e·vent ho·ri·zon
noun 1) a theoretical boundary around a black hole beyond which no light or other radiation can escape; 2)a point of no return.
Chapter One: Welcome to Storybrooke
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Neal asked, stopping the car just short of the town line.
Emma looked more frightened then Neal had ever seen her, like a cornered rabbit just looking for a direction to bolt. The letter had been crunched in her hand the entire trip until it was so crumpled and well-read Neal was surprised it hadn't fallen apart.
They had a good life. After fencing the watches they had had more than enough money to get across the border and set themselves up in a nice little apartment. They had even had enough to buy a bit of real furniture – the new kind, not the stuff you could find thrown out on the corner. It wasn't much, but it was home, something neither of them had had in a very long time.
Neal got a decent job working construction and Emma started as a hostess at one of those super fancy restraints. And not even a month after they had settled in they got the news: Emma was pregnant. It was the third best moment of his life, after meeting Emma and the day Henry was born.
Emma had been so nervous about it all. What did she know about being a mom? And they were so young. Neal hadn't known what to say when he heard that, it wasn't like he could tell her that in the little village he had grown up in, an entire world and a few centuries away, most people were on their second or third child by their age. All he could say was that even if they didn't know how to be parents, they knew how not to be and that was a hell of a start.
And then the letter had come, hand written in a shiny silver gel pen. The writer, someone named Len, had claimed to be a college student doing some an assignment missing kids and had accidently come across a connection the police should have caught. Len had enclosed two newspaper clippings from eighteen years ago. One told of a little baby found abandoned in the woods, wrapped in an embroidered blanket, the other told of a young couple whose child had been taken from the nursery one chilly night. The only other thing missing had been a blanket with her name embroidered across the front: Emma.
"I'm afraid Neal," she whispered, reaching back to touch Henry's foot. "I had always thought they just left me but what if…"
She didn't have to finish because Neal knew what she was thinking. What if they were there and she could get what she never thought she could have? What if they weren't and Len was wrong?
"Well, there's only one way to find out."
Neal started the car and inched it forward slow enough that Emma could stop him if she really wanted to but she said nothing as they passed the wooden sign welcoming them to Storybrook.
Regina sat at the counter, eating her breakfast just as she had done every day for the past eighteen years. No one sat with her, the peasants were all too terrified to approach her unless it was absolutely necessary.
It gave her a measure of satisfaction – them finally giving her the respect she deserves and yet she would be lying if she didn't find the situation strangely boring. Things were perfect but nothing ever changed.
There was a commotion and Regina turned just in time to see a dark haired young man fall forward. He reached out his hand to steady himself, grabbing the nearest surface.
"Watch it!" she yelled, jerking her arm way.
He was a tall thing with sharp features and bright, hazel eyes. Regina had seen him around town on occasion but had no idea who he had been in their world. Not that it mattered now.
He smiled sheepishly, sitting down beside her. "Sorry."
Regina whipped at an oily sliver substance on the back of her hand. The old lady really needed to keep this place cleaner.
"Hey Len, what can I get you?" Granny said from behind the counter.
"Waffles please, and coffee, if you don't mind."
"Sure thing."
There was a full moment of almost normalcy before the second strange event of the day happened. The bell rang as a young couple entered, laughing. The girl was just barely a child – perhaps the same age she had been when she married the king –and the boy couldn't be too much older.
A sharp cry brought her attention down to the baby carriage in the man's hand. It was such an alien sound that many in the dinner stopped to look.
"Why don't you order and I'll take care of Henry?," he said to the girl before heading to a booth in the back where he started making absurd faces at the child and waving a stuffed elephant in the creatures face.
For the briefest instant the image of a young boy running from her flashed in her mind.
"Kind of makes you jealous doesn't it?" Len said taking a sip of his coffee, "I can't have any because of a medical condition but I always thought it would be nice to foster an older kid. You always want to adopt a baby – make it your own with no baggage to mess things up – but the older ones, well after a while she loses hope that anyone could care and no kid deserves that."
