"Sissy? Sissy wake up!"

It was Roland; Esme knew that much. What she didn't know was exactly what was wrong. With Hope being up all night, Esme hoped that it was something important because she felt like she had only been asleep for a couple of minutes.

"Roland? What is it little knight?" Esme said groggily.

"I don't want to go to school. I want to stay here until papa and Gina and Henry are back," Roland complained. As Esme slowly opened her eyes, she was somewhat relieved to see that it was light outside; she could give up on trying to sleep and deal with a new day.

"I know honey, but we have to get you to school. School is where you go to make your smarter!" Esme began but even she didn't really believe that, so she couldn't blame her brother when he clearly wasn't convinced. He stood at the edge of Esme's bed and stared at her; determined to stay home.

"Okay, come here sweetie, " Esme said as she threw her duvet away from her and allowed Roland to climb into bed and snuggle close to her.

"Why did they leave?" Roland asked for the one hundredth time this week. As often as it happened, each time grew more pitiful because Roland tried less and less to hide his sadness. Esme had never really considered it until her family left, but he and his father had rarely been separated; so his leaving to save a friend was going to be tough for a 7 year old to understand.

"They had to leave to help Emma, sweetheart," Esme said as she wrapped her arms around the scared little boy and gently stroked his curly hair. She felt him settle beside her.

"Good Emma?"

"Yes, honey. Good Emma," Esme whispered. She knew that this was all incredibly complicated. For months the perfectly adorable little boy had been told to stay away from Emma; in her evil days, she had terrified and hurt him. So how was Esme supposed to explain to him that Emma was now safe to be around because her pirate boyfriend absorbed her darkness before he died? Esme barely understood it, and so it was unfair of her to expect Roland to. Ultimately, around a week after Regina and Robins wedding, Hook was killed by Emma in an attempt to save him from the darkness that he had loathed. Emma travelled to the underworld to save him, Henry insisted on accompanying her, Regina went to ensure Henry was safe and Robin went to ensure that Henry and Regina remained alive; their honeymoon lasted a grand total of seven days. Esme could barely remember the conversation that she had had with her parents; the second that she heard 'the underworld' her heart sank to the bottom of her stomach. Much like everyone in the world, Esme had known people that died. Some of them were dark, sinister people who were probably best friends with Hades himself. But others? Others were good, kind, generous people who had been taken from this world far too soon. The bad ones Esme wouldn't have minded seeing; she hoped they would suffer as much in death as they had made others suffer in life - purgatory was almost better than hell at making them do that. They would be tormented by there own mind and that gave Esme a minute hint of satisfaction. But Esme knew that it wasn't only dark souls that got sentenced to oblivion in purgatory. If she had joined her parents in the underworld, Esme would meet some of the few good souls that she had brought death to; she may not have ended their lives herself, but her association with them marked their death sentence. She was responsible for the deaths of many souls that had only showed her kindness; the only thing that made that thought even remotely bearable was the thought that they were in a better place. Esme couldn't live with herself if she found that they had been in purgatory all this time. She was a coward. She knew that. But she had had an overload of information and change this last year; she couldn't handle much more.

Bleep. Bleep. Bleep. The alarm rang to life.

"Well kiddo, you know what that noise means," Esme said as she brushed her brother's hair out of his eyes, which she knew Roland hated. As he squirmed in her arms, Esme laughed as the two play fought.

"Oh and after school, you are so getting your hair cut!" Esme laughed.

"Now go on, get ready and i'll make you and Hope some breakfast," Esme said as she hoisted Roland out of her bed.

"Hehe, Hope does eat food silly!" Roland giggled as stood sat on the floor and clung to Esme's leg. Just as he tightened his grip, Esme heard Hope screaming through the baby monitor.

"Roland, come on bud. We've got to get ready."

"No!" Roland shouted playfully.

"Roland please-" Esme said as she tried to walk towards the door, but she knew the reason that Hope was crying was because she wanted her food, and her food was in the kitchen. That meant that Esme had to go down the stairs and she couldn't do that with her very heavy little brother attached to her leg.

"No! No! No!" Roland shouted. As he and Hope began out-screaming one another, Esme could feel herself getting more and more angry.

"Roland! Go and get ready! Now!" Esme shouted. Her voice carried throughout the house and echoed off of the floors and walls of empty rooms. The second that she saw the dejected look on Roland's face, she regretted it, but the little boy had got up and ran to his room quicker than Esme had stopped him.

