Chapter 62: Home Away From Home

"Has anyone seen Carlos?" Jay asks as the people of Storybrooke begin to disperse to get on with their lives in the tiny town. The new parents of the group are lingering much longer than everyone else, most likely still processing the fact that they are now unofficial guardians of "alternate" children from another realm. While it is a rather big favour to ask of people to open their homes to complete strangers, most are willing to give these kids a safe place to sleep until they could return to their own realm, plus they believed the claim that it was only going to be temporary.

Everyone shakes their heads and they begin scanning the group of kids from Auradon, and sure enough, the son of Cruella is not among them.

"That's really weird," Evie says. "He was here a few minutes ago.

"Where could he have gone?" Jane asks, wondering where her boyfriend could possibly go. After all, he'd said that there was nothing interesting to do in this town, so why would he just leave without telling anyone?

"I'll find him," Dude says, putting his nose to the ground and going to sniff out his master.

"Doggy!" Alexandra exclaims in excitement, although the rest of the people from Storybrooke who had not already met Auradon's talking mascot were rather surprised and even shocked that this dog was speaking and forming cohesive sentences.

"Yes Honey, a doggy," Ella says, while still trying to process this surprising twist on a person's loyal companion.

"His name is Dude," Jay explains to everyone else. "He ate a magic gummy that allows him to talk just so everyone is caught up with everything."

"Pretty fascinating," Archie says, nodding in approval.

"It won't be hard to find him, all I need to do is to find the smell for his unwashed underwear and socks," the dog continues as he sniffs around in random directions trying to pick up the scent.

Mal winces as the spell she'd put on that gummy still came back to bite everyone in the butt. "He also has no filter and will speak the truth no matter what."

"So be careful around him Regina," Killian teases. "Wouldn't want any of your precious secrets to getting out." The former Evil Queen kicks the pirate in the shin as a sign of her annoyance before walking over to the group she was taking home to the mayor's mansion.

"I'd love to put him in a dog house in the backyard, but I assume Carlos will want him to sleep in the bedroom?" She looks over at Evie for confirmation that her statement is correct. The blue-haired teenager nods. "As long as he stays off the furniture and is house-trained, he can stay."

"I've got it!" the mutt shouts in excitement. Thinking quickly, Regina approaches the dog.

"When you do find him, give him this," she conjures up a piece of paper with her address on it. "Then he'll know where to find us." She then tucks the paper in the dog's collar.

"Will do," Dude says, before putting his nose to the pavement and beginning his search.

"Just don't go into the woods," the mayor warns as the dog as he begins vanishing into the streets. "And watch out for cars!"

By then, the dog is far away, and Regina feels her eyes cross as she's just had a conversation with a talking dog, it's messing with her head a little bit.

"Shall we be off?" Killian asks, glaring intensely at the group of War Frats who were going to be staying on his ship. He wraps his arm around Emma's waist and the group, including Harry and CJ head towards the harbour.

"Just a sec," Harry says.

He veers back around goes right up to Crystal and pecks her on the cheek. "Till we meet again love," he says with a wink.

The daughter of Rumpelstiltskin is left rather stunned and tries to hide her blushing as the dashingly cute pirate goes off with his "family."

…

"It just might be a bit of a mess," Aurora apologizes to Audrey. "Having a baby in the house does equal a clean homestead."

As the often-prissy princess walks into the house, she is overwhelmed by the smells and is rather shocked by the rather large mess in the hallway. And it doesn't do justice to the mess in the rest of home. Baby blankets, sleepers, onesies, packs of diapers, toys, books, dirty and clean laundry, are all strewn around in rather strange places. Audrey sniffs around and tries to hide her disappointment that her "alternate" parents were not living in a bigger house. She doesn't even want to know what the smells are, but she steps into the living room while Aurora goes to take Phillip Jr. upstairs for a nap.

"Make yourself at home," Phillip says, as he goes to the kitchen.

Rather awkwardly, Audrey searches for a place that isn't covered in something, and she settles for the edge of the couch, in which she nudges away a few baby clothes just to sit down. She smooths her dress and tries to appear as royalty should, sitting politely and waiting.

