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From 1.01 "Pilot", in the Enchanted Forest, Evil Queen used Vasilisa's power to cast the Dark Curse.
Freya/Priscilla: "Once upon a time, an Evil Queen..."
From multiple, there were images of Hansel and Gretel, Red Riding Hood, Snow White and Prince Charming, Priscilla, Mad Hatter, Vasilisa and Grace, Rumplestiltskin, Cinderella, etc.
Freya: (voice over) "Banished every storybook character you've ever known to our world."
From multiple, there were images of Ana and Nicholas, Ruby, Mary Margaret and David, Freya, Jefferson, Lisa and Paige, Gold, Ashley, etc.
Lisa: (voice over from 1.01 Pilot) "They don't remember who they are."
From 1.12 "Skin Deep", in the Sheriff's Station, Gold was in his cell, while he, Freya and Jefferson faced off with Regina.
Freya: (voice over) "Who knows the truth?"
From 1.17 "Hat Trick", in Freya and Jefferson's Estate, Freya, Jefferson, Lisa, Emma, Ella, Henry, Rose and Saphira were gathered in a room.
Freya: (voice over) "Who can break her spell?"
From 1.01 "Pilot", in the wooden castle structure, Rose looked at Lisa, Emma and Ella. "It's your destiny. You're gonna bring back the happy endings."
From 1.16 "Heart of Darkness", there were flashes of the evidence being found.
Ella: (voice over from 1.16 Heart of Darkness) "Evidence is piling up by the hour."
From 1.17 "Hat Trick", outside the estate, Mary Margaret looked at Emma and Ella in surprise. "You want me to run?"
"No, but it's your choice," Emma answered.
Mary Margaret sighed worriedly. "Emma, Ella, everyone thinks I killed Kathryn."
"You have to trust us and Freya," Ella told her. "We can get you out of this."
From 1.16 "Heart of Darkness", in the interrogation room, Gold joined the girls. "I think you'd be well-advised to bring me on as your counsel."
From 1.16 "Heart of Darkness", in the sheriff's station, Freya looked at Gold, saying Papa in a sarcastic tone. "Why are you doing this, 'Papa'?"
Gold smirked. "Let's just say, I'm invested in our future. Which would be a lot easier to depict if you weren't so angry at me. Starting making amends by helping your best friend in either world. I need you and I to be on the same side sooner rather than later, Priscilla."
"Why would you need me on your side?" Freya asked. "What are you up to?"
Gold just smiled.
ღ Worlds Colliding (Once Upon a Time) ღ
One Week Ago
Storybrooke
Day - Town Hall - Mayor's Office
Regina was looking out a window, tearfully reminiscing over an engagement ring and a necklace.
Gold walked in. "Remembrance of things past?"
"What do you want?" Regina asked.
"I need a favor," Gold answered.
Regina scoffed, turning around. "You need a favor from me?"
"Well, as you know, there are battery charges against me, pending," Gold told her. "I really don't relish the thought of spending any more time locked up in a cage. Now, someone with your influence could make the DA suddenly realize what a flimsy case they have." He walked over to a table. "Isn't that right, your majesty?"
Gold picked up an apple.
"What do I get out of it?" Regina asked.
Gold smirked. "Help with your Mary Margaret problem. You see, I've noticed that no matter how hard you seem to try to stop them, she and her charming friend just keep finding ways to be together."
Regina sat down. "What are you suggesting?"
Gold pointedly set the apple down, sitting. "If you want to inflict pain, then you must inflict pain. If something tragic were to happen to David's wife, and if Mary Margaret should take the blame..."
"She'd be ruined," Regina finished.
Gold smirked. "And you'd have your victory, at last."
"A trial could be very messy," Regina pointed out.
Gold chuckled. "A trial? Now who said anything about a trial? No, once Miss Blanchard has been incarcerated, you can plant one of your lovely skeleton keys in her cell, and once she tries to leave Storybrooke, well... we all know what happens to people who attempt to leave town."
Regina leaned forward. "Why would you do this to your daughter? Freya, or Priscilla's best friend is Snow/Mary Margaret."
"I need Cilla's help, so it seems, so I need to be Mary Margaret's legal counsel to make a deal with my own daughter, appearing to help Priscilla's best friend," Gold answered. "I will figure it out from there."
"Give me one good reason why I should trust you, since you're going behind your own daughter's back again to manipulate Freya into joining you for whatever you need her for," Regina told him.
Gold stood, taking the apple. "Because I always honor my agreements. Do we have a deal?"
Gold tossed Regina the apple, which she caught with a smirk.
ღ
Flashback 1
Enchanted Forest
Day - Mills Home - Outside
Regina and Alcina, young adults at the time, free and good and pure, were riding horses on a training field by their home, racing each other good-naturedly, both smiling and laughing.
Their father Henry was watching proudly. "Yes!" He chuckled. Regina and Alcina finished, dismounting. "Ah, that's beautiful, sweethearts."
Henry embraced both of his daughters.
"Oh, thank you, Daddy," Alcina told him.
