────── ★★★ ──────

────── ★★★ ──────

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟕
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐌𝐔𝐋𝐄𝐓

────── ★★★ ──────

Hours passed with Everly, Felix, and Cassie sitting in the hospital's waiting room. Their conversations were minimal as they watched the unconscious Lucy and her parents sitting in her hospital room. Despite her effort not to let her conversation with Lady Tremaine get to her, the Purest Heart couldn't stop replaying the woman's words in her head.

She didn't understand how she could've forgotten about her bond with Henry and what it would mean if he woke up from the Curse. With the magic restored, both Everly and Henry would succumb to whatever poison Drizella used on his heart. And even though she knew getting everyone's memories back was the right thing to do, magic couldn't come back into her life. It was too much of a risk and Everly wasn't ready to lose her family...not again.

Everly's thoughts were soon interrupted by the sound of doors closing. Her attention instantly turned in the direction of the noise before her eyes landed on someone she never thought she'd see again. Without thinking twice, the Purest Heart jumped to her feet and walked across the lobby before pulling the redheaded woman in for a tight hug.

"Didn't think I'd see you back here any time soon," the blonde woman announced after ending her embrace with the woman in front of her, "it's good to see you again, Zelena."

"How did you know I was awake?" the former Wicked Witch questioned with a smile on her face and confusion in her eyes.

"You wouldn't be back here if you didn't," Everly responded, earning a small laugh from the redheaded woman before the former gestured towards Felix and Cassie in the chairs behind her, "and people have a tendency to wake up after the Truest Believer comes to town."

"I hate to break up the reunion, really I do," Regina said, drawing all attention towards her before she continued speaking, "but how is she?"

Chills instantly ran up Everly's spine as her smile faded while her eyes stayed locked with the Mills woman. It wasn't long after that when the blonde woman let out a long sigh and gestured towards the window behind them. "See for yourself."

Her words caused the two women to turn around while Everly went to stand beside Regina as the three of them stared at the Mills girl through the window. No one said a word as they watched Lucy's chest slowly rise and fall while Ella tightly clutched her daughter's hand. A knot formed in the pit of Everly's stomach as she stared at the small family. She couldn't even imagine going through what they were. It would've been even worse if they had their memories back.

What felt like an eternity passed before Henry turned his head to stare at the three women. Everly watched as he let out a long sigh before he got to his feet and left Lucy's room to talk to them. Everly and Zelena walked to the other side of the lobby to allow the mother and son to have a moment of privacy. The two of them watched for a moment before the former Wicked Witch turned to face the woman next to her.

"What exactly are we going to do?" Zelena questioned after Everly turned her full attention toward her, "if we break the Curse, you and Henry both die and if we don't, Lucy does."

"I don't know. But I can tell you what we're not gonna do. We are not letting any of us die. There's gotta be a way to figure this out and we're gonna find it," the Purest Heart responded as she glanced over at Felix and Cassie before her gaze landed back on the redheaded woman, "because I won't lose them again."

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After Zelena came back from calling Robin telling them she had a run-in with Gothel, Everly, Felix, and Cassie followed the two sisters into the stairwell. As soon as they knew they wouldn't be heard by anyone, the former Wicked Witch explained to them what their enemy wanted. Everly and Regina were taken aback by Gothel's demands while Felix and Cassie stared at the three women with confusion in their eyes. They continued to listen to Zelena until she finished the story before their planning had officially begun.

"Bear with me because magic is not my strong suit," Felix said, drawing all attention to him before he continued speaking, "from what I understood, Gothel will use this girl's magic to save Lucy's life in exchange for something called 'the Resurrection Amulet'?"

"That's right," Zelena responded before letting out a long sigh while brushing the hair out of her face, "she wants us to bring it to the botanical garden greenhouse at midnight."

"I hope you didn't agree to do that, did you?" Regina questioned, earning an irritated look from her sister that she chose to ignore, "because if you recall, using that thing comes with a great price."

"Of course, I agreed to the deal but I'm not giving it to that dirty, hippie, witch," the redheaded woman stated with a hint of disgust in her eyes before a small smile formed on her face, "plus if Gothel thinks that we're playing her game, maybe she'll stay off us while we look for said amulet. Wherever it may be."

"That's not such a bad idea," Everly said, receiving a grateful smile from Zelena in response before she continued speaking, "if we can get our hands on it first, we'll finally have some power over her and Drizella."

"And maybe we can find a way to use it without paying the price," Regina added, only for everyone to send shocked looks her way.

"How? In case you've forgotten, we're in a land without magic," Zelena retaliated with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"Well, either way, we need to keep it out of Gothel's hands," Cassie spoke up for the first time since they entered the stairwell from her place against the wall, "she's clearly got plans for it. And I really don't wanna find out what those are."

────── ★★★ ──────

Despite wanting nothing more than to stay at the hospital, Everly left Felix and Cassie to watch over Henry, Ella, and Lucy. Roland, Fletcher, and Dawn joined them after receiving a call from the Purest Heart, knowing it would be safe to leave the unknowing family with numbers in case of an attack. While they did that, she went with Regina and Zelena to search for the Resurrection Amulet. None of the women said a word as they got into Everly's car and made their way through Hyperion Heights toward their next destination.

