The lake bed was dry. Gray sand extended in a circle that had once been lake Nostos. Objects, possibly of great value, lay scattered on the ground. Armor, swords, jewelry. Regina ignored them as she made her way to the center of what used to be the lake. Cora and Hook followed her.

"There's no water," Hook said, "what are we going to do?"

Cora grinned, "Worry not, captain," she twisted her hands and a small well appeared, it was deep and at the bottom of it the three could hear the sloshing of water.

"The legendary lake Nostos," Regina whispered. She'd heard of the magical powers that these waters possessed, the power to return what was once lost. Almost instinctively she put her hands to her belly, then forced them back down, hoping her mother hadn't noticed.

"Who did this?" She asked in a whisper,

"Ask your Charming friends," Cora said, "once the mermaid was killed, there was no one to protect the lake from opportunistic strangers"

Cora waved her hand in dismissal, signifying that the conversation was finished. Then, with one hand she made a pulling motion, and the water in the well rose, until it was level with her face, it swirled and foamed in a perfect column.

Cora waved to Regina, who reluctantly passed her the vial filled with the ashes of the magical tree. Her mother had given them to her for safekeeping, in a show of goodwill. They were so close to getting back to Storybrooke, Regina could taste it. She could feel her son's arms wrapped around her, smell the soft scent in his hair, see his warm smile. The smile he no longer turned towards her. But he would, once Emma was no longer in his life, he would love her again. There was one small problem, her mother could not be allowed back with them. She supposed there would be no harm in bringing the captain with her, he'd keep Rumple busy at the very least. Cora was another story, she would not let her loose on the world, even she was not as cruel as that.

But now her mother was holding the ashes in the palm of her hand, and letting the water pour onto them, she turned her hand and dropped the mixture to the ground. The three were flattened to the ground as a portal opened where Cora had been standing moments before. Regina got up, dusting herself off, and walked to the edge of the spinning void.

"Now," Cora said, "Take my hand," she held out her hand to Regina, the other hand clutched the compass. Regina smiled,

"Thank you, mother" she said, then sent a powerful blast of magic towards Cora. It sent her flying backwards and she fell. Regina walked to Cora and grabbed the compass while she was momentarily stunned.

"Let's go," she said, turning to Hook, who looked between them for a moment,

"I thought you didn't fight for the losing side?" Regina asked him, as she jogged to him and to the portal.

"I've never known your mother to be on the losing side," he said, still looking at Cora, who was beginning to get up.

"There's a first time for everything," Regina said, grabbing his hand.

"Stop!" Snow's voice echoed in the small valley created by the lake bed, Regina turned to see an arrow pointed at her.

"I'll be gone before that reaches me," she said,

"Maybe," Emma agreed, she was standing behind Cora, sword drawn against her neck. Regina swallowed.

"My mother can take care of herself," she said. What did these heroes think they were playing at? Regina had sent Hook to kill Cora for a reason, did they really think she'd give up going home for her? Emma's sword was cutting a thin red line in Cora's neck, and Regina knew her mother wouldn't be able to magic her way out of this one.

"Give us the compass," Emma said,

"And Aurora's heart," Mulan added.

"Regina," Cora said, her voice was soft, almost crackling. Regina stared at her. Did she really believe— she didn't finish her thought. She walked to Emma, the compass in her hand. She held it out, and Emma grabbed it, Cora passed her the satchel containing Aurora's heart. Letting go of Cora and pushing her sideways, Emma stepped to the side, half turning to give Mulan the heart. Regina saw her chance, she jumped forward and tackled Emma to the ground. She felt her huff in surprise, the satchel flying out her hands. Neither woman saw where it went, as Emma turned under Regina and grabbed her, trying to push her off. Regina held on, her thighs tightening around Emma's hips, she reached blindly forward for the compass. Her fingers pulled at the metal, Emma held firmly onto it, her arms stretched over her head. Regina's upper body was pressed against Emma's as they struggled. Regina gasped as Emma flipped them over, but in the movement, Emma's fingers slackened and Regina managed to grab the compass. She pushed at Emma's legs, trying to wriggle herself free. Emma held on to her wrists, she couldn't magic herself away as it would simply bring the woman with her.