Cora approached with their servant, a male named Rave, and the stable boy, Daniel. "Beautiful?" She scoffed. "I'd hardly call that beautiful."
"You didn't like it, Mother?" Alcina asked.
"You ride like men," Cora criticized. "Ladies should be graceful. You should use saddles."
Alcina chuckled. "We were just having fun."
"You're getting a little old for fun," Cora told them. "Who's going to want to marry you when you behave like commoners?"
Henry took a step closer. "Honey, please leave them alone."
"Stop coddling them," Cora replied. "They're becoming old maids. All the other girls their ages are married." She sighed. "I had such high hopes."
Daniel stepped forward. "Miladies, perhaps these saddles might--"
"We're done riding for the day," Regina quipped, leading her horse past Daniel. "And don't ever interrupt me, my mother and sister again."
Cora smirked. Daniel and Rave took the reins of the horses to lead them away with just one look back.
Alcina looked at Cora. "Why do you always have to criticize us?"
"I'm not criticizing you," Cora denied. "I'm helping you." Regina and Alcina started to walk away. "Don't you walk away from me."
Cora levitated Regina and Alcina with her magic.
"Oh, Mother!" Alcina complained. "You know we don't like it when you use magic."
"And I don't like insolence," Cora replied. "I'll stop using magic when you start being obedient daughters."
Alcina looked at her in frustration. "Why can't we just be ourselves?"
"Oh, because you can be so much more, if you'd just let me help you," Cora answered.
"We don't care about status," Regina told her. "We just want to be--"
Cora choked them off with her magic.
"Cora, please," Henry begged.
Regina and Alcina were lifted higher by Cora's magic. Some straps from the riding equipment encircled them until they gave in.
"Please," Regina told her. "We'll be good."
Cora smirked. "Excellent. That's all I wanted to hear."
Once Cora placed them down, Regina and Alcina walked away in a hurry.
ღ
Stables
Daniel was caring for the horses.
Regina entered. "Daniel? I'm sorry I snapped at you."
"That's all right," Daniel told her, closing the distance, until the two were almost touching. "You'll just have to find some way to make it up to me."
Smiling, they kissed passionately.
ღ
Home
In the house, Alcina found Rave cleaning. "Did Mother make an even bigger mess than usual just to make you clean?"
"I think that may be because she is onto us," Rave answered.
Alcina sighed, walking closer. "I'm sorry, Rave. I can't begin to apologize for my mother."
"You don't have to," Rave assured. "Just make sure that she doesn't turn you into her, Alcina."
Alcina smiled. "I promise."
They looked at each other for a moment before kissing.
ღ
Now
Storybrooke
Day One
Morning - Granny's Diner - Outside
Emma, Ella and Freya were walking along.
David walked up to them. "Emma. Ella. Freya."
"David, we don't have time," Emma told him.
"No, I--I understand," David told them. "It's Mary Margaret. How is she doing?"
"How do you think she's doing?" Ella replied.
David lowered his umbrella. "Well, I think the last time we spoke, she didn't quite get what I meant."
"Oh, you mean that you basically told her you thought she might be guilty?" Freya asked sarcastically.
David sighed in regret and pain. "Look, it's this situation. It's been confusing and horrible for everyone. But, I don't think she's guilty. I need her to know that. Can I see her?"
Emma shook her head. "She doesn't want visitors."
"You mean me," David realized. "She doesn't want to see me."
"Honestly, David, I'm sure your heart is in the right place," Ella told him. "But the last thing she needs right now is words of encouragement from you."
"What does she need?" David asked worriedly.
"A miracle," Freya answered.
The girls got into a police car, driving away.
ღ
Sheriff's Station
Mary Margaret was sleeping on a cot in the lone cell, suddenly gasping awake, sitting up.
Regina was sitting in front of the cell. "They say only the guilty sleep in prison."
"What are you doing here?" Mary Margaret asked. "Where're Emma, Ella and Freya?"
"They haven't arrived yet," Regina answered. "I just wanted to stop by to offer you a chance to spare yourself and this town the messiness of a trial, the chance to confess."
Mary Margaret stood, walking toward the bars. "But I didn't kill Kathryn. Why won't anyone believe me?"
Regina gave her a smug look. "The murder weapon was found in your apartment, your fingerprint was on the box containing Kathryn's heart, so shall I go on?" She stood. "Why not, for once, make it easier on everyone, because confession or not, you're leaving Storybrooke?"
Mary Margaret looked at her in realization. "And you like that. Why? Why do you take such pleasure in this? What did I ever do to you to make you hate me so much?"
ღ
Flashback 2
Day - Mills Home - Outside
Regina rode out to meet Daniel by a tree, dismounting so the two could embrace.
"I thought we could take a ride to Firefly Hill," Daniel told her. "We can make it by sundown, have a picnic."
"I can't," Regina told him. "I have to be back in an hour. Tea time. A lady never misses her tea time."
Daniel pulled away. "This is absurd. Stealing kisses between lunch and tea? When are you gonna tell your parents about us?"
"It's not my parents," Regina explained. "It's her. It's the same thing with Alcina and Rave."