It wasn't long before the powerful trio found themselves standing out front of Roni's, which made Everly even more confused. Despite her uncertainty, the Purest Heart turned off her Jeep and followed the sisters inside. While Regina and Everly headed straight for the counter, Zelena slowed her place and looked around at everything that surrounded her, completely taken aback by how much had changed since she left.

"What have you done to my bar?" the redheaded woman questioned as she continued to scan over the tables and walls of her former establishment.

"Your bar?" Regina responded with a hint of amusement in her voice as she placed her purse on the counter.

"It used to have peanut shells and sawdust on the floor," Zelena continued as if her sister had never said a word while she walked toward her two allies.

"Yeah, it was a dump."

"It was a dive, which is an honorable aesthetic," the former Wicked Witch corrected while trying her best to hide how much she was offended by the Mills woman's choice of words, "you even refinished the bar top!"

"Okay, no offense, but I don't think Regina brought us here for you to criticize the changes she made," Everly said without even attempting to mask the annoyance in her voice before she and Zelena turned to face the former Evil Queen.

"Gothel thinks you have the amulet," the brunette woman said while gesturing towards her sister before continuing on with her explanation, "and Victoria's been trying to buy this bar for as long as I can remember. I'm starting to realize her interests go way beyond real estate. So stop worrying about the countertop, and start searching."

────── ★★★ ──────

After hours of searching every inch of the bar and the storage room on the top floor, Regina followed Everly to the place she rarely visited. The two of them walked down the metal stairs that led to the storage in the basement, which mainly stored the objects Regina still had from when she and Zelena had shared ownership of the bar. When they finally reached the small dark room, they found Zelena looking through a couple of the boxes on the shelves.

"Well, it's not back here," the redheaded woman announced then let out a sigh after seeing Regina and Everly walk into the room.

"It's not upfront either," Everly responded while trying her best not to let how defeated she felt appear in her voice before she looked over at Regina, "is it possible we were wrong and the Curse left the amulet somewhere else?"

Just as Regina was about to respond to the younger woman's question, their attention fell back on the former Wicked Witch when she reached to grab something. Curiosity flooded through Everly's veins as Zelena turned around with the bar's old sign in her hands. A small smile appeared on the sisters' faces as they stared at the stained-glass object, making Everly silently wish once again that Sam remembered her.

"I almost forgot about that," Zelena muttered under her breath as the smile on Regina's face grew even bigger.

"I took it down but-"

"At least you kept it," the redheaded woman finished for her sister while keeping her eyes glued to the sign in her hands.

"And if you stay, we can put it back up," the Mills woman told the woman standing next to her after turning her attention towards Zelena.

"That'd be nice," was all Zelena said in response before she lifted the sign over her head and smashed it against one of the crates. Everly and Regina stared at the woman with shock plastered on their faces as the latter reached down and picked something up off of the floor. "That was a nice moment but," the former Wicked Witch paused and turned around to face the women behind her, "the amulet."

"Did you know that was in there this whole time?" Everly questioned while staring at the red and silver object in Zelena's hand.

"Lucky guess," the redheaded woman announced before handing the item in her hands over to her sister, "do you really think we're going to be able to hack that thing? Even without magic?"

"Maybe. Eventually," Regina responded without taking her eyes off of the Resurrection Amulet before letting out a long sigh, "best case, we wake up Lucy, no one dies. Worst case, buy ourselves some time."

"That's your problem, Regina," a new voice said, causing the three women to turn around to find Lady Tremaine standing between them and their only way out of the storage room, "always wanting everything your way, but never willing to pay the price."

"Actually, I think this is the worst case," Everly whispered to the sisters while keeping her eyes glued to the metal object in the Tremaine woman's hand.

"You. You did this," Regina hissed as she stared at the woman standing across from her with hatred in her eyes, "how could you hurt that child?"

"Because I was desperate to save my own," Lady Tremaine responded in a tone just above a whisper before a more confident look appeared on her face, "surely, you of all people would understand that. You cast a curse just to save your son. And yet, you're absolved. Regina, the Evil Queen, does a dark thing for a good reason and everyone forgave you."

"Because I'm not a monster," the former Evil Queen declared, causing the short-haired woman across from them to straighten her posture.

"Neither am I," Lady Tremaine responded before her eyes fell on the object in Regina's hand, "and when I turn that amulet over to Gothel and she wakes Lucy, everyone will know it." The woman paused for a moment then raised the metallic object in her hand and pointed it at Everly, who was taken aback by Lady Tremaine's decision to threaten her, " hand it over."

The three women hesitated for a moment before Zelena and Regina glanced over at Everly and let out sighs. The next thing the Purest Heart knew, the former Evil Queen took a step forward and held the amulet out to the woman across from them. "Don't do this, Victoria. The cost of using that thing is too high."

"You're all mothers," Lady Tremaine responded with a shaky voice as tears began forming in her eyes, "you know as well as I, that when it comes to our children, there is no such thing."

Before any of the women could respond, the short-haired woman took a step out of the storage room and slammed the door shut. All three of them exchanged looks after hearing the clicking of the lock followed by the distant footsteps of Lady Tremaine.

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