Emma continues to work to prove Mary Margaret's innocence, and Queenie sees some interesting new information.

***

Queenie rounded the corner into the patio outside Granny's, pausing when a memory broke through her mental shields.

"If you want to inflict pain . . . " An apple as red as blood hit the mayor's desk, and Mr. Gold sat in the chair across from a stone-faced Regina. "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 breathed, her eyes brightening with cruel glee.

Mr. Gold smirked. "And you'd have your victory, at last."

Regina raised her eyebrows. "A trial could be very messy."

"A trial?" Mr. Gold repeated with a soft scoff. "Now, who said anything about a trial?" Regina tilted her head, and Mr. Gold chuckled. "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 with narrowed eyes. "Give me one good reason why I should trust you."

Mr. Gold took the apple sitting in front of him, standing up as he did. "Because I always honor my agreements," he answered simply. "Do we have a deal?"

He tossed the apple to Regina, who caught it, her blood red lips turning up into a malicious smirk.

Queenie gasped, looking around her and shaking her head. She had already known Regina had played a major part in the disappearance of Kathryn Nolan, but she didn't realize Gold had been the one to suggest the idea. She had to tell Emma immediately.

She raced inside into the diner, finding Emma and her nephew talking to Ruby, and all of them smiled when she came over to them. Emma seemed to notice how frazzled she was, and she quickly stood, looking worried. "Queenie?"

"We need to talk," Queenie blurted.

Emma frowned but nodded, ushering Queenie towards the corner. "Is everything OK?" she asked.

Queenie shook her head. "Gold had something to do with Kathryn's disappearance," she said quietly. "He's the one who suggested making her disappear to Regina, who made it happen. I saw a memory."

Emma pursed her lips, but she nodded in resignation. "I figured he was involved," she admitted. "There's no way he couldn't be. It just doesn't make any sense that he's representing Mary Margaret without asking for anything in return."

Queenie nodded, then she inhaled sharply and looked towards the door. Just a few seconds later, Regina strode inside and dropped Henry off at the bar of Granny's before walking out of the door, red lips curled into a smile. "Mum?" Harry asked from beside her, and she smiled, looking at where he was watching Henry. "Can I go over to Henry?"

"Go ahead," Emma nodded. "Can you walk with him to his bus so he's not alone?"

Harry nodded eagerly. "Yeah, of course," he said, hopping from his chair. "Thanks, Mum!" He grabbed his bag and raced over to Henry, who looked up from his hot chocolate, a grin on his face.

Once the boys were out of sight, Queenie sharply turned to Emma. "We've got to do something, Emma," she urged.

"I agree," Emma nodded. "But what can we do without endangering ourselves and exposing our magic?"

Queenie sighed and deflated. "I'm not sure," she mumbled.

Emma nodded, having expected that answer, but she knew they would figure it out. They always had before.

***

"Emma!" She turned at her father's voice, attempting not to ruin the ponytail she was finishing tying. "Hey."

"Dad, I don't have time right now," Emma said apologetically, hurrying to walk next to Queenie, who held an umbrella above their heads.

"No, I understand," David shook his head, adjusting his own umbrella as he fell into step by the blondes. "It's Mary Margaret. How's she doing?"

Emma continued walking to her car with Queenie, not looking at her father. Queenie, however, was smiling sadly at David, reading his thoughts as he worried about his wife. "How do you think she's doing?" Emma muttered defeatedly.

"I'm sure not great," David sighed, fidgeting where he stood as Emma unlocked her bug. "I just haven't been to see her in a bit. I was going to go this morning, but I don't know if she's taking visitors or not, and . . . well, I'm worried about her."

Emma heard the plea in his voice, and she closed her eyes, biting her lip to contain her own pain. "I know, Dad," she whispered, hearing him open her door. "I am, too. But she's not taking any visitors under counsel from her lawyer." Queenie snorted her opinion of that idea from the passenger side. "But the last thing she needs right now is you worrying over her."

David nodded defeatedly and watched as Emma and Queenie got into her car. "What does she need?"

Emma looked at him, her eyes showing worry but her face hard. "A miracle," she answered bluntly. "And for you to be there for her, not worrying over how she's doing."

David nodded and stepped back, allowing Emma to drive away. Right . . . be there for Mary Margaret while not worrying over how she was doing. How difficult could that be?

***

At the sheriff's station, Emma and Queenie pulled in to see the mayor's car parked out front. The sight made Emma curse, and she quickly parked and grabbed her bag. "Come on!" Quennie nodded, grabbing her coat and bag as they closed their doors and walked through the parking lot to the building.