"I don't understand," Daniel admitted. "So I work in the stables. So Rave is a servant. Cora started out as the daughter of a miller. Wouldn't she, of all people, understand?"
Regina nodded. "She does, but she thinks one's trajectory needs to keep moving up, and--"
"And I'm down," Daniel finished. "Rave is down."
"She believes that, Daniel," Regina assured. "Alcina and I know better."
"Regina, you and Alcina have to tell her," Daniel told her. "She'll get over it. What can she do?"
"Have you not seen her magic?" Regina replied. "The real question is what can't she do?"
"Who cares about magic?" Daniel asked, stroking her face. "True love is the most powerful magic of all. It can overcome anything."
They heard the desperate cries of a Young Snow White. "Help!"
Regina looked around. "Shh, someone's here."
"Somebody help me!" Young Snow called, riding by on a runaway horse. Regina mounted and chased down the horse, with Young Snow screaming for help all the while. "Come on, please, stop! Help me! Oh, help, help me! Please help me!"
Alcina saw this from the house, running closer to try to help.
"Give me your hand!" Regina told her, pulling Young Snow onto her horse, stopping.
Young Snow nearly fell to the ground, but Alcina caught her. Regina dismounted, running to them.
Alcina placed Young Snow down. "It's okay, dear, you're safe."
Young Snow smiled in shock, grateful. "You saved my life."
"Are you all right?" Alcina asked.
"Yes," Young Snow answered. "But I'll never ride again."
Alcina chuckled. "Nonsense. The only way to overcome fear is to face it. To get back on that horse as soon as possible."
Young Snow smiled, trailing off when she didn't know their names. "Thank you..."
"I'm Alcina," Alcina answered. "This is my sister, Regina."
Young Snow shook their hands. "I'm Snow. Snow White."
Young Snow embraced Alcina and Regina, who both smiled.
ღღ
Now
Storybrooke
Sheriff's Station
Mary Margaret was sitting in her cell, while Freya, Ella and Emma were standing outside of it with Gold.
"A pretrial interview with the prosecution?" Emma asked. "Explain to me how that is a good idea."
Gold shrugged. "The DA merely wishes to ask Miss Blanchard a few questions."
"She's done answering questions," Freya told him. "And why are we kissing up to the DA? Why aren't we going after Regina? She's the one setting up Mary Margaret."
"And what proof do we have of that, Freya?" Gold replied. "Just because you found the mayor's skeleton key in the cell doesn't mean we can prove she put it there."
Ella sighed, frustrated. "So what's your plan?"
"I believe our best chance of winning this case is to employ our most valuable asset," Gold told them.
Freya gave him a skeptical look. "What's that?"
Gold pointed at Mary Margaret. "Well, that's your best friend, dear; a sweet, kind elementary school teacher like yourself, Freya. Doesn't exactly fit the prototype of a killer, now does it?"
"That's how you're going to get her acquitted?" Emma asked skeptically. "By using her personality?"
"Perception is everything, girls, not just in in a courtroom, but in life, and as such, I'm sure you can imagine how the jury would perceive Miss Blanchard if she agreed to cooperate with the district attorney," Gold told them. "These things engender trust; it shows the jury she's at least trying--"
Sidney walked in. "Emma? Ella? Freya?" He was holding a vase full of flowers. "Oh, I'm sorry to interrupt. I just, uh, came to drop these off. I thought they might brighten the place up."
Ella walked closer. "What did you find?"
Sidney shook his head. "Nothing. I--I'm sorry, I tried. I really did. I looked into her phone records, I talked to the people at the toll bridge, but look, what can I say? Regina knows how to cover her tracks."
"What about the murder weapon?" Ella asked. "Did you find anything tying her to that?"
"From what I can tell, she never bought or owned a hunting knife," Sidney told them.
"That's all you were able to uncover?" Emma asked.
"Don't worry, I'm gonna keep digging, and I won't stop until I do find something," Sidney told them.
Freya gave Sidney a suspicious look, who noticed and left.
Mary Margaret finished a whispered conversation with Gold, speaking to the girls. "I'm gonna do it. I'm going to talk to the DA."
"Are you sure?" Freya asked.
"Your father's right, Freya," Mary Margaret told her. "I know I have nothing to hide, but no one else does. I need to let people see me for who I am."
DA Spencer (counterpart to King George) walked in, followed by Regina. "Excellent decision, Miss Blanchard." Freya looked at Spencer in shock, knowing who he was in the other world obviously, knowing that he would try to crucify Mary Margaret in either world, giving Regina an angry look, to which she smirked back smugly. "My name is Spencer, I'm the district attorney. Shall we begin?"
Ella and Emma sighed worriedly. "Yeah."
ღ
Interrogation Room
Mary Margaret and Gold sat at the table, across from Spencer, while Regina, Freya, Emma and Ella watched from behind the pane of glass.
"After she learned about your affair, Mrs. Nolan, the deceased, came to your school to confront you, is that correct?" Spencer asked.
Mary Margaret nodded. "She was hurt and she felt betrayed."
