The Enchanted Forest...
Y/n's eyes were closed as she stood in the center of the castle courtyard. Regina stood to the side, watching as she did. Just like in Neverland, there was a firepit right in front of Y/n, and all she had to do was light it. Opening her palm, she focused on the anger she felt deep within her. Anger at Emma, Hook, her parents, even herself. She could feel the darkness trying to take over part of her heart as she did so, but she resisted.
"Don't resist it, Y/n," Regina said from the side, seeing the struggle in her contorted face. "Focus on that anger, and use it to light the pit."
Y/n took a breath, knowing that if she didn't learn how to control this, it would only make it worse for the rest of her family, plus herself. Bringing forward all that anger, she opened her eyes and looked to her palm to see a flame had burst to life there. Evening her breaths, she dropped the flame into the firepit, causing it to light up brightly. "There. Let there be light," Y/n said simply as she looked into the pit.
"You would be so far ahead in your studies if you only learned to stop resisting," Regina said with a shake of her head. Regina had tried to use certain tactics that would lead to the light, but every time she tried, nothing would emerge from Y/n. Only when she gave into the darkness did Y/n manage to conjure up magic.
"I can't help it," Y/n groaned, running a hand through her loose hair. "I just- I feel the darkness creeping up in me and I know I can't but I try to stop it because I know my parents-"
"You're parents don't matter in this situation," Regina interrupted her, making Y/n raise an eyebrow slightly. "As long as you can control the darkness, you won't let it hurt anyone except those you wish harm upon. Look at me. I've used dark magic most my life and, although there were moments in my life I used it for evil, now I turn it towards good. For Henry."
"Yes, but Regina, that just the thing," Y/n said, walking over to the queen. "You're doing everything you can to be good for Henry. I don't have anyone like that. My motivation is... weak. Easily corruptible by the darkness, and I can feel it. Emma and my parents just aren't enough, especially now."
"As long as you don't murder anyone, I think you'll be just fine," Regina brushed it off. "And I don't think you have no one. The pirate sword you own says otherwise."
"Regina!" Y/n exclaimed to Regina's insinuation. "I've told you a thousand times, there's nothing between Hook and I. He made his feelings clear when he ran off from here in search of his ship." At Regina's raised eyebrow, Y/n quickly added, "Not that I cared."
"Denial must run in your family," Regina said, and Y/n gave her a little eye roll. "Come. I think you've learned enough about your magic over the past few weeks to try and attempt some teleportation spells."
"Already?" Y/n asked, picking up the bottom of her blue dress a little to follow Regina further into the courtyard.
"You're more powerful than you know. Or even I know," Regina stated, stopping and turning to face her. "So, are you going to let me teach you, or should we stop now and let you keep fighting your own magic?"
"What do I have to do?" Y/n asked as she stood her ground, Regina giving a sly grin her way before stepping back, her lesson beginning.
Storybrooke...
So much had happened in Storybrooke. Too much. They had finally found Neal, only to discover that he was both Neal and Gold trapped in the same body. In the Enchanted Forest, Neal had tried to bring him back, but the cost to revive Rumplestiltskin was his own life. Instead of letting his son die, Gold merged them together, driving himself mad, until Emma separated the two of them and evidently led to Neal's death. Y/n was saddened to hear that Henry had lost his father once more, only for him not to remember what a good man he was, and she was heartbroken over the fact that Emma was once again alone.
Because of Neal's sacrifice, Gold was able to tell them that the Wicked Witch was Zelena, the woman whom Mary Margaret and David had hired on as their midwife. Before they could capture her in the apartment, though, she slipped right under their fingers, escaping from their capture just as they discovered the truth.
Neal's funeral was today, and there wasn't a single person who missed this terrible, terrible event. Y/n stood beside her sister and her nephew as they watched him be laid to rest in the ground, tears streaming down their faces. Henry was standing, saddened and confused over his father's passing. He believes to have never known the man, but they all knew before Henry had loved him, and they were a true father and son as they should have been. And as they should have stayed.
