A/N Hello there. I just wanted to say that I feel completely humbled by the response this little fic has gotten and that I'm sorry I haven't been able to post more of it before. Between the Halloween series I did back in October and the fact that I'm participating also on the 25daysofSQ I didn't have the time to properly spend it on this story and I didn't want to give a subpar chapter because of it. I've also had a problem with ffnet and I was unable to answer some of you directly as I would want to so I'm sorry beforehand if you haven't received a proper thank you for your lovely reviews. In case some of you receive two responses instead of one from me is also because of this since I don't know who I already answered and who I did not.

I hope that with this chapter a few of your questions will start being answered and please, comment and review as much as you want. In case you also want to ask any headcanon about this world I'm also on Tumblr and on twitter under this same nickname so please come and talk, I won't bite… much ;)

PS: To all the guests: Thank you all of you, for asking for more and making me want to keep writing. I can't answer you as I would want but I also want to thank you for writing your reviews on this story. I hope you all like this chapter.

Enough for me, thank you so so much once again…. On with the story!

-3-

"Thank you Astrid." Emma said while already half-closing the door of the little apartment the fairy lived in. The kind face of the magical been -slightly flushed- broke into a grin as she waved goodbye to the blonde whose hand was closed around a little ring. Its light seeped between her closed fingers in a dim golden light and she could feel the power of it pulsing against her hand in a steady beat. "I own you one."

"Don't worry Emma." The fairy replied promptly, as Emma knew she will do, before the door was tightly closed in front of her, the smell of honey and spice getting trapped inside the place as it had been when Emma had knocked on the carved door a good half an hour before.

The problem with the fairies, the blonde reflected as she turned, descending the stairs in groups of two, was that something around them made the time seem to go slower. The non-magical tales of humans being trapped inside fairy's dances were common precisely because the fairies themselves lived and processed time differently than the rest. That's why almost every warlock, witch, sorceress or whatever kind of magic practitioner, preferred to avoid making any kind of deal with the fairies; one never knew how much it could really cost them to simply have a little chat with one of them.

Astrid has been one of Emma's confidents ever since she had helped a few years ago and albeit the first time Emma had discovered herself leaving the fairy's side a good twelve hours later than when she had started to talk with her she had become more attuned with how much time she could and couldn't spend with the sweet woman. Besides, she surmised as she finally came out to the light of midday, her eyes quickly narrowing as she navigated between the ever-passing people that filled the streets, the prizes for being able to befriend a fairy always surpassed anything a magic practitioner could ever do.

Having the question about her tracking spell already answered, Emma considered going back to her own apartment and start with the spell. She had exited her place t after looking uncomfortably to the cat- Regina- for a good couple of minutes before sighing and picking her keys. The cat's eyes following the movement before mewling once, seeming not so happy to be left alone.

"I will be back in a few." She had promised to the silent place, eyes never leaving the feline's. The cat had looked at her almost as regally as the brunette woman from the previous night had done and had turned, back as straight as ever and seemingly not wanting to spend any more time with the blonde.

"Suit yourself" Emma had grumbled before closing the door of her apartment behind her.

That had been a few hours ago and already with the fairy ring on her power and at least not as lost as before she considered the idea of finishing the job before starting with what she had shyly called "Operation Feline" inside her head. The thought on itself of having something that wasn't a familiar inside her home was on itself complicated already to wrap one's head around but considering what she knew and didn't she had resolved to at least try to find an explanation for the cat itself.

Sighing and making a sharp turn towards her left she walked towards one small street, one that almost no-magical being would be able to enter or see if they didn't look closely for it. Glamours had been explained ad nausea in many different non-magical books but they still provided a very strong hide-out place to some magical beings.

The three-store apartment complex Emma found herself standing in front of after a few minutes of dodging people and walking as quickly as possible was well-kept but looked as if it had seen better days and as Emma smiled to the odd-looking woman that opened the main door of the complex she was sure of tucking carefully the ring even more inside her pocket.

"Is Ruby here?" She asked politely, the housekeeper looking at her from head to toe like she normally did with the keen eyes of the seer she was.

