They were running out of time, with each passing day they grew closer to the day when Regina would unleash this curse of hers and Ozma couldn't remember the last time she had felt so uneasy. Her stomach was constantly in knots and Ozma couldn't remember the last time she had ever felt so lost, it certainly hadn't been in the last century.

There was nothing that Ozma could think of that could help any of them, Mombi's spell book hadn't been any help in the slightest. All the spells contained in the magical tome were essentially useless, most of them were idle glamouring spells that Mombi had used to desperately keep hold of her youth and preserve her diminishing looks. Ozma had lost count of however many late nights she had stayed up reading Mombi's spell book from cover to cover.

As powerful as Ozma, the fairy-human Queen of Oz was, even her magic was not capable of preventing such a dark curse. Knowing that she could not keep her kingdom safe was keeping Ozma up at night as she never had she felt like such a disappointment as the sovereign of Oz. Sleep was evading Ozma.

For weeks now Ozma hadn't been sleeping properly, there had been many restless nights and just as many nights where she hadn't got any sleep at all. It was starting to get beyond obvious now, every time Ozma caught sight of her reflection in the mirror she couldn't help but sigh as the crescent shaped bags under her eyes, with each passing day they seemed to get darker and darker. No matter what Ozma tried to do, she wasn't able to sleep properly, when she did sleep it was only for a couple of hours at a time.

It was like a vicious circle that never seemed like it was going to end and there was nothing that Ozma could do about any of it. Ozma was the queen of Oz, she ruled over an entire queendom and was very much involved with the day to day running of Oz, and her primary role as queen was to look after the comfort and welfare of her subjects, Ozma was responsible for practically everything, she spent every morning going over state affairs, she held weekly meeting with her populace where she would hold audience and settle disputes, listen to the troubles of her people. Ozma could not afford to take time out, too many people were dependent on her, she had the weight of her entire kingdom on her shoulders and she couldn't turn her back on that. She had to be strong.

After everything that she had done in the past, all the running that she had done from her destiny, Ozma knew that she could not falter again. Too many things had happened because she had been too weak to carry on or too scared to fight. This time would be different as Ozma would fight with everything she had to protect her loved ones.

Which is what brought here to the land of Mist Haven, under the cover of night and in a place where no one would think to find the Queen of Oz. The light from the full moon and the small lantern she had provided enough light so she could see where she was going. Ozma didn't know this land too well but she knew well enough where she was going, and that the doorway that had brought her to Mist Haven was close by should she need to return quickly to Oz.

This beaten path was a path that Ozma knew well, she had walked it many times. It led to a small clearing in the woods, surrounded by thick trees that made it hard for anyone to see in. At the centre of the clearing sat a small fire, there was a grey wolf and beside the wolf was her huntsman. Before Ozma could say anything the wolf caught sight of her and made its way to Ozma and nuzzled it's face against her leg.

THe huntsman turned, and the moment Ozma met hsi dark blue eyes, she no longer felt tired. Her heart no longer ached for him anymore as just seeing him made Ozma feel better. She watched as he rose from where Humbert was sitting and made his way over to her until he was standing right in front of Ozma, towering over her ever so slightly because of the small height difference.

"Thank you for meeting me…" Ozma began, her words cut off the moment Humbert reached out and pulled her to him, proceeding to press his lips to her. She could feel the warmth of him spreading through her, Humbert's affection was clear with every kiss as he pulled her in even tighter, as if he would never let go of her.

"We can't keep meeting like this Ozma, communication between this land and Oz has been forbidden, it is the will of Queen Regina… You can't keep coming here Ozma. It's too dangerous for you. Oz needs you safe, I need you to be safe-"

"I know. You are correct of course, but how could I not come? I need to see you, to see if you are okay." Ozma earnestly replied, she knew it was dangerous to come here even if she was a powerful queen. But if Humbert couldn't come to her, then she would take the risk to come to him.

It looked like Humbert wanted to say more on the matter, but he didn't. Instead Ozma watched as his eyes wandered down to the woven leather bracelet on her wrist. It was a stark contrast to the jewels she wore on a daily basis. But it was one of her most treasured items, she wore it always, next to her charm bracelet.