"Whatever made you believe I wanted to hear your drivel?" she snapped.
"I guess I tend to talk too much."
She got up from her stool and leaned in until she was almost nose to nose with him.
"Then I suggest you rectify that."
She didn't look back as she stalked out, all but pushing Gold out of the way as she went.
The peasant had had a point, however. These strangers presented an opportunity, one she hadn't known to hope for and one she intended to take.
"Well that was rude."
The voice shot down Neal's spine like something out of both his most cherished dreams and worst nightmares. How many times had he woken up drenched in a cold sweat, remembering the rush of the portal, a broken deal, and the feel of his papa's hand letting go. And how many years had he spent in Neverland wishing, praying, that he would hear it again? That his papa would come and rescue him from Pan and it could be like it used to be, how it should have always been?
Neal kept his head down, letting his hair obscure his face as he pretended to be paying attention to Henry as he watched his Papa from the corner of his eye.
His mind was racing, the same thoughts echoing so fast the blended together with a vengeance. Don't look over. Don't look over. How is he here? Don't look over.
The old lady at the counter handed him a roll of bills and his papa left, an odd swagger added to his all too familiar limp.
Once Neal was sure he was away he joined Emma at the counter.
"Hey, can we get this to go?" he said to the waitress before turning to Emma. "I don't think he's feeling too well."
Emma could see through his lie, but she said nothing.
"Sure thing," she said, popping her bubble gum.
It took them less than five minutes to get their food, walk to the inn around the corner, and back to their room. It was only then that Neal felt safe enough to fall apart.
"What's going on?" Emma demanded, watching him pace back and forth holding on to Henry like the kid was the only thing real in this world.
"I just saw my dad."
"Wait, what? Your dad as in the man who left you stranded in the woods so that you would stop pushing him to go to rehab?"
He nodded.
"You're talking about limpy?"
"Yeah but it's more than that…"
He ran his hand through his hair and pursed his lips, trying desperately to find a way to explain the rest in a way she would understand – in a way she would believe.
"He's not a good man Emma. He's killed people – a lot and some of them were in front of me. In my dreams, when I'm not watching him walk away, that's what I see. He tells me to go play outside but everyone is too scared to talk to me because of him so I just sit on the stoop waiting for him to get done talking to a neighbor. When he comes out he has blood on his boots and he and he acts like killing her was the most natural thing in the world. I don't want to be anywhere near him but more than that, I don't want him within a hundred miles of Henry!"
"Alright, let's get out of here," starting to pack. Neal balanced Henry on his hip with one hand and reached out the other to stop her.
"No, Emma, I can't ask that of you. If your parents are here…"
"Come on Neal, this can't be a coincidence. What are the chances we just happen to come across your father?"
"But what if they are here? I can't let you miss you chance with them especially if it turns out they wanted you."
Emma sat down on the edge of the bed, a onesie half folded in her hands.
"And what do we do if they are here? With him? "
Neal sat down beside her, Henry still on his hip, and rested his cheek against the top of her head.
"Then we'll work it out."
Emma took a deep breath, wondering if he was talking about him and her or him and his dad or some combination of both. She didn't ask.
"How about this," she said standing up, "You stay here and watch Henry and I'll go ask around for the rest of the day. If I don't find any leads, we leave. And if I do…well, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it."
Neal looked down, uncomfortable with the idea of her alone in the same town with his Papa, but this did seem the best compromise.
"Alright. But be careful."
There weren't a lot of people on the streets this time of day, she guessed because it was one of those picture perfect small towns where everyone had the same work and school schedule. How weird. She had always lived in the city where there were plenty of people on the streets, some minding their own business or not.
She didn't know where to start. Logically she knew that to find missing people she should probably go check out the police and see what information they could give her but she really didn't want to do that. It probably had something to do with the fake ID and passport she had tucked away in her pocket, or maybe there was more to it than that.