When Phillip reappears, he offers her a bottle of water, which she accepts rather reluctantly.

"Big shift with parenthood and this realm," the prince explains. "In the Enchanted Forest, we had servants to take care of the cleaning and such, but here, neither of us can even figure out to turn on the vacuum. Even after all this time, we still need Granny to come and help us figure it out. Plus, with the baby up at all hours, we never anticipated that we'd scarcely had time for anything, let alone ourselves."

"You… had a castle back in your realm?" Audrey asks, secretly wishing that they could go back to said kingdom and perhaps things would be much neater and feel less chaotic.

"We did, but we came over with another curse. It took us a long time to get used to all these modern things, but now that we have them, it's quite enjoyable. Just being able to get water from the tap instead of going to a well, is much easier."

"And having heating controlled by a dial instead of having to build a fire," Aurora adds, coming downstairs with the baby monitor in her hands. She then goes towards the kitchen, which Audrey can't imagine is any better than the living room.

"There's a spare room upstairs that you can sleep in, unfortunately, it is next to little Phillip's room," the prince says, knowing the girl will not be happy in having to sleep next to a crying baby. "What I can do for you is offer some earplugs,"

He smiles rather apologetically, and Audrey forces herself to smile politely, wishing internally that she had just gone to Granny's or stayed in the hospital as the place seems like something out of one of her own nightmares.

…

"My rules are simple," the stern owner of the bed and breakfast says as she gathers the keys for all the rooms. "No smoking in the rooms or in the diner. There is no room service, you want food you come down here. Laundry is down here in the back. Keep your rooms clean…" she eyes her charges sharply, knowing how much of challenge this will be for teenagers. "Boys with boys and girls with girls because I run a respected establishment so that means no visitors after 11."

A few of the kids giggle at the implication but stop immediately when the old woman glares at them under her glasses.

"I don't want any funny business. I also restrict the use of magic, if any of you actually have abilities." She pauses. "Those are my rules if you can't follow them… then tough, you can go back to the hospital and stay with Dr. Whale, and I can assume that he will not want that."

She then opens her registration book and orders the kids to pair up to share the rooms. They will then sign their names and be given the keys.

Once everyone has an established place to stay, the "warden" gives them their keys and are shown where to find their rooms.

"Floyd hurry up with that order!" Widow Lucas barks, turning back to her business. The only person who lingers is Tia, she reaches over and grabs one of the menus off the table. She examines it carefully.

Before Granny can turn to enter the kitchen again, the young girl taps the old woman on the shoulder.

"What kind of pastries do you make and how do you make them?"

While slightly annoyed at first, wanting to get back to running her kitchen, the gentleness and curiosity of Tia's voice caused her to stop her usual reaction of snapping at the girl.

"I have an old recipe book that's been in the family for years," Widow Lucas explains. "I usually do them quickly in the morning because most people just come here for the coffee."

"Have you ever done beignets?"

"No, what are those?"

"Fried pastries with powdered sugar on top. It's something my Mama taught me to make as soon as I could reach the tops of the stove. They're a specialty in New Orleans."

The werewolf cook can see the appeal in the idea of introducing something new to her kitchen: "Interesting, would you like to show me how you make them?"

"If you don't mind…"

The older woman bites her lips and begins to see the dinner crowd beginning to trickle in. She really doesn't want the girl getting in the way during the rush.

"How about you come down to the kitchen after we're closed, just give me the list of ingredients and I'll make sure that they are there for you okay?"

Tia nods eagerly, very pleased that she'll be able to do what she loves most, even if she's far from home.

"Now get on upstairs because it's about to get crazy," the old woman says in an almost joking manner, nudging the girl towards the stairs leading to the rooms.

Tia smiles before going to find a pen and paper to write the ingredients down. A little bit of her mother's cooking will make her stay here feel a bit more like home.

…

"And this is the dormitory where you will be staying for the time being," Blue says, opening the door into a large room lined with beds.

The Auradon group take in the surroundings. It's not particularly interesting, just a long hall lined with mattresses with metal bed frames and a side table with an unimpressive looking bedside lamp on each one and a small drawer for personal belongings. The long red curtains reach upwards over the towering windows which give a view into a lovely looking garden.