"You're still wearing the bracelet I made for you." Humbert noted and Ozma beamed with pride.

"I promised I would wear it always."

Ozma had meant what she had said that fateful night, when Humbert had given her the bracelet to help ease her discomfort of their frequent separation. It was the day she had realised that this man was her one true love. The two of them had never meant to fall in love but, it had happened regardless.

Ozma she loved how he as guided by honour, not by wealth and greed like so many other people she knew. Ozma loved how despite him being a hunter, Humbert was the kindest man she had ever come across, showing remorse for his killings. He was true to himself and never reacted in a rash manner, Humbert was logical and thought things over, he thought with his head. She liked how he hand made his bow and arrows, that his hands weren't delicate and soft like hers because he put his hands to work. Ozma liked it when he made fun of her, making jokes about her living in a palace that only knew of the colour green and how he called her Ozma or Tippertarius when he was feeling nostalgic. For Ozma, Humbert was real to her. He didn't care for her because she was a queen. With Humbert, Ozma could just be herself, she could step away from being Queen Ozma and all the responsibilities that came with that.

"You're exhausted." Humbert noted, as he caressed Ozma's face with a loving touch, his thumb lingering under the dark circles around her eyes.

"I am. My days seem to be shorter and my nights are much longer now. All my energy is focused on protecting the Queendom, then Snow and the baby of course, along with everyone else. For the first time in a long time, I feel so powerless…"

"You powerless? Ozma, you are the strongest person I have ever met. Everytime I touch you, even as I am now, I can feel your warmth… your power. Even though this curse is coming, everything you are doing is giving strength to those around you, providing hope. So you are anything but powerless."

"It may not be enough. There is trouble at every turn now…" Ozma admitted, her heart heavy at the thought of all the turmoil occurring. This curse would take away all the happy endings and even before it had been cast, it was already succeeding.

"What happened…"

"There was an intruder in the Royal Palace."

"An intruder? Were you hurt?"

Humbert's surprise was almost similar to Ozma's when she found out about the intruder. It was disbelief, in a way too hard to comprehend as the Royal Palace was meant to be impenetrable. The palace was guarded, which meant that should have made it impossible for this to happen, especially the part of the palace that the intruder was found in.

The intruder was found in Room of Wonders, the most heavily guarded room in the Royal Palace. It was located in one of the deeper passages of the palace, forbidden for most to enter unless that had permission from Ozma herself. The reason for this? All because of what was kept behind the doors. From spell books, to magical wands to enchanted items of clothing, many powerful and magical items were stored within the walls of the Room of Wonders and all kept under Ozma's watchful eye. Some of the items belonged to Ozma herself, some were being stored with her for safekeeping. This strange man, the so-called Mad Hatter had come close to getting his hands on a very powerful relic.

"I am fine, my love. They did not come close to me, it seems they were looking for a certain item that is locked away from prying eyes. Wantowin Battles is looking into ways to prevent this from happening again, the intruder used some kind of portal to get in. We will be fine." Ozma asserted, the break in was worrying although the Royal Guards had easily apprehended the intruder without the need to get involved. If Oz had been in true danger, Ozma would not have hesitated to act and used the Emerald Crystal to protect them all.

Humbert looked like he didn't believe her.

"That is not the point Ozma! This should have never happened. The Royal Palace is where you are meant to be the safest. It's your home and you aren't even safe there. Knowing that you are safe in the palace when we are apart is what keeps me sane. How can I rest knowing that isn't true?" Humbret brisky retorted, he sounded angry, but Ozma knew that he wasn't angry, he was worried for her.

"I was never in any harm, even if I was… I am more than capable of defending myself. I am more than safe back in Oz, regardless of where I am. The Royal Palace is perfectly safe. If you still don't believe me, then come to Oz with me. See for yourself, that I am safe and if that isn't enough, then stay by my side forever." Ozma softly said, gently stroking Humbert's arms in an effort to soothe him. Their frequent separation due to them living in different words was painful, Ozma was often the more vocal one but she often suspected that the separation was harder on Humbert than he let on.

"Queen's don't marry men like me."

"This Queen would."

Ozma had heavily implied this once or twice, but had never said the words out loud until now.