"She struck you, in the face, was it?" Spencer asked.
"Yes, but--" Mary Margaret started.
Spencer interrupted. "That must've made you angry."
"You--you don't have to answer that," Gold told her.
"No, it's okay," Mary Margaret told him. "I was not angry, I was sorry for all the pain I had caused her."
Spencer snorted. "Miss Blanchard, this is not a courtroom. I'm not here to judge you. You can be honest with me."
"Should we end this?" Gold asked.
"I am being honest with you," Mary Margaret told them.
"The wife of the man you loved humiliated you in front of your best friend in a public forum, surely you must have felt some anger towards Kathryn," Spencer told her.
Mary Margaret sighed. "Yes, I was angry--"
"And did you ever think about acting upon that anger?" Spencer asked.
"Of course not," Mary Margaret answered.
"I have a hard time believing that," Spencer told her.
Mary Margaret looked from Spencer to Gold. "Wh--why?"
"Because you wanted Kathryn Nolan gone," Spencer told her.
Mary Margaret looked at him incredulously. "I never said that."
"That's it, my client is answering no more questions for the day," Gold told him.
"Your client agreed to this interview because she claimed she had nothing to hide," Spencer replied.
"I don't have anything to hide," Mary Margaret answered.
"Then what is your answer?" Spencer asked. "You wanted Kathryn gone, didn't you?"
"No," Mary Margaret answered emphatically.
"Even after she tried to keep you and David apart?" Spencer asked. "After she slapped you in public, in front of your best friend Freya Gold? After she made you a pariah in your own town?"
Mary Margaret was becoming more distraught, replying in a sarcastic tone without thinking. "Yes, I wanted her gone, she was the only thing keeping us apart, so yeah, I wanted her gone; is that what you wanna hear?"
Mary Margaret looked at Spencer, who seemed pleased, then at Gold, who seemed disappointed, beginning to look horrified herself. Freya, Emma and Ella were horrified and worried for her. Regina smiled.
ღ
Flashback 3
Enchanted Forest
Day - Mills Home
Regina and Alcina were wearing riding clothes, admiring themselves in front of a mirror.
Cora walked in. "No, this won't do."
Cora casted a spell, causing black smoke to engulf her daughters.
"What are you doing?" Alcina asked.
The smoke cleared, revealing the sisters in ball gowns.
"We have a guest," Cora explained. "He'll be here any moment."
"We can't," Regina told her. "We have riding lessons with Daniel and Rave."
"Well, that's been cancelled," Cora replied. "Now smile, we don't want to disappoint him."
"Disappoint who?" Alcina asked.
"The King," Cora answered.
Regina giggled. "The King? Why is the King coming?"
"Because you've finally done something right," Cora answered. "That little girl you saved is the King's daughter."
Regina and Alcina were in shock.
King Leopold entered with Henry and two retainers. "Is that them?"
"Yes," Henry answered. Cora curtsied. "Regina, Alcina? This is Snow White's father."
Regina and Alcina curtsied.
"No, it is I who should bow to you," Leopold told them. "You saved my daughter's life. There is no way to repay that debt. It is an honor to meet you."
Leopold bowed.
"Regina, Alcina, dears?" Cora asked. "The King's honored to meet you. Say something."
"Oh, the honor is ours," Regina told him.
"You're quite lucky to have a mother who looks out for you," Leopold stated. "My dear Snow has many things, but a mother is not one of them. We lost her years ago."
"I'm so sorry," Alcina told him.
"Since then, I have scoured the land, looking for a wife," Leopold explained. "I've yet to find a woman with an interest in my daughter, until now." He took a box from a pillow that one of his retainers offered him, kneeling with the ring. "Will you marry me, Regina? If you say yes, I will be happy to help your sister Alcina find a royalty husband as well."
Henry looked worried, while Regina and Alcina looked horrified.
Cora smiled. "Yes. Yes."
ღ
Outside
Regina and Alcina ran outside, near tears.
"Daniel?" Regina called.
"Rave!" Alcina called out.
They walked closer.
"What is it?" Rave asked.
Alcina ran to embrace Rave. "Marry me."
"Alcina, what are you doing?" Rave asked. "What's happened? Did either of you tell your mother?"
"No, and now we can never tell her," Alcina answered. "She won't understand."
"That girl we saved, was the King's daughter," Regina explained. "And now he's proposed to me."
"What?" Daniel asked in shock.
Regina was in tears. "And he offered to find a royalty husband for Alcina if I said yes, but I didn't. Our mother accepted."
"The only way out is to run," Alcina told them. "For us to leave this place, for us to be married, for us to never come back."
"Alcina, do you understand what that would mean?" Rave asked. "Life with a stable boy or a servant is a far cry from life as Queens."
"Being Queen means nothing, Rave," Alcina told him, stroking his face. "All I care about is you."
Rave smiled, kissing her thumb. "And if I am to marry you, let's do this properly." He fetched a ring from his pocket, slipping it on Alcina's finger. "I was hoping to give you this sooner, whenever you had told your parents of us, so I could ask to take your hand in marriage. I never thought that it would happen this way."
