Chapter One
A gentle rustling awoke Emma from her slumber. "Go back to sleep Henry, please." She groaned to herself. Emma's son Henry was barely two years old and unlikely to follow her halfhearted command. The messy haired little boy gave his mother a charming smirk. "I know there's a fat chance you're going to sleep again." Emma sighed, turning to face the clock which shone 3:56 in the morning brighter than usual. As if on cue Henry wiggled from the entanglement of blankets, landing on the floor and taking off towards the living room. While Emma took a longer time to shake the sleep from her system, she watched her dark haired son playing with his toys from the doorway admiringly. Henry looks like the doppelganger of his father. The thought invaded her mind, proving how tired Emma truly was if such thoughts entered into her subconscious.
Neal had been the love of Emma's life, and probably always would be. The two of them had met in college, and not exactly in a mutual classroom. Emma at that point of her life had no idea what she was going to do for a future and stuck to general education courses. During a long break in between classes, Emma stood outside of her New York University, her favorite red leather jacket hugging around her frame. A cloud of air escaped from Emma's lungs floated through the air, a mere idea of how chilled New York was at this time of year. Out of the corner of her eye Emma caught sight of someone lingering near her yellow Volkswagen Beetle. With Emma's car having no others parked in the spot directly next to it she felt her immediate concern justified. "Hey! What the hell are you doing?" she called out, a dark haired male figure leaping away from the driver side's door. Clutched in his fist was an unbent wire hanger, a rubber wedge jammed into her door. Fury filled Emma to the brim. This crook was in the process of breaking into her car! "Breaking into MY car? Have you lost your mind?" Emma was next to him within a matter of seconds, as though her anger materialized her there. Most infuriating of all, the guy didn't even look ashamed of the fact that he was caught red-handed trying to break into Emma's car. She inhaled, about to explode the frustrations of his lack of guilt for being caught when he held up a single finger, a motion to silence her. "Emma Swan. Now that I finally have your attention, would you care for a drink?"
Henry crashed his toy fire track into the leg of the bed, jolting Emma from her daydreaming. This would probably be the best time to feed him, considering the babysitter would be arriving in a few hours. Emma had a meeting with a client to set up a few days for her to travel to Maine. A while back, around the time she found out that she was carrying Henry, she decided to become a bail bondsperson. Not exactly her dream job or life, but the job paid the bills and kept Henry comfortable. One of these days Emma would come across something that she loved. That is, if she could ever stay in one spot. There was that dilemma with Emma, she was constantly searching. Lucky for Emma, Henry wasn't fussed about traveling constantly or moving around. Most twenty-one year olds had the freedom of only being concerned with themselves. However, Emma wouldn't change Henry being her son for anything in the world. She scooped up Henry, carrying him into the kitchen where he was plopped into the booster seat. "Belle is going to be here soon, kid. Are you excited?" Emma cooed at him to the best of her abilities. Whereas Emma didn't have a mothering bone in her body, Henry had managed to bring out a maternal instinct that Emma thought was otherwise absent. At the mention of Belle's name, Henry smacked the table in excitement. Belle often told Henry Fairytales from a large, brown book simply titled "Once Upon a Time." While Emma believed them to just be stories, there was no harm in Belle reading them to her son. "Alright Henry, let's get you fed."
Emma sat opposite of her client, who was in search of someone who had skipped town on their bail. From the trail that Emma had pieced together, the perp had left off somewhere in Maine. There wasn't an exact location for Emma to search, merely a direction. She would first search in the initial town where the trail died down and then if nothing pursued from said town she would continue on the surrounding areas. There were few that were capable of falling off the map completely, Emma always caught the person that she was after. Just not anything you're after. "I'll keep in contact with you throughout the trip after I've made it to the city, Mr. Gold." Emma spoke to her client in a professional manner. Stacking the files together on the perp into a plain manila folder, Emma rose to see Mr. Gold out of her office. "Be careful on your trip dearie, wouldn't want anything to happen to you." He said in passing, a strange glint in his eye. Emma blinked at the cryptic warning and the glint in Mr. Gold's eye. Before Emma could even utter a question, the displaced look in the older gentleman's eye was gone. She shook her head, watching Mr. Gold's back for longer than she should have as he strolled further and further away from the store. Something about him didn't feel quite right. If Emma thought about Mr. Gold for any longer than a few moments she couldn't help but feel an unknown mystery about him. "I had better get going…Maine is a drive away from Boston." She sighed, picking up her things from her office for the trip.
Emma's familiar yellow Beetle rattled along the sleepy highway. Her hands beat against the steering wheel, hazel eyes darting from the road to the side in search of road signs. Emma should have at least been nearing the last known location of Mr. Gold's bail jumper. Suddenly a large grey and white wolf leapt from the surrounding shadowy woods, directly in front of Emma's car. Veering hard to the right, Emma avoided the large wolf and would have collided with a wooden sign if she had not slammed on the brakes. Letting out a breath Emma searched the parameter from the safety of her car for the wolf. There was no sign of the beast, which had looked to be at least twice the normal size of a wolf. What the hell was that?! Her knuckled had turned a shocking shade of white from how tightly she gripped the steering wheel. Since when were wolves indigenous to Maine?
