Enchanted Forest
One Year Ago
"You've gathered the entire kingdom for this?" Regina started addressing the royal couple "There's a Wicked Witch out there, just waiting to pounce. And pretending otherwise would be dangerous" she continued to chastise the couple as Aurora and Philip watched on nearby.
"There's nothing dangerous about rallying our people" the prince tried to reassure the former Queen.
"You're announcing you're pregnant. It's not like you invented the wheel" she sniped at the royal couple.
The conversation between the royals was interrupted when they saw a hooded figure approach them. .
"What's this?" David stated eyeing the figure as it closed the distance between them before pulling down their hood to reveal their face to the royals. It was Belle. Fresh from the battle torn Monteriggioni, she tried her best to put on a brave face for the pair as she prepared to catch them up on the events that had transpired outside of the castle.
"Belle!" Snow exclaimed in surprise seeing the younger woman.
"Are you okay?" David asked her "When you and Neal disappeared, we feared the worst" he went on.
"We went to Monteriggioni to meet up with Amelia before we went to see if we could revive the Dark One" she informed them glancing towards the former Evil Queen.
"What happened?" Regina asked her as her interest peaked at the information.
"Neal was able to resurrect him" she paused "At the cost of his own life".
"Rumple's alive" The former Queen said to herself inwardly pleased at the piece of news.
"Neal's dead?" Snow asked her friend.
"I think so" Belle told the Princess.
Regina turned to Belle in confusion "To which?"
"Both" Belle answers her "You see, when Rumple saw that Neal was dying, he absorbed him, and Zelena got a hold of the dagger. Now, she controls Rumple".
"What about Lia?" David remembered Belle not mentioning the assassin "Where is she?".
"I-I don't know" Belle stammered out.
"To what?" Regina pressed the younger woman.
"After Zelena got a hold of the dagger, we ran as fast as we could to her home, we thought she wouldn't be able to get through the protection spell but-"
"Spit it out already" Regina spat at the younger brunette impatiently.
"Zelena attacked the city" the librarian tells the others "Amelia and the others struggled to fight through them. Tom and I only made it out alive because she made us leave"
"Is she?" Snow's voice broke at the possible demise of her oldest friend. Regina closed her eyes in dread of hearing what Belle was about to say.
The younger woman could only shake her head in uncertainty "She stayed behind after getting the townspeople to safety. She didn't want to leave the town unprotected" the woman trailed off. That's what Regina had feared the most. She would never let Monteriggioni fall without a fight.
An audible gasp escaped Snow at the thought of her friend not making it out of the town making the prince take her hands in comfort and look at her "Snow don't worry, we'll find her, we'll even go and bring her back if we have to" he tells his wife as she nods in understanding as across the room Aurora gave her Prince a worried look as Belle told her story about the Black Widow.
"Maybe, now isn't the time to announce the pregnancy" Aroura told Snow taking a step forward "Regina is right. It's too dangerous and with the Widow missing we cannot afford to be defenseless against Zelena"
"No" Snow protested "if..if we don't, we give into fear. But, if we do, we give the kingdom what they need: Hope"
That's what Lia would want.
"We don't even know what this Wicked Witch wants" David said aloud.
Aurora paused but hesitantly answered David's question "Actually, we do. She wants your baby"
"She came to us when you were gone" Philip spoke up joining his wife as betrayal etched the princes face as he listened to Philips words "Threatened us and our unborn child, unless we told her when you arrived in our land" Phillip told them.
"She thinks your baby could be important" Aurora continued "I'm so sorry. She said she'd hurt us"
The conversation was interrupted when a gust of wind startled the group making them all turn to the window to see the Wicked Witch herself flying on a broom descending on them, they all watched as she flew into the palace before landing her eyes never wavering from the group of hero's and villain inside.
"And I make good on my promises" the witch greeted them as she waved her hand towards Aurora and Phillip as green smoke engulf the couple turning them into flying monkeys before they both flew back out of the window.
"What do you want with our baby?" Snow demanded of the Wicked Witch as she turned to face her.
"Calm down, sweetie. You don't want to go into early labor" Zelena says as a hue of green magic encases her freezing her in place.
"Stay away from my wife!" the prince angrily retorts as he pulls his sword from his waist, pointing it towards the witch only to be frozen himself.
"Oh, someone's testy" Zelena commented.
"Enough, sis" Regina finally spoke up form her place before sauntering forwards to put herself in between her and Snow "This is between you and me" she says before raising a hand intending to use her magic against her older sister only to become encased in green magic as well, freezing her in place.