Alcina smiled in shock, tears of joy in her eyes, kissing him passionately. Regina and Daniel smiled in happiness for them.
Daniel turned to Regina. "I will get you a ring as well and we can do this the right way. For now, all I can give you is this."
Daniel took off his necklace, putting it around her neck. Regina smiled, kissing him.
Young Snow had walked closer. "Regina? Alcina?"
They looked at her in shock.
"Snow?" Regina asked. "What are you doing?"
"You said get back on the horse, and I was on my way to the stables," Young Snow answered. "What are you doing with them?"
"Snow, we can explain," Alcina told her. Crying, Young Snow fled. "No, Snow. Snow!"
Regina and Alcina ran after her.
ღღ
The sisters were still chasing her. "Snow? Snow!"
"Wait, Snow!" Regina told her. Young Snow tripped, falling. Regina and Alcina caught up to her, kneeling next to her. "Snow, are you okay?"
"No," Young Snow answered. "No, why were you kissing those men? Regina, you're to marry my father, you're to be my family. Alcina, we can give you a royalty husband."
"Snow, please, listen to us," Regina told her. "He, your father, King Leopold, he's a kind and fair man, but I don't love him, and Alcina doesn't want a man of royalty."
"I don't understand," Young Snow admitted. "Why not?"
"Love doesn't work that way," Alcina answered. "Love, true love, is magic. And not just any magic. The most powerful magic of all. It creates happiness."
"And those men, you love them?" Young Snow asked.
"With all our hearts," Regina answered.
Young Snow smiled. "Then you must marry them." The three girls smiled, laughing. "I will go tell Father right away."
Young Snow made move to run off.
Regina grabbed her arm to stop her. "No, no, no, no, no, no. You can't."
"Why not?" Young Snow asked. "Surely he'll understand."
"Perhaps, but not everyone will," Alcina explained. "Our mother for one, she'll stand in the way."
Young Snow realized. "That's why you're running."
"It's the only way Regina's love for Daniel and my love for Rave can survive," Alcina answered. "Snow, do you know what a secret is? If you really, truly want to help us..."
Young Snow nodded eagerly. "I do."
"Then what you saw, what we told you, you must keep it a secret," Alcina told her. "Can you do that?"
Young Snow sounded uncertain. "I think so."
"We need you to be certain," Regina told her. "You can never speak of this, and above all, you mustn't tell our mother."
"Will you do that for us?" Alcina asked.
Young Snow nodded. "Yes, I promise."
They embraced.
ღ
Now
Storybrooke
Day - Sheriff's Station - Outside
Ella was going through Lisa's storybook. Emma and Freya brought out coffee.
August walked toward them. "What you doing?"
Emma closed the book in Ella's hands, making her look up in annoyance. "Grasping at straws."
August handed Emma a newspaper. "Still trying to find a way to prove your friend's been framed?"
Ella sighed. "Every time we go down a path we think leads somewhere, it ends up being a dead end. Used to think I had these great instincts. Superpower. Now I don't know."
"Sounds like you've got a case of writer's block," August told them. "Only without the whole writing part."
Freya looked at him suspiciously. "Maybe."
"You know when I get struck by a block?" August asked. "I usually reread what I've done, rather than plow ahead blindly, sometimes I find there'll be a little nugget of inspiration left behind."
"You mean start over?" Emma asked.
"I mean when I start writing, I usually have one idea, and then in the middle, I make it another idea, and..." August trailed off. "Things are different."
"So your perspective changes," Freya told him.
"Exactly," August answered. "When you started this investigation, what was it about?"
"A missing person," Emma answered. "Then it became a murder."
Ella sighed, nodding. "And then a cover up."
"If you knew that then, maybe you would have approached things differently," August told them. Freya got an idea, standing. "Where are you going?"
"Scene of the crime," Freya answered.
August stood to follow the girls. "I'll come with."
"No, we're fine," Freya told him.
"No, you're not," August pointed out. "You three obviously haven't slept in days. And let's be honest, it was my idea."
ღ
Toll Bridge
They drove up, getting out of the car.
"Ruby found the box to the heart right over here," Emma explained, leading the way. "Just by the shore."
August groaned, stiffening.
"What?" Freya asked.
August shook his head. "Nothing."
"Doesn't seem like nothing," Ella told him. "Hey, let us look."
"No, it's okay," August told them. "Just shin splints. Let me walk it off." They arrived at the river, where yellow crime scene tape marked off an area. "Sorry, I know this must be hard on you."
Freya scoffed. "That's an understatement."
August looked between them. "I know Mary Margaret's your best friend, Freya, and Ella, Emma, I don't know you that well, but seems to me that aside from Henry, Rose and each other, Mary Margaret and Freya are the closest thing to family you've got. It's okay to admit it."
"Guys, look," Emma told them, removing the tip of a shovel from a hole.
"What is it?" August asked.
"A shard," Freya answered. "From a shovel."
