I Believe in Fairies

Tink woke up sometime in the night. She could hear the soft strains of someone cursing in the library and at first, thought it was Baelfire going on one of his tears, again. Once she actually heard the voice, she realized that it wasn't him. The voice was too feminine and the curses were in various languages, some of which even Tink didn't know. It was Regina.

She looked outside. It was dark, deeply dark. She wished that she had a clock to gage the time, but she didn't. She decided that the best thing for her to do was go investigate to see what Regina was up to in the library at this late hour.

It was interesting to find the former Evil Queen up to her neck in books and cursing out loud. Tink found the sight rather amusing but deciding that laughing at Regina wasn't a good idea at the time. She had her magic and Tink didn't want to tempt her. She knew what Regina's wrath could entail if you were on the wrong end of it.

"Problem?" Tink asked, breaking in during a pause in Regina's ranting.

"Plenty, but none that you can help me with now," Regina practically growled at her.

"Well then…I am going to find something else to do at the ungodly hour, you know. Like sleep and keep my wits about me. Wouldn't want to lose my mind while I was doing research or something, people might begin to wonder if I even ever really had one to begin with."

"Be gone firefly. I don't need your help. I need to find the answer and I know that it is here," Regina answered waving her hands around in the area and indicating the entire library.

"Maybe it would help if you knew the question," Tink suggested.

"What do you mean by that?"

"How do you know what you are looking for if you don't have a question in mind?"

"I do have a question that I want answered. I have asked myself that same question since we came back to this infernal place. I have a question, but I have no answers. All I have are questions. So unless you have something to offer, Tink, go bug someone else," Regina told her.

"And, what is it? Your question, Regina, what is it? What do you want to know?"

"How do I interact with Emma through the mirror?"

"Well that sounds easy enough," Tink replied.

"You would think so, but it is magic crossing realms. And, her realm doesn't have magic. There is nothing in the mirror magic books that I have read. I know that I did something once. I just don't know how or why. There has to be something here. Rumple collected power of all sorts. He had to have found a way to cross realms without literally going there," Regina mused.

"It would be easier if we could question him," Tink added.

"Well, he is quiet dead so that isn't an option," Regina countered giving Tink a scowl.

"What about the librarian? What's her name? His girlfriend? You know the perky auburn headed woman that lives here. The one that doesn't seem to like you all that much?"

"Belle?"

"Yeah, why haven't you asked her? That girl is always in a book. If there is something here, I am sure that she has found it. She might not even know that she found anything, either. You should ask her. I am sure that she could tell you where to look," Tink explained.

"I already did."

"You did? Well, what did you ask her? Did you ask her about the mirror magic?"

"No, I didn't have to. She has already given me a book on it. Besides, Bae and she tore this library apart looking for a way besides beans and mirrors to make a portal. The wardrobe that Emma and Pinocchio came through was the last portal that the fairies knew of or felt. Blue already told Snow that there aren't any more portals. The fairies have come up with nothing. I have nothing. There has to be a way. And I can't think of a thing. There isn't any other way back except through magic. I just need to figure out which kind and how," Regina explained.

"The Curse?"

"Yes, the curse, and unfortunately, I don't have the heart of the thing I love the most to sacrifice with me here. Besides, I wouldn't destroy Emma or Henry either way just to recast the curse. So, magic isn't really a viable option for us either. There has to be another way. There just has to be. I can't wait for Emma to figure it out and bring us back. There has to be a way that I can influence her from here. If I can make her find out way to break the curse, then maybe we can go back without casting another curse," Regina stated as she thought out solutions again aloud.

"Ask Belle," Tink offered.

"You think that she might know something?"

"She knows this castle better than anyone else. She would know if Rumple had something here that could help us. Ask her. What would it hurt? It'll give a break from in here, too," Tink said.

Regina smiled at her. Tink really wasn't going to let her boggle her second chance. If Emma really was Regina's True Love, then Tink was going to move heaven and earth to help her get back to her. It was just who Tink was. She believed in second chances and she knew that Regina had been given many by Snow and the rest. She also knew that it was Emma and Henry that finally made Regina see how good things could be without all the anger and hatred.

"Is there something that you aren't telling me?"

"Nothing that can help you, unless you really want it. But, that is the problem, Regina. I am not sure that you really want it. But, yes, there is always plenty that I am not telling you, Regina. You have proven yourself to me, but there are still times that I wonder if you are going to bungle this love as well. You weren't exactly looking last time and when I showed you where to find it, you left and cast a curse. So forgive me for not fully trusting you this time," Tink told her.