"Ozma…"

"If you don't want to marry me because you don't wish to be King then that is perfectly fine as Oz is a Queendom under my rule and will always remain that way. I can marry simply for love. I don't need a King, I just need you as you are. I won't make you take a title and live a life that you are uncomfortable with. You would never need to attend balls, or rule over the Queendom. My love… You could come and go from Oz whenever you wish, and would just be my husband."

This was not how Ozma imagined doing any of this, but here she was, baring her soul out to her one true love. Time was something that Ozma thought she always had, after all she was the immortal fairy queen and for the first time since she had stopped again, she was running out of it. Humbert needed to hear all of this, as Ozma wasn't sure if she would ever get another chance to tell him this, to ask him to stay be herside forever. This was the one thing Ozma dared to dream off, to have simply for herself as a woman and not as a Queen.

"I know that you didn't ask to fall in love with a Queen, but I can't pretend that isn't what I am. I lived a life without the titles and crown a very long time ago, and I wish I could tell you that I could walk away from it, but I can't. When I stopped being Tippetarius, when I decided to stop running from being Ozma… I took a solemn vow. To protect my people and keep safe, as they loved me when I knew not how to love myself. I have to watch over them. I must stand tall and be ready for what is to come. To protect Oz is my destiny and the duty that I alone must shoulder, it is my trial by fire."

"I know, and I would never ask you to give any of that up." Humbert replied, his voice thick with emotion and Ozma could see tears forming in his eyes.

"Then why won't you come with me to Oz. I may not be able to stop this curse but at least we would be together for however long we have left. I would do anything to make that happen, so please my love."

"I would want nothing more. I want to marry you Ozma, but I can't… Not because of my pride or because of your station."

"Then why?" Ozma challenged, as there was no reason for the two of them to not be separated ever again, Humbert had said the words that she had been dreaming of hearing. He wanted to marry her. Yet there was something holding him back, and whatever it was, happened to be causing him a great amount of distress.

"S-She's taken my heart."

"Who?" Ozma questioned, although it was redundant as she was certain that she knew the answer to that question, before she had even asked. The one person who was threatening all the happy endings.

"Queen Regina."

Her eyes were heavy and yet she was wide awake. Tippetarius wasn't sure you could wake up more tired than you were, before you went to sleep. This was more than just your typical tiredness from only catching four hours of sleep. It was something else. It was the kind of exhaustion that you could feel in your bones and it was mentally, on top of physically exhausting. The raging storm last night had kept her in a fitful state of rest, Tippertarius never slept well with storms. It was odd, the sounds of the thunder rumbling often reminded her of swords clashing on the battlefield.

Yet, she had never been on any kind of battlefield in her life. But everytime the weather took a turn, the sound would always be ringing in her ears, often forcing Tippertaruis to hide under the covers of her bed, like she was a small child scared of the monsters under her bed.

As she glanced over at the clock on the rear bedroom wall Tippetarius let out a small sigh. 5:27am. Yet another disturbed sleep that had resulted in a beyond early wake up for herself.

There was no point in trying to get back to sleep, her mind was whirling around, trying to decipher a dream that was slipping out of her grasp the more she tried to figure it out. All she knew was that her heart was breaking. There was this terrible ache in her chest, it was hollow and gut wrenching and there was no other way to describe it, then her heart being broken into two. A heartache beyond compare. Tippetarius couldn't go into detail, but she was certain that she dreamt something painful, but she couldn't remember. It couldn't be a nightmare, as this feeling deep within her felt too real to be part of some dream that was now lost in the back of her mind.

Tippetarius' quietly slipped out of bed, effortlessly avoiding waking up her companion and paddled out the bedroom, down the hallway down to her office. No light was needed, she knew every room in her home and it's floors like the back of her hand. Her first thought was coffee, if she was up already then she might as well get a start on her day.

Yet the notion of starting on some paperwork was quickly lost as Tippertarius walked past her office, to then stop and go back on herself. There was this inexplicable feeling drawing her back to this room. Her home office was almost an extension of her office in town, with books crammed in every possible shelf in the room, and on the coffee table. It was more of a personal library than anything, but this was the room that she tended to spend the most time in when she was at home. It was full of charm with it's old ceiling beams, the dark green painted walls which contrasted nicely with the brick wall behind the fireplace and all her dark brown furnishings.

