"Emma? What are you doing?" Mary-Margaret walked up to the blond woman who was immersed in her book. Baby Neal was snugged in his mother's arm as his much older sister fixated her attention in an old book.

"I'm just reading up on some fairy-tales. Just when I think I know them all, another fairy tale character shows up."

Mary-Margaret laughed as she caught a glimpse of the book Emma was reading, it was not Henry's book. "Well I don't think those would help a lot. The characters in real life leads different lives than those from the book of this world."

"Actually this book came from the mansion in the woods," Emma clarified. After Elsa and Anna return home to Arendelle, Emma spotted the book on the coffee table. Which meant the book came from the enchanted forest.

"Is it like the book that Henry has? The one with all our stories?"

Emma frown, "No, the binding is different." This book was smaller with pure white covers. Rather than many different stories, the book seemed focus on a single character.

Neal cooed signaling to the two women that he was awake. Mary-Margaret smiled in content, "How about you read one these stories to Neal? They're fairy-tales right?"

Emma cleared her throat, earning her a curious look "uhh, maybe not this one."

"Why not?"

She started hesitantly, "Well it's about a girl, Anastasia with gold hair, trapped in a tower guarded by a woman named Mother Gothel."

"Oh! Like the Rapunzel story in this world."

"Yes, it's similar but that's where the similarity ends."

"In that case, it sounds like a story from the enchanted forest. Is this girl a villain?"

"No… she's Aurora's half-sister."

Mary-Margaret gave Emma a puzzled look. Emma flipped to the beginning. "It says here," Emma showed her the page, "That Anastasia was conceived from adultery. She became known as a stain in true love. King Stefan, who is Aurora and Anastasia's biological father woke sleeping beauty from her slumber with true love's kiss. However, shortly after breaking the curse, King Stefan mysteriously vanish. When he returned, it was with his first born, a child not born by Sleeping Beauty."

Mary-Margaret reread the page in disbelief. "This can't be right, if they found true love then King Stefan would not betray Aurora's mother so easily."

"That's why Anastasia became the glitch in true love. The tarnish in purity. The story caught my eyes so I kept reading but it doesn't seem like it's something that happened in the enchanted forest. I mean, this seems like the first time you heard of it."

Mary-Margaret nodded. "Where we come from, true love is the most powerful thing so I don't believe this can be right. Still, that's a quite a story."

Emma nodded, "Yea well I guess there's no point reading this. It's not real anyways otherwise it would be in the book where the rest of our stories are."

Emma left and Mary-Margaret took her seat with Neal slowly drifting back to sleep. She stared at the book for a moment and flipped it to the first page.

Once upon a time...

King Stefan stared solemnly at the baby in his arms. She was without a doubt his. A royal princess was born and yet there were no celebration or congratulation.

It could not be helped. The people must not know.

He wished his wife did not need to know either. But Rose was the first to discover his misdeed. One look at the child was enough. She screamed and yelled, but it was already done and there was nothing he can do to undo his mistake. She retired to her room without sparing single look to the babe in his arm.

King Stefan showed the child to no one else.

She was dying the day she was born. That was what the mother had told him. She would not last a year.

He can hear the quiet labored breathing as her tiny lungs worked overtime to keep the baby alive. The girl had yet to open her eyes since she was passed to him.

It had given him some condolence to know that proof of his sin would soon die out. But as soon as he thought it, he was filled with even more guilt and despair.

There was no one to blame but himself.

A soft cooing noise woke him from his though. His eyes fell on the cherub nestled in blankets.

"I have done wrong to my wife, my family, and to you. I'm afraid no one can know you exist."

The king placed the bundle on the table before calling for one of the servants.

A women with curly black hair entered. She gave King Stefan a suggestive smile. She was only a few years older than Rose but already the head of the maids. She was also Stefan's most trusted friend.

"What can I do for you my king?" she asked with her sultry voice making him swallow hard.

"Gothel I have a very important job for you. Do it well and you will be greatly rewarded."

"What is it my King?"

Stefan went and retrieve the baby. "I am entrusting this child to you. Take her to the old tower at the far end of the royal garden. She will be raised there by you until the time comes where she leaves this world."

Gothel wanted to ask who the child belong to but bit back as it wasn't her place to ask the King such as question. Instead she ask with false sweetness, "And what is the name of this darling creature?"

The king paused. He never considered a name for the child. But he couldn't let the child, his first daughter, die nameless. "Anastasia," he whispered. "That's right. Anastasia."

He placed a warm hand over the baby's head, noticing soft blond strands of hair over her head. It was his first time touching her. Skin to skin.

"May you be reborn again with better circumstances."

He watched Gothel leave with a sad look in his eyes. It was better for Rose to never have to see that baby again. It was better for his kingdom to not know that such a child existed. Whether she lived in the castle or a tower for the remainder of her short life would make no difference to her. She would have not noticed anyways.

It was god's mercy that made her life short. He hoped she would die quietly and painlessly in her sleep.