"The bathroom is down on the end here and you will be expected to make your beds in the morning and keep your space clean," the lead fairy says. "Is that clear?"

Jane nods before putting her sweater down on the bed before sitting on it. Allie and the others follow suit, knowing that while the place is not particularly interesting, it's a bed and roof over their heads.

"We were hoping that some of you would be willing to assist with some of the chores," Blue says politely. "A sort of exchange of services."

"Whoa, hold on that was not part of the deal," Tallia says, snapping her gum loudly and pointing aggressively at the head fairy.

Jane looks annoyed at Tallia and shoots her a glare for being so rude. "Tallia, it's the least we can do for the Sisters. Don't be so rude…"

"I can act whatever way I want to and when I signed up for convent boot camp, all I wanted was the bed, doing chores was not in the contract."

Blue bites her lip angrily, hating the poor attitude the teenager was giving her. She was very much like Green was, perhaps more stubborn than the pixie from Neverland. It takes all her strength to not take her wand out and punish the girl for being so rude to the people who were offering her hospitality. She was Mother Superior and thus deserved the greatest amount of respect.

"Perhaps you'd prefer to sleep in the bell tower if that's how you would like to approach this."

Tallia looks at the Blue Fairy with sharp eyes, sensing the warning from the pixie princess.

"They ring every hour on the hour," she adds, knowing she's about to win this argument.

"Fine…" the teenaged fairy says, rolling her eyes in defeat. "I'll help out, but don't expect me to spend all day here. I'm not going to stay for prayer time or Bible reading. There are more important things to do than just folding my hands and kneeling in a church."

"That… will be expected of you," Blue finally says, exhaling sharply. She may have won the battle, but she's far from winning the war with this girl. She was in serious need of discipline and likely a mother-figure. The sooner she contacted Tinkerbell to come to their realm, the better off all of them would be. "But you must be back at the convent by lights out. I will not have you disturbing the Sisters by coming in at Lord knows what time."

"Whatever, what's the Wi-Fi password?" Tallia says, laying on the metal framed bed, not even bothering to take her boots off. She snaps her gum and takes out her phone to look through her texts.

Blue scowls at the rebellious teenager. Tinkerbell and Nova seem like the easiest fairies to train compared to this troublemaker. She purses her lips and merely turns to exit the room, leaving the group to what they wanted. She immediately went to get her wand, Green had to be called to allow her to break the news of her having a daughter.

…

"Are you sure they have enough?" Emma asks Harry as he helps the War Frats get The Jolly Roger ready for their extended stay. The expectant mother holds long strips of cloth that were to be used as hammocks for the unruly teenagers. Killian stands on the dock, his hand firmly on his precious ship. Emma had cast the protection spell over it means that nothing, not even a typhoon or the scuff of a boot could damage her.

While he did have many more treasurable and more important things in his life, his wife, his unborn child, his family… The Jolly Roger was still his home away from home. She'd been his shelter for over 200 years while in Neverland. It had survived attacks from mermaids, the most violent storms known to any man, many battles with royal navy ships or other pirate vessels, practice fights with his crew, several mutinies, several ownership trades, being shrunk in a bottle, and sailing through portals. There was very little that his beautiful ship had not seen, and yet she was as pristine as the day he'd turned it from a navy ship to The Jolly Roger. She had seen her fair share of death as well, especially with Milah dying in front of him on the deck, and him losing his hand to the crocodile, but there were some happy memories too. More to come he hoped with the birth of him and Swan's child. He recalls teaching Henry how to sail and swordfight on her decks and the times he and Emma would just sit out on the deck in the cool, salty night air and watch the stars, not talking, just holding one another, enjoying the peace and quiet. Those were the memories he hoped to treasure and with their little "sea jewel" coming, he hoped that he or she would take their first steps across the wooden planks, feel the wind in their hair as they go for their first sail out at sea, holding the ship's wheel with the help of their father. He wonders if the Hook from the Wishing Realm ever got to make these memories with his unnamed daughter. While fatherhood seemed scary to him now, if one version of him could do it, then so could he.

