" she said to the boy.

"Whoa, stop!" Marco protested rounding on the angry woman "I won't have you speak that way to my boy".

"Maybe what your boy needs is some motivation" Regina threatened towards the boy.

"That's enough!" Amelia angrily snapped at her partner seeing her other half rear her ugly head.

"Let's go down to the vending machine and get a snack" Emma suggested to the young boy "Henry, Tom come on" Emma encouraged the child and teen's out as Regina snatched her arm out of the redheads hand, turning away from her. Shoving the pair of gauntlets into her sons arms, the teen paused seeing the annoyance etched on her face.

"We'll talk about your attitude later" she tells her son before he meekly nods his head before slipping past her with his gauntlets in his hands.

Amelia see's them out holding the frame of the door in a vise grip as she tried to ease her own anger towards the former Queen seeing Marco stop to speak to the Mayor.

"Marco.." the redhead tried to stop the older man from making things worse.

"No. I will speak to her myself" he tells his friend before looking straight at the former Queen "Has it ever occurred to you that maybe this, uh, quest of yours is ill-fated?" he asked her hotly "After ruining everyone else's happy ending, what makes you think you deserve one of your own?".

"Oh, I can ask you the same question, toy maker. Considering you lied about the wardrobe so you could send Pinocchio to this world" Regina heatedly retorted.

"Regina!" Amelia snapped at her.

"I wouldn't have needed to if it wasn't for your curse! I had to save him! You stay away from my boy" he warned her before storming out of office. The redhead pause for a second or two before running out of the office to follow the carpenter

"Marco!" she called after him making him stop and look back to see her "Mi Dispaice"(I'm sorry) she sighed out to the older man. With a curt nod he turned and left the former assassin that had tried to reunite his adult son to him.

Returning to the office she found the former Queen with her back to her as she slammed the door shut making her presence known to her partner as she tried to chose the right words or word to describe how she was feeling towards her partner at that moment.

They couldn't afford the whole town against them. They couldn't not with Tom and Henry to think about. Not with Cruella, Ursula and Anastasia skulking around.

"Fantastic job, Your Majesty" she spat out, as the title made the former Queen flinch as more tears fell from her eyes knowing the redhead had every right to be angry at her "You've managed to push away the only viable lead we've had in over a month".

"Melia.." she heard Regina sniff out making her want to stop, but her anger was the only way for her to learn that she couldn't let her other half out.

"Do you want to turn the whole town against us again or are you going to do it one by one?" Amelia started at her partner "Let's go to Granny's first, or should we go find Belle? You know what let's go straight to Snow and her Prince Charming and undo that last three years of our damn lives!" she exclaimed losing her temper and patience wavered with the former Queen.

"Amelia..".

Taking a deep breaths the redhead felt herself slipping back to the place she didn't want to go back to.

"I know you're frustrated that we're not getting anywhere with the book, but if you continue to do that with every single person who might have a clue finding the author then nobody will want to help. That was complete out of order and you know that. He's just a boy who had no idea how to help when he wants to".

"I advise you, Madam Mayor. To cool down here first before you find Marco and apologize him before he turns the entire town against us" Amelia stated before turning to leave the former Queen to her herself.


Later that night after apologizing to Marco, she had received a message from Mary Margaret to meet her so late and in the pouring rain.

"What's with all the cloak-and-dagger?" Regina asked the former Princess as her brown eye sought out and found the pixie haired teacher approaching her.

"Maleficent's back" Mary Margaret tells her.

This piece of information gave Regina pause "I should've known fish sticks and pound puppy were here for more than a second chance".

"They wanna destroy our happy endings…All of them".

"How do they hope to do that?".

"That's where you come in. We need to find out what they're planning. We need to get someone close to them, someone they believe to be a villain. We want you to go undercover with them and help us stop their plans" the former Princess proposed to her former step-mother. Making the latter frown at the idea.

"And you think they're just going to welcome me into their coven with open arms?".

"Regina, you used to be one of them".

"They think I'm a hero now. They'll never believe I want in" Regina tried to argue.

"So, find a way to make them believe. Take Amelia with you, if it convinces them more" Mary-Margret urges her. If they think the Evil Queen and her Black Widow we're back together that would be more convincing if only one went without the other. They were always a team.