"No, Roland wait! Sweetie, i'm s-" Esme began but it was no use. Hope was screaming and the sound was vibrating through the whole house. Esme ran to the kitchen as fast as her feet could take her, made Hope some formula and immediately took it to her crying sister. As she lifted her, Hope's cries grew a little less shrill. Once Esme placed the bottle in her mouth, she couldn't help but giggle at how quickly the youngster guzzled down her breakfast; the kid liked her food. Apart from the crying, dirty diapers and total lack of sleep, Esme quite enjoyed looking after Hope. She loved seeing the funny little faces that she made, and learning what they meant. She found it funny how she could now tell almost exactly what Hope wanted just by the sound of her cry. She also quite liked dressing her in the cute little outfits. Esme loved being a sister, but she wasn't always good at it; the sad little boy in his room was a testament to that. So once Esme had burped and changed little Hope, the two of them went to Roland's room. She knocked but her was very vocal about the fact that he didn't want to talk to her.

"You sure? We could make pancakes before you go to school?" Esme pleaded but she knew that it was in vain; Roland had never seen her lose her tempter before. She had scared him and there was no amount of pancakes to make that better. So instead, Esme did the only thing that she could think of doing; talking to him. She had tried to be the strong one, but she was struggling too and maybe it was okay for Roland to know that. So she sat on the floor outside of Roland's bedroom, cradled baby Hope in her arms and began to talk.

"Okay listen buddy. I am so, so sorry that I shouted at you. I never meant to scare you I just- I just needed you to get ready and Hope was crying and -. But that doesn't mean that it's okay. Things have just- you know how much you miss mom and dad? Well, I miss them too. I'm not used to this whole parenting, or big sister thing, but I promise I will try to be better okay?" Esme said. As she watched Hope fall asleep, she waited in silence for a reply from her brother; but it never came. With that, she got up to get her cell phone to call Granny and let her know that there would be a change of plan; since Robin and Regina left, Esme had dropped Roland to school and brought Hope to Granny's. Today that didn't seem likely.

"You are a good sister, sissy. I'm sorry for being naughty," Roland said through the door.

"Oh honey, that's okay. We were both naughty. So, how about you open the door, we give each other an 'i'm sorry' cuddle and then we get you to school," Esme said hopefully. Thankfully, her brother accepted the deal; he slowly opened the door before tentatively joining Esme on the floor and clutching her waist tightly.

"Okay. Can you make the pancakes like daddy?" Roland said as he continued to clutch Esme's waist.

"I can try honey. Now you go get dressed, Hope and I will make the pancakes and we can see who finishes first. Okay?" Esme asked, to which Roland nodded eagerly.

"Okay. Ready? Set. Go!" Esme commanded. She laughed at how quickly little Roland sprang to life; jumping up from the floor, racing into his room, and frantically pulling on the clothes that Esme had left out for him the previous night. Once she was satisfied that Roland was almost ready, she took Hope into the kitchen, placed the sleeping baby into the bassinet that was placed beside the kitchen table and began making Roland his pancakes. Roland loved the way that Robin did it - he made them into little stars using a cutter that Regina had lying around - but Esme had never been any good at cooking; anytime that she tried using the cutter, it turned out more of a blob than a star. So she made the pancake in its normal, circular shape and then used the cutter to cut out the star; she was fairly certain that they wouldn't last long enough for Roland to notice. As she waited for the batter to cook in the pan, she noticed a slight but sharp twinge in the back of her head. It left like the beginning of a migraine; one that was slowly but purposefully chipping away at the back of her skull. This scared her. It scared her because Esme didn't take migraines - in fact, truth be told she wasn't even sure what one felt like. Esme had visions and she knew exactly what they felt like. She hadn't had one in months; she thought that she and Regina had mastered her seeing powers enough to be able to control them slightly more. Maybe not.

"Ready!" Roland shouted as he torpedoed through the kitchen door. He had startled Esme somewhat; she had lost herself in her worries.

"Oh! Shhh buddy, Hope is sleeping remember," Esme said with a giggle but it was too late for that; Hope was crying. Esme turned to Roland and saw the way he looked at her, with guilt etched all over his little face. She walked over to give Roland a kiss on the head.

