Once Upon A Time. (Book One)

Chapter One: Storybrooke, Maine. (Part Two)

“Then why doesn’t everybody just leave?” she asked if he was telling the truth then why couldn’t they just leave and live their own lives?

“They can’t. If they try, bad things happen.

Emma looked down at him, her eyebrows furrowed together, she was worried for the kid. She didn’t want to see him go into a place of make-believe.

“Henry?” a male voice said. The man has red hair, hazel eyes with a smile build, he was wearing navy blue pants with a white-collar shirt, a blue vest with a red tie along with a brown scarf, and a black jacket alongside him was a blue umbrella in one hand and in his other his dog, named Pongo. “What are you doing here?” he asked while crossing the street to him and Emma. “Is everything all right?” he asked, standing in front of them.

“I’m fine, Archie,” Henry said.

“Who’s this?” Archie asked, looking at Emma.

“Just someone trying to give him a ride home,” Emma said with a smile.

“She’s my mom, Archie,” he said, he wanted to know who she was before word got around.

“Oh, I see,” he was shocked by the news.

“You know where he lives?” Emma asked Archie.

“Yeah, sure. Just right on Mifflin Street. The mayor’s house is the biggest one on the block.” Archie explained, giving her the direction.

“You’re the mayor’s kid?” she asked in shock. She couldn’t believe that this kid was the mayor.

Henry looked down when she was talking to him, he didn’t want her to find out about being the mayor’s kid. “Uh, maybe.” He mumbled lowly, looking around but not looking at Emma or Archie.

“Where were you today, Henry? ‘Cause you missed out session.” Archie looked at him, watching him closely.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you. I went on a field trip.” Henry lied, he wasn’t on a field trip—of course, he went to find his birth mother, Emma, in the big city.

Archie took a deep breath in as he looked at Emma then looked at Henry while getting down to his level. “Henry,” he said softly, “what did I tell you about lying? Giving in to one’s dark side never accomplishes anything.”

“Okay,” Emma said quickly, not liking where the conversation was going. “Well, I really should be getting him home.”

“Yeah. Sure. Well, listen, have a good night, and you be good, Henry,” Archie said, smiling at the both of them, walking back to the sidewalk and heading back to his home.

“So that’s your shrink?” Emma asked when Archie was out of earshot.

“I’m not crazy,” Henry stated.

“Didn’t say that. Just... he doesn’t seem cursed to me. Maybe he’s just trying to help you.”

“He’s the one who needs help. Because he doesn’t know.” Henry said, pushing the curse more onto her.

“That’s he’s a fairy tale character,” Emma guessed.

“None of them do. They don’t remember who they are.” Henry walked away, got back into the car and he set his stuff down.

Emma looked up at the sky and then grinned, sighing aloud. “Convenient. All right, I’ll play. Who’s he supposed to be?” she asked, getting into the car.

“Jiminy Cricket,” Henry answered.

“Right. The lying thing. I thought your nose grew a little bit,” Emma said in a joking manner.

“I’m not Pinocchio,” he said as he shook his head.

“Of course you’re not. Because that would be ridiculous,” she said, driving down the road again.

Charming hit his hand against the wooden table, his chair scooting back as he stood up, yelling to the people around the table, “I say we fight!” He looked around at the round table, they were having a meeting about what to do with the Evil Queen’s curse—and of course, Charming wanted to fight against the Evil Queen. But it was a bad idea to go against the Queen.

“Fighting is a bad idea,” Jiminy Cricket said—he was in his Cricket form. “Giving in to one’s dark side never accomplishes anything.”

Charming looked over at Jiminy. “And how many wars has a clear conscience won?” he asked but he wasn’t waiting for an answer. “We need to take the Queen out before she can inflect her curse,” he continued.

“Can we even trust Rumplestiltskin?” Doc asked.

“I’ve sent my men into the forest. The animals are abuzz with the Queen’s plan,” Charming said, looking around the table once again and looking at Doc. “This is going to happen unless we do something.”

“There’s no point,” Snow said, she was sitting with her hand on her stomach, Charming looking her way. “The future is written.”

“No. I refuse to believe that,” Charming shook his head, he didn’t want to go down losing. “Good can’t just lose.”

“Maybe it can,” Snow said, she was already giving up. She was defeated.

Charming looked at her, he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Snow was never the one to give up, especially with their baby on the line. “No,” he breathes as he sat down in his seat. “No. Not as long as we have each other.” Snow looked his way just when he looked down for a moment. “If you believe him about the curse, then you must believe him about our child. She will be the savior.” He was hoping to get her cheered up and start believing again.