Mary Margaret was sleeping when they walked inside, and Emma glowered as they stopped right outside the door, listening as Regina walked to her cell door and sat down. A few seconds later, Mary Margaret opened her eyes and looked around, gasping when she saw Regina sitting there with crossed legs, staring at her. "They say only the guilty sleep in prison," she said, a smirk on her face.

Mary Margaret sighed and looked down at her lap. "What are you doing here?" she asked, looking around the station. "Where's Emma?"

"She hasn't arrived yet," Regina answered, watching as Mary Margaret fiddled with her blanket. "I just wanted to stop by to offer you a chance. A chance to spare yourself, and this town, the messiness of a trial. The chance to confess."

Mary Margaret got up from the cot, walking to the bars to look at Regina. "But I didn't kill Kathryn," she said. "Why won't anyone believe me?"

"The murder weapon was found in your apartment," Regina began to list. "Your fingerprint was on the box containing Kathryn's heart. Shall I go on?" She stood and approached the bars, and Queenie reached out and placed a hand on a bristling Emma's arm so she wouldn't storm into the bullpen. "Why not, for once, make it easier on everyone?" Regina asked, leaning close to Mary Margaret. "Because confession or not, you're leaving Storybrooke."

"And you like that," Mary Margaret realized. Regina's gleeful smirk was enough of an answer. "Why?" Mary Margaret asked in disbelief. "Why do you take such pleasure in this? What did I ever do to you to make you hate me so much?"

Queenie gasped as a memory came to her head.

"Help!" a young girl's voice called out.

Regina, next to a brunette-haired man, shushed him. "Someone's here!"

"Somebody, help me!" the same young girl screamed. Her voice grew louder, and Regina turned in time to see a stallion gallop past, a dark-haired girl clinging to the reins for dear life. Regina balked and sprinted for her horse, effortlessly swinging into the saddle. She dug her heels into her horse's side, and she galloped after the girl, who was still screaming at the top of her lungs. "Come on, boy, stop! Help me! Oh!" She shrieked as she was thrown slightly forward up the horse's back. "Help! Help me! Please help me!"

The girl's horse was fast, but Regina urged hers to gallop faster. Within seconds, she was riding alongside the girl, "Give me your hand!" she shouted, holding out her hand. The girl frantically grabbed Regina's arm, and Regina hauled her onto her horse and slowed down, leaving the other stallion to disappear. When she stopped, the girl tried to land on her feet but fell. Regina dismounted and quickly crouched to help her up. "It's okay, dear, you're safe!"

The girl panted for breath and stared at Regina in wonder. "You saved my life!"

"Are you all right?" Regina asked worriedly, looking the girl up and down.

"Yes," she nodded after a moment to think. "But I'll never ride again."

Regina scoffed. "Nonsense," she declared with a smile. "The only way to overcome fear is to face it. To get back on that horse as soon as possible."

The girl smiled gratefully. "Thank you."

Regina smiled and pointed to herself. "Regina."

The girl nodded. "I'm Snow," she replied. "Snow White."

Regina smiled and opened her arms, and Snow eagerly hugged her.

Queenie's grip on Emma's arm loosened, causing Emma to blink and look at the Legilimens in surprise. "Queenie?"

"Another memory," Queenie managed to say, feeling like she was trying to speak through cotton in her mouth. "Emma . . . this one and the one I saw earlier . . . I think these are Regina's memories."

***

Not even an hour later, Newt and Emma were standing outside of Mary Margaret's cell, talking with Mr. Gold. "A pretrial interview with the prosecution?" Emma stared in disbelief. "Explain to me how that is a good idea."

Mr. Gold gestured to Mary Maragret. "The DA merely wishes to ask Miss Blanchard a few questions."

"She's done answering questions," Emma scowled. "And why are we kissing up to the DA? Why aren't we going after Regina? She's the one who's setting up Mary Margaret."

"And what proof do we have of that, Sheriff?" Mr. Gold asked with a scowl. "Just because you found the mayor's skeleton key in the cell doesn't mean we can prove she put it there."

Newt crossed his arms, his usually kind eyes giving nothing away as he gazed intently at Mr. Gold. Queenie had given him the rundown of the memories she had seen so far from Regina. He could guess exactly who put the skeleton key in the cell. "So what's your plan?" he asked.

Mr. Gold stared at Emma. "I believe our best chance of winning this case is to employ our most valuable asset."

Emma watched him, head held high, hands still on her hips, looking every bit the regal woman she was. Gone were the turtleneck, leather jacket, and jeans she had worn with a hastily put-together ponytail. Now she was wearing her hair in a double Dutch braid and was clad in an emerald green blouse and black slacks with silver accents, looking every bit the Lady Regent of the House of Slytherin . . . not that anyone else but their family knew that. Newt had grinned when he noticed the color scheme of her outfit, and so had Draco, Lucius and Narcissa when they had seen her. Harry and Hermione had laughed.