"Now, let's see, if this was all worth it" the witch drawls out as she walks past the pregnant Princesses only defenses to see the younger woman herself, her eye's drifting towards her slightly swollen abdomen.
The pair couldn't do anything as the witch placed her hands on Snow's stomach.
"Yes. Yes, it was. This child will do quite nicely. So, take good care of it for me. Don't forget to eat well. I will be back for your happy day. And what's yours will be mine"
"Get your hands off her!" a voice makes the Wicked Witch snap her head up to see Amelia stood at the entrance of the room holding out her arm out in front of her that held a small crossbow like attachment with a small bolt aimed straight at her. The former Queen felt her breath hitch in her throat hearing her voice for the first time in weeks.
Relief washed through the librarian seeing the redhead alive again after last seeing her. She looked worse from the last time she had seen the assassin. Dried blood coated the side of her face from a wound in her hairline as a cut on her cheek was left open to the elements, the pristine and bright white robe she wore now torn and frayed from the battle she had fought in, as a mix of dirt and blood now stained it.
"Amelia. You made it" she said with a toothy smile as she saw the redhead "And here I thought you'd still be under that pile of rubble you used call your home" she smirked at the redhead with her hands still on Snow's stomach.
"Let's just say" she heavily panted out "I still have a few tricks up my sleeve" the witched watched as she opened her closed fist to see a small glass vial with the remnants of the red powder that it used hold drop to the floor "An old gift from Rumple"
A gift indeed. The Dark One had given her three vials of red sparkled powered when she started working for him. They were to be used in an emergency, if she were ever found herself in a tight corner even she couldn't get out of, it would take her to safety. Fortunately she had ever only needed to use one when she confronted Mentor Claudius before she was ready to fight him in the early days.
The man did care about her after all.
"Now let her go" she tells the Witch through clenched teeth "Or find this in your eye" pulling the trigger on the phantom blade Zelena watched as the blade fly straight past her before landing on the ground with a clang behind her.
A triumphant smile grew on her face as she slowly looks back to look at the assassin's failure as the redhead's lowers her arm back down "Looks like you've used up all your tricks dearie"
"Who says I have, sweetheart?" she says as the corner of her mouth twitches up before she take a step back as everyone in the room hears an audible crack come from under her boot covered foot before a whoosh of red smoke engulfed the assassin making the woman disappear in thin air.
Taking the witch by surprise, Snow felt the Witches hand fall away from her stomach as she saw a cloud of red smoke appear behind the green witch
Only for the witch to turn around in time to sink a dagger into the space where the redhead would re-appear, leaving the sharp weapon to protrude from the assassin's hip as she red cloud to dissipate around her as she stood in silent wide-eyed shock as a wide grin grew on Zelena's lips as she allowed herself to feel the satisfaction of out-witting the woman that had once rejected her in favor of her younger sister.
It wouldn't kill her, but the message would finally get through loud and clear.
"How's that for conviction?" Zelena whisper's in her ear before she used the tip of her forefinger to push on the the top of the hilt that was still sticking out of the assassin, making the weakened assassin to stumble backwards before she caught herself on the vanity table behind her toppling it's contents onto the floor.
The woman paused admiring her handy work before sweeping a hand towards the other's releasing them from their places as she heads for the window before flying away on her broom.
Eight Months Later
Time had passed slowly since Zelena had came to the palace to announce her plans to take the royal couple's growing child. The small the council that the couple had made had gathered once more, the resident assassin taking up the vacant seat that remained open for her between the woman she loved and her closest friend in the entire world.
In that time her natural hair color had come back out in full force from the root as it mixed in the the dye she had put in so she could freely explore the Enchanted Forest, neatly tied together in a thin braid that comfortably sat around her neck.
But as time slowly ticked by, the time to find out what the Wicked Wtich wanted with the royal couple's child was running out as Snow's stomach grew larger by the week.
The Master Assassin was running out of idea's. She had tried sending out what thieves and mercenaries that had survived the siege to see if the witch was gathering any other ingredients that would tell them what she was preparing only for the constant threat of the flying monkeys to become the perfect deterrent. She had already lost three men to the creatures and two of them had become them.
Now they had to wait for a dwarf to give them some good news.
"Grumpy, tell me, you found something" David addressed the dwarf as he finally entered the room to report his findings to the council.