"What makes you so sure they're dead set on destroying us?".

"Because of something David and I did a long time ago. Regina, you once asked me to..." the Princess paused as she tried to control her overwhelming emotions "Regina, you once asked me.." she ties once more only for her voice to falter "To keep a secret. And I couldn't. But I'm gonna ask you to keep one for me. One Emma and Amelia can never learn".

Regina's interest perked up hearing that this meeting involved not only Emma but Amelia "What is it?" she asks stepping closer to the former Princess.

"Emma was born with the potential for great darkness" Mary-Margaret informed her.

"She's the Saviour." The former Queen argued "A hero. Her magic's as light as it gets".

"Because David and I went to extraordinary lengths to make sure it was".

"If you ensured her goodness, why can't you tell her?".

"The same reason you don't want Henry to hear about all the terrible things you and Amelia did in your past. You wanna protect him... So he doesn't lose faith in the person you've become... The person he always believed you could be. That's why Emma can never find out what I'm about to tell you. She's finally starting to open up her heart. And if she learns the truth, if we let her down, she'll lose faith in us, and it could send her tumbling down a dark path. Because when you betray the people you love... When you make them see the worst parts of you... What you've done changes everything. There's no going back. You've shattered the bonds you worked so hard to forge. And the stronger those bonds once were... The more difficult they are to put back together... If they can be repaired at all"

Regina frowns confused, how did any of the have anything to do with Amelia "I don't understand. What exactly did you do to Maleficent?"

"Because of us... Maleficent lost her child".


Setting up camp for the night with the four villains was a tense for everyone involved as no more was said about the way they got over the bridge to get them there. Brutality oozed from the assassin as she killed those innocent guards. It was so unlike the assassin's she had already met.

Romeo was a kind, caring man under that hood who looked like he wouldn't hurt anyone unless he had to.

And Amelia, when she did kill, it was quick. But the anger behind her every attack still remained as she granted each man or woman she killed a merciful death. Murmuring the words 'Requiescat in pace' as her victims took their last breath.

The redhead once told her what those words meant; Rest in Peace. She said it was a prayer to signify the sanctity of death. Anastasia held no consideration for this as she butchered those poor men only doing their jobs.

After setting up their tents Snow found the blonde assassin sat in front of the fire sharping a dagger in the light it gave off as the other three had already gone inside their tent.

"Can I help you, Your Highness?" her accented voice asked the hovering Princess nearby. She didn't need her sister's sixth sense to know the young Princess was behind her.

She wasn't naturally gifted with the sixth sense like Amelia and Romeo were, but with time and training she would be able to possess her own version of the sight, like the other assassin's. Anyone with the right training would be able to gain a watered down version of the vision. She was one such person until she left years ago to start a life of her own away from the constrains of the Creed.

Taking a seat next to the assassin Snow felt the warmth of the fire starting to take away the chill of the night.

"I was wondering if you were part of the Brotherhood of Assassins?" the question came out quicker as her couristiy got the better of her.

"I was" the blonde simply tells her "I left".

A woman of few words.

"Oh. Why?".

The blonde stilled from her task to look at her with a raised brow that told she wasn't going to say anything else to the Princess before turning back to her task that helped clear her mind.

"If your were apart of the Brotherhood does that mean you knew Master Romeo?".

"I do. He was my Mentor". Snow knew what that meant. It mean he was the one to teach her the ways of the Brotherhood like he was to Amelia. "Are you going to keep asking question or get some rest while we still can?".

"No. Sorry. I just..".

"Just what?" the blonde assassin interrupts her, growing tires of her questions "I haven't heard from him in years. He's forgotten about me".

"You don't know?" her words spilled out from her lips quicker than she could control them.

"Know what?" the assassin spat at her in annoyance.

"He was killed. Years Ago" she sadly informs the young woman.

"He's dead" it wasn't a question. It made sense now why her old Master hadn't been seen or heard for years while the other assassins were starting to fall by her sister's hand. If there was one person to stop her, it would be their father.

"I-I thought you knew" Snow stammered seeing how shocked the assassin was.

"How?".

"The Black Widow told me it was treason. Executed by the Brotherhood".