Remembering the sign a few feet away from her disheveled bug, Emma turned to face it. Welcome to Storybrooke. Storybrooke? What kind of a name was that? From all the road maps strewn across the dashboard, Emma had never seen a Storybrooke, Maine listed. This was probably one of those unknown tiny towns unless you were actually a native. Feeling shaken up from the nearly devastating incident involving the perhaps imaginary wolf and Storybrooke sign, Emma decided that she had done enough driving for the night. She may as well give this Storybrooke a shot for at least the night. Worst comes to worst and Emma could spend the night in her car, even if that wasn't her first choice of housing at least it was the option. Straightening out her car, Emma drove down the quiet road leading into Storybrooke, Maine.
"Is anything even open right now?" Emma yawned, the dashboard clock reading only 11:07 at night. For Emma this was still prime hours. If that wolf, which may or may not have been a figment of Emma's imagination, had not jumped out she would have bypassed the sign all together. Chugging along, Emma paid close attention to not only the buildings, but the road itself. True to the town's name everything looked like it was pulled straight from a story book. Henry would get a kick out of this town. As young as Henry was, he held a certain understanding that was beyond his age. Emma smiled when she thought of her son, no doubt sleeping soundlessly in his bed back in Boston. The time was too late to call Belle to check in on Henry, something Emma had overlooked while driving. If she had known beforehand, Emma would have called just to hear the cheerful babbling only her son could offer.
One building in particular stood out from all others, and for good reason. Granny's Bed and Breakfast. With any luck, this place was still open for check-ins. Sliding the Beetle into an available spot, Emma made for the door as quickly as possible, the thought of the wolf not far from her mind. With delight the door pushed open, a bell hinged to the inside dinging to announce to all that someone indeed was arriving. An elderly woman, whom Emma presumed was Granny, appeared shocked that someone had stumbled upon her quiet Inn within the isolated town. "Oh, well…I wasn't expecting anyone, especially at this hour." Granny stood up behind the desk and silently motioned Emma to approach. Stepping forward, Emma took note of the dust that had gathered in the corners of the lobby. Clearly the rooms had not been touched in a while. "I'm not sure how long I'll need the room…" Emma trailed off. "That's no problem. We're in our slow season and I don't see business picking up anytime soon. Would you like to take a suite? There would normally be an added fee but I don't see why I couldn't place you in the suite for a few days, especially with how we're empty. Are you visiting anyone?" Emma stared at the woman, taking her in. She studied people's habits and behaviors for a living and this was no different. "No, I'm just passing through." Placing an old fashioned turn and lock key done in an intricate swirl pattern in Emma's upturned palm, Granny offered Emma one last smile. "Welcome to Storybrooke then. Your room is up the stairway and at the end of the hall."
Darkness...surrounding every inch around you. Suddenly a bright purple light shoots towards you. Emma awoke from her dream with a jolt. What kind of crazy dream was she having? Lying motionless on the bed, Emma stared at the sun poking through the glass. She often was woken by Henry before the sun could even make an appearance. Despite the strange dream, this had been the first full night's rest Emma could recall having for a long time. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands. Finally, she was able to process the events that flickered in her mind during the night. She was engulfed in black, unable to move. Off in the distance Emma could barely make out the form of a slim figure, a woman. Before she could even call out a burst of purple erupted from the figure towards Emma. Before the light could reach her, Emma woke up.
Slipping from the bed, Emma tugged on her clothes for the day. Might as well get to know the town I crashed into last night. The air in Storybrooke that morning was particularly chilly, Emma walking past the same buildings as last night. With every passing person Emma couldn't help the feeling that she was being watched. Hushed whispers surrounded her while glances went quickly off to the side. She wrapped her arms around her chest, a cold look residing over her face. She was uncomfortable, that much was clear. Ducking into the diner, which was also run by Granny, Emma slipped into the security of the enclosed booth the furthest from the door. "You look like hell." Ruby, Granny's granddaughter stated simply, placing a menu in front of Emma. The two of them had met briefly the other night at the bed and breakfast. "Thanks…I think. Why is everyone staring at me like I murdered the mayor or something?" "Probably because we never have visitors. You're the first new face anyone has seen." Finding that hard to believe, Emma gave Ruby a skeptical look. "I'll just have a coffee. Black." If Emma wasn't welcome her she may as well move on with the investigation and retrieve the man Mr. Gold was after.
The bell above the diner door rang to indicate a customer had answered. Flicking her gaze upwards, Emma froze on the spot. Entering the door was the woman from her dream. She wore an all-black ensemble; dress pants, sharp shirt with a long flowing coat. Emma's breath was caught in her chest, almost expecting the purple fire-ball to come flying at her from any direction. "And just what are you looking at?" The woman's icy gaze fell onto Emma after noticing she had been watching her since the door opened. "Actually, who are you? I've never seen you in my town before." Emma stiffened and glared this woman down. "Your town? Right…like you own the town." "Actually, as Mayor of this town I do technically own the town." Good thing she wasn't here for that whole murder the mayor comment. "Well Madam Mayor, I'm passing by in search for someone. You wouldn't happen to recognize him?" From her inner jacket pocket, Emma slapped down a photograph of an older man on the table. The woman froze, snatching up the picture. "How dare you come here with this photo claiming that this man is wanted for who the hell knows what?" She spoke coldly. Her eyes turned a shade darker from the fury. "I'll have you know that this man is my father…who has been deceased for a few years. I want you out of my town. Now."
Without another word, the mayor turned on her heel and stormed from the room. "What the hell just happened?" Emma asked for what seemed like the millionth time on just this short trip. "Regina Mills, that's what happened. You've just ticked off probably one of worst people in Storybrooke. Kudos for doing so without even knowing her name." Ruby spoke with a wolfish grin. "Well…fuck me."