"I've been to Blue, Tink, all the fairies" Grumpy replied "They've been scouring the forest for enchanted items to destroy her, but they got zilch. They say, she's just too powerful"
David looked at the Assassin across the table in desperation "What about a Piece of Eden, could one be used against her?"
"The only problem is finding one" Amelia tells the man "The one I found was the first one found by anyone in over three centuries" she say's glancing over to Snow "And by the looks of you wife's stomach we don't have another three centuries".
"What about the Apple you used, wasn't that brought back here?" the man asks her.
"Possibly, but all the power it had was drained away by the trigger" she informs him "Even if there was a way to re-charge it, I don't think I'd survive a second time using it" the Prince finally nodded in understanding. It was a long shot but they were desperate.
Snow White sighed to herself in frustration "It's happening again. I'm about to give birth and an evil sorceress is threatening the future of my child" she says out-load a they other's looked towards the former Evil Queen and her Black Widow.
"To be fair, the first time, I was threatening you. Everyone else just became collateral damage" Regina replied smoothly to which Amelia shrugged along with the Queen.
"Remind me again why we forgave them?" Grumpy asked the group.
"Because we're helping" the assassin spoke up for the pair, making Robin dryly chuckle at the Assassin's words earning a glare from the woman.
"Frustrating as it is for me to remember, Snow. You had a head start to defeat me last time" Regina asked her former step- daughter "How?".
"We were warned" David told her.
"By Rumplestiltskin" Snow finished.
"Sneaky bastard" the assassin grumbled to herself.
"Maybe he can warn you again" Regina suggested.
"Wait" Grumpy interrupted them "You wanna sneak into Rumple's castle, where he's held captive by the Wicked Witch? Name is Grumpy, not Stupid".
"Could've fooled me" the dwarf heard the assassin sniped from her place making him frown at the woman.
"You're right." Snow spoke up stopping a fight between the pair before one could start "It is stupid, but for our child-".
"We'll do whatever it takes" David finished his wife sentence as he reached out to place a comforting hand on her arm.
"Heart-warming" Regina grimaced to herself with the affection between husband and wife "He's trapped in his own castle" Regina turned to Belle "Belle, you were prisoner there?".
"Yes, but breaking in? I-I would have no idea how" the young brunette answered.
"Luckily, I do" Robin spoke up gaining everyone's attention "I broke in there once before" he informs them.
Regina scoffed at the thief's suggestion "Why are we even listening to him?" Regina asked the couple "He's a thief, which means he's not to be trusted" she turned to look at him "What are you even still doing here".
"What I'm doing here, is saving your arse" he told the Queen "The castle has traps and deadly ones". The assassin could only sit there and wait for the spat between the former Queen and the thief to simmer down. This had been going on for almost the whole time the redhead had been back. It was starting to get annoying to say the least.
"Not more deadly than my magic" she argued.
"They are, if you don't see them coming".
"Maybe I'm okay with taking my chances".
Snow White quickly interrupted the heated exchange silencing between the pair saving the redhead in the middle from the constant bickering "Alright. You may be, but we're not. He's coming" Snow told Regina as the thief looked across Amelia to give the Queen a smug look for getting his way.
"I'll get you in" Amelia tells the couple deflecting the growing tension between her love and her friend "Rumple showed me a way through all his traps in case one day I needed to use the castle as sanctuary if Regina ever found out I was helping you before the curse"
"She's right" Regina seemed smug of Amelia's knowledge of the Dark One's castle "Even though we still haven't discussed that little indiscretion" making the redhead roll her eyes at the woman "The imp held a soft spot for her, now we know why, we can use it to our advantage"
Storybrooke
Present
It was the morning after the night before as the amnesic assassin woke up after a passion filled night with the woman, she had met years previous. Last night felt right, she thought she would regret being with her so soon after losing John, but as she watched the Queen peacefully sleeping beside her with her shortened hair a little unkept from the nights events, something told her that she couldn't wait for someone like Regina to come along again. Fate had intervened once again and this time she wasn't going to say no to it this time.
"You're staring dear" she heard Regina mumble taking her surprise as her brown eye's opened to meet her's.
A soft smile on the redhead's face greeted the former Queen as she felt her bed partner shift next to her "Sorry. I was just thinking" she answered her.
"About?"
"If I knew you" the woman in beside her simply explained her eye's narrowing slightly as if she was looking for a piece of detail in the Queen's face that would fill in the missing gaps in her memories.
Finding the assassin's right arm nestled between their pillows, her thumb started to stroke the sensitive skin that sat below the lion tattoo, something she always found herself doing as they spoke whenever they were in bed together.