Treason? That made no sense. Master Romeo was the most dedicated assassin in the whole Brotherhood. While other's looked elsewhere to gain a few more coins from neighboring kingdoms. Romeo dedicated his life to the Order, and the two girl he had taken on as apprentices.

"The Widow told you?" she questioned the Princess.

"She did. She wanted revenge for her father's murder" the words continued to fall out of her lips faster than she knew. That's the only reason she could think of why she wanted her Order to die.

Master Romeo was her father.

"How?" she questioned further at the revelation.

"The Evil Queen" Snow gulped "She wrote a letter telling your Mentor that Romeo had fathered a child against your order's rules I-I".

"How do you know this?" she pushed out at her.

" Because I read it before I sent it to your Mentor" Snow quickly tells her silencing the blonde's questions as she stared at the Princess that was supposed to be helping them.

How was the woman in front of her still living if she was the one responsible for Romeo's death. Her forearms instinctively flexed making a hidden blade slide out of her gauntlets as she stood up from where she was sat, over-towering the Princess as the hero fearfully watched the assassin take a step towards her

The man she and her sister would easily call her own father was dead and gone sat right there playing the hero.

"Darling" Cruella's voice cut through the moment as the hidden blades slid back into it's place "We have plenty of time to scare her tomorrow. Come get some rest".

At that the assassin forced herself onto her feet to head to thier shared tent only to stop short of the Princess, bending down to whisper into her ear; "Just hope the Widow never learns of this Princess. Otherwise you'll be wishing for the Queen's curse to come before she does".


"And Amelia?" Regina gulped not sure what the former Princess could've done to someone she had looked up to most of her life.

"Year's ago when Romeo visited the palace, I overheard he and my father talking. They were talking about a girl that Romeo had taken as an apprentice, a girl that held a very special place in his heart. I don't know what overcame me to-, I became angry o-o-or jealous, that he loved her more than me".

"Wait, that's your secret? That you knew Amelia was Romeo's daughter even before she did?".

"No, I never made the connection" she says reaching into her coat pocket that had weight heavy she had kept safe until now. The former Queen couldn't see what it was until the former Princess handed it over to her.

Her heart clenched as she stared down at the letter she had written out of spite of the young assassin that had ricked her life to save two people she hadn't met before. The words that sealed hers and her father's fate. And the eventual fate that would fall upon her husband and son.

Slowly reaching out the former Queen took the letter that still held her purple wax seal to that day. The one she swore on her life she never sent that nearly sealed the end to their own relationship.

"H-How did you get this?".

"Amelia gave it to me when she decided to go back to Monteriggioni, when she thought she could never forgive you again".

"Why is it so important now?".

"Because it's a secret that I've told to one other person before now. Not even David knew about it until last night".

"Anastasia" the Queen easily deduced.

"That's why she's back. To expose a secret, she knows would tear this family apart. You swear to this day that you never sent that letter in your hand. The letter that accuses Master Romeo of fathering a child against the Brotherhood's laws. The anger I felt years earlier listening to the two men I loved the most in the world suddenly came rushing back as I read it word for word".

"If I never sent it, then who did?".

She knew what she was going to say next. She needed to hear it from the woman herself. If she wanted her to go undercover in the coven she needed to know why she needed to keep this secret from the woman she loved. Because if Amelia ever found out. Not even she could Mary Margaret from the Black Widow's wrath.

"I did" she admits to the woman in front of her "I was the one to send it. It was my fault Claudius ever found out about Amelia. It's my fault Romeo was banished, Tom was taken from her. It's my fault she became the Black Widow".


Returning home after her secret meeting with Mary Margret, the former Queen had time to process what school teacher had told her in the rain. She promised neither secret's would see the light of day. Not only for Emma's sake. But for Amelia's heart.

She understood why she needed to keep Mary Margaret's confession a secret for now, if she knew that she was the one to send her letter to Claudius about her true parentage. She would never trust anyone ever again. It would break her heart.

It was late when she stepped into the house discarding her umbrella and coat at the front door, she heard movement in the kitchen where she found Amelia cleaning up in the kitchen. Not noticing the kitchen cabinet that had been haphazardly taped backed together.