"Let go," Emma growled as she tried to pry the compass out of her fingers. Regina was keenly aware of how close their bodies were. Emma's face was next to hers, and she was buried in her hair, the scent of vanilla and leather almost overwhelming. She tried to focus on the cold metal in her hand, but the feeling of Emma pressed on top of her was distracting. Her breathing was ragged, and she was quite certain it wasn't just because of the physical exertion. She looked up at Emma, their eyes meeting, their faces shielded from the others by a curtain of blonde her surprise, she saw her own feelings reflected in them. Emma's eyes had darkened, her pupils blown wide. They were so close, Regina could feel her breathing against her lips.

"Emma!" Snow's voice pulled them out of their momentary reprieve, "throw it to me," Snow urged. Emma managed to pry the compass from Regina and held herself up, swatting at Regina's arms with one hand, with the other she threw the compass. Regina pushed her arm, causing the compass to go flying in a completely different direction. The two turned simultaneously to see Hook catching it out of the air. He grinned.

"Well, as fun as this has been," He said, stepping towards the open portal, "I'd better be going now," There was no time to argue, as Hook stepped into the portal, his body disappearing quickly in the vortex, the portal closed.

—-

Emma shut her eyes when the portal vanished. That was it, their last chance of getting home. Gone. Her eyes flew open when she felt a movement beneath her. Regina was wriggling away, trying to get free from beneath Emma's legs. The two of them were panting, the exertion of their fight another blow to their already exhausted bodies. Emma didn't move, letting her full weight sit on Regina, who wasn't trying very hard to get away. Their eyes met, and Emma once again felt a bolt of electricity surge down her spine. Despite her tiredness, Regina's presence under Emma was doing things she really had no right to be doing. The position they were in wasn't helping one bit, and Emma couldn't help letting her eyes rake over Regina's chest, her dress accentuating her curves. She would have felt self conscious if she hadn't noticed Regina's eyes on her arms. She flexed her biceps a little, just for fun, and enjoyed the reaction it caused in Regina. For a moment the only thing that mattered was each other, and this little game between them.

Emma gasped as she felt a surge of magic push her backwards off Regina and onto the ground. She lay on the sand as Cora stepped towards her,

"Get off my daughter," She growled, and for once, she wasn't smiling.

Emma pulled herself to her feet with some difficulty, she turned to Regina, "now what?" She asked, her voice was rough and hard, "You've lost the compass, and our only way to get home," she continued accusingly,

"I lost the compass?" Regina asked, her voice rising, "I didn't throw it to the pirate!"
"You know I was throwing it to Mary Margaret,"

"You would have left me here," Regina countered, and Emma had to roll her eyes,

"You left us in Rumplestiltskin's cell!" She growled

"Yes, how did you get out?" Cora asked, she was walking around the lake, apparently looking for something.

"With the squid ink," Emma said, she had to admit Regina's tip had been a life saver, it would have taken them much longer to figure out that the ink that spelled her name was the powerful magic they were looking for. Why had Regina helped them? She wondered, looking over at her, she could have left them there to die, but she hadn't.

Of course they'd had to use all of the ink up to escape the cell, perhaps that had been Regina's plan all along, to avoid them using it on her. Anger bubbled up in her chest.

"Yeah, you know what? We were planning on leaving you here," She said, staring at Regina, "You have no business being near Henry, and you being trapped here would have made life easier for everyone, including him"

Regina stared at her open mouthed, and Emma immediately regretted the words that had slipped out, especially at the sight of the hurt they caused in Regina's features. She watched in fascination as Regina schooled her face back into a grin, as if the pain she'd seen flash over her had never been there. She didn't reply.