The doors bang open, and everyone that was sitting at the round table looked where the doors were. Charming stood up immediately. “What the hell is this?” he demanded.

Four guards in metal armor brought in a tree trunk. But it wasn’t just any tree trunk, it was a magical one. Then a small fairy came in, her dress and wings were blue and flew around the people at the table. “Our only hope of saving that child,” said the blue fairy.

“A tree? Our fate rests on a tree?” Grumpy asked, he didn’t know that it was magical—nobody did, except for the blue fairy. “Let’s get back to the fighting thing,” he said, looking at Charming.

“The tree is enchanted,” the blue fairy said, floating in the middle of the table. “If fashioned into a vessel, it can ward off any curse.” Snow sat up straighter, she was hopeful again. Her eyes were wide as she looked at the fairy. “Geppetto, can you build such a thing?” the fairy asked the older male.

“Me and my boy, we can do it,” Geppetto said in his thick Italian accent while rubbing his son’s red hair, who is playing with his toys on the ground next to his father.

“This will work,” the fairy said softly. “We all must have faith.” Snow reached toward her husband’s hand, her mouth wide open in belief. Her husband smiled down at her seeing the happy look on his wife’s face. “There is, however, a catch,” she said, dreadfully. She didn’t like delivering bad news. “The enchantment is indeed powerful. But all power has its limits, and this tree can protect only one.”

Prince Charming looked down at Snow, sadness overcame his face when he heard those words coming out of the blue fairy.

Henry and Emma finally reached the mayor’s house, it was big and beautiful. The house was white with black shutters on each side of the windows along with pillars holding up a balcony with an iron fence, lights were on inside the house.

“Please don’t take me back there,” Henry begged.

“I have to. I’m sure your parents are worried sick about you,” Emma said softly.

“I don’t have parents,” he stated. “Just a mom, and she’s evil.”

Emma stopped walking, looking at Henry with a disapproving look. “Evil? That’s a bit extreme, isn’t it?”

“She is. She doesn’t love me. She only pretends to,” he said sadly.

“Kid,” Emma said sadly, she got down on his level to look at him in the eyes. “I’m sure that’s not true.”

The front door opened of the house, and a woman came out wearing a cotton gray dress that was short-sleeved and down to her knees, a pair of strappy high heels; her hair was black and short above her shoulders, and her skin was an almond color. “Henry!” she exclaimed while running towards him, hugging him so tight. “Henry!” Her voice was slightly broken when she saw his face. “Oh! Are you okay? Where have you been?” she asked, looking at the blond that was with him. “What happened?”

“I found my real mom,” Henry said, running into the house.

The mayor looked at her in shock, she wondered how in the hell he had found her and how he could have afforded the payments to take the buses or taxis. Emma looked at her in return like she was in trouble or something. “You’re Henry’s birth mother?” Regina asked her.

“Hi,” Emma said with a polite smile.

“I’ll just go check on the lad, make sure he’s all right,” Sheriff Graham said with a British accent, as he walked back inside the house. Leaving the two women alone, they were eyeing each other up.

“How would you like a glass of the best apple cider you ever tasted?” she asked, smiling.

“Got another strong?” Emma asked.

Regina walked into the kitchen to retrieve two small glasses, walked out, and into a small room with a wooden table a few wooden chairs, and some expensive artifacts. Emma standing in the entryway, her thumbs hooked into her jeans; she was wearing a simple white t-shirt with jeans along with a red leather jacket and brown mid-calf boots. “How did he find me?” she asked.

“No idea,” Regina answered while putting ice into the glasses. “When I adopted him, he was only three weeks old. The records were sealed. I was told the birth mother didn’t want to have any contact,” she continued, pouring the liquor into the glasses.

“You were told right,” Emma eyed for a moment.

“And the father?” Regina asked.

“There was one,” Emma gave her a vague answer.

“Do I need to be worried about him?” Regina asked.

“No. He doesn’t even know.” Emma answered.

“Do I need to be worried about you, Ms. Swan?” Regina asked, grabbing the two glass cups and walking towards her, and handing her one of the glasses.

Emma took the glass and eyed her for a moment before answering, “Absolutely not.”

“Madam Mayor, you can relax,” Sheriff Graham said, coming down the stairs. “Other than being a tired little boy, Henry’s fine.”

“Thank you, Sheriff,” Regina said, nodding once at him. Then the sheriff nodded back at her and then took one glance at Emma, his hands on his hips as he walked out the front doors. “I’m sorry he dragged you out of your life. I really don’t know what’s gotten into him.” Regina said while walking into her mini library.