"She was out with that friend of yours a few hours ago." The woman replied in a very strong accent as succinctly as possible, clearly not wanting to do anything with her.

Of course, Emma thought while mentally slapping herself. The job Ruby had talked about the day before.

"Could you give her a message?" She asked then, smiling sweetly as the old woman seemed to consider it.

"I could." She finally said over a dry smile Emma shuddered at.

"Tell her to call me back once she is able to, okay?" The woman hummed before closing the door in front of Emma's nose, no bothering to say goodbye before doing so.

The blonde shrugged; she had wanted to talk with the brunette before going back to Gold's shop, a place she had considered the best to start asking around about the possible cursed woman, but she could always talk to her once she was back in town. Turning once again to the busy streets of the city she found herself playing with the fairy ring between her fingers, the delicate threaded thing glowing slightly harder as she did so.

Sighing, she shoved it back on her pocket and walked faster, leaving behind as many people as possible while grabbing her car keys from her other pocket. Slow as it could be she didn't like apparating, the transfer always leaving her dizzy. Plus, with a magical bomb like the ring could on itself be she really didn't want to risk any chances on blowing herself up just because her magic got mixed up with the rings. Turning another corner, she sighed at the sight of her trusty yellow bug. Shoving the keys on the car's door she stepped in while already picking a small leather pouch from the shotgun's side. The pouch had several runes written on it. Runes that glowed when she put the fairy ring inside and as she put the pouch back to the passenger's seat she finally relaxed, the last bits of fairy dust falling from her fingers, staining the steering wheel with their glow.

One thing less to do, she thought while calculating the time she would need to before reaching the magic market. Annoyed, she thrummed her fingers against the wheel as she started the engine of the car, a whirl of dark white magic following the movement for a second before dissolving into thin air.

Rolling her eyes, she took a deep breath, eliciting her magic to turn from the rivulet of power to the lazy dribbling she was accustomed to. She still didn't know why she didn't only release the apparently cursed woman into the streets or talked to someone better prepared for that sort of thing- Ruby certainly would know someone, or perhaps even Mulan- but something inside of her (A mix of curiosity and pride) kept her wanting to discover it herself. Plus, she thought while finally lining her bug alongside with the many others that circulated lazily through the busy city streets, the woman had… Spiked her curiosity.

Biting the inside of her cheek and shaking her head she grasped the steering wheel once again and cleared her throat. A quick stop into Gold's shop. Then she would consider everything once again.

-.-

It turned out that Gold didn't exactly want to answer any questions she may have wanted to ask. The slimy man had been seated behind the large counter she had paid for the cat the day before, seemingly absorbed by a large book in which number upon number was written with dark green ink that seemed to glow slightly on the dark atmosphere of the shop. Accustomed as she was due to Henry's experiments with strange ink Emma's nape hairs stood up just slightly as the man had looked at her once before closing the book with one low thud.

"How may I help you?" He had asked, eyes glinting as he smirked at her. Emma had fiddled with the cord that, tightly knotted around her wrist, seemed to burn against her skin as she had stood as tall as she was while looking around from the corners of her eyes. The shop was deserted, pretty much like it had been the day before, and animals and trinkets alike seemed to look at her from their cages, seeming curious for the newcomer.

"It's about a cat I bought here" She said while approaching the counter and trying to seem nonchalant with her surroundings. Gold's eyes never left her face as she moved and the blonde felt uncomfortable, as if the aura of the man seemed to move on his own accord. "Perhaps you don't remember me…"

"The woman with the boy and the werewolf, yes." Rumple replied with a curt nod, the way he spited the word werewolf enough to make Emma's skin crawl.

"She has a name." She replied as curtly as Gold, her upper lip curling in disgust as she momentarily forgot what she was doing there. She usually was more controlled in front of people she tried to learn anything from but the hate embedded on the man's voice hadn't been something she had been expecting.

"I'm sure of it." The sleazy man replied, his hands falling limply at his sides as he came out of the other side of the counter, his body casting a large, dusty shadow on top of it. Emma's eyes moved towards the shadow, sensing once again the power the old man seemed able to yield. It was considered inappropriate to ask a magic wielder what kind of branch they've been specialized on but Emma's tongue played with both the question and the possibility of a different sets of magic users. None of them exactly friendly. The man's voice, however, led her out of her musings. "However I have the impression that you aren't here to discuss your friend's name, are you?"

