Two Worlds, One Family (Topsy Turvey)
Regina slowly nodded, “I know— and you’re Zelena, my older sister.”
Zelena frowned, “You remember, how is that possible? Our mother took the memories of me and then the curse took the rest of your memories.”
Two women stepped out from behind Zelena, one was an older tall blonde, the other, a young woman who was the spitting image of Zelena. The blonde spoke, “She was one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful magical users in all the realms. And with us as well as Cora and Jones breaking the barrier, it makes sense she’d remember even without the curse breaking.”
Zelena still frowned and addressed Regina, “Have you kissed anyone recently?”
“Excuse me?”
The young woman rolled her eyes, “Does it really matter what she remembers, or who she kissed? Hi, I’m Marty by the way, I’m your niece. I guess you know Zelena, one of my mothers, and that’s my other mother, Maleficent.”
Emma opened her mouth, but Maleficent pinned her with a glare. “If you say anything remotely like, ‘That Maleficent?’ I will turn you into an amoeba.”
Marty rolled her eyes, “Mom, you’ve been spending too much time with Eric and Ariel. Rat, she meant rat, or some other sort of horrible land animal. That makes it scary. I also have an older sister, Lily. But she’s running the place while we’re gone.”
“Whoa.”
Marty’s hands swiveled to look at Henry, “What?”
“You talk really fast.”
“You’re short.”
Henry stood taller, “Hey, mine wasn’t an insult. You're always rude?”
“Yeah, well, you’re funny looking.”
“Am not.”
“Are too.”
“Henry David Blanchard.” Everyone in the room fell totally silent. “Apologize to the young woman.”
Henry shrugged, “Sorry-- ah-- Marty right?”
He stuck out his hand and after a beat Martha shook it. “I’m the adult I shouldn’t have… you know, but-- I just spent the last, I don’t know how many days throwing up on a ship so…”
Henry laughed and looked up when it seemed like Mary Margaret was cursing in the back of her throat. “Mom?”
Since she’d entered the Sheriff’s station she hadn’t taken her eyes off of Mal. “What do you want with my town Dragon?”
“I want to save it Snow.”
Emma spoke, “Snow?”
Then Regina, “Dragon?”
Mary Margaret shook her head, “No-- take your…” She glanced at Marty for a moment, “...offspring and leave my town.”
It was Zelena who answered instead of Maleficent, “No we will not leave. My mother Cora is coming if not already here, and will destroy everything and everyone to get to my sister Regina. To take Regina home or kill her if she won’t come.”
“So then we give Regina to Cora.”
Emma, Henry, Martha, and Zelena spoke in chorus, “No.”
Belle finally spoke up, “So, Mary Margaret is Snow White, Maleficent is… Maleficent, Zelena…” Belle narrowed her eyes for a moment, “The Wicked Witch.” Everyone stared at her. “What? Zelena means green in Serbian. I’m a librarian remember, we know everything. How am I doing so far?” No one answered so Belle continued. “Why can’t we remember any of it?”
Zelena and Maleficent met glances, but it was Henry who spoke up, “Because everyone is under a curse that my Mom… that Mary Margaret, Snow, cast. It took away everyone’s happy endings, brought all of you here, and only a kiss of true love can break it. At least, that’s according to the book.”
“Well, then we’re fucked.”
Mary Margaret pinned Emma with a look, “Language.”
Emma rolled her eyes, “I’m sure Henry’s heard that word. And since you’re not my mother, I’ll speak however I want to.”
Martha opened her mouth to correct Emma, but stopped when Zelena shook her head.
Belle asked, “So, if this-- true love kiss between two people happens, then what?”
Zelena shook her head, “I don’t know exactly, we’d have to ask the creator of the curse. Snow.”
Mary Margaret shook her head, “No, no. I didn’t create it. I just cast it.” Mary Margaret put a hand to her mouth. “I…”
A very uncomfortable silence came over the Sheriff’s Station.
It was Ruby who asked the question on nearly everyone’s minds. “Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why did you cast this curse Mary Margaret?”
Mary Margaret took a step towards Henry, and the boy backed farther into Emma’s arms. “I…” Mary Margaret stared down at the ground. “I’m not a bad person. I’m not the bad guy. Cora is. I’m not…”
Regina’s jaw worked and she approached Mary Margaret, only stopping when they were nearly nose to nose, “You took us all from the Enchanted Forest where there was magic, where each and every person could find their happy ending, their true love, to this… this land of no magic where we were all miserable.”
“I had it ALL taken from me First. By your mother. She would never blame you, she loves you. So she blamed me for it all. For you running away, for you being in love with the horse boy, as if you two hadn’t been in love for months before then right?” Regina didn’t move and Mary Margaret continued, “She wanted me to feel the pain that she did. She killed my husband David, and then my daughter too. I…” Mary Margaret glanced over at Mr. Gold. “He had the curse. I took it from him and yes, I cast it, but only because I needed to find David, to find my daughter. I need MY true love back.”
Regina poked Mary Margaret in the chest, “So, your true loves matter more than the rest of ours?”
“No… yes.”
Henry put a hand on Regina’s arm and Regina looked down, “If Mom hadn’t cast the curse I never, I never would have met you or Emma.”
Regina took a step back, but only one. Then looked down at Henry, “Why did you write that story?”
Henry shrugged, “You mean in the stables?” Regina nodded, “I don’t know. It just sorta came to me, so I wrote it down. I’ve never thought I was an author or anything.”
“A Queen who doesn’t have her own magic. A forest where Magic exists--” Regina looked up and met Mary Margaret’s gaze, “And a missing King. I just don’t understand why Cora wants me so much. I’m not really good at anything but shooting deer and robbing carriages.”
Emma hid a smirk, “You stopped running after them with only your bare hands?”
“Funny. But I’m serious. Why is she so obsessed with possessing me?”
Zelena shook her head, “I have no idea. But really, the who’s, why’s, none of that matters. Cora will kill anyone and everyone to get to Regina. I just don’t know how yet.”
A scream came through the windows, followed by another and another. A second later Leroy came running in. “A Dragon, a Dragon, a freaking Dragon is attacking. A DRAGON!”