“Kid’s having a rough time. It happens.” Emma replied, walking behind her.

Regina closed the door behind Emma as she sat down in one of the brown leather armchairs. “You have to understand,” she began, “ever since I became mayor, balancing things has been tricky.” She said, walking toward the fireplace as she messed with a clock while Emma took a long sip of the drink. “You have a job, I assume?”

“Uh, I keep busy. Yeah.” Emma answered, pulling the drink away from her lips as she nodded nervously, placing her glass cup near a pile of red apples.

“Imagine having another one on top of it.” Walking toward the other leather brown chair across from Emma, and set down her own glass cup. “That’s being a single mom. So I push for order.” Pushing a lock of raven-black hair out of her eyes. “Am I strict? I suppose. But I do it for his own good. I want Henry to excel in life. I don’t think that makes me evil. Do you?” she asked the other, tilting her head slightly with a small frown upon her pink lips.

Emma was shocked by that word: Evil. She blinked a few times before answering. “I’m sure he’s just saying that because of the fairy tale thing,” taking the glass and supped on it again.

“What fairy tale thing?” she asked, confused.

“Oh, you know, his book,” she smiled, answering. “How he thinks everyone’s a cartoon character from it. Like his shrink is Jiminy Cricket,” she breathed out a small laugh.

She was still confused about what Emma was saying to her. “I’m sorry, I really have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Emma took a moment to look at her. “You know what, it’s none of my business. He’s your kid. And I really should be heading back,” taking one last sip of her drink before setting down on the coffee table.

“Of course,” Regina nodded once before getting up from the chair, she walked to the door and opened it for Emma. They both walked out of the mini library and toward the front door. Emma walked down the path as she was getting her keys out of her pocket, stopping at the end of the path she turned around to look up and saw Henry looking down at her but he quickly ran to turn off his light before getting into bed.

Emma was on the road again, she was riding down the street with her headlights on and light rain coming down from the sky. She was tapping her fingers against her steering wheel, closing her eyes for a moment as she tried to stay awake. Looking over into the passenger seat, she saw Henry’s Once Upon A Time book. She shook her head as she smiled to herself, mumbling, “Sneaky bastard.” When she looked up, a white wolf appeared in the street, Emma gasped as she pressed on the brakes and swerved out of the way so she wouldn’t hurt the wolf. Her tired screeching as her car hit the Welcome to Storybrooke sign, Emma hitting the back of her head with her headrest as her car door flung open and her horn honking as the thunder started crashing down.

The wolf looked up into the sky and started howling.

The pages of the book started turning, it opened up to Geppetto working on the enchanted tree.

Geppetto was in his workshop, working on the doors for the tree trunk with his little boy, he put it against the open hole—he wanted to make sure that it covers it fully. He took it back to the table, looking for a tool but his little boy picked it up for his father, and they both smile at each other. They went back to working on the Enchanted Tree Trunk.

Snow White was out on the balcony of her castle, you could see the ocean and the forest; hearing the birds singing their little songs to each other. She was thinking about how much time she had left before the Queen did the curse, and how long she gets to spend time with her family and friends and the people that loved her and she loved them. She turned and walked back into her room with her husband, Prince Charming. “I don’t want to do this,” she said to him.

He looked up at his wife with sad eyes. “It has to be you,” he said in a soft voice.

Snow came walking in fast, shaking her head as she stood in front of him. “I’m not leaving you.”

Charming took Snow into his arms, pressing his forehead against his gently. “It’s the only way. You’ll go in there and you’ll be safe from the curse.”

“He said it would be on her 28th birthday,” she said in distress, she couldn’t wait twenty-eight years. It was too long.

“What’s twenty years when you have eternal love?” Charming asked, whispering. Snow was sobbing because she didn’t want to leave Charming or lose their baby girl. “I got faith. You will save me as I did you.” They shared a passionate kiss, her cheeks were stained with tears. She pulled away abruptly, her face in shock. “What is it?” he asked, concerned

She gasped as she placed a hand on her stomach, “Baby,” she whispered. “She gasped out of pain then she looked up at him. “She’s coming.”