Tippertarius took a few cautionary steps in and turned on the ornate glass lamp that was perched on her home desk. Her attention drifted to the large woven rug that took centre stage in the middle of the room. It wasn't the rug that had caught her attention, rather what was under it. Her floorsafe.

It wasn't that Tippetarius was worried about a break in, no it was nothing like that in the slightest. Storybrooke was her home and her doors were always opened to anyone who needed it. The safe was more of a literal place where she could store her darkest secrets, the parts of her she couldn't bear to face on a daily basis. By keeping it literally out of sight and locked away, Tippetarius found that her past couldn't hurt her. Normally Tippetarius wouldn't have thought to even come and look in the safe, but her past had been on her mind so much lately that this felt inevitable at this point.

Perching herself down on the floor, Tippertarius pulled back a large corner of the rug and looked down on the safe. She couldn't recall the last time the safe had been opened, much like her many dreams Tippertarius was coming up blank. It seemed almost as if it was forever ago. Yet the combination was etched in the back of her mind, she was unable to forget it even if she tried. 1856. A seemingly random number by her. Tippertarius hadn't been sure why she had chosen it, but seemed like a solid choice.

It was easy enough to open the safe, and once it was opened she was looking at it's contents. There were some important papers in the safe, a lot of them were the deeds to various buildings and other documents that she needed to keep safe. But then came the box. The nondescript wooden box, so ordinary that you wouldn't even think that there was anything of value in it. Until you opened it.

There was a small part of hesitancy on Tippertarius' part, going down memory lane, or rather what limited knowledge she had of her formative years was not for the faint hearted. It was painful, and she had buried so much of that time in the back of her mind, to where she could barely remember it. Forgetting had been the only way that she had been able to survive.

The first item that Tipperatirus pulled out of the box was an ornate gold filigree hand mirror, which had seen better days. Yet despite the mirror's face being cracked, it was a beautiful piece and looked like it had never been used. It came with a matching brush and comb, the sizing of them all suggested that these had been intended for a child. The baby rattle also in the box, supported that theory. There was no family photos, no school reports, it was almost as if she hadn't existed. The only thing she could tell about her parents from these objects was that they had expensive taste, and that was all to it. There was no sort of indication that she was a loved and wanted child. A few more items were scattered along the bottom of the box, a brass iron skeleton key with the initial O, along with a scrap of paper that read 'for our daughter, nothing is truly lost' scribbled in barely illegible handwriting.

All of this was making Tippertarius feel rather uneasy, the last few days had meant that her past and childhood had been playing on her mind.. Just opening a box was threatening to unravel her. Everything in this box was all she had of her childhood.

Maybe it was time that she went to Archie and finally stopped hiding from all of this?

"Babe?"

"Tippertarius?"

She hadn't heard him at first. She hadn't even heard him coming down in the hallway. Tippertarius had been lost, her gaze stuck on these few items of what could be defined as memorabilia of her early life. How long was it until she had heard him? Tippertarius couldn't be too sure, but eventually his voice had cut through all the fog in her head and brought her back. Graham was standing in the doorway to her office, still half asleep with a somewhat confused expression on his face.

"Oh…I'm sorry. Did I wake you?" Tippertarius began with an apologetic smile, feeling guilty for having woken Graham up unnecessarily. He had come over last night because he knew how much storms made her uneasy. Hey boyfriend, to use the term always stayed the night to make the uneasiness a little more bearable for her. As terrible as her sleep was at times, Tippertarius always slept better with Graham around.

A true Prince Charming.

"Not exactly, I rolled over and your side of the bed was empty and saw the light on." Graham explained with a small yawn, before proceeding to ease himself down onto the floor, sitting beside Tippertarius and proceeding to place a reassuring hand on the small of her back. A loving touch. A kiss on her bare shoulder.

It was those little things that always made her feel better.

"Another bad dream?" Graham asked and Tippertarius could only offer a shrug.

