Mufasa found himself wondering about Zelena, and how she was doing on her own out there. It was not quite fair, to have a lady out there on her own, though she was certainly capable of taking care of herself. She had proven that, just in their conversation. Still, he was worried about her, and he wanted to make sure she was not doing herself more harm than good, alone in the quiet. While it was good for many things, it could also grow into a very dangerous weight.

No one deserved to be lonely. Mufasa knew that all too well. The pain of it, how impossible it could be to see through. To work through. To live through.

The displaced King moved toward the familiar rock, but this time he was not here to think or to have a moment alone. In fact, it was quite the opposite: he was there looking for the same company that had managed to find him the last time he visited. He had a backpack with him of things he was hoping she might find some use for, mostly from his little bookshop on the corner in town.

Stories had a good way of bringing a simple kind of happiness to people, and he hoped they would do the same for her.

Really, he saw a lot of trouble in her eyes, and he knew it was not just her own personality. She claimed she was wicked, but there was always more to the story than that. After all, his own brother had betrayed him, tried to kill him, and had destroyed their home all in anger and jealousy... yet still Mufasa could not hate him. He struggled to understand the betrayal, and vowed to reclaim his throne by any means necessary, but he could not forget that his enemy was his own brother. There had to be something left inside him, some small light hidden inside the darkness.

He saw much more light in Zelena, and prayed it was not too late to reach her.

Sitting down on the rock, he sighed and smiled as he looked around the quiet, beautiful forest. It was still one of the best places to come for a bit of peace, and now he found he had something else to look forward to with each visit, as well.

"You still haven't learned your lesson."

Zelena made it her business to know who came and went in the woods. Lately she'd been using that rock for her own purposes, taking his example and thinking as she stared off into the sky. He had gotten to her, much as she didn't want him to, and she couldn't shake those eyes from her mind. Though she had Rumple's heart and it was only a matter of time before she found out where his dagger was, it didn't make her happy. She wasn't happy.

God, she was lonely.

"You shouldn't have come back here."

She wasn't going to tell him that was more for her benefit than for his. She also wasn't going to tell him that she spent a lot of time out here and didn't want to be caught at it. No, she needed to remain as aloof as possible or else everything would be lost. Zelena didn't have friends. She did not have people she could count on or people that loved her. That was better for her just all the way around.

"Why are you here, Mufasa?"

It was unthinkable that he would actually be looking for her. She climbed up onto the rock and sat down on her own rock in the usual spot. She shook her head and relaxed a little, though she probably shouldn't have. Her instincts certainly didn't want her to. She didn't see the light in herself that he did and probably wouldn't. It was impossible for her to think well of anyone and it was hard when he came into her life and talked to her like a person. Like a real person, not just a witch.

Mufasa

"I was in my shop, organizing some new donations and purchases I had gotten in. I run a small, used bookstore in town. Out of the way, mostly, but it suits my purposes. I ah, live in the rooms above it."

In case she wanted to know where to find him, sometimes. There was no harm in sharing some information about himself, right? While he lived here, he might as well take advantage of the home situation he had managed to make for himself. He did not know how he came to own a store, but that was simply what the magic of this land had decided for him. All in all, it was a nice fit, and he liked the quiet life it brought with it.

If he were to pass his throne to Simba, when they returned to the Pridelands, maybe he would do something like that with his time.

Retirement, so to speak.

"In any case, my lady Zelena, I thought you might enjoy some of the books I was looking over. I put one to the side, and soon enough I found another... then I had quite a little pile of books I thought, perhaps, you might like to read while you are out in these quiet woods. So I gathered them up and brought them. Here."

He moved to take off his backpack, offering it to her with a warm, innocent smile. He meant nothing by the gesture but a friendly thought: she had been on his mind, and he worried about her. So he did something that he hoped would make them both feel better, and perhaps bond in the process. He was lonely, after all, and he saw that she was, too. Perhaps a little friendship was not as bad as she tried to make it seem.

He was not scared of her, and would not give up so easily.

"I also brought a few cookies... from the coffee shop that has a small room in my store. It's like a very... tiny and inconvenient add on that has very few uses, beyond serving fresh coffee and good cookies to one or two people at a time. In any case, I end up with quite a lot of their extra stock, by way of rent. Ah. Not that... such a long tale was necessary in answer to your question. Uh... well. Here."

He told her where he lived. Was there something she missed? Had she not told him, explicitly, that she was dangerous? Either he was more damaged than she thought or something else equally as catastrophic. She gave him a look and sighed, trying to figure out what was happening. No one was this kind, were they? No on treated the wicked witch with respect. No one saw past her evil deeds and he had no idea what she was already doing. She stole a heart. She tortured a man. He had no idea.

She took the backpack and looked inside, puzzled.

"Mufasa, why are you really here?"

This couldn't be real. She shook her head, back on edge. Her body tensed just looking at him and she didn't know why he made her nervous but he did.

"You were thinking about me?"

She had never seen his bookstore and really didn't go in to town. It was hard to go there because she didn't want to start unnecessary fights. Then thing would be destroyed...screaming...and she just didn't want that to happen until it was planned for. She was more than happy to bring everyone to their knees in her own good time.