"Must've broken off when it hit a rock," Emma told them. "If we find this shovel that it broke off of, we can prove that Mary Margaret didn't bury the heart."
Ella smiled. "We can prove she's innocent."
August looked at them knowingly. "And I'm guessing you know exactly whose shovel it is."
ღ
Mills House - Living Room
Regina walked into the room to check on Henry, Rose and Lisa, leaving.
Henry grabbed a handheld radio, peaking out the door. "The eagle's in the nest. The package is secure."
Lisa gave him an amused look. "Henry. Pretty sure they left the codebook at home."
Henry smiled sheepishly.
Rose rolled her eyes teasingly, taking the radio from Henry to speak through it. "She's getting in the shower. Lisa, Henry and I can look now."
Lisa stood. "Come on, Rose."
ღ
Garage
The kids walked in, looking around.
"Don't touch anything," Lisa told them.
Rose saw something. "Hey."
Henry fit the shard to the broken tip of a shovel. "We got her."
Rose, Henry and Lisa exchanged a look, smiling.
ღღ
Flashback 4
Enchanted Forest
Day - Mills Home - Outside
In the garden, Young Snow admired a flower, touching it.
Cora walked closer. "Careful, sweetheart. A flower's a delicate thing. Be gentle. You want it to grow and not pluck it before its time."
Cora admired her own flower.
"I'm sorry," Young Snow told her.
Cora chuckled. "It's all right. You needn't fear me. I'm only trying to help. Perhaps you can be the flower girl at the wedding. I can already see how close you have become with Regina and Alcina." She led Young Snow to a bench so they could sit down. "Regina's going to make a fine mother, while Alcina is going to make a fine aunt to you."
"They're kind to me," Young Snow told her.
Cora smirked. "Indeed. It warms my heart how you three share everything already. Perhaps you could share something with me. Why have they pulled away from me?"
"What do you mean?" Young Snow asked.
"A mother knows her children," Cora told her. "Regina and Alcina pulled away. I love them so much, but they're not letting me help them and I know they're unhappy. Have they said something? I'd do anything to make them happy."
"You'd do anything?" Young Snow repeated.
Cora nodded. "Ah, of course, dear. You know, I talked to the King about your mother, he told me how much she loved you. Losing her must have been so hard."
"It was," Young Snow answered.
"Hearing him, I realized he might as well have been talking about me, Regina and Alcina," Cora told her. "I don't want us to lose each other. If only I could show them, how I feel. That no matter what, all I want is their happiness."
Young Snow stood worriedly. "Then don't make them get married."
"I'm sorry?" Cora asked.
"Regina doesn't love my father," Young Snow explained. "Alcina doesn't want to find a man of royalty. They love each love someone else. They made me promise not to tell, but they'll lose you. They can't lose their mother. No one should."
"Oh, Sweet Snow, it's all right," Cora told her. "They won't lose me. You can tell me. You must tell me."
ღ
Now
Storybrooke
Day - Mills House - Outside
Emma, Ella and Freya had arrived, knocking on the front door.
Regina opened it. "Can I help you, ladies?"
"Yes," Ella answered. "We need you to unlock the garage for us."
"Uh, why would I do that?" Regina asked.
Freya pulled out a piece of paper. "Because we have a search warrant that says that you have to."
Regina took it to examine. "On what grounds?"
Ella held up the shovel shard in a bag. "We found this. Near where the heart was buried. Figured whoever buried it might've left something behind."
"Then we got an anonymous call from someone who said they saw you digging near the toll bridge the day the heart was found," Freya told her.
"An anonymous call?" Regina repeated.
Freya smirked smugly. "Yeah, well, we can't control the fact they didn't leave a name. Guess they didn't want to risk pissing you off."
"Now open the garage or we'll find a way to do it ourselves," Ella told her.
Regina smiled, leading them to the garage.
ღ
Garage
They walked in.
Emma looked around. "Where is it?"
"Where is what?" Regina asked.
"You knew we were coming," Emma realized.
"How on Earth would I know that?" Regina asked.
Ella gave her a look, walking closer. "Mary Margaret is a good person. She doesn't deserve this."
Regina glared. "Miss Blanchard is a liar and a murderer. No matter what accusations you throw my way, that won't change. She is going to pay for what she's done. That woman has destroyed the last life she is ever going to destroy."
"Yeah?" Freya asked. "And what about the lives you've destroyed? Mary Margaret's not the monster here, Regina. At least she never turned into one."
Regina gave Freya a cold look, which Freya returned.
ღ
Granny's Bed & Breakfast - Hallway
Emma knocked on August's door.
August answered. "Hey."
"How could you do this?" Emma asked. "How could you do this to me, to Ella, to Freya, to Mary Margaret?"
"Whoa, slow down," August told her. "Do what?"
Emma glared. "The shovel was gone when we got there; Regina knew we were coming for her."
"You--you think that I told her?" August asked.
"You were the only other person who knew about it," Emma told him.
August sighed. "I would hope that you would have enough faith to know that I would never betray you, Freya or Ella."
"Why should we?" Emma asked. "How do we know you're not lying about this, about everything?"
