Henry's words accompanied Zelena all the way to her chamber, where she barricaded herself in. She wanted to believe him, but after Snow had literally ordered her to perform the spell again the previous night, she found it very difficult to believe that she liked her and accepted her as a member of the family. Instead, she felt like a servant who happened to know how to use magic and who could be given orders no matter what the consequences.

Zelena snorted and glared at her reflection, which stared back angrily. She had absolutely no idea how her sister had managed to rise in the Charmings' favor again after she had once made their lives hell. She certainly wasn't as quick-tempered as she was, but Regina wasn't exactly known for being a cheerful ray of sunshine whose charm was impossible to resist.

She had also risked her life in Hyperion Heights, not only because she had become the target of the mad Candy Killer, but also because she and her sister had tried to stop Gothel without the help of magic. She had actually made up her mind that she didn't want to be jealous of her sister anymore, but once again Regina proved to take all the credit, even if she didn't mean to, while she just stood by unnoticed.

But no sooner had Zelena finished thinking about it than she despised herself for it. Regina would certainly love to swap places with her at the moment, after Gothel had injured her so badly and she had been left behind in a distant land without her family. Zelena was grateful that they now at least had certainty that she and Emma had found each other, but the fact that they were no longer able to reach them scared her as much as anyone else, except that she was disguising it by being moody and completely unsociable.

Zelena's fingers itched to use some of the potion again. The goblet with Regina's earrings was well hidden in the far corner of her chest of drawers so that no one could mess with it, while the corked vials of the brew had found a place between her cloaks. It would be so easy to repeat the spell, and yet the words of warning from the book had burned themselves into her retinas and lit up every time she turned her thoughts in that direction again. She should wait and be patient, but she was pretty sure that her patience would have run out if Henry failed to reach Emma or Regina again that evening.

Emma ran her finger almost tenderly over the screen of her smartphone, which showed the photo of Hope that Regina had sent her a few minutes ago. Although Emma was already 38 weeks pregnant, her baby was very small and had fallen slightly short of the magical 5 pounds mark. If she hadn't used her magic to induce labor prematurely and almost massacred herself inside, her baby girl would probably have stayed in her womb for a few more weeks and Killian would most likely have been able to be there for the birth.

The thought of her husband made her swallow past the lump in her throat that formed every time she imagined how he would react. Twelve years of marriage that she now simply wanted to blow to hell, even just as their daughter was born. But what she had said to Regina had been the truth. She loved Killian, but something was missing. And in Regina's presence, nothing was missing at all. So the least she could do now was to be honest with him.

'I thought you'd come by again and show me the photo in person,' she typed a message to Regina, who had disappeared shortly after their conversation and hadn't returned.

'I'm a medical miracle, remember?' her prompt reply came.

Emma raised an eyebrow. '?'

There were no more messages for a long time and Emma thought Regina had put her phone away and fallen asleep when a long text reached her: 'It's interesting to see how they can't explain my rapid recovery. Unfortunately, I'm the one they stick the needles into for their many tests. They thought I was going to die. I would have died. You prevented that. Thank you, Emma. But I'm not well, I couldn't manage more than the photo earlier. Give me a few days and I'm sure I'll feel on top of the world again, but for now I'll make do with the soft cushions beneath me.'

Emma's forehead wrinkled as she read her friend's honest words and suddenly she was afraid that Regina wouldn't recover properly. What if she had made a mistake and now she had to pay for it? All magic comes with a price and you certainly shouldn't play around with death. You couldn't bring anyone back from the dead, that was an unwritten law, and even if spells could achieve a lot, they couldn't do that. But Regina hadn't been dead when she had let her healing magic flow into her head. Still, the fear wouldn't let her go. 'Be honest: have I harmed you?' Emma waited nervously for the answer.

'You saved my life. What do you mean?'

'Then it can't be a temporary blossoming before you get worse again and die after all?' Emma's heart raced and she stared at the display as if she could implore Regina to type faster.

But Regina didn't write anything back, instead she called.

Emma hastily pressed the phone to her ear.