"Aye," Harry says as he hands the rest of the cloths to Gil before going below deck to help the son of Gaston with setting everything up, as he would likely need it.

Emma turns to her husband and can immediately sense his anxiety. She goes over and wraps her arms around him tightly and leans her chin gently in the crook of his shoulder.

"It's okay," she whispers quietly. "Nothing will happen to her. My magic is strong."

"Aye, I know that Love, but a man still worries about his prized possession. A captain's heart always belongs to his ship."

"I thought you said your heart belonged to me in your wedding vows?" she teases with a smirk.

"I did mean that, every word… it's just hard to let others invade it, especially young, unruly lads and lasses."

"Keep in mind, two of those unruly teens are coming home with us," Emma points out, kissing Killian's cheek gently.

The two sigh heavily in anxiety as CJ swings down from the mast on a rope and lands perfectly on her feet.

"She's much better than my dad's Jolly Roger," the blonde girl says, coming to the gangplank. "You take her out often?"

"When it's appropriate," Killian answers.

"Well, our ship has been moored on the Isle since before Harriet was born, which means it's covered in barnacles, algae, and seaweed, and since there are a lot of crocodiles in the water, they use the exterior for a chew toy."

The captain can't help but shudder at the thought.

Eventually, Harry emerges from the interior of the ship, leaving the War Frats and Gil to do what they will.

"Ready to go," he declares.

The group of four begin slowly walking away, off the docks and out of the harbour, but not before Killian gives one last longing glance at his beautiful ship before heading towards home.

Once they reach the white picket fence of the Swan home and open the door to the foyer, the two teens are amazed at how detailed and comfy the place looks. They'd never seen a kitchen or dining room before and Harry immediately goes for the brown felt couch, putting his feet up.

Emma immediately comes over and forces his boots to the floor.

"Couple of ground rules: no shoes on the furniture, don't touch the artwork or antique things on the walls or shelves, don't leave the front door unlocked at night, and above all, try not to make a mess."

The two teens look at the Saviour as if they don't even know what rules were, but with the stern expression on the blonde's face and the knowledge that she had magic, they knew better than to try and break these guidelines.

"There are two rooms on the second floor and one on the third," she says, holding Killian's hand as the two walk up the stairs together. She squeezes his hand to express her own anxiety over the fact that they are letting strangers into their home. While The Jolly Roger was Killian's pride and joy, the home she shared with her husband was special to her, despite some of the Dark One memories that had occurred here. It takes the teens a few moments before they realize that they are supposed to be following the couple.

"This is our room," Emma indicates, opening the door to the master bedroom where her and Killian's beautifully decorated room and well-made queen-sized bed stood. She goes to the next room down the hall. The spare room which will likely become the baby's room when he or she is born. Right now, it's just storage, filled with some clutter.

Using her magic, Emma poofs the boxes and furniture down to their garage and makes a nice twin bed appear as well as adding some curtains.

"If you two want to share a room, I can add another bed in here, but my son, Henry's room is on the third floor, so Harry you're welcome to that one if you'd like."

The siblings look at one another for a long moment before CJ slowly shifts into the "guest room." While it's pretty, frilly, too bright, and almost sunny looking for her tastes, she could make it work for herself. She takes over her red overcoat and throws it onto the rocking chair. She lays down on the bed and puts her feet up. Immediately, she catches Emma's warning glance and kicks off her boots.

The couple then guides Harry up to the third floor and open Henry's room. There's still an air of sadness and longing every time Emma goes into the room. She knew Henry was off having his own adventures, but she couldn't help but miss him, as a mother would. While this room mostly saw the beginning of the rebellious teen years of her son, and that he moved back and forth from here and Regina's place, it was still a place the young author called a home, mess, and all. There were shelves of comic books and regular books along the wall next to the window. His desk and lamp lay in the corner close to his closet and several windows looked out

"If you damage my son's room in any way, you will be sleeping in the basement, which Crystal told me you've already had to do." the blonde warns before turning to let the teenager get settled.

…

"It's probably not what you're used to in Auradon," Belle says, as she, her husband, step-daughter, son, "alternate" son walk up the stone pathway to a large house that was orange in colour with green trimming. A nice historical house that was Mr. Gold' home for 28 years during the curse and was now the home he shared with his wife and son. "But Rumple made it home."