"Let's just go," Snow said, she stood next to Mulan and Aurora, who had gotten her heart back, Mulan's arm around her waist. "We'll find another way to get home,"

Emma gave Regina one last scathing glance, then she turned to walk away, towards Snow. A cloud of purple smoke stopped her, and Regina was suddenly standing in her path,

"I don't think so, Miss. Swan," She said, her hand plunging into Emma's chest, her long, elegant fingers curled like claws. It was only a moment as Emma gasped at the strange, uncomfortable sensation, like being run through with a pole, though, strangely, it wasn't painful as the hand invaded her ribcage and Regina's fingers curled around her heart, Emma's eyes widened. Then Regina pulled. Emma felt an incredible force springing from within her. Pushing outwards. Regina was thrown, landing a few feet away, on her knees. She looked at Emma with a mixture of surprise and fear.

"You have magic," She gasped. Emma looked down at her hands, she certainly had not meant to use magic, she'd only been afraid of Regina taking her heart. There was no time to reply, as Cora rushed to her daughter's side.

"How about a truce, for now?" Cora said, as Regina pulled herself to her feet,

"With you?" Snow spit, she had her arrow ready, "Never," But Emma nodded,

"Yes, a truce, we go our way, and you go yours," She ignored Snow's glance of surprise.

Regina nodded, her hair was a wild mess, between the fighting and being thrown it had fallen out of its usual perfect bob. Emma preferred it this way. The two women turned and walked away into the woods.

Emma turned to her mother, who was watching the spot where Regina and Cora had been standing. Emma wondered for a moment why they hadn't magicked themselves away, but it didn't really matter, this was much better for her plan.

"We need rest," Mulan said, appearing behind Emma, her hand gripped Aurora's, who looked pale and faint.

"Let's find a place to camp," Snow said, her eyes still watching the forest. She was on edge, jumpy, her face set in a frown. Emma walked to her as they began to make their way back into the thicket.

"You ok?" She asked, Mary Margaret turned to her,

"Ok? Emma we just lost our only way home, and Regina tried to rip my daughter's heart out," she ran her fingers through her short hair, "I've done nothing but give that woman second chances, and she's done nothing but let me down,"

Emma watched her mother's frown, she understood how Snow felt about Regina, she had been burnt too many times, but her uncharacteristic negativity was throwing Emma.

"And you have magic!" Snow continued, "that's something at least," she mused. Emma didn't feel like exploring that avenue right this second, the idea of her having magic was unsettling. All she'd seen of magic since she'd gotten to Storybrooke had been nothing if not horrifying.

"Well I had just said she's a terrible mother," Emma said,

"And that excuses her trying to kill you?" Mary Margaret asked,

"You don't know she wanted to kill me," Emma murmured, unsure why she was protecting Regina. Maybe she felt bad for leaving her in the Giant's lair, maybe she felt bad for the words she'd thrown at her in anger. Plus her hint in Rumplestiltskin's cell had shown Emma she might actually be able to change. And then there were those strange feelings Emma had every time she looked at her. Emma wasn't naive, she knew Regina was an attractive woman, hell, she was fully aware she was attracted to Regina. Since the first day they'd met, watching her rush out of her mansion to hug Henry, in her perfect outfit and her black pumps, Emma had found her irritatingly attractive. Of course those feelings had been pushed aside for Henry's well being, when Regina did nothing but get in her way at every turn. She had always believed her attraction to be one sided, but something had changed here, in the enchanted forest, maybe it was being away from Henry, maybe it was their shared goal of going home. During their fight Regina's look had been undeniable. Then she'd tried to rip Emma's heart out, of course. And Emma had thrown her back. With magic. Emma was too tired, all she wanted was to go home, hug her son, sleep in her bed, have a hot shower, and eat a damned bear claw.

Mulan had stopped, Aurora still holding on tight to her hand,

"We can sleep here tonight," Mulan said, keeping her voice low.

Snow agreed quickly, Emma could see the signs of exhaustion in her mother's face, her lips set in a hard line. She had grown thinner, her cheekbones poking through more than usual, her eyes deeper set. Emma busied herself preparing the fire, Mulan had shown her how to on their first night in the woods. No-one spoke as exhaustion overtook them and they each fell asleep one by one. Aurora and Mulan curled up next to each other.