"Emma, what's going on? You're not having a panic attack, are you?" Regina's warm voice asked, which immediately calmed Emma down a little.

"Are my concerns unfounded?" she wanted to know and closed her eyes; after Regina's message, she had really thought she was in such a bad way that she couldn't talk to her at all.

"Yes, they are. A spell like that can go wrong, of course, but then I wouldn't have woken up at all. It won't get worse afterwards, I promise."

Emma took a deep breath and tried to calm her frantic breathing.

"It's all good, I'm just exhausted. After all, you and Hope have kept me on my toes today. I'll definitely be able to come back to see you in the evening."

"You don't have to!" Emma immediately replied, who, despite her assurances, couldn't shake off her fear that something might happen to her after all.

"I know that. But I want to. Don't get so upset. I'm fine. According to the circumstances, the doctors would say now." You could hear the smirk in her voice. "Emma?"

"Huh?"

"You're afraid of losing your husband if you choose me and being alone again. But you're not, I'm here. And you're not going to get rid of me that quickly, you'll have to come up with something better to kill me."

Emma let out a short laugh and the tension left her body completely for the first time that day.

"So? I'm listening!" Hook looked at the woman opposite him after they had disappeared into a small courtyard together.

She took a deep breath and then began to speak slowly: "My family is poor and we can barely afford food, let alone expensive medicine, which my mother would really need. I am a trained healer, but in this land, it is almost impossible to pursue this profession. Because of the Wizards' Guild, nobody wants ordinary healers, as magic can cure ailments much more quickly and effectively. The only problem is that only the rich can buy healing serums from the wizards, while the poor have to see where they end up. If I could be a healer, I could make the medicine myself and send it to my mother."

Hook listened to her carefully and then looked at her expectantly. "I still don't understand which part of the story I come into play."

"My family owns a magic bean, but the magicians won't buy it from us because they have some of their own. So, I propose an exchange: The bean in exchange for passage and safe conduct to the Enchanted Forest. I will be able to find work there. I just don't have the money to afford a crossing."

"A passage and safe conduct? That's all?" he asked incredulously. "The bean is worth a lot more than that."

"What good is that if no one will take it off our hands? And even if they did, the coins would be used up again very quickly sooner or later and we would be faced with the same problem again. So, what do you say?" She looked at him with wide eyes and her excitement was palpable in the air.

"I don't even know your name yet. How am I supposed to be sure that you're not pulling my leg and that you're just a very good storyteller?" Hook was very skeptical about the whole thing. After all, how likely was it that the first person who spoke to him when he arrived here had exactly what he wanted?

"My name is Skyra. If you wait for me, I can go get the bean and show you," she suggested.

Hook's jaw muscles twitched as he clenched his teeth tightly and thought. "Very well, so be it. I'll wait for you here. But I strongly advise you not to try to make a fool of me."

"Certainly not, thank you!" She gathered her skirts and hurried out of the courtyard, through the alley and back out into the open square.

Hook looked after her and took a deep breath. Could he really be so lucky? A magic bean for a simple passage?

But he didn't get to spin this thought any further, because at that moment, shrill screams echoed through the alley. A woman was screaming and screaming and seemed to have no intention of ever stopping. He hastily unsheathed his sword and set off in search of the source of the horrible noises.

When he stepped into the public square, he found a crowd of people surrounding someone who was lying on the ground. He made his way through, pushing the hysterically screaming lady who had first alerted him to what was happening out of the way. And there she was. Skyra. An arrow protruded from her chest, blood oozed from the wound and filled the cobbled ground around her, and her dead eyes stared up at the sky. 'The walls have ears here.' That's what she had said. And the owners of those ears probably didn't approve of her letting Hook have the magic bean.

'Damn,' he whispered, scanning the rooftops. A well-aimed shot straight through her heart had been enough. So either this was a very good archer or magic had been involved. His gut told him that the latter was the case and the guild could not tolerate having their business spoiled.

Suddenly Hook couldn't wait for the rest of his time in this place to pass so he could get back to his family and friends on the 'Fiery Glow'.