Hook was the first to step forward after the coffin had set in the ground. He took the shovel in the pile of dirt beside them and tossed the dirt into the grave. Mary Margaret and David followed, gripping tightly onto each others hands as David stuck the shovel into the pile of dirt and threw the soil into the hole. Regina followed suit, and after her was Belle, who was struggling to keep her sobs at bay. Y/n took it next and took a deep breath as she dug the shovel into the earth, lifting it up out of the pile and dropping it over Neal's coffin as a tear fell from her eye. Emma nodded to Henry, who came forward and tossed the earth over his father's grave. Emma gripped onto her swan keychain necklace that Neal had given her all those years ago, before tossing her own pile of dirt into his grave.
After the funeral, Granny's hosted everyone as they ate and mourned at her diner. Emma was by the dart board, angrily shooting darts into the bullseye of the rounded board on the wall. Y/n had her glass of whiskey in her hand, sipping it carefully as Emma grabbed the darts from the board and made her way back to her original standing point before throwing the darts back once more. Every time, she hit bullseye. Y/n winced a little at Emma's extremely upset face.
"Perhaps I should paint a bullseye on the Wicker Witch's back," Hook said from beside Y/n, making both sisters look at him.
"She'll get more than a dart when I find her," Emma growled, and threw yet another dart, this one, too, hitting the scarlet dot of the bullseye.
Y/n glanced at Hook, who gave a slightly downtrodden face as he looked between the sisters. Y/n knew that Neal had meant a great deal to Hook as well as he had Emma, the pirate having known him when he was just a young boy. The pain of his loss had to have struck his heart in a way he hated outwardly showing towards others, but she knew it was there. "Emma," Y/n said as she set her whiskey on the table and walked over to her furious sister, "you know there are better ways to grieve Neal than anger. Don't let it overcome you."
"Better ways? Like what?" Emma asked with a sarcastic grin etched upon her face.
Y/n let out a sigh and said, "Talking with the people who love you. With the people who loved Neal."
Emma slightly rolled her eyes at her sister and said, "I'll stick with anger. At least until I deal with Zelena."
Hook stepped forward this time, eyes serious as he said, "Take it from me. Vengeance isn't the thing that's going to make you feel better."
"It's gonna make this town safer," Emma bit back at the pirate, looking between her sister and him. "I promised Henry I'd find the person responsible for his father's death." She took a slight gaze back at Henry, who was sitting alone in a booth and gave them an awkward grin. "It's really all I can do for him right now."
"That can't be true. Have you tried talking to the boy?" Hook questioned her, their voices all extremely low so Henry doesn't overhear them.
"As far as he is concerned, I haven't seen Neal since he left me in jail. So anything I'd tell him about his dad being a hero sounds like I'm making that up just to get him to feel better," Emma said with a slight unhappy shrug, making Hook and Y/n share a glance.
"Perhaps I could talk to him," Hook said, making both sister look at him in surprise.
"About leather conditioner and eyeliner?" Y/n questioned him, making Emma give just the tiniest of smirks at her sister's words.
Hook turned to look at the woman, his eyes boring into Y/n's as he said, "I knew Bae as a boy. Perhaps Henry would like to hear what his father was like when he was his age."
Y/n and Emma exchanged a look of solace at the pirate's words, his unusually soft demeanor striking through both of them. Y/n couldn't lie to herself when she felt her heart flutter at the gentleness of his tone and the caring, saddened look in his eyes. "You would really do that?" Emma asked him.
Hook's eyes gave a fleeting look to the woman on his right, before returning to Emma's gaze and nodding, "Aye. Could help the boy make peace with his father's passing. And me." Hook gave a slight chuckle at his own words, before his face returning to that of an austere manner.
