Henry Mills woke up beneath the soft, blue blankets of his bed. His alarm clock was ringing. He stared around his room, seeing night lights, bookshelves full of superhero comics, and Star Wars themed toys scattered across the floor. An ordinary sight for anow eleven years old boy to wake up to.

But none one would find the life of Henry Mills ordinary. And all because of one old, thick, tattered book that looked out of place amongst the glossy comic books. From where he still lay in bed he could read the faded gold text on the cover: Once Upon A Time.

It wasn't so unusual for a kid his age to own a book of fairy tales. But these stories were so much more than that. If this book hadn't come into his life, he would just be an ordinary kid in Maine. Adopted. With a mother that loved him like she had been the one to give birth to him, though that had been Emma Swan, not Regina Mills. If not for this book, he wouldn't have ever even met Emma Swan.

Oh right. Emma. Shit. She was coming to pick him up and take him to see the new Star Wars movie in... he checked the clock... about half an hour. Storybrooke didn't have a theater, so they had to drive out of town. That was why Regina couldn't take him. She, along with anyone who was a victim of the Dark Curse, couldn't leave the town and retain their memories. Henry lay in thought, remembering everything that had happened since the curse was broken.

Everyone remembered their family and the people they loved. Emma and Regina had settled their differences... kind of. They hadn't exactly buried the hatchet, just set it aside for Henry's sake. Emma and Snow had been whisked away to the Enchanted Forest, where Cora, Regina's mother, had tried to get to Storybrooke, but had been double- crossed by Captain Hook, who had finally given up revenge on Rumplestiltskin, after hearing Belle's pleas.

Henry pulled himself out of his thoughts when he heard the doorbell ring. Damn it. Emma was early. Regina would hate that. He leapt out of bed, threw on some clothes, brushed his teeth, and dashed down the stairs. He heard his mothers' raised voices.

"It isn't a crime to be five minutes early, Regina."

"I told you he just isn't ready to go."

"Yeah, and he 'won't be ready' for the rest of the day. I'm not going to whisk him off to Boston and never return."

"Oh look, here he comes now. I guess the Evil Queen wasn't holding him captive after all."

Emma really couldn't argue with that, so she simply led Henry out the door. He teased her on the way to the movie about her budding relationship with a certain pirate, thinking that today would be one of the few and far between wonderful, normal days they had shared. Neither of them noticed an owl fly back towards the mayor's house and land on Henry's bedroom window.