CHAPTER NINETEEN
The Cherry on Top

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

     EVERY TIME SOMEBODY HAD NEWS ABOUT RECENT EVENTS, ZELDA WAS ALWAYS CONFUSED. One moment, some man she didn't know seemed to already know who she was and the next moment, people were telling her that he was dead. As bad as it sounded, she didn't really feel bad because she didn't know who he was but she did know that there were people who were close to him and were grieving for him. When Emma told her she needed to get dressed for Neal's funeral, she didn't ask any questions or argue. As far as she remembered, she had never been to a funeral so this was a new ballgame for her. It seemed like the whole town showed up and after the burial, everybody went to Granny's Diner and Zelda was chewing on a cookie while everyone else was talking. She walked over to Emma who was throwing darts at a target on the wall.

     "Mind if I give it a shot?" she asked and the blonde nodded as she grabbed the darts and handed them to Zelda.

     The dark haired girl focused as she threw a dark right into the bull's eye. The next three darts also hit the bull's eye and Killian chuckled as he stood right behind her and Emma.

     "I would not want to be the target if you two are throwing," he said.

     "Do you usually throw darts?" Emma asked as Zelda walked over to the target to grab the darts she threw into the bull's eye.

     "Actually, I've done it a few times with my friend whenever I was at her house. Her name was Ashley but I always called her Ash. She always wondered how I could hit the bull's eye every single time and meanwhile she couldn't even get close to it," Zelda said as she smiled at the memory that seemed so long ago. "After everything that happened with my parents in Boston, I'm starting to wonder if she was an imposter sent by the Wicked Witch just like they were."

     "Wait, you know about the Wicked Witch?" Emma asked and Zelda shrugged.

     "Flying monkeys. I'm surprised I didn't put two and two together days ago," she replied.

     "Probably because you were too busy adjusting to a strange town surrounded by strange people," Killian said with a crooked smirk and Zelda glared at him.

     "Just a reminder, it was you who brought me here in the first place," she said as she handed the darts to Emma and left them to talk.

     For the next couple of minutes while Killian took Henry out of the diner and Emma was talking to David and Mary Margaret, Zelda was indulging in the snacks and drinks that were set up on the counter. Even though she was mainly there to pay her respects to a man who had just died the day before, she was starting to think about how it felt for Emma and other people who knew him really well. It also made her wonder if she really did know Neal because it seemed like he knew her. Unfortunately, she couldn't ask him about it. She would probably have to ask Emma or Killian about it but not while the service was still going on.

     It seemed like every other post-burial service until a woman walked in holding a dagger. Zelda looked at her and her heart plummeted when she recognized her as the ginger haired woman who stopped in Belle's shop for a "baby gift" for Mary Margaret. Belle didn't realize that something was off but Zelda did and now she knew why.

     "My condolences. So sorry I've missed the funeral, but I could never pass up to wake. Oh, did I miss the speeches? Shall I make one? I mean, I am, after all, responsible," the woman said with a little smirk and Mary Margaret had to hold Emma back from lunging at her. "Listen to your mother. Anyone who tries to interfere with my plan is gonna have to deal with the Dark One!"

     "Yeah, that's great and all, but um, who the hell are you?" Zelda asked with her arms crossed.

     "It's Zelena, rude little girl," the ginger said and Zelda shrugged her shoulders.

     "It's been a rough couple of days and someone is dead because of you so I think me being 'rude' is very justified in this situation," she replied.

     Zelena walked right up to her and held the tip of the blade against her throat. "You must have a death wish," she hissed through her teeth.

     "Go ahead and slit my throat right here, right now. I dare you," Zelda said while staring right into Zelena's eyes without even blinking.

     Zelana laughed as she stepped back and moved the dagger from Zelda's neck. "Consider this a warning, little girl," she said before walking over to Mary Margaret but David stood in front of her. "No worries. I'm not here for your baby. Not yet."

     "Then why are you here?" Regina asked.

     "Well, now that my cover is blown, I figured I could pay a visit to my little sister," Zelena said with a smile.

     "Who the hell are you talking about?" Regina questioned.

     "Why you, of course, Regina," Zelena said and everyone started whispering while Zelda watched the interaction confused.

     "I'm an only child," Regina said.

     "Cora lied to you. I'm your sister. Actually, half sister if you wanna get technical but, details," Zelena replied.

     "Why should I or anyone else here believe a word you say?" Regina questioned.