"I'm not a liar," August told her.
"That is exactly what a liar would say," Emma replied, walking away.
August was left stunned.
ღ
Sheriff's Station
Mary Margaret was sitting in her cell, crying.
Regina walked in, smug. "Having a bad day?"
"What are you doing here?" Mary Margaret asked.
"I wanted to see you while I can," Regina answered.
"What does that mean?" Mary Margaret asked.
Regina smirked. "Simply that the trial starts tomorrow and it won't be a long one, and you'll be sent out of Storybrooke for good, and I will never have to see you again, and I want to enjoy this while I still can."
"Enjoy what?" Mary Margaret asked.
Regina smiled. "Justice."
"Justice?" Mary Margaret repeated. "Watching an innocent suffer?"
"You've always seen yourself that way, haven't you?" Regina asked. "Innocent."
Mary Margaret ran up to the bars, in tears. "I am innocent. I don't know what this is about, I don't know what I ever did to you, but whatever it was, Regina, I'm sorry; I truly am."
Regina smiled sinisterly. "Apology not accepted."
"Please, don't do this to me," Mary Margaret begged. "I don't deserve this; I did not kill Kathryn."
Regina grabbed Mary Margaret's face. "Oh, I know, but you do deserve this."
Regina took her leave. Mary Margaret watched her go in shock.
ღ
Flashback 5
Enchanted Forest
Night - Mills Home - Stables
Regina and Alcina were meeting up with Daniel and Rave so they could run away, each packed.
"Are you ready?" Alcina asked.
Rave nodded. "Let's go."
Cora appeared suddenly out of the gloom. "You could've at least left a note."
Cora used black magic to send the four flying to the floor, appearing inside the stables, and the doors closed behind her.
Alcina looked up in worry. "Mother, I--"
"Don't," Cora cut her off. "You sneak out of my house in the dead of night and think I won't notice? How dare you."
"You're impossible to talk to," Alcina told her. "Stop with the magic and listen to us."
"Ally wants to be with Rave," Regina told her. "I want to be with Daniel."
Cora scoffed. "You don't know what you want, but I do. I didn't make the sacrifices I did in life to get you to the cusp of greatness so that you could end up the wives of a stable boy or a servant."
"It's our lives!" Alcina told her angrily, pleading for her to understand.
Cora laughed. "You foolish girls. They're mine. After what I do, the deals I had to make to get us out of poverty, to get us this life, and you just want to toss it away?"
"Stay strong, Alcina," Rave told her.
"Your magic can't keep us from them, Mother," Regina told her. "I love Daniel."
"I love Regina," Daniel told her.
"I love Alcina just as she loves me," Rave agreed.
"And I love my daughters, too," Cora replied.
"If you loved us, you wouldn't try to keep us apart!" Alcina told her.
"And if you loved me, you wouldn't try to run away," Cora countered.
"I'm sorry, but this is our happiness," Alcina told her. "We're going."
Cora lifted a magic-tinged hand. "No, you're not."
"So what's your plan?" Alcina asked. "You're going to keep us here, forever? Because that's what you'll have to do."
"So this is your decision?" Cora asked. "This will make you happy?"
Regina nodded. "It already has."
"Then who am I to stop you?" Cora asked.
Regina and Alcina were surprised and relieved by this response, embracing Cora. "Thank you, Mother."
"Daniel, Rave," Cora told them, pulling them aside. "If you want to have a life together with my daughters, then there's one important lesson I can impart on you. It's what it means to be a parent. You always have to do what's best for your children."
Rave nodded. "Thank you. We understand. Because that's what you're doing now."
Cora smirked. "Yes, it is."
Cora plunged her hands into Daniel and Rave's chests, making them gasp in agony.
Regina and Alcina tried to stop her. "Mother!" Cora pulled out her hands, clutching their hearts. Daniel and Rave fell to the ground. "No!"
Regina and Alcina rushed over to their significant other's side.
Regina started to cry. "No!"
Cora crushed their hearts in her hands, letting the sand trickle out from between her fingers, killing them.
Alcina looked at her in devastation, anger and betrayal. "Mother, why have you done this?"
"Because this is your happy ending," Cora told them.
"What?" Regina cried in shock.
"I know you'll have to trust me," Cora told them. "Regina, Alcina, I know best. Love is weakness. It feels real now, at the start it always does, but it's an illusion, it fades, and then you're left with nothing, but power? True power, endures, and then you don't have to rely on anyone to get what you want. Regina, Alcina, I've saved you."
"You've ruined everything!" Alcina told her. "Regina loved Daniel. I loved Rave!"
"Enough!" Cora told them. "I've endured this long enough. Now clean yourselves up. Wipe away your tears. Because now? You're going to be royalty."
Regina and Alcina were too traumatized and in shock to respond.
ღღ
Flashback 6
Day - Mills Home - Dressing Room
Young Snow was watching attendants dress Alcina in royalty clothing, while Regina was being fitted for a wedding gown. "Wow, you really are the fairest of them all."
Alcina barely had it in her to respond. "Hmm, thank you, dear."