She wasn't even sure if it was a bad dream? As most nights Tippetarius couldn't remember what exactly she had dreamt of. Yet she often woke up in an abrupt manner, in a haze of confusion. It was getting worse with every passing night and she didn't know what to do about it all. Tonight's dream? The details were getting a bit fuzzy but there were a few details. Her and Graham had been together, but something was different. The dream itself was still a mystery but something had been terribly wrong as the feeling from it had yet to go away. It was clawing at her. Someone's heart was breaking.

"I don't know, this is going to sound weird… These dreams don't feel like dreams, more like a memory of something. Something that I can't quite remember and getting further out of my reach the more I try to remember. It's like it is on the tip of my tongue but I can't remember. Do you think that is possible? To dream of a lost memory?"

"I think anything is possible. I also think you've not been yourself for a couple of days and the insomnia isn't helping at the moment."

Tipperaturis would admit that Graham had her there.

"So what are we looking at? What's all of this?" Graham prompted, his eyes looking over all the items that Tipperaturis had removed from the safe.

The mirror, the comb and the brush all sat in front of her, along with the weird paper there was only one remaining item that Tipperaturis had removed from the box. A charm bracelet, like the rest of the items, seemed to be quite old with some signs of wear. Yet, despite it's aged appearance it seemed like great care had been taken to maintain it. The bracelet was decorated with an assortment of charms. The letters O and Z, no doubt for Oswin, and the emerald charm came as little to no surprise given Tippertarius family's affinity for the gemstones. Along with a peridot charm - for her birth month. Some of the charms made no sense to her, like the pumpkin one along with the wolf. Then a fairy charm, the eight point star, followed by a heart, key, an apple and what looked like a wizard.

"Stuff that my parents presumably got for me when I was baby. It was meant to be given to me on my 18th birthday but they never got the chance. Mother S gave it to me. Told me that my mother had given it to her for safe keeping a long time ago, I didn't get it until my 19th birthday because Mother S lost track of where she had put it for a few years and forgot. It's weird though because Mother S never forgets anything. I've had it locked away ever since, I didn't want to deal with it at the time. I never look at this stuff, I don't want to give up my past but I walked past and I had this weird urge to come and look at it all." Tipperaturis explained as she held the bracelet in her hands, it was quite weighty and yet, it felt like nothing at the same time.

"It's beautiful."

"Yes it is." Tipperaturis hoarsely replied.

There was this weird sense of familiarity with her right now, like this bracelet was more than just something item stored away in a box that she rarely ever looked at. It was more than that. Tippetarius had this inexplicable feeling that this charm bracelet was very important to her, there was this feeling deep within her that she knew this item, but she couldn't describe how she knew that. The more she looked at the bracelet and it's charm, the more Tippetarius felt like there was a specific reason for all these charms. She had some kind of sentimental attachment to it, yet she couldn't recall why. It wasn't déjà vu, it was something else but Tippetarius couldn't quite describe it.

This was an item that belonged to someone who was very much loved, but left behind and for Tippetarius it was like she was looking at it again for the first time, with fresh eyes. This bracelet was a relic of her forgotten childhood, a trophy of everything that she had lost and Tippertarius felt like she was on the verge of tears. All these gold items, as valuable as they were, were cold substitutes for what they were meant to represent.

"My family gave me all these expensive things, but where are they? No one is here and I'm still all alone. I know Patrick is dead, but I still have a mother. Where is Lurline? What did I do that was so wrong for her to leave me. I know it's been a long time but…"

"You don't normally talk about your parents, what's brought on the change?" Graham noted and Tippertarius nodded in agreement, it wasn't a topic that she openly liked to discuss.

"I forgot to tell you last night but Emma swung by my office … She wanted to talk to me about Henry and we got talking, before I knew it I was telling her about Patrick and Lurline. I don't know why I did it, the words were coming out of my mouth before I even realised what I was saying… There's something about Emma, I barely know her but I feel like I can trust her. I think that's why I felt like I could tell her about my past and now I…"

"Hey… What's wrong?" Graham questioned, his brows furrowed together with concern and Tippetarius feebly wiped away at her eyes, trying to rid her tears before they had a chance to fall, but she was failing miserably.

She could lie, but there was no point. Graham knew her as best as anyone could and he always knew when she wasn't fine.