Soon, just not now. But not him. She didn't want to destroy him. She felt confused and frustrated and lashed out.

"Why are you doing this? I don't understand it. I told you this place was dangerous for you. Why would you come here, looking for me, bringing cookies?"

Mufasa

"I thought you might like them," he said with a shrug, "but if you don't, I did not mean any offense. I am not certain what you like, and I can only learn by trying, hm?"

He chuckled, feeling at ease despite how angry she was. She could deny it all she wanted, but he had seen it in her. There was something good, or she would have had no trouble destroying him already. Giving him a much firmer warning than asking him to stay away. She could summon fireballs, after all, and he was not going to forget that one. Yes, clearly she was dangerous, and he was not attempting to ignore or undermine that.

But that didn't mean she had to force herself into being alone.

"I will leave, if it would calm you, but I meant no harm in coming here, my lady. I truly did think you might like those books. You should read them, if you find a quiet moment and would like a little company in it. I find books have quite a lot to teach us, whether we are looking for lessons or not. And if nothing else, they can make the world disappear, at least for a little while. It is hard to be angry or sad, or lonely, when reading a book."

He moved toward her, not showing any fear as he did so. He walked proudly, as always, but his approach was calm and he offered her his hand in a peaceful gesture.

"Zelena, I am simply an old man in a strange land, looking for some kind of purpose. If nothing else, we share that lattermost fact, and I think in that regard we may yet be good for one another. And beyond all that, though you will not believe me, I think your company is pleasant. If you will allow me to, I would like to visit you again. But not by surprise: I can see you are not a fan of surprises."

"It's not surprises I don't like. Mufasa, you don't even know me."

Zelena couldn't bring herself to hurt him though she knew she should have sent him away. Her instinct was to send him as far away from herself as she could, though at the moment she couldn't bring herself to actually do it. It would be nice not to be lonely. He offered to be a companion, the only one that had ever offered such a thing. As much as she didn't know what to do with it she also desperately wanted to hear it. She wanted to believe in him.

"You're not old."

She didn't say more than that, to reassure him. She wasn't sure at all what to say.

"No one thinks I am pleasant. No one comes to find me out here."

She was terrified of losing that calm. If anything happened to it she didn't know what she was going to do with herself. So close...she was close to her goal to quit now or be distracted by...by a King. Witches did not have friends and they did not get happy endings. She shook her head and took a few steps away from him, getting off the rock as she did.

"I don't think a book will help me. I don't think your guidance will help me. Mufasa you will only get hurt if you stay near me. I am not a good person."

She plunged her hand into her chest, coming out with her heart. It beat in her hand, vivid red with streaks of black undulating around it. Zelena showed it to him, offering him a look at the deepest part of herself. There was no light in the heart. None had ever been there that she knew of. Any good she had inside her was long gone, if it ever existed.

"This. This thing shrouded in black is who I am. I am not good. I am not happy. And I certainly don't know how to help anyone find a purpose in life."

Mufasa

Mufasa watched her with a gentle frown, not wanting to upset her and seeing clearly that his best efforts to do the opposite were still going poorly.

He saw her take out her heart and winced, remembering what had happened in the shop with Rumplestiltskin, and the large fuss that was made over his heart. Hers looked different to his, dark but still laced with a beautiful, shimmering red. She did not see light in it, but he did not only see darkness, either. Perhaps there was middle ground to be found, somewhere between the two extremes. No one was perfectly light, after all, and no one could be wholly dark.

People could not survive that way.

The patient and kind King stepped forward, carefully placing one hand under hers as she held her heart out to him, the other closing over the heart itself. He held it gently, guiding her hand and heart back toward her chest. He paused, though, holding their hands against her chest together, feeling the heart beating steadily under his palm.

"Only you can decide what to allow into your heart, Zelena. There is room for kindness, and there is room for friendship. There is room for love, if you only let yourself feel it. This darkness you hide yourself behind is not who you are: it is a wall you have put up to protect yourself. It scares you, I know it, but not as much as letting others through it. This heart is powerful, and it is capable of so much more than you are willing to let it feel. That is, after all, what hearts are built to do. To feel."

He sighed, letting go of her hand and heart, taking a step back and bowing his head forward a bit, respectfully.

"Forgive me for you upsetting you so. Please, I am sorry. I can't pretend to know your past, and I cannot see the future. All I know is what my own experience has taught me. There were many times when I wished I could turn to the darkness, to comfort myself from the horror in my life, to escape it. Fight it. But it will never make the hurt go away, and it can never bring back what was lost. All it can do is make more suffering. Spawn more darkness. It will bleed into not only the present, but the future, taking any chance at goodness or happiness that might have been glimmering in the distance with it. Your heart, my lady, can only be strong if you believe in it. And if you will not, then I will. A poor substitute, but I cannot let you stay alone in a forest, without any shred of hope or care for your own sake."

Zelena thought for a terrifying moment that he might try to take her heart from her when he reached for her. She hissed, but didn't pull away, realizing after a moment that he was guiding it back to her chest. He was holding her heart but he didn't want it. Maybe he didn't realize what power it had. He couldn't. Who would willingly pass that up?