"If you don't like it, you're welcome to crash at my place," Crystal offers, as she cradles Gideon in her arms.

"I don't care about any of that," Ben says humbly. "Anywhere that is safe is fine by me."

"Man, it's like you're a clone of Belle," Crystal smirks in a sort of teasing way, as Rumple unlocks the heavy wooden doors. Paige and Patrick remain quiet and look down at their shoes quietly, neither of them is really sure why they are staying with this family. What is their relation to this family? For Ben it was easy, he's the son of Belle and King Beast, but apparently, in this realm, it's Belle and Rumpelstiltskin. It's clear that Ben knows their relation, but has yet to tell them.

Inside, everything is decorated with antiques, considering Rumple was a pawn shop dealer for 28 years. From the crystal chandelier in the foyer to lovely oak cabinets in the hallway to a large sitting room with big windows and comfortable furniture, the place had a tasteful and elegant feel to it.

"It's a beautiful home," Ben says in admiration.

"It is very nice," Paige adds.

"Very rustic," Patrick agrees.

"Thank you," Rumple says, quite impressed with the boy's and the twins' manners.

Just then, Gideon begins to get fussy. Belle scoops her son up and goes through a swinging door to enter the kitchen and get him a bottle.

The rest of them stand there in the front hall in awkward silence until the Dark One speaks up.

"Perhaps you would like something to drink? Tea anyone?"

"Do you have anything fizzy?" Patrick asks.

"Well, considering Crystal often raids our fridge, there is usually something of that nature in there," the imp smirks.

"Shut up, I've never touched your fridge!" the eldest girl snaps. "It's full of baby food and breast milk."

"We'll find you something Lad," Rumple says, following behind his wife. Patrick takes Paige's hand and guides her into the kitchen leaving Crystal to give the tour to her half-brother, even though she didn't technically live there.

"Well the dining room is towards the back near the kitchen…" she points to the door next to the stairs. "Down there is the basement where my dad likes to spin straw into gold and do a bunch of other stuff, so it's best to steer clear of it. And this…"

She says opening the wooden doors.

"Is the library,"

Further to the back of the house was a sort of hexagonal room with more big windows that looked out on the quiet street of Storybrooke. Inside the room where shelves and shelves of books, so many that there was even a small ladder that could help someone reach any particular book. There were several comfortable reading chairs and lamps in the centre of the room and even a window seat for one to read in the sunlight. There was also a huge wooden desk towards the side where Rumple often did any important business. It could be assumed that he turned what was once his office into a library for his wife. There were books scattered everywhere in place, it was not exactly neat and clean, some were stacked in piles on the floor and on the desk. There were a bunch of interesting tools on the desk, likely meant for fixing books. No doubt a bunch of the books came from the Storybrooke library as Belle would bring some home to either read or restore them. There were also several baby toys around, likely to keep Gideon occupied while his mother read.

"When it comes to books, my step-mom is not subtle that she likes to read them."

Ben takes a volume of the shelf.

"The Great Gatsby," he reads the title aloud. "Never heard of it."

"Seriously?! That one's a classic! Man, Auradon seriously needs to update its libraries," Crystal says. She then reaches over and takes the book from him. She then uses her magic to shut the doors.

"Why'd you do that?" the king asks, a little nervous.

"So, we can talk."

"About what?"

"You and Mal. There's something that needs to be fixed between the two of you and as your unofficial older sister, it's my job to help fix it."

"There's nothing really to tell," Ben shrugs sadly, deciding to busy himself by looking at more books.

Crystal shakes her head. She wasn't the only one having relationship drama, but she was sure that they could help each other. She magics a chair over, causing Ben to stumble and sit down. She then sits across from him.

"I don't buy that for a second, how about I tell you about my infamous exes first and then we'll discuss the two of you, sound fair?"

"Why?" Ben asks.

"Because we're family, and families help each other."

…

"Wow, sweet pad," Jay says as Regina opens the door into the large front hallway painted white, chandelier hanging above and the stairs behind the front door leading to the second storey.