"You did. I told you remember?"
"I do, but I could tell you weren't telling me everything. We were like this…like-"
"Not at first" the older woman tell hers "But something grew between us until I cast the first curse and…" Regina paused thinking back to what Amelia found out on Neverland.
"And?" Amelia gently pressed her, a curious brow rising on her face.
"…we hurt each other" Regina told the redhead honestly.
Amelia's eyes furrowed in deep though before letting out a deep sigh and turning on her back, leaving her arm still in the Queen's comforting hold as frustration rolled off the assassin in waves "I hate this…Not remembering, clearly everyone knows me but…"
"You don't remember them" Regina finished for the woman crawling over to hover over the redhead "We'll find a way to get your memories back, I promise"
A frustrated sigh came from the red heads mouth as looked up at the woman above her, as her mind once again clouded over with more questions "You need to concentrate on Zelena's plan with Snow's baby first, which means we need to get up" Amelia said quickly slipping out the Queen's bed only in a dark tank top and her underwear as she snatched up the pair of jeans that had been haphazardly been tossed onto the floor in the heat of the moment.
The former Queen could do nothing as she watched the redhead walked around the bed to the adjoining bathroom leaving the older woman dumbfounded on what quickly change the woman's mood.
"Melia?" she heard the older woman call through to her before the former Queen stepped into the smaller room with a silk dressing gown covering her body. She found the redhead sitting on the edge of the bathtub with downcast eye's as she rung out her hands in deep thought.
"What's wrong?" the Queen gently presses the woman as set herself next to the assassin resting a hand on her back feeling how tense the woman had gotten herself in a matter of seconds as she turned her head to look the brunette in the eye's.
"Why do you want my memories back so much?" the question had taken the Queen by surprise as she tried to understand the reason behind it.
"What do you mean?"
"I've heard the stories of what I did as the Widow, I see the look's. I can ignore them all I want but I can't ignore this…heaviness in my heart, that wasn't there before" The former Queen knew what that feeling was. It was the darkness in her heart. While the memories had been taken away the consequences of the Widow remained in her heart to live with hour by hour. And it took it's toll. While the Amelia a year ago had grown accustomed to the feeling and knew why it was there, this one next to her didn't "You said it yourself, I killed my family-"
"Those people were never your family" Regina sternly tells her "They may have raised you, but they manipulated you for years to mold you into a weapon to use for their own purpose, even your own father is guilty of turning you into your worst self" She was right. Romeo did nothing to shield her from the others for years, she was victim to their harsh teachings and punishments for years even from the man himself sometimes. She often became blind to them after becoming so fond of her teacher, thinking they would make her stronger.
Pain made you stronger. A popular saying between her teachers whenever she found herself on the wrong end of Iago's whip.
"Does that excuse not finding my son?" the redhead argued "Your sister offered me a deal to turn against you and the others in return for a second chance with him"
That was news to her. She knew there was a deal but not this "Why didn't you take it?"
"Because I believed in you more" a smile grew on Regina's face at the redhead's admission as she took her skilled hands into her own.
"Melia, I want you, the good and the dark" Regina starts making the assassin look anywhere but the Queen "Thing's between us haven't always been straight forward in the past, and I've spent far too long holding back how I feel about you, but whether you want your memories back or not we need you, maybe more than ever before. I need you" the queen says as she made the redhead look up at her by gently cupping her jaw in her free hand making her emerald eyes look in her's " So, whatever happens, We'll figure it out …together" a soft smile grew on the former Queen's lips as she said the last word making the assassin mirror it.
"Together" she repeated.
She liked that word already.
Fully dressed and ready for whatever was going to be thrown at them that day the lovers stood in the corridor that conjoined the diner from the Inn to say their goodbyes before they went their separate ways. One to find a way to stop her wicked half-sister and her plans to change the past, and the other to return to the responsibilities that she left behind in the woods the previous night before she was swept away in the moment by the woman in front of her (Not that she minded in the least).
The assassin held the woman as close to her as she could as she kissed her soft lipstick covered lips in an embrace she didn't want to end before she had to step back into reality. Regina broke away from the kiss and looked into Amelia's green hooded eyes.
"What do you see in me?" she suddenly asked the red head.
Even without the knowledge of them working together the assassin still managed to see something in her, to trust her and not see the woman she became during her darkest days.
"Hopefully, the same thing you see in me" Amelia paused "A second chance. That..and you're a really good kisser" the redhead added making the woman in front of her lightly chuckle.
