Chapter Seven | Research


|Zelena's Cabin|

Zelena woke up with Arthur's arms wrapped around her. She muttered a few choice words before sliding out of bed and getting dressed. She should have known better than to let this relationship get in the way of her plans. Then again, it would be much easier to raise Regina's child with Arthur's help.

Zelena had finished making breakfast by the time Arthur entered the kitchen. "Morning," he mumbled sleepily.

"Took you long enough to wake up," Zelena grumbled. "I have to go pretend to be Ruby soon."

"Have you decided what to do about Regina yet?" Arthur ignored Zelena's complaint.

"Yes, actually." Zelena set a plate of food in front of Arthur. "I'm going to let her suffer not knowing for another week or two and then crush her with the pain of losing Robin."

"Sounds like a good idea to me." Arthur took a bite of his food. "Been practicing your cooking skills?"

"Little bit. Don't think they'd appreciate it if I used magic to make food at that blasted restaurant."

"Fair enough."

Zelena pressed her lips against Arthur's. "I gotta go. I'll be back during my lunch break. And don't forget to feed the wolf."


|Regina's House|

When Regina woke, she was on her side, sleeping as if she had been curled into someone else. She had been having a dream about something to do with a lion, but she couldn't remember anything else.

Regina walked downstairs, not bothering to change yet. Since Henry had wanted to stay with his sister (who Regina couldn't remember. Another thing that she desperately wanted to know about), the Mills Manor was empty except for Regina. Regina filled a glass with cool water and took a sip. Fortunately, she hadn't experienced any morning sickness yet, but it was bound to be on it's way with as sick as Regina had been feeling lately. Or maybe that was just the missing memories causing her to feel ill.

It was half past noon when there was a knock on Regina's door. She opened it to see Henry and Meg, but no adult, meaning they must have snuck away from Emma's. Again.

"What are you two doing here?" Regina asked.

"Coming to visit," Henry replied, stepping into the house. "I'm an expert at sneaking out; Mom doesn't stand a chance, especially since Meg has magic." Meg nodded in agreement as she followed Henry into the house and shut the door behind them.

"Also, we think we know what water Cleo was talking about," Meg added as she and Henry walked to the living room. Regina had no choice but to follow them. She'd call Emma later to let the blonde know they were okay.

"How do you know about that?"

"Cleo's bad at keeping things from us," Henry answered. He and Meg both plopped down on the couch. "She told us about your conversation at Granny's."

"So where's the water from?" Regina asked, deciding she'd make Emma talk to Cleo later about spilling secrets to Henry and Meg.

"The River Lethe," Meg said. "It's one of the five rivers of the Underworld. But the River Lethe's water will make you forget your entire life with a single drop. Which is why Zelena added it into a potion; she wanted to erase only your memories of Dad."

Regina nodded. "Okay. I suppose that makes sense... But how do you reverse the effects of water from the River Lethe?"

Meg frowned. "You usually can't, but since it wasn't pure Lethe water, there might be a way. It would take a very complicated antidote, though, and I have no idea where we'd find a recipe."

"We could always try Gold's shop," Regina suggested. "I'm sure Belle would be willing to help."

Henry smiled and jumped up off of the couch. "Let's go!"

Regina rolled her eyes. She knew there was no way she was going to get Henry and Meg to stay behind and even though she couldn't remember Meg very well, she had grown to like the teenager over the past several days. Or maybe that was just her subconscious thoughts telling her she was like a mother to Meg, Regina wasn't sure anymore. "Let's get going."

On the drive to Gold's shop, Regina called Emma to let her know that she had Henry and Meg. Emma was instantly asking if she should come get them, but Regina explained Meg's theory about the River Lethe and how they were going to Gold's shop to see if he or Belle knew anything. By the time Regina was done talking to Emma, they had arrived at Gold's shop.

The bell dinged to signal their entrance and Belle and Gold both looked up from behind the desk. Belle was holding Evelyn in her arms. "Hi! Do you need something?"

Regina nodded. "We need any information you have on the River Lethe."

Belle frowned. She handed Evelyn off to Gold before ducking under the counter. When she stood back up, she was holding a thick book that was covered in a layer of dust. "The River Lethe," Belle muttered as she opened the book and began to flip through the pages. "Here we go!" Regina, Meg, and Henry all crossed the store to look at the page Belle had opened to.

"One of the five rivers of the Underworld," she began. "Many people have used it in potions to erase memories and it's thought to be an ingredient in the original Dark Curse, though alterations were made to the curses cast by Mary Margaret and Emma and Killian. If not mixed with something, water from the River Lethe will erase all of your memories and the effects are irreversible. However, there are antidotes to the potions the River Lethe is involved in. We just need to figure out which potion Zelena used."

Meg and Henry looked at each other. "The vial!" They exclaimed in unison. Meg made the vial she and Henry found in the vault appear and handed it over to Belle. "We found this in Regina's vault after Zelena made her forget."

Belle took the vial from Meg and studied it. "Hmmm... Must be an ingredient she used. I'll have to run some tests to see what it is and then figure out which Lethe potions include it. If you come back tomorrow, the results should be ready."

"I guess we'll be back tomorrow then," Regina concluded. She turned to Henry and Meg. "Now let's get you two back to Emma's so she stops worrying about me."


|Emma's House|

After Regina told Emma about what they discovered at Gold's shop, Emma invited Regina to stay for dinner. She was already cooking for six people, so what was one more? (At least, that was Emma's argument). Regina was finally persuaded into staying as long as she could help Emma cook since she felt bad about Emma having to look after so many children along with Cleo, who was half mad, and Killian, who was a child as well at times.

When the food was done, it took both Emma and Regina to pry the kids and Killian away from the TV and Meg and Henry's Mario Kart tournament.

Regina tried to help Emma clean up, but Killian insisted he could do it, so Regina traded spots with him and sat on the couch while Henry and Meg played Mario Kart. Roland cheered when Henry hit Meg with a green shell, causing him to pass her, but Meg got a banana at the last second and by pure luck, it hit Henry's car. Meg sped past him and reached the finish line first. Regina applauded while Henry sank to the ground. "NOOOOO!!"

It was late when Regina left Emma's house. After spending the evening with them, she realized she wanted to remember more about Meg and Roland just as much as she wanted to remember Robin. They were in her memory, but since they were Robin's kids, there was hardly anything left about them. Regina remembered meeting Meg in the Underworld and sword fighting her for some reason and she remembered she went back for Meg, but she couldn't remember why or who had gone with her. Likewise, she could remember that she met Roland during the Missing Year and that she had protected him from a Flying Monkey, but the rest of the encounter was gone.

But if Belle could do what she said and figure out what potion Zelena had made, then Regina may not have to wait much longer before she could finally remember.

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