The first place she saw was a little pawnshop off Main Street. The sign read open and she figured it was as good a place to start as any. It was cluttered but not messy but there was something about the air in the place that set her on edge, like she was walking too close to an electric fence without touching it.
"It's a beautiful piece. Excellent craftsmanship."
Emma jumped, her hand falling from the tiny crystal unicorn mobile.
"I don't seem to recognize you, and we don't get many visitors to Storybook. I'm Mr. Gold," he said reaching out his hand.
"Emma," she said, not taking his hand.
She hadn't wanted to be here, facing down the devil himself, and yet she couldn't help but be glad. This was the man that had hurt Neal so much, that had caused his fear and nightmares, and she despised him for it.
"What a lovely name. Were you looking for anything in particular?"
"Just looking."
"Well let me know if you need anything dearie."
Emma's fingernails dug into her palms until she was sure she felt blood and her jaw was so tight her teeth threatened to break. She did need something. She needed to hit and scream and rip him apart, all the while screaming 'how could you hurt him like that? How could you just leave him?'
She said nothing because that would only hurt Neal more. But that didn't stop pure hatred from swelling under her skin until it boiled over. In an instant every piece of glass in the little shop shattered to dust, wood splintered and nothing was left standing inside but the trinkets buried beneath the ash.
Her eyes widened and somehow she knew it was her, her hatred, her anger. But how? It was impossible, wasn't it?
She didn't stop to ask, she just backed out of the shop and ran.
"Hello," Regina said, enjoying the way the girl jumped at the sound of her voice. "I'm Regina Mills, the Mayor."
The girl blinked, distracted, she looked like she had been running but Regina didn't know what from. Not that she cared. All that mattered was that after a short conversation she would no longer stand between Regina and what she wanted.
"Emma, Emma Swan."
Regina put on her kindest smile. "I just wanted to stop by and welcome you to town," she said, pressing a book into the girl's hands.
She blinked, staring at the history book in her hand and reach out to steady herself against the wall. Regina watched as a confused look crossed her face like a haze had swept over her and just as quickly disappeared.
"Mayor Mills?"
"School has already started Miss Swan and I won't tolerate delinquency in my town," Regina said sternly.
"I just overslept and was on my way there." The girl was good. Regina almost believed her.
"Then you best get going."
One down and one to go. She watched the swan girl walk away and only then did she turn around, walking briskly towards the inn.
It had been nothing to threaten the promiscuous little wolf into giving her the room number for the young couple.
A vaguely familiar looking young man answered the door.
"Can I help you?"
"I'm Regina Mills, the mayor of Storybook."
"Neal Cassidy," he said cautiously, reaching his hand out for her to shake.
"I'm just here to welcome you to the neighborhood. We don't get a lot of visitors," she said, pressing a rolled up newspaper into his hand.
Like his little friend, the haze came and went and Regina had her prize.
"Miss Mills?"
"Mr. Cassidy, Granny Lucas should be in the diner but I still don't think she has any work for you."
He gave a little shrug. "It doesn't hurt to try."
Just then the child let out a wail and the boy turned to look at it.
He blinked once and for the briefest instant Regina feared that the magic hadn't taken hold.
"Cute kid."
Regina smiled and picked him up, the soft fabric of his cap tickling the skin of her neck.
"He is, isn't he? The adoption was just finalized."
Len stood in his bathroom, looking into his medicine cabinet. He pressed a switch hidden on the top and the back slid out, revealing a second set of shelves. Vials of all shapes and sizes sat, a single space empty.
He sighed, pulling a pill box sized one out of his pocket and held it up to the light. The silver liquid was half gone and he hadn't the supplies to make more. But he was a crafty man; all that it meant was that he was just going to have to be a bit more careful and a bit more creative.
Only ten years to go after all.
A quick note before I let you guys go. Some people have been asking me about Stardust, and I hate to say it, but that story is officially abandoned. I had no idea where I was going to go before I started it, so by the time I had an ending worked out, I realized that the beginning was a bit of a mess. However, that ending is largely being reused for this story.