"Thank you," the former Evil Queen says proudly. "Now there are several guest rooms upstairs, you can take your pick,"

"Sweet," Jay says before heading upstairs. "Do you have cable?"

"Yes, if you want, I can put one of the TVs in your room. Plus, Henry loved video games so there are several systems here too."

Jay leans over the rail. "Will you please be my mom instead of Evie's?"

Regina laughs and so do the rest of the group.

"I get the room with the biggest closet!" Dizzy shrieks as she follows Jay up the stairs, Robbie and Doug go too, leaving Evie as she watches her alternate mother go towards the kitchen, past the beautiful, very artsy, and modern living room. The young teenager soon follows and stands in the doorway of a small, but nice kitchen with an island in the center and a small crystal chandelier hanging above it.

Immediately, Regina begins to pull out pots and pans from the cupboards. She brings out all the ingredients she needs.

"Hungry already?" Evie asks.

Regina turns and can't help but smile at the girl. She couldn't help but be amazed at how beautiful and sweet Evie was. Another pang of guilt enters her stomach. If she hadn't been manipulated by her mother and made herself barren, would her daughter be as beautiful as this? She does her best to fight the tears and busies herself with opening a can of tomato sauce.

"No, but I've lived with teenage boys long enough to know it won't be long before they start raiding the refrigerator."

"Doug isn't usually like that," Evie says.

"I know, but no doubt Jay is."

"Shouldn't we just order from Granny's?" the girl asks.

"You think the Evil Queen can't cook," Regina says, raising her eyebrow in a sort of teasing fashion.

"My mom on the Isle couldn't, so she made the servants do it, but they weren't very good at it, so we mostly had beans and salad to protect our figures."

"Sounds awful," the raven-haired Regina says.

"Could have been a lot worse,"

"Well, I figured you kids could use a home-cooked meal. How does lasagna sound?"

"Great," the girl smiles.

The two then go into an awkward silence, that is until Regina reaches down a recipe book.

"Would you mind going to the fruit bowl in the dining room and getting me three large apples?"

"S-sure, what for?"

"Dessert," the woman says cheerfully. "Ever heard of apple turnover?"

Evie shakes her head.

"Well, how about you help me."

"Are you sure you want me to?" the girl says, a still little bit hesitant about accepting Regina's trust, despite how loving and protective the woman had been since they'd first been properly introduced.

"I'd love the company," the woman says earnestly.

Within a little while, Evie and Regina are working side-by-side. With the lasagna in the oven, the kitchen was filled with many delicious smells and had a real sincere atmosphere, something right out of a fairy tale. A mother showed a daughter how to slice and prepare Regina's famous apple turnover, complete with cinnamon, and as a special treat, icing sugar too. At one point, Evie playfully blows flour across the ivory counter before Regina puts the girl's nose right into it. This causes Evie to sneeze and flour to fly into her face. Despite feeling embarrassed, the two of them laugh at one another, a genuine laugh shared between mother and daughter.

The daughter of the Evil Queen had never felt such warmth and love from a parent in a long time, real love, not the kind that had to be earned by looking for a prince and ensuring her face and hair were always flawless. It was a good feeling, one that she never wanted to go away. Maybe coming through the portal wasn't such a bad thing after all.

Regina, while still sad inside, loved that she had company in her house again. After Zelena moved out with Robin and Henry off in another realm, she'd been feeling lonely, even though she was too proud to show it, to share some time with someone else instead of drinking apple cider and watching 90210 reruns alone as she spent most her nights these days.

Even when Carlos came to the house, following the address that was in Dude's collar, he heard the laughter and looked inside the kitchen. He immediately feels envy towards the happy scene. Why couldn't he have that with his mother? Or rather an alternate mother? Right, because she was dead. He still could not believe that Emma had killed her and for seemingly no reason at all. And yet, the blonde woman gets to have a life and a family, while Cruella De Vil does not. He then turns away and wanders into the living room, where Dude joins him on his lap. He takes an apple from a nearby fruit bowl and eats it while he ponders what he's going to do next.

…

Mal follows Maleficent down the streets towards her temporary home.