"How can you have such faith in me?"

He was offering to believe in her when she was unable to believe in heself. At this distance she would hardly need any magic to kill him. She could send him anywhere she wanted with a wave of her hand and yet there he was, offering to be her...friend?

"My heart is broken."

In general it did not function as other hearts did. It didn't accept new people. It didn't welcome love and light and merriment like other people did. It was a stunted, shriveled thing, despite its magical appearance. She pushed it back into her chest with a pained sound, letting her hand drop when she was done.

A few very long awkward minutes passed in silence between them.

"This will not be easy for you."

Any interaction they had was guaranteed not to be easy. She had no idea how it was going to work or what to do now that they were supposed to be "friends."

"What now?"

Mufasa

Mufasa smiled at her patiently, shaking his head slowly as she told him that her heart was broken. He did not believe that, though that much was already abundantly clear. He knew she had the ability in her to be more than just wicked, and something in her eyes told him that she wanted to feel that, too. She was scared, perhaps, or hurt. Damaged, but not broken, not forever.

His eyes were warm and quiet, noting her acceptance of his offer of friendship with a graceful nod of his head.

"As a King, I am very used to things not being easy. Believe me, I am sure I have met more difficult people than you in my time. You have not met my brother, after all. I heartily accept the challenge with you, of course. Now! What next? That is a good question. Perhaps I can show you some of those books, hm? Or if you would rather just read them for yourself, and tell me what you think, I would like that, too. We can meet again, when you finish one, and simply talk about it."

He chuckled, not finding anything boring in that idea. He was a soft hearted guy, at the end of the day, and enjoyed a good unwinding session. Peace and quiet, and a good book. The only thing better than that was sharing it all with a friend. If it helped her to see that she could, in fact, just have fun in simple things, then so much the better.

He had no idea that she played a part in Rumple's heart being taken, of course, or just what her plans were as far as her dark magic and more wicked intentions were concerned. He had not really thought to ask, having felt a bond with her from the moment he saw her. It was easy to be distracted by that.

"I don't want you to get tired of my company, now that you've agreed to let me at least spend a little time with me. If you say I can return, you can tell me to leave at any time." He grinned, thinking it a fair deal.

His ability to be patient was nothing short of amazing. She stared at him blankly, in wonder, as he took her in stride, as if her lashing out was no more bothersome than a mosquito bite. Who the hell was this guy and how on Earth did he latch on to her as someone worth saving. There had to be someone else out there more worth saving than she was. There had to be someone else that deserved his time and trouble more than she did. Someone he had an off chance of saving, not a wicked witch that even now was plotting to destroy nearly everything in this town, including him if she could not convince him to leave.

"Some people are beyond forgiving. Beyond saving. As King you should know when to take a life and when not to. Mercy is a good quality, when it's deserved but it isn't always."

Somehow, and she doubted that she would ever admit this out loud, Zelena didn't think she would ever tire of his company.

"You don't give up, do you?"

She sat down on the rock and sifted through the books he brought her. She wasn't familiar with the titles and didn't often read for fun but that hardly mattered. He thought she did and took the time to think of her. No one else did that, just him. Zelena sneakily looked at him through a curtain of red hair, pretending to study the back of the book jacket while studying him as well. Just where did men like him come from, anyway? Were they a special breed? If so where had he been keeping or so long and why couldn't he have crossed her path sooner? Maybe before all of this hurt and pain warped her heart into a non-working thing.

She surprised herself when it slipped out.

"I don't want you to leave."

Despite minutes ago demanding that he do just that.

"Will you stay?"

She turned her green eyes up to his offering him one of the book he brought her. They could read it together or just sit in silence. Suddenly, and she didn't understand how it was possible, she didn't feel so lonely anymore.

Mufasa

Mufasa chuckled, nodding his head at her.

"Of course, my lady. If that is what you wish." He knew he had persuaded her to let him stay, but hopefully it was not just more what he wanted than what she did. He was hoping he had read her right, and she was in need of a friend and some companionship. If he was just being a lonely man looking to fill the void in his own heart, he would feel a bit too selfish for all of this. It was supposed to be a magnanimous gesture, but he had a habit of looking back at himself and wonder about the deeper meaning behind his decisions.

Maybe that was just part of how he had ruled, rubbing off on his personality and personal life.

Or he just over thought everything way too much. It could be that.

Bowing at her graciously, he offered her a seat on his favorite rock out cropping, which it would continue to be since now they had created a meeting spot together. This was going to be their safe spot, and he knew that when she needed him, she would look for him there. He was hoping that he could do the same, though if she did not want to be found he imagined she was very good at absolutely disappearing.

Magic helped, certainly.

Taking the book she had offered him, he opened to the title page and started to read, without much fan fair. He had picked these stories, after all, to help her pass the time but also chase away the loneliness. A friend reading these stories out loud, then, was just a doubly effective mean toward the same end. And he liked to read, to himself or out loud, and was all too glad to let her rest, sit down for a little while, and just get lost in the sound of his voice, and the story he was sharing.