When Emma looked to Y/n for a second opinion on the matter, Y/n gave a slight nod of her head and let a little smile grace her lips. Emma let out a sigh and lowered her voice a tone as she said, "Be careful. Zelena is still out there."
"I assure you, nothing will happen to the boy while he's in my charge," Hook swore, and Emma nodded her head before walking over to Henry as he sat in the booth across from Mary Margaret and David.
"Thanks for this, Hook," Y/n said, putting a hand to his arm. He looked over to her as she gave him a smile. "I think Neal would've loved for you to help Henry like this."
"May help to clear my own conscience, love," Hook stated, and she tilted her head slightly at his words. "But, anything for the boy, you know."
Y/n gave him one last glittering smile that he quickly etched into his mind before they turned to follow Emma to Henry's side, the boy looking up at them all. "Henry, you remember Killian," Emma said, and gestured to the man beside them.
"Hello, Henry," Hook said with a grin, and Henry gave him a smile back.
They sat Hook down beside Henry, and the two boys actually started off a great conversation. Y/n walked over and took a small glass of whiskey, glancing over to the end of the bar to see Tinker Bell and Regina talking in whispers before Robin approached their position. From the slight change in Regina's demeanor, Y/n could only think that she was interested in the thief. She avoided his eye contact and held awkward conversation before declining his glass he handed to her.
Y/n took a sip of the whiskey in her own hand before turning around and sitting on the barstool, her eyes looking towards Hook in the booth with Henry before they walked out the back together. Her emotions towards him had drastically changed since they first met in the Enchanted Forest. She cared for him, she knew that now, but what she didn't understand was where this sudden caring came from. Before the missing year, he was just... Hook. The pirate captain that helped her save her nephew. Now he was someone she couldn't look at for a moment without her heart beating a thousand miles per hour in her chest. She didn't know what had happened during that missing year, but something between them had to have changed. The memories might not be there, but the feelings of warmth that burst inside her when she was near him certainly were. It was only a matter of discovering how and why they were there. But, of course, she did not have the courage to confront him about it, for after their argument in the woods, she knew he wasn't going to give them up. Not after their interruption.
The banging open of Granny's door knocked her out of her stupor, looking up to see Zelena standing in the doorway with a faux sympathetic look on her face. "My condolences!" she drawled out, everyone standing in shock of her turn up. Y/n had never met Zelena, but here, she certainly had the air of the Wicked Witch of the West. Red hair, black clothing, and a green brooch resting just under her collar. In her gloved hands, she held the Dark One dagger, letting them all know she controlled his power for her own. "I'm so sorry I missed the funeral. I could never pass up a wake. Oh, did I miss the speeches? Shall I make one? I mean, I am, after all, responsible."
Emma went to charge at the witch, but Mary Margaret held her daughter's hand back and stopped the blonde from approaching, saying, "Emma, no. Too many people will get hurt."
"Listen to your mother. She's right," Zelena said condescendingly, and Y/n came over to her parent's side as Zelena turned to speak to the entire building. "Anyone who tries to interfere with my plan is gonna have to deal with the Dark One!"
Zelena's face glowered at them all, and she turned to approach the Charmings one more time before Y/n and David turned to stand in front of Mary Margaret, shielding her from the witch. "Don't come any closer!" David growled, his arm out in front of Mary Margaret.
"Don't worry. I'm not here for your baby," Zelena said in a smooth voice, before grinning wickedly and adding, "Not today, anyway. Not that the anti-savior could do much, could you?"
Zelena grinned down at Y/n, who glared at the taller woman hatefully and said, "You come any closer, and you'll see just how much I can do." The term 'anti-savior' hit her heart like an arrow, never having heard it before. But, it was true. She was everything the opposite of Emma when it came down to their magic.
"Why are you here?" Regina asked in a smooth tone, standing up form her seat and looking at the redhead with a raised eyebrow.
Zelena turned with a smile, looking Regina in the eye and saying, "Now that my cover's blown, I can finally pay a visit to my little sister."
