Little Emma looked up at her mommy and daddy. Technically, they were just her foster parents, but Emma was too young to know that. She didn't remember that only a few months ago, she'd been living in a foster home, or that a few months before, Pinocchio had abandoned her, and she certainly didn't know where she came from, that she was born in the Enchanted Forest to Snow White and Prince Charming and that she was destined to break Regina's curse. She also had no way of knowing that in two years, the couple would have their own child and send Emma back to the foster system. All little Emma knew was that today, she was one year old. Emma had just learned how to walk, and loved doing it. So she walked around as she watched her mommy and daddy get ready for the party, and accidentally, she knocked over her mommy's priceless vase.
"Emma!", yelled Mrs. Stern.
"What, mommy?", asked Emma.
"You broke my vase! Go to your room, the party is cancelled!"
"Honey, it was an accident", Mr. Stern said.
"I don't care! Emma, room, NOW!"
Emma toddled up to her room, tears on her face. Mrs. Stern followed. She put some baby food in the room and locked the door. Despite Mr. Stern's protests, she called all of the invitees and cancelled the party. Emma cried all day long.
...
"No!", Regina yelled into the phone, "I won't accept a chocolate cake, it has to be marble!"
"But he can't even eat it!", Granny protested.
"I DON'T CARE IT'S HIS BIRTHDAY AND HE WILL HAVE A GREAT CAKE!" Her voice was so loud it made Henry cry. "Excuse me", she said into the phone. She ran over to Henry and picked him up. "Shh", she said, "It's okay, mommy didn't mean to scare you. No need to cry." Regina sighed. She'd had Henry for 11 months now, and in all that time, it hadn't once seemed like he enjoyed being with her. Luckily, he stopped crying. She went back to her phone conversation. Granny had given up arguing and made a special cake just for Henry. Regina had invited the whole town to come to the party, but the only people who'd agreed to come were the Sheriff and Mary Margaret Blanchard, whom Regina hated because she was really Snow White and she had ruined Regina's life. Unfortunately, Regina had no good reason to turn her down, so she had to let her come. As for the Sheriff, he was only coming because Regina had total control over his actions. Regina looked at the clock. It was 9:00. The party started at 2:00. The cake arrived at 1:30, just in time for her to get to the party place and finish setting up. Then, at 2:00, people started arriving.
The Sheriff arrived first. He brought Henry a gift, a little fake badge. Then Mary Margaret arrived. She brought two gifts. The first was a little toy which Henry immediately loved. The second was a book of fairy tales. Regina took it, looked it over, and then said, "No. Don't give him this. You will not pollute his mind with ridiculous thoughts."
"But every child loves fairy tales!", Mary Margaret said.
"Don't care, keep the book", replied Regina.
Mary Margaret sighed and took the book back. It wasn't much of a party. Everyone had a slice of cake, and then went home.