"Just wait, 'til I actually have my heart back" Regina teased with a seductive smile.
"Just wait until I get my memories back" she retorted with a wink making the Queen laugh "What is that like?" she suddenly asks the former Queen as she stroked her cheek with the pad of her thumb "Without your heart. I mean, can you …" she trailed off the question.
"Feel?" Regina suggested with a nod "Yes, I can. Just not.." she paused as she gropes for the right word "fully. It's difficult to explain"
"Then don't" she says taking Regina's hand placing it over her heart "Use mine for the both of us" at the promise Regina leans in to kiss the assassin again as a door behind her opens as the redhead goes to deepen it only to hear someone clear their throat making the pair separate and look to see Henry stood there with Tom behind him looking straight back at them.
"Henry. Tom. Good morning" Regina greets the pair with a smile. Tom eye's met Amelia's seemingly not surprised to see her with the former Queen but there was something else behind them, she couldn't quite place.
"Morning" Henry greeted her back awkwardly recognizing the woman he had seen her kissing. His cousin Amelia "Um, excuse me, Madame Mayor" he says walking past them "Amelia" he nods at his cousin.
"Henry" she replies with a curt nod and smile through the slight embarrassment as he and Tom step around them to the diner.
"Mom" Tom huffs out brushing past the redhead making the master assassin watch the teen leave with a puzzled look on her face. He was mad at her. For what? Spending the night away from the camp?
What was that about?
Turning back to the former Queen she see's the hurt in her eye's having to be so formal with her own son as he walked away from her the mood between them suddenly turning on its head. She had been informed that after the curse that had originally brought them to Storybrooke she had adopted Henry after the savior gave him up at eighteen, while the town remained cursed. Making her heart ached for the woman in front of her.
"Are you okay?" Amelia asks the woman in front of her.
"No, I'm not alright. But they're waiting for me. I should go" she headed to the door that led to the Inn only for Amelia to stop her.
"Wait" Amelia gently took Regina's face and kisses her softly before breaking apart only for their noses forehead touching "Be careful".
"Always" Regina replied smiling into a final kiss before leaving her love to find the Charming waiting for her unable to wipe the smile from her face leaving the redhead to turn her attention on the teen in the diner.
The smile that seemed to be stuck on the former Queen's face hadn't done the same to the assassin as she walked into the diner to find Tom sat next to Henry at the counter with a dwarf next to them acting as a babysitter to the pair whenever they were away from their mothers. Homing in on her target the teen stiffened as he suddenly felt a hand grip his shoulder knowing it was the redhead as Henry jumped in his seat to see the redhead behind them.
"Oh H-Hey Lia" the twelve year greets her.
"Hi" she greets the younger boy with a tight-lipped smile "Do you mind if I borrow my son for a minute?".
"Uh s-sure go ahead" he answered as Tom was seemingly picked up from his seat and dragged to the back of the diner to where their first encounter was made as she pulled the teen around to make him look at her meeting her angered face, something he had only seen twice before now in Neverland.
"What the hell was that about?" she snaps at the teen only for the latter to shrug his shoulders at her "Really?" she scoffs at him as he folds his arms across his chest as she shook her head in disbelief "You know what? I have more important things to do today that doesn't involve stubborn teenagers" at that she turned to leave the stubborn teen in the hallway only to get two steps away from him before a the most bizarre question met her ears.
"Are you my Mother?" Tom blurted out before the redhead could leave making her stop and turn to look at the teenager that had stayed with her with the Merry Men since they had woken up here.
"What?" she asked with furrowed brows.
"Are you my Mom?" Tom repeated his question as Amelia's frown only deepened as Tom licking his bottom lip nervously as he tried to explain his reasoning behind the question "Last night Robin was asking me all these questions about how I got a scar on my face, then he said he thought he knew the reason why your memories were taken, h-he thinks it's because of me. W-we tried to find you but-" he cut himself off short
"But what?" she prompted him.
"We…saw you with Regina" he nervously gulped at the woman as he tried to gauge what the redhead was thinking.
"Look...I have no idea how this idea has gotten into your head but despite my lack of memories I know that my son is long gone. I'm sorry but this fantasy of yours is not real, nor will it ever be" she said ignoring the jab in her heart as she saw the look of heartbreak on his face as she dismantled the slither of hope he had a real family like Henry did "So whatever Robin might've suggested to get you to think that he's figured out what happened with my memories, are wrong" Tom reluctantly nodded at the redhead.