Grumpy was on a stone wall, looking over the place, he was seeing when the curse will come along. He had a flask on him, he undid the tin lid and down the rest of the liquids that were inside the flask. There was a whooshing in the distance, Grumpy just finished as he looked into the sky. He kicked Sleepy on the foot, “Wake up,” he grunted but all you could hear from Sleepy was snorting. “Wake up!” he yelled. Sleepy got up and turned to look at what Grumpy was looking at in the sky. “Look!” he pointed, thunder crashing in the distance, it was a purple cloud with green lightning. “The curse!” Grumpy yelled for everyone to hear him. “It’s here!” He ran toward the bell, ringing as fast and loud as he could.

A man was whistling into the jail cell next to Emma, she was laying down when her eyes fluttered open as she looked around, confused and dazed about where she was for a moment. “What are you looking at, sister?” the man asked her. Emma slowly sat up in her cell.

“Hey, Leroy, manners,” the older man with an Italian accent said. “We have a quest. So you are Henry’s mother? How lovely for him to have you back in his life.”

“Actually, I was just dropping him off,” Emma said, placing a hand on her forehead.

“Don’t blame you. They’re all brats. Who needs them?” Leroy stated, harshly.

“Well, I’d give anything for one,” Marco said, who had a cup of coffee in his hand. “My wife and I, we tried for many years,” he looked off into the distance, “but he was not meant to be.”

“Well, cry me a river,” Leroy said, looking over at Marco.

“Leroy, if I’m gonna let you out, you need to behave,” Sheriff Graham said as he walked into the station and unlocked the cell with Leroy in it. “Put on a smile, and stay out of trouble.” Leroy got up and started walking out slowly while looking at the Sheriff as he said those words to him, he put on a fake smile just for him to see.

Emma got up and leaned against the bars, “Seriously?” she asked, looking at Graham.

Sheriff Graham walked back to his desk and then turned around with a smile, walking over to Emma. “Regina’s drinks, are a little stronger than we thought,” he stated.

“I wasn’t drunk,” Emma said. She knew that she wasn’t drunk, she didn’t even drink all of it. “There was a wolf standing in the middle of the road,” she explained.

“A wolf. Right.” Graham didn’t believe her one bit.

“Graham?” Regina’s voice echoed through the station as she walked in. “Henry’s run away again. We have to...,” She stopped in her tracks, she saw Emma in the cells. She couldn’t believe that she was still here and not back where she belonged. “What is she doing here?” she asked nastily, walking closer to them. “Do you know where he is?”

“Lady, I haven’t seen him since I dropped him at your house. I have a pretty good alibi.” Emma answered.

“He wasn’t in his room this morning,” Regina said.

“Did you try his friends?” Emma asked.

“He doesn’t really have any. He’s kind of a loner.” Regina replied.

“Every kid has friends. Did you check his computer? If he’s close to someone, he’d be emailing them?” Emma questioned.

“And you know this how?” Regina asked, curious.

“Finding people’s what I do. Here’s an idea. How about you guys let me out, and I’ll help you find him?” Emma bargained with them.

Emma, Regina, and Sheriff Graham are back at the mayor’s house, they were all in Henry’s room. Emma opened up Henry’s laptop as she sat down in a wooden chair, she opened up the email and found it empty. “Smart kid. Cleared his inbox. I’m smart, too. A little hard disk recovery utility I like to use.” Emma said to the Sheriff who was standing next to her while Regina is looking through her son’s stuff.

“I’m a bit more old-fashioned in my techniques. Pounding the pavement. Knocking on doors. That sort of thing.” Sheriff Graham said.

“You’re on salary. I get paid for delivery. Pounding the pavement is not a luxury that I get.” She tilted her head slightly when she finally found something. “Huh. There’s a receipt for a website. Who’syourmomma.org.” Regina walked over to get closer to the site. The site was in big bold letters: Who’s Your Momma? and underneath it said: Thank you for using our service to locate your birth mother. Your receipt for $265.50 and your mother’s contact information are attached to this email. “It’s expensive. He has a credit card?” she asked Regina.

“He’s ten,” Regina said, scoffing in disbelief that Emma would ask such a question.

“Well, he used one,” Emma stated. “Let’s pull up a transaction record. Mary Margaret Blanchard. Who’s Mary Margaret Blanchard?” she asked.

“Henry’s teacher,” Regina said evenly, arms crossed her chest.