Mary Margaret tilted her head, her curiosity piqued. "What's that?"

Mr. Gold turned to her and stepped closer. "Well, that's you, dear. A sweet, kind elementary school teacher. Doesn't exactly fit the prototype of a killer, now does it?"

Emma's voice was full of skepticism. "That's how you're going to get her acquitted? By using her personality?"

Mr. Gold's voice grew higher in pitch, and Emma knew he was starting to get irritated. "Perception is everything, Miss Swan. Not just in the courtroom, but in life. As such, I'm sure you can imagine how the jury would perceive Miss Blanchard if she agreed to cooperate with the District Attorney. These things engender trust. It shows the jury she's at least trying – "

"Emma?" Everyone pivoted to face the voice, and Sidney paused in the doorway. "Oh, I'm sorry to interrupt," he said, smiling nervously at Emma's cold glare. "I just, uh . . . " He meekly held up a vase full of colorful flowers. "Came by to drop these off. I thought they might . . . brighten the place up."

Emma glanced at Newt, remembering what happened the last time Sidney had come into the station, and he shrugged in return, pushing off the cell bars and walking towards the office. Emma quickly followed, and Sidney put the flowers on the desk as Newt closed the door. "What did you find?" Emma asked, getting right to the point.

"Nothing," Sidney replied. "I'm sorry, Emma, 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?" Emma pressed. "Did you find anything tying her to that?"

Sindey shook his head. "From what I can tell, she never bought or owned a hunting knife."

"That's all the investigative reporter could find?" Newt asked dubiously.

Sidney's eyes hardened as if he recognized a challenge. "Don't worry. I'm gonna keep digging. And I won't stop until I do find something."

Newt hummed his skepticism, and Sidney marched out the door with a glower. He passed Mary Maragret and Gold, who were whispering to each other, and Emma sighed and turned to her brother. "What do we do?" she asked.

Newt scratched his head, pursing his lips together. He knew Sidney had tried to double-cross them the last time they worked together, but if Sidney really was this insistent . . . "I suppose all we can do is wait," he finally said.

Emma huffed in annoyance. "I hate waiting," she muttered, walking out of her office.

Mary Margaret took a deep breath and looked at Emma. "I'm gonna do it," she decided, stopping Emma and Newt in their tracks. "I'm going to talk to the D.A."

Emma's eyes widened slightly. "Are you sure?"

Mary Margaret looked over at Mr. Gold as she nodded. "Mr. Gold's right. I know I have nothing to hide, but no one else does. I need to let people see me for who I am."

"Excellent decision, Miss Blanchard." Something about that voice, one that oozed authority, made Emma's spine stiffen. She whipped around as a white-haired man in a well-tailored suit stepped into the bullpen, a case folder under his arm. "My name is Spencer, I'm the District Attorney," he introduced himself, not looking behind him as Regina strutted in with a smirk. She was followed by Queenie, who looked apologetically at Emma and Newt. "Shall we begin?"

Mary Margaret kept the confident smile on her face as she nodded. "Yeah."

***

Shortly after Emma let Mary Margaret out of her cell, the schoolteacher and Mr. Gold sat at a table in the interrogation room, Spencer seated across from them. Emma, Newt, Queenie and Regina watched from the other side of the two-way mirror as Spencer questioned Mary Margaret. "After she learned about your affair, Mrs. Nolan, the deceased, came to your school to confront you. Is that correct?"

Mary Margaret's voice carried through on the speakers as she nodded. "She was hurt. She felt betrayed."

Spencer looked at her. "She struck you — in the face, was it?"

Mary Margaret started nodding. "Yes, but – "

"That must've made you angry."

Mr. Gold clicked his tongue. "You don't have to answer that."

Spencer's eyes flicked towards him and then back at Mary Maragret as she spoke again. "No, it's OK," she told Mr. Gold, who sighed and nodded. "I was not angry," she told Spencer. "I was sorry for all the pain I had caused her."

Spencer quietly scoffed his disbelief. "Miss Blanchard, this is not a courtroom. I'm not here to judge you. You can be honest with me."

Mr. Gold's voice was quiet as he questioned, "Should we end this?"

Mary Margaret raised her head just a fraction, her eyes narrowing. "I am being honest with you."

Spencer stared at her, eyes cold. "The wife of the man you loved humiliated you in a public forum," he told her. "Surely you must have felt some anger towards Kathryn."

Mary Margaret looked down and back up again. "Yes, I was angry – "

"And did you ever think about acting upon that anger?" Spencer interrupted.

Mary Margaret rolled her eyes. "Of course not."

Spencer smirked slyly. "I have a hard time believing that."