It was harsh, she knew that. But it either that or that idea could lead him to something stupid.
"Then why did she take them?" he gulped holding back the hurt he felt at the redheads words.
"I don't know" she sighed out "but it's not yours or Robin's job to find out" he nodded again in understanding as he tried to hold back to the frustration that had been that last week or so since waking up in Storybrooke hiding his face away from the redhead as he tried to wipe away the tears that had left his eyes with the back of his hand only to feel a soft hand cup his face. Looking back he saw the redhead was right in front of him gently brushing the tears away.
"There's no need for those" she tells him "Especially not over me"
"I'm sorry" he tells her
"For what?" she asks him "If you hadn't noticed I'm a big girl, I can look after myself" she says
"I know, it's just…"
"Just what?"
"We knew each other from before"
A smile grew on the redhead's face at the thought of knowing the teen in front of her "Was I nice?"
"The best" he tells her with an upturned smile thinking back to the way she looked out for him after Romeo died. She didn't have to take him in, but she did it anyway.
"Well at least one person in this place thinks that" she comments at the compliment "You should get back to Henry, I need to head back to camp" she says as she turns to leave onto hear the distinct sound of a hidden blade slipping out of its sheath before she felt the tip of the blade make contact with the back of her neck.
Tom didn't put up a fight as in blink of an eye she whirled around grabbing his forearm with her hand before using her strength the push him up against the pale wall of the hallway as she saw the dark leather gauntlet she had been raised around as she held up one of her own hidden blades against his neck craning his head back from the sharp edge of her redhead froze as her eyes raked over the exposed metal work that was attached to the leather gauntlet including the skull symbol her Master seemed to adopt as his own in the Brotherhood.
"Where did you get those?" she darkly asks the teen as she retracts her blade away from his skin.
"I need to tell you something" he said as her head snapped around ready to find out how her father's gauntlets ended up on the arms of the teen she had woken up in a strange land with gaps in her memory.
Quick AN: Romeo's Gauntlets: Edward Kenway Hidden Blades for reference
Meanwhile while the redhead dealt with the teen they had bumped into in the hallway. Regina made her way into the Inn with the same smile she had sported with Amelia as she found the Charming Family waiting for her in the entrance having already made themselves comfortable in the chairs available.
Hearing the heels on the wooden floor the heavily pregnant woman sat with her husband on the sofa looked behind her to see the wide smile on her former step-mother's face "Regina. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you look smitten" Mary Margaret observed from the couch as the older woman took a spot in front of the adult Charming's the smile vanished as quickly as it had been seen.
Regina scoffed at Mary Margaret's observation "If I didn't know any better, I'd say Häagen-Dasz is smitten with your stomach" she retorted "Can we get started?" she asked the group ready to start.
"We were waiting for Hook" Emma tells her.
"I don't have time to wait for the handless wonder. We have to figure out how to destroy my sister" Regina told the Charming's getting impatient with the situation at hand.
"For once, I agree with Regina" David spoke up looking to his wife and daughter "Stopping her plan is the priority".
"There's something about this plan that doesn't fit, Regina" Emma voiced from the armchair she sat in.
"I'm the point of it" the former Queen tells her "So, she can take my life for herself".
"Yes, but why bring you back to Storybrooke? Why bring any of us?" Emma asked aloud "Why bother taking a decade's worth of memories from someone who doesn't even have magic" she reminds them about the resident assassin.
That was the question on everyone's mind. There's nothing the redhead could've known about the magic it took to even try and travel back in time. Everything she had learnt was from Regina and her Uncle from their individuals partnerships.
"Well, no one's ever succeeded at traveling through time. Perhaps something from this world makes it possible" David suggested as he stood up from the couch and started to pace in agitation.
"Belle said she found some scrolls in the library that had the Brotherhood symbol on them, that weren't there before, maybe there's something in them we can't see but she could" Mary Margaret suggested to the older woman as Emma and David nodded along.
They had seen them as well. There were at least a hundred or so of them neatly stack on one of the shelves in the corner of the library were people necessarily wouldn't go, hidden in plain sight. Belle had only told them because when she pulled one open there was nothing to be seen on the page. That's when the former Princess remembered her very first encounter with the redhead, she was able to see things that weren't there. There was something on them, but only someone with the woman's special sight could see it.
Regina sighed through her nose shaking her head at the woman's suggestion "I already asked her, she told me the Brotherhood had always looked into the theory of time travel but could never do it outside using magic, what's in those scrolls are a waste of time".