     "Oh, you shouldn't. It's a lot to swallow but this is why I brought a gift to help," Zelena answered.

     Regina laughed. "I don't want a gift from you," she said.

     "Oh, but you shall have it. You see, my gift to you is this sad, sad day. 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," Zelena said.

     "And then what?"

     "I'll destroy you."

     Zelda watched from the side as both women stood right in front of each other and everyone else watched, not knowing what to do.

     "This isn't the Wild West," Regina said.

     "No, dear. It's the Wicked West," Zelena sneered as she turned around to look at everyone else who was in the diner. "And I want everyone to be there to see the Evil Queen lose."

     "I don't lose," Regina said.

     "Neither do I. One of us is about to make history. See you tonight, sis," Zelena said before leaving the diner.

     "Someone please tell me what the hell is going on. Seriously, why does everything with you guys have to be weird?" Zelda asked while looking at Emma, David and Mary Margaret.

     She knew that there was a Wicked Witch in Storybrooke after figuring it all out from the details she got from Killian. All her life, she never thought she would end up in a magical town and have a witch terrorizing the people who lived there. At this point, she was surprised she hadn't gone insane yet. Zelena, the Wicked Witch, wanted everyone who was in the diner to be at Main Street to watch the fight between her and Regina.

     Speaking of which, Regina was still having a hard time believing that Zelena was her half sister. There was no point in her life where she could recall her mother telling her about a long lost sister she had growing up and then people brought up the past year that apparently, nobody could remember.

     "Should we be discussing this with Zelda around?" the old woman behind the counter asked.

     "A little late for that, lady. I already found out that the Wicked Witch of the West is real and so is Oz and so are a lot of other realms thanks to the information I got out of Killian," Zelda said as she leaned against the counter with her arms crossed.

     "I'm surprised you even believed that," Mary Margaret said.

     "I was attacked by that witch's flying monkeys who posed as my adopted parents for a year and a couple of hours later I ended up in a town that was created by magic. I'd be an idiot if I didn't believe Killian when he said that the flying monkeys came from Oz and that there is a Wicked Witch ready to kill Regina and unleash the Dark One on us, whatever the hell that is," Zelda replied as she shrugged her shoulders.

     "How are you so calm? Are you sure you didn't secretly lose it while you were here with us?" David asked.

     "Hell, maybe I did lose it. I am simply in a magical town with witches and a bunch of people who collectively can't remember the past year and a witch just held a dagger to my throat and I didn't even blink. You tell me if that sounds like something a sane person would say," Zelda said and David shrugged his shoulders.

     "Fair point," he replied with his hands on his hips.

     "Sorry to interrupt, but I have work to do if I'm gonna take down this witch," Regina said as she stood up and left the diner.

     "Question. Is she also a witch? 'Cause Zelena called her the Evil Queen and it made the gears in my head turn," Zelda said as she looked at the others.

     Emma, David and Mary Margaret weren't sure if it was a good idea to tell her their stories, especially since she still didn't have her memories back. They thought they could wait until her old memories were restored before telling her what was going on but it seemed like they had to forget about that since she was there when the Wicked Witch showed up and threatened her with a dagger to her throat.

     "What I wanna know is how you didn't flinch or blink when Zelena held the dagger to your throat," Emma said.

     "Same reason you were ready to lunge at her as soon as she got here. She's a bratty little bitch who needs to be put in her place and clearly she gets her satisfaction from getting people riled up. If you ask me, the best way to challenge her and piss her off is by not reacting when she threatens you," Zelda said while shrugging her shoulders.

     "Zelda, we're not dealing with a simple high school bully, this is the Wicked Witch of the West who will not hesitate to kill someone," Mary Margaret said and Zelda scoffed.

     "Why would she kill someone when she has the Dark One to do it for her? He's basically her little lapdog who she keeps around to do her dirty work so she doesn't get blood all over her little gloved hands. And if she really wanted to kill someone, she would've killed me while she had the chance," she said.

     "How can someone who has been in so many dangerous situations in just a few days alone take this so lightly?" Emma questioned.

     "It's called desensitization. You get exposed to so much crap that eventually, nothing bothers you anymore," Zelda said while shrugging her shoulders.

     The others couldn't argue with her about that because they knew she was right. She had already been exposed to so much ever since Killian found her in Boston and this was practically the cherry on top of her crazy life. She was at the point where nothing, not even a death threat from the most wicked being in literature, could scare her.