Regina shifted, putting a hand on her hip as she tried to hide her uncomfortable confusion. "Who the hell are you talking about?" she questioned.
"Why you, of course, Regina," Zelena answered lowly.
The people around them murmured in shock at the reveal, Y/n's eyebrows furrowing as she looked between the two witches. She didn't see much relation between the two women. They looked the complete opposite of one another, apart from the love of chic black clothing. Regina shifted uncomfortably and confusedly as she said, "I'm an only child."
"Cora lied to you, Regina," Zelena claimed, and although she didn't outwardly show it, Regina was somewhat frightened that this was the truth. "I'm your sister. Half, if you want to get technical."
"Why should I believe anything you say?" Regina said, standing up straighter with a wave of her hand.
Zelena feigned a look of wonder before saying, "Oh, well, you shouldn't! It's a lot to swallow. Which is why I've brought a gift to help."
At the tilt of Zelena's head, Regina let out a chuckle and said, "I don't want a gift from you."
"Oh, but you shall have it," Zelena said quietly, low and even. The look in her ice blue eyes was terrifying, before she dropped the small wicked grin on her face and continued. "You see, my gift to you is this sad, sad day." Regina could note the callback to her own speech made at Snow and Charming's wedding, a time she had left in her past. "Use it to dig into our past, Regina. You need to learn the truth, and you must believe it. And then, meet me on Main Street tonight. Say... sundown."
Regina cracked her own smirk at the instructions as Zelena got up and close to her face. "And then what?" Regina asked, rather carelessly.
Zelena's lip turned up in disgust and hatred. "And then I'll destroy you."
"This isn't the Wild West."
Zelena shook her head at Regina's quiet statement, that smug grin back on her face. "No, dear. It's the Wicked West." Zelena's voice raised as she looked back at the rest of the citizens in the diner, raising her dagger high. "And I want everyone to be there to see the Evil Queen lose!"
At Zelena's crazed smile, Regina gave an amused one of her own as she shrugged her shoulders a little and said, "I don't lose."
Zelena merely laughed at her statement before regaining herself, her stupor of amusement dropping to a look of animosity. "Neither do I. One of us is about to make history. See you tonight, sis." Zelena turned and laughed once more, Emma and Y/n sharing a look of worry as she walked out of the diner. They knew this new villain was going to be trouble. She had already proven herself to be extremely powerful, but tonight would show just how far that power went.
Once the shock of the moment had worn off, everyone started talking again, but it was all about Regina and Zelena's fight tonight, and the reveal of their shared blood. Regina was sat at the bar, Granny pouring her another drink to ease the moment from her mind. The questions the Charming family threw at her did nothing to ease her mind like the drink did.
"And you're sure Cora never said anything about her?" David asked for what seemed like the tenth time.
"I think I would remember if my mother ever told me she had a love child with a scarecrow," Regina snapped back, a sarcastic smile on her face before it dropped completely.
"It doesn't matter if Zelena is your sister or not," Emma voiced from beside Mary Margaret.
"Emma's right. Zelena wants you dead, and I'm not sure being her sister is a large enough motivator. So, why?" Y/n voiced as she took a sip of her own whiskey before setting down the empty glass on the table.
"I never even met her before today," Regina stated.
"Doesn't mean you didn't do something to piss her off," Emma claimed, making Regina roll her eyes.
"You did manage to step on a lot of toes back in our world," Tink spoke up.
"Well, none of them were green."
"Then there's the missing year," Granny joined the conversation from behind the counter. "Maybe you did something to her then."
"Stick to the lasagna, lady," Regina snapped with a strain in her voice, causing Granny to cross her arms with a sassy look upon her face. Looking back to all the others, she claimed, "It's starting to sound an awful lot like you're all on her side."
"Regina, where are you going?" Y/n asked as Regina took her coat and started to walk out of the diner.
"To find out exactly what this witch thinks I did to her."