Emma awoke to the sun rising in the sky, painting it hues of pink and red. She had to admit that dawn in the enchanted forest was nothing like back home, colors seemed brighter here. Even the smells were stronger, Emma reflected, as she got up from her makeshift bed on the ground, the smell of earth and leaves clinging to her hair. The fire had gone out during the night but the smell of smoke lingered in the air. Emma had finally slept, she groaned as she stretched her arms above her head, the movement sending jolts of pain down her back.

Suddenly, the sound of a hushed conversation caused her to turn. It came from somewhere to the left of their camp, in the forest. Whoever was speaking was very far, and Emma couldn't make out anything they were saying. She looked around, the others were still asleep. Emma went to Snow and shook her awake,

"There's someone there," she whispered, and Snow got up, immediately awake. Emma pointed in the direction of the noise, and Snow nodded. They followed the sounds of hushed speaking, walking as quietly as they could through the thick undergrowth of the forest. The voices grew louder as they walked, and with them, Emma could make out the sound of running water. As they neared, Emma realized whose voice she was hearing. Regina. She mentally cursed herself. Of course, there weren't many people left in the enchanted forest, she should have realized it would be Regina and Cora. She and Snow shared a look, but they kept walking. A few minutes later, they found themselves crouching behind a bush, in front of them a small clearing through which ran a slow river. Regina and Cora had built a fire, and they sat next to the running water,

"I think it's the only way," Regina was saying, her head turned away from her mother,

"It's dangerous, even with magic," Cora answered,

"Weren't you planning on it, before we arrived?"

"I was planning on the pirate doing all the dangerous work," Cora said, "of course, now he's out of the picture,"

"it doesn't matter," Regina said, her voice hard, "we have to get back to Storybrooke,"

Cora was quiet for a long moment,

"You were planning on leaving me here," she said finally, Regina turned to her.

"Mother," she said, "I'm sorry, I thought you wanted to hurt my son, I couldn't let you do that"

"Regina!" Cora sounded angry, "I would never want to hurt Henry," she said, "I only want what's best for you, and for him,"

"I know," Regina answered, and Emma wondered if she imagined the uncertainty in her voice, "I know that now, I want you to come back with me," she continued, her hands gripping Cora's, who nodded.

"Good, later we'll climb up that giant's beanstalk and then," she patted Regina's hand, "we can go home,"

Emma turned to Snow, who seemed to have had the same thought, together they walked away as quickly as they dared without attracting attention. They walked back to their camp, past Aurora and Mulan, and into the forest again.

Finally, once they were far enough that they were certain no one could overhear them, Snow spoke,"What do they want from the giant?" She asked, her blue eyes turning on Emma,

"I have no idea" Emma said, "but they obviously think it'll take them home,"

"What if it's a trick?" Mary Margaret asked, her eyebrows knit,

"It might be," Emma conceded, she wouldn't put it past those witches to have orchestrated the whole thing. But it didn't really matter.

"We still need to follow them," she said resolutely, and Snow nodded.

"Yes, we need to see what they're up to, they have magic," she stopped, "and know how to use it," she added, "they're our best chance of figuring out how to get home."

Emma silently agreed, they walked a bit further.

"What about Mulan and Aurora?" Snow asked, they had brought all their possessions with them, there was no need to go back to camp.

"I don't think we need to endanger them again," Emma said, she was sorry not to have Mulan's help, but after what happened to Aurora, she couldn't put them in danger's way again.

"Back to the beanstalk it is," Snow said, her voice low and grave, "I can't wait to see Charming," she added in a whisper. Emma glanced at her, realizing, perhaps for the first time, that her mother wanted to get back to Storybrooke just as much as she did.

—-

Cora walked up to the beanstalk, she'd seen it before, a hundred times. She'd walked past it, in the twenty eight years she'd been in self banishment in this godforsaken land. The beanstalk had always been there, unnoticed really. Cora had known there were great riches at the top of it, the giants were well known hoarders of gold and treasure, almost on par with dragons, and about as friendly. She hadn't cared much for riches then, what use was gold in a land with no kings? She had been the leader of the few people left, a secret leader of course, masquerading as Lancelot, the great knight. She almost laughed at the memory of how easy it had been, to rip out his heart and crush it. Great knight indeed.