Emma hummed before squaring her shoulders, her curled hands glowing ever so slightly as small tendrils of magic oozed out of her skin only to be swallowed by her body once again.

"It's about the familiar" She said, voice sharp and resounding against the walls of the shop, the sound startling even herself as it came more forcefully than what she had intended to. The man didn't move, beckoning Emma to continue with one lazy movement of his left hand. "Where did you get it?"

The man's eyes seemed to glow ever so slightly before he smiled placidly, his gesture changing to one Emma had seen many times before: lies. "I'm afraid I don't understand the question Miss Swan, is there any problem with the animal I provided?"

Emma looked at the man, calculating what were the odds for the man to actually been fishing for intel. Considering the magic aura that still oozed out of him, one Emma could still feel around her, sticking to hers like a bad-mouthed hex, she swallowed thickly before crossing her arms in front of her, her frame widening ever so slightly with the movement. "I've asked you a question." She said sternly.

"One I've already told you I don't understand." The man repeated while shrugging. "I can assure that my shop is within the law and I have all the permits. The cat you bought owns all of them as well. So what's the problem?"

Emma growled inwardly. Her gut was telling her to keep pushing since the man was obviously hiding something. However, she didn't have anything to keep pressing and if Gold didn't want to tell her a thing she couldn't exactly force it out of him without causing trouble. Magical fights were prohibited though and something in the man's presence didn't exactly scream equal fight.

"You are hiding something." Emma replied through clenched teeth to what Gold replied with a shrug, one hand already resting on top of the counter's surface, long wrinkled digits tapping against the wood impatiently.

"Dear, everybody is hiding something." With some eerie smile the vendor pointed to the door's shop. "And unless you want to buy something I suggest you to go."

-.-

Henry was already home when Emma closed the door behind her, one hand holding the pouch in which the fairy ring still waited, the other one leaving the keys of the apartment next to the door as she rested her head against the hard surface of the door. Leather jacket still on Emma opened her eyes just in time to see the boy come out of the living room, book on hand and a set of feline eyes at her feet. She did her best to avoid those as she walked towards the kitchen, the fairy ring beating against the palm of her hand as she took it out, the magic it emanated growing steadily against her as she plucked the cauldron for the tray she had had it until then. Throwing the ring into it and whispering a quick spell that made the cauldron glow silver Emma closed her eyes for a second before turning to look at her son, the boy now leaning against the doorframe, the still "unnamed" feline way too close to him.

"You are early." Emma commented as her eyes fell into the book the boy was holding to. Tea-reading. "Grace's?" She asked, pointing to the book. The boy hummed from his place at the door.

"You asked me to come home early." He reminded her and Emma felt the bitter feeling of anger as she realized that she, in fact, had. It was still mid-afternoon and she had been away for longer periods of time before with Henry already grown enough to fence for himself but the realization always struck her. "Everything okay?"

"I needed to ask for a fairy favor." She replied offhandedly, trying her best to hide her remorse as she thought on the lost time. The boy's eyes, however, pierced through her and so she rose her right hand, ruffling the teen's hair affectionately before she walked past him, her feet carrying her to the living room. The fairy ring's power wouldn't be depleted until a few more hours or so and she didn't really have anything else to do meanwhile.

The living room was as functional as Emma's room was chaotic. Probably because until Henry the blonde hadn't exactly thought on it to be anything but that. A ratty old coach and a small tea table occupied the center of the room where several magic objects and videogames could be seen here and there. Emma had never wanted to make her apartment look like some of the houses cliché's witches or mages had on those awful urban fantasy books she had seen Henry sometimes read at and she had more or less managed that… with a few exceptions.

Sitting herself at the couch she eyed the boy when he entered in the room right behind her, book now nowhere in sight. The cat… Regina, she mentally scolded herself, leaping from the floor to the tea table in which she stood as unmoving as a statue and with eyes that seemed to look and shred Emma to nothing as she stared down at the blonde.