"When did you ask her this?" Emma asked the woman; they had only found out the previous night.
"Never mind, Swan" she dodged the question "But, what's almost as troubling is that she was able to cast the curse, to bring us all here in the first place".
"Why is that?".
"To do it you have to give up the thing you love most" the former Queen points out "From what I gather Zelena doesn't love much".
"Neither did you" Emma reminded her "You managed".
"Well seeing as Melia is still alive, I don't see how I could" she argues.
"What do you mean?" Mary Margaret asked the woman in confusion.
"Her heart was an option out of two, I could use to cast the first one. She may have lost her memories but she's still very much alive. I would've had to use her heart as the final ingredient and if I know her as well as I do, she'd probably give it to me" she summarized the Charming family trailing off knowing what lengths the redhead would've gone it came to it.
David turned from pacing to address the group "Zelena is smart. Strategic. Perhaps we discovered something in the missing year to stop her".
"And then, the only way to stop us from interfering was to bring us back here and wipe our memories" Mary Margaret said "So, if we get our memories back, we might already know how to defeat her".
"We just need to break this curse" David deduced.
"Well, thank goodness we have a savior" Mary Margaret said looking at her daughter.
"I would love to, but there's one problem. Last time, all it took was me believing in magic and kissing Henry. Since I've been back, I've done both and nothing" the savior tells them.
"It's the belief" Regina interjected "Henry. He needs to believe. In this new life he doesn't. We have to get him to believe again".
"So, what? We put on a magic show?" Emma suggested.
Regina looked to Emma "How did you believe?".
The blonde paused before she answered "The book" Emma shrugged "The storybook".
"That's what started Henry on his original path. And what got you to believe" the Charming's saw the excitement in former Evil Queen's face "It's the key. In him believing. In him remembering. Remembering everything" she trailed off as she remembered some of the darker times her son had been through since the first curse had broken.
"That's not necessarily a gift" Emma pointed out "He's been through a lot of tough stuff".
"And some good stuff" Regina reminded the blonde "Either way it's our best bet".
"She's right" Emma's mother said to her.
"I know" Emma sighed "Let's find it".
The group on hero's and former villains had gathered outside the front door of the Dark Castle, they waited for the call clear call from the assassin's eagle that soared above them as the redhead stood with her arms folded over her chest and her iris brightly shining as she sought out the familiar path her uncle had laid out on his castle walls years ago.
There were a few she had to avoid still, but her uncle was good on his word and kept a widow open on the second floor of the castle just in case the Evil Queen ever came for her head and he wasn't there.
Senu's loud call from the sky alerting the assassin on the ground that the coast was in fact clear for their plan to go ahead without any interference from any flying monkey that could alert their mistress to the would be intruders.
Blinking her vision back to normal to turn to address the others.
"It's clear" she tells them her eye's glance over the Charming couple, Belle, Robin and Regina "We have ten minutes in and out, before Zelena figures out something's wrong"
"You really think Tom will be able to handle the distraction?" Robin asked the red head. They had sent the Merry Men with the former lost boy leading them to make some noise about a mile away from the Dark Castle to give them a window to get into the castle without being disturbed.
"He can handle anything" she tells the other's in confidence. He is a Montague after all they were all fighters and Tom certainly fitted into that category. Nodding towards the Prince, the man stepped forward to get into position under the high window that seemed impossible for any of them to reach. Well, anyone that wasn't her anyway.
"You ready for this?" David asked as he crouched down and cupped his hand, ready to give the redhead a boost up.
"It'll be fun" she shrugged taking a few strides backwards for the run up she looks the others "See you in a minute" she says with a confident wink before dashing forward in a hard sprint towards the prince aiming for his cupped hands. Once her foot was in place the assassin used all the strength, she had built over the years to propel herself up as the prince pushed will his strength.
The other's watched as she seemed to fly up the side of the castle to the window, grabbing the edge with her fingertips before easily pulling herself up and over through the open widow before disappearing from view.
"Do you think she made it?" Belle asked the question that was on all their minds before it was answered as not even a minute later the large doors to the Dark Castle opened to them as the familiar redhead walked out batting her shoulder as the smell of burn fabric met the other's noses.
"Fire?" Regina asked raising a curious brow at the assassin
"Yep" she huffed at the former Queen as the others entered the castle with the assassin not too far behind. They paused in the foyer as Regina headed straight to a set of closed doors to the right.