She felt Regina's eyes on her back, her daughter didn't trust her. Regina had tried to use her to get back to Storybrooke, without Cora. It had hurt, that betrayal. Another to add to Regina's list. First the stable boy, how foolish her daughter had been, to think she could marry for love. What was love? Cora could not let her daughter ruin her own life, for a boy. Of course, Regina had been hurt, but Cora had never thought she would take it to such extremes. Then she'd pushed her through a mirror of course, forced her to live in exile in Wonderland. That hadn't been too bad, she'd become queen quickly, with her powers. She'd had to watch her daughter be Queen from a distance though, when she'd always envisioned them next to each other, ruling the land together. Now, this. Trying to trick her, trying to leave her here, alone. She looked back.

"I'll go up," she said, watching her daughter's expression grow dark,

"I should go, I know where it is," Regina said, her voice hard. Of course she should go, so she could sneak past Cora and go home alone.

"After what happened at lake nostos, you will forgive me for not trusting you," Cora said, her eyes narrowing at the flicker of triumph in her daughter's eyes. Was this another trick? Regina's face was schooled back into nothingness, however, and Cora couldn't risk it all on a feeling.

"Fine," Regina said, pulling the wrist cuff that let her climb the beanstalk off, and passing it to Cora. She smiled and slipped it on, readying herself to the climb.

—-

Emma and Snow crouched behind a tree, Regina and Cora were too busy distrusting each other to notice them, so following the two witches had been relatively easy. Emma gathered that Regina was trying very hard to leave her mother in the enchanted forest, and get back to Storybrooke alone. At least they had that in common, neither wanted Cora within a mile of their son.

As they watched, Cora and Regina argued for a moment over who should climb the beanstalk, and Emma had the strongest feeling that Regina was letting her win. She'd been in arguments with Regina, and the woman did not let up when she wanted something. Now though, Cora had gotten her way, and was beginning to, slowly, climb up. Regina watched her, her face upturned to follow her mother's figure. Emma let her mind wander for a moment, watching her dark hair sparkle in the sun. She mentally reprimanded herself almost immediately, these feelings needed to be squashed, Regina certainly did not let her attraction for Emma get in the way of trying to kill her. And Emma needed to learn from her, for once.

As Cora became a tiny pinprick on the stalk, Regina looked around, she seemed to be scanning the forest for something, and Snow and Emma instinctively crouched lower. Then, Regina did something unexpected. She walked away. She backtracked from the stalk slowly at first, then turned and began to run into the forest. Emma and Snow watched her, identical looks of surprise on their features. Snow jumped into action first.

"Give me the wristband," She said, "I'll climb up after Cora, you go after Regina,"

Emma stared at her, a million arguments on the tip of her tongue, but Snow stopped her with a raised palm, "Emma your magic obviously counteracts Regina's, I'll be careful, Cora won't even know I'm there,"

Emma looked at her mother for a long moment, she was worried about her. Well, she was worried about Mary Margaret, who was a school teacher, and not apt to climb a beanstalk after a powerful and ruthless sorceress. But Mary Margaret wasn't standing in front of her, Snow White was. And Snow White knew how to hold her own against witches and giants. She nodded.

"Okay, but be careful, alright?"

Snow smiled, "of course, Emma," she said, "you too," she added, then hugged her, and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek.

"I'll see you here at sunset," she said,

"Sunset," Emma agreed, her eyes on the spot Regina had run into.

—-

I'm back with another chapter this week! I hope you guys like this one! I actually realized I really love writing from Cora's POV, she's such a great villain, and also I can't stand her, but I hope I did her justice.
Cora ans Snow are going up to the giant's lair to look for...*something*, and Emma is running after Regina to see what she's up to.

At the giant's lair, do you think Regina would have hurt the giant when she was left there alone? I'm actually uncertain about this, it's a small plot point, but I haven't decided if Regina would have hurt him or not. Let me know what you think!
(Oh also, if you see any spelling/Grammar mistakes don't feel bad about pointing them out, I like that, so I can fix stuff)