Queenie flinched, absently reaching up to rub her forehead. "Wh-why?" Mary Margaret looked from Spencer to Mr. Gold, who only looked back at her, then back at Spencer, her voice tightening in anger. Anger that Queenie was clearly able to feel, judging by her uncomfortable expression.

"Because you wanted Kathryn Nolan gone." Spencer sounded so sure of himself that Emma raised an eyebrow at Newt. Newt merely shook his head, knowing Emma's line of thought. Spencer was clearly not on Mary Margaret's side.

Mary Margaret shook her head slowly. "I never said that!"

"All right, that's it," Mr. Gold decided, standing from his chair. "My client is answering no more questions for the day."

Spencer remained in his seat, his eyes trained on Mary Margaret. "Your client agreed to this interview because she claimed she had nothing to hide."

"I don't have anything to hide!" Mary Margaret snapped.

"Then what is your answer?" Spencer pressed. "You wanted Kathryn gone, didn't you?"

"No."

Mary Margaret's voice allowed no room for doubt, but Spencer clearly wasn't having it. "Even after she tried to keep you and David apart?" he asked. "After she slapped you in public? After she made you a pariah in your own town?"

"Yes, I wanted her gone!" Mary Margaret exploded, throwing her hands up in the air, her voice thick with sarcasm. "She was the only thing keeping us apart so yeah, I wanted her gone. Is that what you wanna hear?"

Her confidence lasted approximately two seconds as Spencer's expression morphed into a pleased, victorious smirk. Mary Margaret's sarcastic grin faded away as she looked at Mr. Gold, whose lips were pressed together tightly in frustration. The reality of what she just blurted out, in front of the District Attorney no less, finally settled on Mary Margaret, and she looked in horror towards the two-way mirror.

Emma, Newt and Queenie, meanwhile, turned to look at Regina, who had an evil smile plastered on her face. It wasn't the smile of Regina Mills. No, that was exactly what Emma pictured the Evil Queen looked like when one of her plots succeeded.

Queenie lowered her hand from her forehead as her vision swam, and she quickly reached out and grabbed Newt's shoulder. Newt hastily adjusted his position, blocking her from Regina's view, and Emma sharply looked their way.

"Snow? Snow! Wait! Snow!"

Queenie turned in the middle of a forest just in time to see a young Snow White trip in front of her, tears streaming down her face as she cried. Regina ran into view a few seconds later, a white cloak covering her fine, powder-blue gown, and grabbed her shoulders. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Snow White shook her head. "No," she whimpered. "No. Why were you kissing that man in the stable? You're to marry my father! You're to be my mother!"

"Snow, please, listen to me," Regina begged, carefully taking Snow White's hands. "Hey . . . your father, King Leopold, he's a kind and fair man. But I don't love him!"

Snow White looked up at her, her tears turning into confusion. "I don't understand," she whispered. "Why not?"

"Love doesn't work that way," Regina replied. "Love, true love, is magic. And not just any magic, the most powerful magic of all. It creates happiness."

Snow White's face cleared in understanding. "And that man in the stables . . . you love him?"

Regina nodded. "With all my heart."

Snow White held their hands to her chest. "Then you must marry him." Both of them giggled, and Snow White's face set with determination. "I will go tell Father right away!"

Regina's joy abruptly vanished, and she shook her head violently, tugging on Snow White's cloak to stop her. "N-n-n-no, you can't!"

Snow White looked confused. "Why not?" she asked. "Surely he'll understand."

Regina shook her head. "Perhaps, but not everyone will. My mother for one, she'll stand in the way."

A look of understanding passed over Snow White's face. "That's why you're running," she realized.

Regina smiled a small smile. "It's the only way our love can survive." Regina looked down at the girl. "Snow, do you know what a secret is?" Snow White nodded. "If you really, truly want to help me – "

"I do," Snow White nodded determinedly.

"Then what you saw, what I told you, you must keep it a secret," Regina told her. "Can you do that?"

The girl nodded. "I think so."

"I need you to be certain," Regina said, tugging Snow White closer to look her in the eyes. "You can never speak of this. And above all, you mustn't tell my mother. Will you do that for me?"

Snow White nodded once again. "Yes. I promise."

Regina sighed in relief and hugged Snow White close.

The memory fractured around her, and Queenie jolted backwards as if physically struck, her eyes widening as she stared at Regina's retreating back as she, Spencer and Gold, with Gold leading Mary Margaret out of the room, all walked out, leaving the three siblings alone. "Queenie?" Newt asked quietly.

Queenie swallowed hard. "Henry's book . . . did it go into detail about how the Evil Queen first met Snow White?"

Emma frowned thoughtfully. "I don't think it did," she realized.

Queenie exhaled shakily and rubbed her temples. "That's what I've been seeing."