"It's not like my castle in the Enchanted Forest, or what you're used to in Auradon, but it's home," the mistress of all evil says, as they walk up the gravel path towards a pleasant looking two-storey blue house with white shutters and trim. There's a rather nice garden laid out around the gravel path and a front porch with a porch swing.

"Trust me, compared to what I had on the Isle, this is amazing," the purple-haired teenager says to reassure the woman.

Maleficent still wrings her hands slightly before opening the door to a nice front foyer with a small wooden vanity against the wall, contrasting the striped blue wallpaper. To her left is a sophisticated-looking sitting room with plush furniture and a tv mounted on the wall. Ahead of her are the stairs leading up to the second storey, with windows opposite to the wooden banister.

"Lily?" Maleficent calls. "Lily darling are you home?"

The two wait for an answer, but when there is no response, the mistress of all evil removes her coat and hat and walking towards the kitchen at the end of the hall.

"Would you like something to drink Mal?" she offers.

"Just water please," the girl says quietly as she slowly follows her "alternate" mother down into a bright blue kitchen with pots and pans hanging above a kitchen island surrounded by stools.

As Maleficent mills about the kitchen getting a glass from the white cupboards and filling it at the stainless-steel sink.

"I can never get enough of the luxuries this land offer," she says, before handing the glass to Mal. "Never having to fetch water or build a fire to cook with, not that I needed to, considering I had slaves to do it for me or just use my magic."

"You have magic?" Mal says, her eyes becoming wide.

"Yes, runs in my veins. Tell me do you have it as well?"

"Yes," Mal nods. "But it doesn't seem to work here."

"Well, that's no good. Perhaps I can consult Rumpelstiltskin about this. He's the one who brought magic to Storybrooke after all. He may have an answer to why your magic doesn't work properly."

"You mean, you're okay with me having magic?" Mal says in surprise.

"But of course dear, it's part of who you are and you should be proud of it. Clearly, if your mother was as powerful as me, great magic runs in your veins."

"Really?"

"Yes, don't you tell me that you were never told this before. Your mother should have been very proud of the magic you've been given."

"She was always more impressed with herself than me," Mal mutters. "And she never taught me how to control them either. Auradon didn't help either."

"And why is that?"

"Because no one's allowed to use magic,"

"Not allowed… my god, how could they think to ever suppress such a thing."

The purple-haired teen shrugs. "It's just the way things are."

"Well it shouldn't be that way," the Mistress of all Evil declares. "I can help you child, and there are several other magic wielders than can help you."

"You shouldn't bother," Mal says. "We're only going to be here for so long."

"Better safe than sorry Mal, I think helping you will make this no magic thing a bit easier in the future, even though I hardly approve of the idea of suppressing part of who you are."

My thoughts exactly, Mal thinks to herself, taking a sip of water. Her heart beats with excitement at the prospect of learning how to use actual magic properly. She didn't have to hide it or be worried about making Ben mad.

Just then, the front door slams shut and Lily stands in the front room, removing her coat and throwing it carelessly on the vanity.

"Lily darling," Maleficent says, beckoning to her other daughter. "Are you okay?"

While the blonde woman cannot see her eldest as she's putting some dishes away, the daughter of Maleficent can and she locks eyes with Lily. The dark-haired girl's eyes laser into Mal's green ones and the look on her face is one of pure anger and hatred. Despite having faced much worse, the purple-haired teen still swallows a large lump in her throat. She remains brave, wondering what this girl's problem was. What did she do to piss of Lily?

Lily bites her lip and manages to say a few words.

"I'm fine Mom, I just had to go get a few things."

"Okay then, but make sure you say hello to Mal,"

"I will," she says in fake calmness.

Both Lily and Mal's eyes remain locked for a few more minutes before the younger daughter sees Lily's brown eyes begin to glow gold and a low growl exits her throat. She then goes upstairs without a word to the unwanted houseguest

"Home, sweet, home," Mal mutters to herself nervously, feeling she was most definitely not welcome here.

A/N: I'm back. Everyone, I'm sorry that it's been so long since I updated, but I've recently just lost my grandfather and I've been taking some time to recover. But for your patience and continued support, here is an extra long chapter for everyone to enjoy. Just let me know if I should add Chad's experience into this too.