Chapter Two--Every Villain Has a Story

~The Enchanted Forest~

Robin was in the tavern because he was currently questioning his life choices. He was a thief, but was he a thief for the right reasons? That maiden who he stole the horse from had somehow managed to turn Robin's life upside down with just a few words. What was her name? Oh, yes. Marian.

Robin thought, perhaps, that a drink would help him think it through. But one drink turned into two, and two to three, and now he was having trouble thinking at all.

When a cold rush of air swirled in to signal the door opening, Robin turned and looked. Normally, he wouldn't have thought twice about someone else entering the tavern, but this time felt different. Robin couldn't name what it was, but there was definitely something.

By the time Robin had turned around, the person was closing the door. All he saw was black hair and a white dress. Why had she changed her mind and left? Robin frowned. It was probably nothing.

He took another sip of his drink and attempted to focus on the issue at hand. But he couldn't get the mystery woman out of his head. Why did he feel like he should go after her? It must have been his drink making him loopy.

What Robin needed was sleep, and a lot of it obviously. He stood up and left to make his way back to his camp.

~Storybrooke~

"What does this say?" Roland asked Henry, pointing to a picture in the storybook Regina had given him.

"Emma," Henry read. Then he frowned. "Funny. That's my mom's name."

"Why's it funny?"

"Because Mrs. Blanchard and I were just talking about how it'd be funny if we were all fairytale characters this morning. Must just be a coincidence." But Henry couldn't shake the odd feeling that had settled in his stomach. "Come on. I'll read you the story of Snow White and Prince Charming meeting again." Henry flipped back through the pages.

Regina, Mary Margaret, and Robin were talking, lunch done and gone.

"So, how has Henry been?" Robin asked.

"Good, I think," Mary Margaret replied. "He seemed fine when Neal dropped him off this morning. And how's Roland?"

"He's doing fine. Obviously mesmerized by the book Regina gave him."

Regina laughed. "Yeah. He and Henry both seem to be enjoying it." The three adults looked at Henry and Roland, who were going through the story of how Snow White found her true love.

Mary Margaret's phone rang. She pulled it out and answered it. "Hello?"

"Hi. Are you and Henry at your house?" Neal's voice came from the other side.

"No, we're at Granny's with Regina, Robin, and Roland. I can take him home though, if you're ready."

"Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks."

"No problem." Mary Margaret hung up. "I've got to take Henry home. See you tomorrow, Regina?"

Regina nodded. "Yup. Bye."

~

"There!" Emma pointed at the screen. After they had questioned Will, she sent Neal home. The rest of the investigation she and David could do on their own.

David paused the security camera video. A woman with a red jacket and blonde hair was walking past Granny's. Her hair was too light for it to be Emma, but the fact that she was wearing a red jacket made it seem like she had been trying to frame Emma.

"Do you know who that is?" David asked.

Emma shook her head. "I can't tell. But it doesn't look like she reacted to the crash. Maybe she didn't even hear it."

"We need to upgrade our camera system," David muttered as he zoomed in on the pixely image.

"Maybe someone else knows her," Emma suggested. "Let's print out some pictures and ask around. We can compare it to other people as well."

"Sounds like a plan," David agreed, "but first..." he turned the computer around so it was facing Will, "Do you know her?"

Will's eyes widened a little bit, but it was enough for both the sheriffs to notice.

"Well?" Emma prompted.

"That's Anastasia Red," Will answered. "She's a bloody villain. She should be locked in here, not me!"

"Anastasia Red," Emma repeated. "I think I've heard of her before. Someone mentioned her...yes! Regina said her mother tutored her."

"Cora's been dead for years," David pointed out. "She died of a heart attack, remember?"

"Yes. But Regina might know something about her."

"She's a villain!" Will warned again. "Trust me, I know," the tone of his voice had quickly turned from anger to regret.

"And how would you know?" Emma asked sarcastically.

"Because once upon a time, I fell in love with her."

~The Enchanted Forest~

The forest had changed since Anastasia had last been there. Then again, she hadn't been there since before the Dark Curse. Will had told her to stay in Wonderland, and she had tried; she really had. But after two months of not hearing from him, she had talked the White Rabbit into opening a portal to the Enchanted Forest.

Will would be with Robin's merry men. Unless, of course, Will was wrong and they had refused to forgive him. In that case, he might be dead. But he had taken the magic mirror with him so he could portal back to Wonderland whenever he needed.

"Who are you?" Anastasia stopped walking and looked towards the source of the voice. Someone who had an arrow pointing at her.

"My name in Anastasia," she answered. "I was looking for my husband, Will."

"Will as in Will Scarlet?" The man asked.

"Yes! Do you know him?"

The man lowered his bow. "He's one of my merry men. I'm Robin Hood," he held out his hand and Anastasia shook it.

"Your husband, you say?" Robin asked. "Would you be the woman he stole magic for some time ago?"

"Yeah...that would be me. I'm sorry about that."

"Well be thankful Maleficent didn't threaten us; only him. And he was long gone before she could carry out any threats."

"Where is Will?" Anastasia asked. "Is he okay?"

Robin nodded. "He's fine. He broke his ankle a week after he arrived, but it's healing nicely. I can show you to our camp, if you want?"

"Yes! Thank you." Anastasia followed Robin through the woods.

~Storybrooke~

"Anastasia Red?" Regina asked. "Yeah, my mother tutored her years ago. I'm sorry, but I don't know much other than that."

"Will claimed she was a villain," Emma said. "Surely you would remember someone like that?"

"I had moved into my own house by then," Regina replied. "But I do believe she lives near the edge of town. I can find her address, if you want."