In the classroom there were fifteen or so fifth graders, they were all seated and each of them made birdhouses for all of the birds in Storybrooke. “As we build our birdhouses, remember,” Miss Blanchard said, walking between her kids with a bluebird in her hands. “What you’re making it’s a home, not a cage. A bird is free and will do what it will.” She said, walking to the windows in her classroom and turning to her kids with a smile on her lips. “This is for them, not us. They’re loyal creatures.” The window was open halfway, putting her hands out of the window and letting the bird into a blue birdhouse, the kids gasped as the bird went to the birdhouse, and Miss Blanchard turned to look at her kids again. “If you love them and they love you, they will always find you.” Then the bell rang, dismissing the kids into the hallway. “We’ll pick this up after recess. No running.” The kids were talking as they went out of the building and to the playground, a little girl went up to Miss Blanchard and gave her an apple. “Why, thank you,” she answered, Regina and Emma, walked in while the kids were leaving the room. “Ms. Mills? What are you doing here?” she asked Regina.

“Where is my son?” Regina asked in a demanding voice.

“Henry? I assumed he was home sick with you,” she answered, shifting from one foot to another.

“Do you think I’d be here if he was?” she asked harshly, Miss Blanchard looked over at Emma by the door. “Did you give him your credit card so he can find her?” Regina pointed to Emma.

Miss Blanchard shook her head and then looked back at Emma. “I’m sorry, who are you?” she asked.

“I’m his... I’m his...,” Emma stuttered.

“The woman who gave him up for adoption,” Regina said.

Miss Blanchard looked at Regina in shock then looked back at Emma. Closing her eyes for a moment, a soft sign left her lips. Taking her purse off her shoulder and set it on one of the desks.

“You don’t know anything about this, do you?” Emma asked Miss Blanchard, looked up for a moment then went back to looking for her wallet.

“No, unfortunately not,” she found her wallet, realizing that one of her credit cards is missing. “Clever boy. I should never have given him that book.”

“What in the hell is this book I keep hearing about?” Regina asked in frustration.

“Just some old stories I gave him,” Miss Blanchard said quickly. “As you well know, Henry is a special boy. So smart. So creative. And, as you might be aware,” she paused, looking Regina in the eyes, “lonely. He needed it.”

“What he needs is a dose of reality. This is a waste of time,” Regina said, Miss Blanchard, looking down. Regina turned her back and started toward the door, knocking down things along the way. “Have a nice trip back to Boston,” she said, walking past Emma.

Miss Blanchard went to pick up the dropped stuff that Regina caused as Emma watched after her. Then Emma walked to the mess and started helping Henry’s teacher, looking at her.

“Sorry to bother you,” Emma apologized.

“No, it’s...,” Miss Blanchard started to say but looked at Emma. “It’s okay, I fear this is partially my fault.” She kept looking at Emma, seeing something special in her in a way. Like she could trust her.

“How’s a book supposed to help?” Emma asked, curiously.

“What do you think stories are for?” Miss Blanchard asked, taking the books from Emma. “These stories,” she continued, setting the books down on a counter, “the classics, there’s a reason we all know them.” She walked away from the counter and in front of Emma. “They’re a way for us to deal with our world.” They started walking out of the classroom and into the hallway. “A world that doesn’t always make sense. Henry hasn’t had the easiest life.”

“Yeah, she’s kind of a hard-ass,” Emma blurted out.

“No, it’s more than her. He’s like any adopted child. He wrestles with that most basic question they all inevitably face. ‘Why would anyone give away?’“ Miss Blanchard was shocked at the realization, turning to face Emma—who was looking hurt. “I am so sorry. I am so sorry, I didn’t mean in any way to judge you.”

“It’s okay,” Emma said softly.

“I gave the book to him because I wanted Henry to have the most important thing anyone can have,” Miss Blanchard said, they both looked at each other with hope. “Hope. Believing in even the possibility of a happy ending is a very powerful thing.”

“You know where he is, don’t you?” Emma asked.

“You might want to check his castle,” she answered.

Snow is on the bed with her legs spread open, she screams at the top of her lungs, and Doc and Prince Charming were in the room with Snow. Guards were in the forest on their horses toward the castle. “I can’t have this baby now!” Snow yelled out.

“Doc, do something,” Charming said, he was frantic. Doc was putting a wet cloth on Snow’s forehead. “It’s gonna be okay. The wardrobe’s almost finished. Just hold on.”

The Queen’s guard was pulling her carriage along the dirt road, they were getting closer and closer to the castle. Snow was screaming at the top of her lungs, trying not to push out the baby but the baby was ready to come into this world.

Geppetto came into the door without knocking, looking at Doc, Charming, and Snow. “It’s ready,” he said. Snow was in pain and Charming was looking hopeful, maybe Snow and their baby could get away but they were running out of time.

Charming was lifting out of her bed when he heard Doc’s voice. “It’s too late,” he said in a panic. “We can’t move her.”