"I understand that, Tink. I really do. I don't think that I deserve all the second chances that everyone has given me. I am doing my best to make everyone realize that I am trying. I really am trying to stay good and find a way home."

"Home?"

"Back to Storybrooke and Henry."

"You wouldn't bring them here?"

"No, I wouldn't."

"Why not?" Tink asked her.

"There are still so many here that would be willing to kill them to get to me. It would be a just punishment for the horrors I cause, but not one that I would like to happen. I will do anything and I mean anything to keep them safe and happy," Regina told her.

"Then read this book," Tink said, pulling one from the shelf and laying it down in front of her.

"This is in Elvish," Regina stated matter-of-factly like it was going to pain her to translate it.

"It is."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Does Blue know that you are helping me?"

"She does."

"She approves?"

"She hasn't said."

"But, she didn't stop you?"

"She hasn't yet."

Tink watched her as she held the book. She hadn't even opened the cover. She just sat at the table in the library staring at it before her mysterious chocolate eyes met Tink's hazel. They held their gaze for a few moments before Tink had to say something to her.

"Why are you so scared of the book, Regina?"

"I am not scared of the book."

"Then what are you so scared of, then?" Tink asked.

"Elvish spells have a tendency to be mischievous."

"Because Elves are naturally that way, of course they are. Did Rumple not teach you how to deal with anything that might arise unexpectedly from an elvish spell? I wouldn't think that he would want you conjuring anything that you couldn't control on your own."

"He didn't suffer fools. Either you figured it out or you got hurt until you did. If you died, you died. He didn't help in so much as he flung you into the fire. He didn't teach you how to do magic; he made you do it. He found ways to coax it out of you," Regina told her.

"Well, glad I didn't have to deal with him," Tink replied.

"Some of us aren't so lucky as to say that," Regina added.

"I doubt that you will have some unexpected consequence of elvish proportions if you just read the book, Regina. You might find more answers than questions. Just give it a chance. If you do find something in there, come find me and Belle. I am sure that we can concoct something."

"That is what I am afraid of," Regina mused aloud.

"What?"

"I don't have time to concoct potions and spells. I need to know that it is going to work. I need to be able to fix this and bring us all back. I need Henry and Emma…"

"Then, let's get to work. Start reading. Find something inside that book. I'll continue to communicate with Blue and the rest of the magic folks. Maybe someone has come across something that could help us," Tink told her as made her way to the door.

"Tink?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Believing."

"That is what fairies do. We believe. Now, find the belief in yourself and find your way."

Regina looked at the title of the book once more. "Nalta Hyellë Nolwë" is read. Regina laughed. She had glossed over the book several times. The title directly translated to "Water Glass Wisdom or Secret Lore." Her twenty-eight years in Storybrooke and not having to use Elvish had made her forget what a "Water Glass" was. She was an all-powerful sorceress and she had forgotten the fundamentals of magic. Rumple would have thrown her to the wolves until she remembered what to do. She sighed. She didn't need to remember her past. She needed to figure this out. She needed to remember Elvish.

She began to flip through the pages. She had to make herself see the words. Her magic and her memory transformed the words on the page from Elvish to the language of Men of the Forest. It would have been so easy if she hadn't been tired. The words shimmered and shook as she tried to focus, but she just couldn't do it. They would start to form and she would begin to see something that she could read without much though, then she would blink and everything would return to Elvish. In a huff, she slammed closed the book and threw it onto the table, hard.

She knew that Tink was right. She needed to get more sleep. She would do no one any good if she went crazy, especially trying to translate a book of magic. She didn't know if the book would help, but it seemed to be more promising than any of the other books that she had found in the library. She smiled. She would find a way. She had the magic. She had the will. She had the backing of the fairies. Now she just needed to find the belief and hold onto it.

She glanced over at the book. She sighed again and willed her frustration away. She picked it up and stared at the cover. She ran her fingers over the title.

"I believe in Fairies and the Fae. I believe in the power of magic and the wisdom of the Elves who have so graciously given their knowledge to the Men of the Forest. I believe. I believe."

She held the book out in front of her. The words glowed in a bright gold and started to shimmer. They danced across the cover until they finally read "Water Glass Magic." She held the book tighter as she brought it closer to her.

"I believe in magic. I believe in us, Emma. I believe in love," Regina whispered.