"She has been like that ever since I arrived. Seems like she is waiting for something." The boy supplied while sitting next to Emma, elbows on her knees. The ink stains from that morning could be seen from where his shirt riddled up his forearms and although they were almost washed by now they still could be seen. Emma focused on that as she thought furiously.

A part of her wanted to tell Henry about the possibly cursed woman they both had bought the day before. The boy could probably feel very strongly about telling the truth but Emma as well had been adamant on basing their relationship with trust. However, she also felt that the cat's secret -if she wasn't going crazy that is and if Gold's behavior was any clue was that she possibly wasn't- was only hers to tell.

There was also the fact that she wanted to spend her time with her son before he was gone. Ruby had been right on the fact that she always missed him terribly, no matter how much she told herself otherwise. Mulling over it the blonde tugged at the cord at her wrist a few times, her mind going back and forth to the moment Gold had accompanied her to the door only to close it at her back with the ominous words of "And don't come back if you don't want to buy anything." Resonating at her back.

She truly hoped that the man rot on hell.

"I think…" She finally spoke, deciding to keep her silence for a few more hours at least, an idea already forming on its mind about the leather collar. "I think I already have a name for her kid."

If Henry sensed that Emma had been about to say something different than that he didn't show. However, he looked at her expectantly.

"How about Regina?" Emma asked, eliciting a soft mewl from the cat as well as a thoughtful nod from the boy.

"Regina it is then."

-.-

"C'mon, c'mon…" Emma whispered to the cauldron as the potion bubbled, transforming itself from red to pink only to change to a deep shade of purple that finally settle on something close to blue. The power of the ring had been depleted less than an hour ago and since then Emma had tried to keep the power steady enough for the potion to stabilize itself enough for her to cast the final spell. Henry had been with her almost through all the evening while doing so, his help reduced to the occasional ingredient measuring Emma would need along the process.

The boy had been fascinated with magic the moment he had been met with such world and after everything both Emma and himself had lived she always found herself misty-eyed with that. However, he had never shown any link to the magic the blonde performed and so his help with the kind of magic Emma did-the one that wasn't exactly taught and one that was based almost on the blonde's gut and own knowledge- had been cut short ever since he had shown potential and will to become a scribe, one of the few kind of practitioners that could actually change reality in the way magicians were considered to be able on the non-magic books and films.

"You think dad would have been proud?" He had asked her once; the first time he had go as an Apprentice. Emma had nodded that night and had hugged him as close as possible.

"I'm sure of it kiddo"

Those memories were now on the past though and Henry, albeit he knew the theory behind what Emma was trying to recreate, had grown bored of it and had soon enough asked between yawns if he could go to his bed. A selfish part of Emma had wanted to ask him to stay but she had known that she quite couldn't ask something like that and for it she had kissed the boy's forehead when he had come closer to her, his lap still covered in small black hairs from Regina. The woman, cursed or not, had been quite a convincing feline falling asleep on the teen's lap and Emma had found herself glance curiously at the look-alike familiar as she napped. The image had made her smile.

The cat was now perched atop one of the few books Emma had decided to check out while she had been waiting for the potion to settle in, all of them regarding curses and theoretical approaches to magic Emma's inner teen cringed at. So far the search for any kind of answer regarding the origin of the leather collar had proved to infructuous and Emma had been thinking on actually going back to Gold's no matter the late hour when the potion had started to transform itself into foam.

"Don't you dare…" She said while white tendrils wrote incantations on the air between herself and the fog that now covered the surface of the half-melted potion. Atop of everything else she needed the potion and she really didn't have any more days. As the clock ticked by, next to midnight, she transferred all her will and frustration into the potion, silently commending to keep stable under the look of the cat; her feline face contorted into something Emma had the feeling it was mockery. Or at least disbelief.

It wasn't like she really knew the woman. She thought surly as she turned towards the potion once more, smiling as she saw the fog and foam begin to dissipate. Such thought had just entered her mind when the clock chimed 12:00.

"Annnd... done!" She proclaimed just in time for a purple glow blind her briefly.

"If you really think that potion is done I'm really concerned on what kind of help you can really grant me." She heard, a voice and tone she had been unable to forget about ever since the day before.