"Hey" Regina greeted the red head gently as she collected a stack of clean bowls from the drainer to the island "You're still here" she says not expecting the redhead to stay at the house after what happened earlier.

"Why wouldn't I be?".

"I just thought-".

"I think we both know we can't let slip up like today break us" she tells the former Evil Queen "There will probably be times were the Widow will come out, and burn a few bridges I've built with people over the years. I'd hate to think that you wouldn't be there to support me when I fell off the villainous wagon".

"Thank you. But you were right, if someone had spoken to Henry or Tom like that, I would be angry too. I've apologised to Marco, we're okay now".

"Glad to hear that" Amelia noted putting the bowls back in the cupboard they were stored in "Is there something else?" the redhead pressed the woman across from her after a pro-longed moment of silence.

"Maleficent is back" Regina informed the former Assassin.

"Okay" Amelia stated turning back to face the former Queen with the island between acting as some sort of no man's land.

"Okay?" Regina questioned the red head's reaction or lack off "Aren't you a least bit concerned that's she's back from the dead?".

"Not really" Amelia tells her "We both know they're not here for redemption. They were going to make their move sooner rather than later. And if they've been talking to Rumple maybe they got a spell from him before ditching him" she informed her partner "Why? Are you?".

"Mary Margaret is. She's the reason why I was late back. She's asked me to help infiltrate the coven, I thought you could help seeing as you have more experience in such matters, you would help".

"And risk our necks against someone that can literally turn into a dragon for what? So they can take the credit of finding out their plans".

"She told me a secret. She and David did something before Emma was born that they don't want her to find out".

"And that is?" Amelia asked the Queen only to be met with silence.

"I'm sorry I can't..I promised I wouldn't tell anyone...not even you".

"Okay, I can help you get in with the witches and my sister, but I need you to promise me what happened with Pinocchio won't happen again, because like it or not we need these people help up find the author. I can't take steps back with these people especially with Tom, I've just started getting him back after John left".

"I promise" she tells the woman she loved. Holding the knowledge of who really sent the latter that sealed her fate spun around her head. It was her turn to protect her from the hard truth for as long as she could. She just had to figure out how.

"I uh, also wanted to ask you a question" the former Queen nervously asked her as she took slow step around the island as her conversation with Henry earlier that day came into mind.

"Okay?" the assassin drawled out in interest folding her arms across her chest with curious brow seeing her partner's sudden nervousness.

Coming to stand in front of the redhead her, she nervously played with her fingers as she made herself look into her partner's emerald eyes.

"Henry and I, were wondering if you and Tom would like to move here. Permanently" she proposed to the redhead anxiously waiting for an answer.

"Move in? Like living together? Here?".

"Yes. If that's something you and Tom wanted, of course" she finished clearing her throat. Amelia had to suppress the smirk that wanted to spread on her face seeing her partner so nervous. She loved making her nervous.

"Uhh, Regina-" she started taking a step towards her Queen only to get interrupted.

"I know it's fast" the brunette tells her "-and I know we agreed to take things slow but with-" she was cut off as she suddenly felt her assassin's soft lips on her's, quickly melting into the sweet kiss as her eye's fluttered close to kiss her back as she felt the redhead's arms snake around her waist, before the redhead pulled away, she felt her breath let her lungs.

"Is that a yes?" shes asks the redhead.

A light chuckle left the assassin's throat at her question "It's a yes, Queenie".

Closing the distance between them the former Queen captured Amelia lips in a bruising kiss the redhead her core stir as she turned them so that she could sit herself up on the kitchen counter top, allowing the Queen to step in between her legs as she felt the Queen's hand slide up her jean covered thighs.

Then out of the corner of her eye the Queen saw something that made her pull away from Amelia's soft lips seeing one of her kitchen cabinets haphazardly taped back together by duck tape. Looking at the assassin sat on the counter top she saw the sheepish look on her face that told her everything she needed to know.

"What happened to my kitchen?".


AN: The fight scene with Amelia and Anastasia I used the Natasha vs Yelena fight scene from Black Widow (2021) as reference. If anyone wants a visual. I'm a bit more confident with fight scene's but not perfect. I loved that scene and wanted to use it for their reunion.

In addition I did use the scene from the Hawk-eye 2021 series, slightly changed for the purpose of the story.

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