"I don't know why this is happening, but as of late all these feelings of abandonment have resurfaced and I feel this terrible loneliness. I can't shake it off Graham, I feel so alone all the time." Tippetarius finally admitted, this feeling had been eating away at her for so long and she didn't feel like she could hold it together any longer. She had been without her family for so long and had been fine, more than fine and now she was struggling to hold it together. "It's stupid, right? I love my life and I'm surrounded by people all the time, people who care for me and who I care for in return. I think of my friends as the most precious and important part of my life. If anything, I'm the opposite of being alone. But it feels like it is crushing me at times, and I worry this feeling will never go away."

Her tears were still falling. Tippertarius couldn't believe that she was falling apart so early in the morning, this was so out of character for her. She was never the person to fall apart, Tippertarius was always the strong one, the one people could always count on because they depended on her.

She felt like an idiot.

"Tippertarius, I need you to listen to me… You can have people around you and still be lonely, it is not stupid and it's understandable especially when you were alone for so long. You do so much for so many people here, that it's easy for you to push your feelings to the side. I think everything going on with Henry and speaking with Emma has maybe brought some feelings up for you, and I know the missing John Doe hit close to home. " Graham softly began, his hands turning Tippertarius to face him before proceeding to wipe away her tears. His touch was so gentle and all it took was a few idly spoken words by him, for Tippertarius to feel the anxiety in her heart start to settle.

He was right of course. Graham saw her so clearly, and in these tearful moments so early in the morning, Tippertarius could only hope that this wonderful man would continue to be in her life and stand beside her.

"I hate feeling like this."

"I know."

"I think it would be a good idea to sit down with Archie, would you think any less of me if I did?"

"Never gonna happen Princess, you know I worship the ground you walk on." Graham stated, his reassurement a welcome relief for Tippertarius.

It was hard for her to talk about these kinds of things, the way she had been raised, it meant that all Tippertarius knew was to shove her more negative emotions to the back of her mind. To pretend like they never existed, and it wasn't healthy. It was taking a toll, and the only thing Tippertarius would be grateful for was that she didn't have to do this alone.

"I'm sorry for being so much trouble."

"You need not ever apologise to me princess, you know that." Graham quipped in response and Tippertarius let out a tear filled laugh as she leaned closer into his embrace. "I'm sure you know this, but a person's family isn't always the people you are related to by blood, it can be the people you chose to have by your side. You are my family Tippertarius Oswin"

Her parents were complicated and it was something that Tippetarius wasn't sure whether she would ever be able to come to terms with, how much her issues with them had affected her, even to this day. Yet she still knew she wasn't alone, there were so many wonderful people that Tippeatrius had around her. For one Graham, he had always managed to make her days seem less lonely. Then there was Mary Margaret, Mother Superior, Ruby, Henry and so many others here in Storybrooke. Tippertarius' biological family may not have amounted to much, but she did have a family here, one full of wonderful people and she needed to remember that and not get hung up on the past.

"I know… I feel the same way, although I think I forget that at times when I get caught up in my own head. Emma coming back into Henry's life has definitely reopened some old wounds. I want to move past all of these issues with my parents, because I don't want to be a burden to my loved ones here. I want to be the person that everyone can depend on, that you can depend on and I want us to be a family in the way that it truly matters." Tippetarius quietly replied, the words felt heavy in her mouth but the weight on her shoulders felt less heavy the moment they came out.

"Tippetarius Oswin, are you getting closer to asking me to marry you?"

Here Tippetarius was being open with how she was feeling, the two of them were having a moment and Graham had to go ruin question had come out of nowhere, and it had surprised Tippetarius and all she could do was laugh. It was a not so innocent question, and Tippertarius could see the mischievous glint in Graham's eyes. If anything, this was the perfect way to lighten the mood after a very emotional start to the day.

"Me, propose to you? Why must I be the one to do it?" Tippetarius retorted, one eyebrow raised in surprise. Although the two of them had never explicitly discussed their future together, it was interesting to hear where Graham thought it was leading. She wasn't too sure about his reasoning of her proposing to him.

"If I asked you to marry me, everyone would think I did it for your money. Whereas if you got down on one knee, it would be seen as a romantic scene out of a storybook, the princess proposing to the lowly small town sheriff…"