"Well then you win little knight, because these pancakes aren't quite done!" Esme said as she walked over to pick up Hope. As she rocked Hope in her arms, Esme looked at the clock on the white wall above the window and realised how early it was; she had been rushing around for no real reason. It had just gone 7am.

"Can I get some hot chocolate?" Roland asked as he gave Esme a cuddle and stretched to give Hope a little kiss.

"Hot chocolate and pancakes?! Hmmmm," Esme laughed. She knew Roland was pushing his luck, but she couldn't say no. Anytime that the word even popped into her head, the image of Roland's sad little face replaced it. Besides, he had had a tough week so a little chocolate wasn't going to hurt anyone. Esme tickled Roland under the arms with her free hand and smiled at the sound of his blissfully happy laugh. Esme was wholly convinced that that was Roland's magic; his laugh could make even the most depressed of people experience even a little happiness.

"Okay, you get the pods and put it in the machine and I will dish up your pancakes," Esme said as she gently placed Hope into her bassinet. The little girl hadn't gone back to sleep but she had stopped crying, so she seemed happy to lie in her warm little haven, packed with stuffed animals and the pink and white blanket that Granny had crocheted.

Esme reached down Roland's favourite mug for the cupboard and placed it on the drink machine before plating up Roland's pancakes. Esme had no idea how to use the machine that Regina was obsessed with, but Roland was a different case. He pressed all of the right buttons and watched in delight as the steaming hot chocolate flowed from the machine straight into his self decorated mug. Esme lifted the steaming hot mug off of the machine for him, before he burned himself, and quickly put some cold milk into it, but as she did so the mug almost slipped off the counter.

"Careful sissy! That's my favourite!" Roland shouted. Esme was able to save the mug and the hot chocolate in it without causing any damage, but she could have kicked herself for not being more careful; he and Regina had made it a few months ago. Regina had written his name on it in magic marker, the two of them used paint to decorate it and then Robin glossed it. It was the only thing Roland drank out of; even if it was being washed he would rather wait than use something else.

"I know, i'm sorry! It's okay though, see? Now grab that plate and eat up honey, we've got to get to school," Esme said as she set his mug on Roland's spot at the kitchen table and kissed his head.

"You did it! You made them into stars!" Roland giggled. Hope was still squirming in her little bassinet so Esme carefully picked her up before she sat down at the table to join Roland.

"Is she sleepy?" Roland asked as he watched his little sister fussing a little in Esme's arms.

"I think so. She didn't sleep very well last night," Esme explained.

"She didn't? How do you know?" Roland asked as he devoured his pancakes.

"No honey. Because she cried almost every single hour of last night. But you could sleep through a hurricane so you probably didn't hear her," Esme said as she tousled her brothers hair.

"Hehe I like to sleep," Roland laughed.

"I know you do! I just wish our sister did," Esme explained.

"Could we tell her a story? I can't sleep without a story," Roland explained as he finished his pancakes and gulped his hot chocolate.

"I think that she would love that buddy. Awesome idea," Esme said encouragingly. Since Hope's birth, she had been worried that Roland would feel pushed out; he was no longer the baby. But he seemed to thrive being a big brother. Esme watched in delight as Roland began to tell baby Hope a very elaborate story about dragons and fireballs. Odd as the story was, it seemed to work for Hope's eyes slowly began to close and she stopped fighting the sleep that beckoned her.

"Good job honey," Esme whispered, determined to allow Hope to sleep in the attempt to ensure that she wasn't cranky at Granny's.

"Thanks. Now come on, lets go to school," Roland said as he jumped out of his chair.

"What? You actually want to go to school now?" Esme said with a laugh; she longed to have her brother's energy.

"Not really but I want to be smart, like you, and so I have to go to school," Roland said, completely unaware of the compliment he had just paid Esme.

"Aw. Thank you honey," Esme called to her brother as quietly as she could, who was now racing to his room to get his bag pack. As she heard him pounding up the stairs, Esme carefully followed him and went into her room. She set a sleeping Hope in the middle of her bed and began to pull on some clothes. She knew that she didn't have a great deal of time so she simply brushed her hair, letting it flow around her shoulders, and put on a thin layer of make-up. All-in-all it took Esme about 5 minutes to get dressed and get ready, which was just enough time for Roland to pack his bag and race into Esme's room.

"You ready?" Roland asked quietly.

"Yeah. Lets go buddy," Esme said as she picked up her sister.

"Can we watch movies when I come home?" Roland asked as they walked down the staircase.