"Yes, that would be great," David stood up.

"I'll drop it off at the sheriff's station once I find it," Regina promised.

"Then we'd better be on our way," Emma said. "We'll see if we can find anything else from the cameras."

~

Anastasia opened the door of her house. Two people were standing there, and a police car was parked in front of her house. They must have found out about Will. But Will hadn't seen her...

"Hello," Anastasia made sure there was no worry in her voice.

"We came to ask you about Will," the woman said. "He broke into Granny's last night and you were passing by. He knocked a stack of plates and cups over when he saw your red jacket, though he didn't know it was you until we pulled up security camera footage. Did you hear the plates fall?"

"No," Anastasia lied.

The woman raised an eyebrow. "If you hadn't noticed, we're the sheriffs, so it'd be best if you didn't lie. All we're trying to do is figure out what Will's motives were."

"Fine," Anastasia gave in to the pressuring looks from the sheriffs. "Yes, I heard them crash. I knew it was Will because I saw him go into Granny's. I didn't say anything because...well..." Anastasia didn't really want to reveal her feelings for Will.

"Yes?" The man asked.

Anastasia sighed, "Once upon a time, I fell in love with Will. Some days, I don't think I ever fell out of love..."

~The Enchanted Forest~

"Will," his name was all Anastasia could think to say. "Will!" She ran over to him and threw her arms around him.

"Ana," Will wrapped his arms around her, holding her close.

Anastasia pulled back. "Why didn't you ever contact me?"

"I broke my ankle. I couldn't very well jump through a portal with a broken ankle."

"I know." It was hard for Anastasia to stay mad at Will. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"So, will you be staying with us until Will is okay to go back to Wonderland?" Robin asked. "Mulan might like the company of another girl, even if only for a short time."

Anastasia looked at Robin, then the only other woman in the camp-Mulan-then glanced back at Will. "Sure."

Will put an arm around Anastasia and pulled her closer to him. "I'm glad you came after me; even if I asked you not to."

"Did you really think I wouldn't?"

~Storybrooke~

After Will breaking into Granny's, and the whole Will/Anastasia tragedy, Emma decided that her, Mary Margaret, and Regina's girl's night out should be moved.

After she had called both of them and they agreed, Emma drove to The Rabbit Hole. Regina and Mary Margaret arrived soon after her. The three of them were unlikely friends; a schoolteacher, a sheriff, and the mayor.

"I'm really hoping Neal gets Henry to bed on time," Emma said. "Last time we did this, Henry was up until midnight thanks to Neal."

"He doesn't have school tomorrow, so it won't be as bad," Mary Margaret pointed out.

"Yeah, but I bet David would be responsible enough to put a kid to bed on time."

Mary Margaret shrugged. "I don't know. As long as they weren't in the middle of a Mario Kart championship. Mario games can get pretty intense with David." Emma laughed at that.

"I'm glad I don't have to worry about that," Regina muttered.

"Aww, you'd be a great mother," Mary Margaret said. "Maybe you should try to find someone!"

"I don't think so."

"Why not?" Emma asked.

"I'm the mayor. I don't go on dates."

"Come on," Mary Margaret pleaded. "We'll pick someone, and all you have to do is talk to him."

"Setting Regina up on a date, are we?" Tink asked as she walked past.

"No."

"Yes," Mary Margaret and Emma said in unison.

"Fine," Regina gave in reluctantly, "pick someone."

"How about him?" Tink pointed, and the other three looked in the direction she was pointing to. "The man with the lion tattoo."

Regina's heart skipped a beat. Out of all the people to pick from...

"Robin?" Emma asked, a little uncertain.

Mary Margaret gasped and her face turned to an expression of excitement. "Yes! Regina, he's perfect!"

Regina rolled her eyes. There was no getting out of this now. "Whatever." She quieted the voice inside her that told her she wanted to do it and began to walk towards Robin.

~The Enchanted Forest~

"What's that?" Will asked as the green smoke approached the group. His ankle had just finished healing a few days before, and he and Anastasia had been planning on going back to Wonderland.

"It looks like the first Dark Curse, except green rather than purple," Little John commented.

"But the Evil Queen is still in that other land," Friar Tuck said. "Who's casting this curse?"

"No idea," Robin muttered. "Roland, come here." Roland ran to his dad, who picked him up.

"There won't be any avoiding this curse, I'm guessing?" Anastasia asked.

"No, I'm afraid not," Robin said. "You two are free to go back to Wonderland, if you like."

Will shook his head. "There's not enough time. This curse, it's here." He pulled Anastasia into a hug. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too."

Robin hugged Roland close to him. "We'll be okay, Roland." The little boy buried his head in his dad's chest. The green smoke washed over the group.

~Storybrooke~

Regina's black hair fascinated Robin. He didn't know why, but there was something about it that mesmerized Robin, just like the storybook had done to Roland.

He knew Regina would be at The Rabbit Hole; that was why he had asked Killian to watch Roland for the night. He was hoping to talk to her. He couldn't deny that he had feelings for the mayor.

But as it turned out, he didn't need to talk to her. She came to him.

"Hi..." Regina sounded a little nervous. She glanced back at a table where Robin noticed Mary Margaret, Emma, and Tink were.

"Hello, Regina."

"Umm...I'm supposed to talk to you, but I'm not quite sure what to say..." she glanced back at the table again. Robin assumed her friends had put her up to this.

"Then I'll talk." What was Robin doing? Being an idiot, probably. But forced down his worries and continued, "How would you like to go on a date with me sometime?"

Regina seemed surprised at first, but then she smiled the smile that Robin thought was stunning in every way. "Okay. How does tomorrow night sound?"
~
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