A/N: I haven't seen the first season in a while, so I apologize if I get anything wrong. I'm unsure where this story will go, so stay tuned.
This story will likely be in several P.O.V.'s I'll add breaks to avoid confusion.
Also: to everyone reading my other fanfictions; expect them to be updated this weekend. I've been in a slump lately, but it's returning slowly.
Finally, special thanks to my lovely Chrisi - my Snow. :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of its characters. If I did, Swan Queen, Red Beauty, and Sleeping Warrior would be canon.
When the Evil Queen had cast the curse, she hadn't realized its true power and all its faults.
Something must've gone wrong. It must've. The person lying on the hospital bed in a never-ending coma wasn't the same person they were back in the enchanted forest.
Regina Mills looked over the seemingly sound asleep figure with curious eyes. It was an unusual sight for the former Evil Queen. It wasn't supposed to happen like this. He wasn't supposed to look like that.
Sure, he looked peaceful, relaxed, and at ease.. but Prince Charming wasn't who he normally was anymore.
He was female.
Regina had known who he was the minute she'd laid eyes on his unconscious girl, but she still hadn't figured out why he was how he was. The curse wasn't supposed to do things like this. She had no idea how it'd happened. Was it reversable?
Nothing else in the curse had changed. Charming was still married, he was still David Nolan. The only thing that had changed was his gender.
Of course, his hair was different here, too. It wasn't cropped short, instead it flowed like it had when he'd been a shepherd. His eyes remained bright blue, stunning against his pale face. Nothing else seemed to have changed. He was still slightly muscled, with a face that emitted strength and confidence. It was odd, to see that face morphed into a female version.
On the bright side, she wouldn't have to worry about that bloody Snow White anymore. She was sure the stubborn woman wouldn't look at Charming twice in this body. Besides, he wasn't even awake yet. Would he even wake up?
Regina turned and huffed out of the room, not planning to return for a while. She had no reason to.
However, she still wanted to uncover the mystery that was nagging at her. The mystery of Prince Charming.
Schoolteacher Mary Margaret saw her more often than she'd care to admit. There was something about the comatose girl. She almost felt like she recognized her.
Nonetheless, she continued on with her daily life. She taught, volunteered and socialized, occasionally stopping by the Diner for a bite before work. Her life was completely normal.
She barely noticed the mayor watching her whenever she entered the comatose girl's room for the second time in a week.
"Jane Doe," the nametag on her bed read. No one knew her name. No one knew who she was. She'd been here for as long as anyone could remember.
"I brought you something," the volunteer said quietly, holding out flowers. She placed them on the bedside table next to the Jane Doe. "Everyone deserves some love," she added, smiling a little bit. It saddended her to see someone without a family, without a friend. Even if she was in a coma, she still deserved something as a reminder that someone cared.
Was that all it was?
Mary Margaret couldn't shake off the feeling that she knew the Jane Doe. It was an odd feeling, so she tried her best to ignore it. That's what she did best.
It was a girl who'd probably been in an accident and fallen into a coma, nothing more. Mary Margaret didn't know her. She was nothing more than a patient.
At least, that's what she kept telling herself.
"How did this happen to you?"
Henry Mills frowned down at the seemingly frozen body lying on the hospital bed. The girl didn't move, other than the small rise and fall of her chest. She was completely out, but he spoke to her anyways.
He opened his book, his fingers opening to the page in which Snow White and Prince Charming smiled at each other in the picture at the corner. Henry's eyes shifted from the picture to the girl. They had the same nose. The hair was similar color. Their mouths even looked the same.
"This is so weird," Henry muttered as he shifted the weight of the book to one arm and used his other hand to slowly open the eyes of the girl. Did they have the same eye color?
"Henry!"
Henry jumped and let go, his book slipping out of his hands to the ground. His mother stood at the door of the hospital room, glaring at him. His hands began to shake. Oops.
"M-mom! Sorry, I'm sorry. I just - okay, I'm coming," he said immediately, noting the look on her face. He wouldn't argue, not when she had that look on her face.
He took the lecture when she spewed it out to him and kept silent the entire ride home. His mind was in another place, it was back at the hospital with Storybrooke's Jane Doe.
Prince Charming wasn't supposed to be female. The curse wasn't supposed to do this kind of stuff. Why had it? It was confusing Henry. Would she change back if it was broken?
As Henry lay in his room twenty minutes later, his book spread out in front of him while he drew a sketch of Jane Doe for no reason other than to occupy himself and gather his thoughts; he wondered when was the time to get the savior. Time didn't go by normally here, but he was pretty sure it hadn't been 28 years yet. He had to wait. The book said so.
When he convinced her to break the curse, would Charming go back to normal? Would be remain female? Henry didn't know. He wanted to know.
"I don't like waiting," he muttered as he laid out in his bed, holding his sketch up in the air and frowning at it.
Her eyes were as blue as ever.