"I hope for my wedding day, I'll be as beautiful," Young Snow told them.
"I'm sure you will be," Alcina told her.
"I know Regina and Daniel, and Alcina and Rave will be so happy together," Young Snow told them.
Regina and Alcina turned to look at her in surprise. "What?"
"Well, I just knew your mother would let you marry them once she knew how happy it'd make you," Young Snow told them excitedly. "Once she knew how much you love them. You have such a wonderful mother. She would do anything for your happiness."
"Snow?" Alcina asked. "Did you tell her about Regina and Daniel? About Rave and me?"
Young Snow smiled. "Yes."
"But we told you very specifically not to," Alcina told her.
Young Snow shook her head. "I'm sorry, I just didn't want you to lose your mother, like I've lost mine." Regina and Alcina turned to each other, distraught. "Are you mad?"
Alcina shook her head. "No. I'm not mad at all. You were just trying to help us. However, we're not marrying Daniel and Rave. Regina's dress is for your father."
Young Snow looked at them in confusion. "But I thought you were in love."
"So did we, but we were wrong," Regina told her. "Daniel and Rave have run away."
Alcina sighed, walking away. "What we had with Rave and Daniel wasn't real. It was an infatuation. See, the thing about love, it can come in the most unexpected of places."
Regina turned to Young Snow. "Your father and I had something even more special, because it's not just about the two of us, it's about all of us. We're going to be a family."
Young Snow smiled excitedly. "We are?"
"That's right," Alcina answered. "Regina is going to be your stepmother, and I am going to be your step aunt, and we couldn't be happier."
"Me too," Young Snow told them, laughing, hugging them both.
Cora walked in, looking at Young Snow. "You need to go to your room, help with the packing. Your father wants you ready for the journey and we're heading to your castle the first thing in the morning."
"You're all going to love it there," Young Snow promised.
"I know we will," Cora told her. Young Snow left the room. Cora looked at her daughters. "Well played, dears. You're learning."
Regina refused to look at her. "I should change. Don't want to ruin the dress before my big day."
Cora smiled. "I am so proud of you."
"You knew the King was traveling through our land, didn't you?" Alcina asked. "That steed with Snow didn't go wild on its own, did it?"
"I have no idea what you're saying," Cora told them unconvincingly.
Regina glared at their mother. "I should have let her die on that horse."
ღ
Now
Storybrooke
Day - Mills House - Living Room
Regina was holding the necklace given to her by Daniel, and the ring that Rave had given to Alcina, speaking to her sister though she knew she couldn't hear her as she was locked away somewhere she couldn't get to her. "We got her, Alcina. We got her."
ღ
Sheriff's Station
Two generic law enforcement officers handcuffed Mary Margaret to lead her away as Freya, Gold, Emma and Ella watched mournfully.
"Mary Margaret..." Ella trailed off.
Freya turned to Gold. "You told me you could fix this. That's why I came to you. So that you could make sure Regina didn't win."
"Well, she hasn't yet," Gold told them.
"Well, she's going to," Emma replied. "And now our friend is going to pay for us trusting you."
"Look, ladies, I know this is emotional, but it's also not over," Gold told them. "You must have faith; there's still time."
"Time for what?" Ella asked.
Gold gave Freya a significant look, smirking. "For me to work a little magic."
Gold walked out. Freya watched him go, confused and suspicious, angrily grabbing Sidney's flowerpot, throwing it against a filing cabinet, making it shatter.
Emma and Ella jumped in surprise. "Freya!"
Freya sighed. "Sorry."
"Well, you definitely get your anger issues from your father," Emma told her. "Damn."
Freya scoffed. "You have no idea."
Ella noticed something among the debris of the flower pot. "Emma. Freya."
They walked closer to see that it was a bug.
ღ
Granny's Diner - Outside
August walked outside. Emma, Ella and Freya walked closer.
"Hey, I'm sorry," Emma told him.
"For what?" August asked.
"For all of us doubting you," Ella answered. "We made a mistake."
Ella held up the bug in a plastic bag.
"What's that?" August asked.
"Evidence," Freya answered. "Evidence that proves we've been trusting all the wrong people."
"We should've listened to you," Emma told him. "This bug? It's from Sidney."
"The newspaper guy?" August asked.
Freya scoffed, shaking her head. "I should've seen it."
"Oh, don't beat yourself up about it, Freya," Ella told her. "We didn't see it either."
"Sometimes it's hard to see what's right in front of us," August told them. "But I knew you would."
Freya sighed. "We're trying." A scream split through the air, causing them to run to investigate, only to bump into Ruby. "Ruby? What's going on?"
"It's she--she's in the alley," Ruby answered.
"Who, Ruby?" Emma asked. "What happened?"
ღ
Alley
They ran into the alley to see what Ruby had seen, finding a blonde woman face down on the ground, running to check on her.
"Hey," Ella told her. "You all right?"
Freya knelt next to the room, rolling her over, revealing that it was Kathryn, alive, in shock. "Kathryn?"
Everyone looked at each other in shock.