Quickly notched an arrow into his quiver the thief let his arrow fly hitting the set of doors just as Regina was about to touch them triggering the trap not even the assassin has seen as flame engulfed the set of doors before finally settling down.
"That arrow almost took off my head!" Regina yelled at the thief in anger.
"Well, that door almost took off your arm" he retorted "Where I come from, a simple thank you would suffice" he scolded her.
The queen stiffly turned her nose up at the thief "Where you come from, people bathe in the river and use pinecones for money" she sneered at the thief.
Having had enough of the pair the assassin was the first to walk into the room to find Rumple in a wooden cage with a spinning wheel, absentmindedly spinning straw into gold like she was seen him do hundreds of time before
"Shit" she cursed to herself as stopped and stared at the image before her.
"Rumpelstiltskin" Snow called out the man from the door. She didn't know what to expect when she saw her Uncle again, but not this.
The Dark One giggled as they stepped forward "Rumple, Bumple isn't here. Rumple, Bumple gone, my dear" he answered to his name being called out.
The Queen chuckled at herself pleased to see her old teacher once again "He really is back from the dead" the groups slowly approached the cage while Amelia stepped forward to stand next to Belle.
"Dead. Dead. So much better. Dead" he rambled on as they all stared.
"He's lost his mind" David said aloud.
"On the contrary. Now I have two" the Dark One answered the Prince "Two minds. Mining time. Digging deeper in the grime"
"What is she doing to him?" Belle whispered in horror.
"It's not her doing this. He's done this to himself" " Amelia pointed out to the other's as they looked to her for an answer as, remembering what he had to do to keep his son alive. He had two minds in his head and there was no room for both of them to exist in the same host.
"Nothing that can't be undone" Snow reassured the woman before she turned back to the man in the cage "Rumplestiltskin, we need your help? How do we stop Zelena?"
"Round and round, the circle of time, racing towards the finish line" he riddled continuing to spin the wheel
"This is pointless" Regina huffed
"Let me try" Belle told the group before approaching the cage herself "Hey. Hey Rumple" she gently calls out to him, she reached through the bar with a hand to take his hand, startling the man inside "Hey. Hey. I know you're in there. I know you can hear me. How do we stop Zelena?"
"Light" he whispered.
"W-What?" Belle stammered as Amelia joined her at the cage.
"Light magic" he said louder "The Good Witch of the South. Glinda" he tells his love.
"Glinda, but south of what? Oz?".
"No! Banished! Here. The Good Witch of the South was banished north. North of the Dark Forest" he tells them before snatching his hands away from the librarian.
"How do we find her" Snow asked the man, but his mind had slipped slightly "Rumplestiltskin" she called out firmly as he went back to spinning "In the Dark Forest, how do we find her?"
"Through the doorstep inside, if pure of heart, then she won't hide" he giggled again. The others went to leave only to stop went they realized that Amelia wasn't following them, she had stayed at the cage as she contemplated her next move, pulling her glove off her hand with her teeth.
Reaching in like Belle had just done her skilled hands quickly snatched up one of his in a tight grip as they others watched as he tried to pull away making the thief step forward in concern for the redhead only to stop as Dark One seemed to stop struggling before looking up to see who was on the end of the hand that had stopped him spinning gold.
"Nightingale" he whispered out making the assassin smile to herself at the popular nickname her father had for her mother. Looks like it was a family nickname was well as she felt Rumple warmly place a hand over in affection "You're here".
"I'm here" she gently replied looking straight into his glittered eyes "We're going to get you out of here" he seemed to understand her before he paused to look at her.
"Coward's die many times before their deaths" Rumple started taking the group by surprise at his coherent sentence "The valiant never taste of death but once. Of all the wonders that I yet have heard. It seems to me most strange that men should fear. Seeing that death, a necessary end. Will come when it will come".
"It won't come to that old man. I promise" she replied before he finally snapped his hands away going back to his spinning leaving the assassin to think over his words before taking her hand away from the only blood family relative she had in this realm.
Snatching her glove back on, she headed for the door to digest what Rumple had revealed to the others about a way to defeat Zelena.
AN:
Just to note, I'm not very good at describing Amelia's hair in the eight month flashback so refer to Natasha Romonoff's hairstyle from Avenger's: Endgame for a visual.
Decided I needed to split the chapter again because my original unfinished draft was 10k words.
Also I am obsessed with the Julius Caesar quote. I'm in love with it. It perfectly describes Rumples character throughout the series. Look up its meaning. i found Cliff has the best explanation if anyone's not sure the meaning behind it.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter x
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