"Once we get your homework finished, sure! What you want to watch?" Esme asked as she gently placed Hope in her stroller and fastened the harnesses.

"I don't know. We can chose later? Oh! And can you get some pie from Granny's?" Roland asked as he ran into the kitchen.

"Sure. What are you doing? Bud, we've got to go!" Esme said in as loud a whisper as she could. Although she needn't have worried, for when Roland emerged, he was carrying Hope's blanket.

"That is perfect, thank you. You wanna know something?" Esme asked Roland as she carefully wrapped the blanket around their sleeping baby sister.

"What?"

"I think you are a pretty awesome big brother," Esme said as she began to push her little sister towards the door.

"Thank you sissy. You too," Roland said, completely unaware of his mistake and Esme wasn't going to tell him.

"Now, you remember the drill?" Esme asked, to which Roland nodded. The steps at the front of their house were a beautiful decorative feature, but they were not particularly conducive for a baby's stroller. Thankfully, Esme and Roland had worked out a system; Esme detached the part with Hope in it and carried her while Roland wheeled the stroller part of the house and clumsily down the stairs. Once that was achieved, Hope's carry seat was placed carefully back onto the stroller and they walked Roland to school. So that's exactly what they did, just like they had done everyday for just over a week. They walked and talked until they arrived at Roland's school.

"Be good buddy okay. Learn some stuff," Esme said as she kissed him on the head and waited until he walked into the building before she left.

On her walks to Granny's, it was the quiet that Esme enjoyed. Hearing the rustling of the trees, or the chirping of birds reminded her that the world was still spinning; it reassured her that even though things felt getting too much to bare, if the world kept on moving then so could she.

As Esme neared the steps at the bottom of Granny's, Esme began to unfasten the carry seat from the stroller and Granny met her at the door.

"Well hey there! You're early this morning," Granny called as she took Hope's carry seat from Esme.

"Yeah! I'm going a little stir crazy in that house so I thought i'd come and grace you with my presence a little longer today," Esme joked.

"Oh. Lucky me then," Granny said sarcastically as she waited for Esme to open the door. Esme did so and carried the stroller in to Granny's.

"Wow, you're busy this morning," Esme noticed.

"It's a meeting," Granny said as she reattached Hope's stroller before walking into the kitchen. Something was up, Esme knew that. She just didn't know what. So she asked sneezy to watch Hope and followed Granny, who was making enough pies to feed hundreds.

"You just going to stand there or you going to help?" Granny ordered as she began filling the pies with strawberry, apple and cheery fillings.

"Well that depends," Esme began. It didn't really, she would always help Granny, but she knew that Granny wasn't going to talk without an awful lot of convincing.

"Oh? On what?"

"On whether or not you are going to tell me what that meeting out there is about," Esme asked. Granny stopped a moment and lost herself in her thoughts. She stared at the pies she had been making and wondered what to say.

"Don't worry about anything. I just want you to tell me," Esme said as she took the apple filling off of Granny's and began to fill the pies.

"It's about who's going to replace your mom as mayor," Granny said. Esme was rattled; she hadn't planned on this. She understood, of course. The town wanted reassurance that somebody would be there to protect them if anything was to happen, and in Storybrooke there was a much greater chance that that could happen. But it also felt like the town was beginning to think that this situation was more permanent than it was.

"Oh. Umm, well that's okay. But, I mean, they know that Regina is coming back right? I mean this is temporary-" Esme began but Granny was quick to interrupt her.

"Esme-" Granny tried to interject but Esme was too stubborn.

"What? Granny i'm not in denial or anything. They are coming back!"

"Okay! Okay! They're coming back," Granny relented as she held her hands up. She looked at Esme, primarily to ensure that she wasn't offended by what she had heard, but what she saw worried her more. Esme was staring out the window. Not like she was looking at anything in particular but glassily. Her eyes were wider than usual, her stance was rigid. Something was wrong.

"Esme? Esme honey?" Granny shook her but she didn't move; nothing broke her eery gave from the window.

"Stand behind me," Esme ordered. She didn't sound like herself; her voice was deeper. Even as she spoke, she remained in her trance. Granny did as she was told, too dazed and worried about Esme to fully understand what was going on. As she stood behind Esme, she waited in anticipation and worry. She was just about to ask Esme what was going on when Esme fell back into her arms and the two collapsed onto the floor.