**Disclaimer** I don't own any of these characters, or Once Upon a Time. If I did, it would be a lot better

A boy stepped carefully, doing his best to remain unseen and unheard. He was young, barely ten years old, but he was as clever as a fox and as quiet as a cat. There was a party raging downstairs, and though the noise might have drowned out his footsteps, his mother was even slier than he was and she would know in a heartbeat if he was out of bed. It was important careful. She had sent him to bed an hour ago but he had lain awake waiting for his opportunity.

He crept stealthily down the darkened hallway toward the stairs and stepped silently down one, then another, and squatted. He held the thin slats and peered down below. His eyes were large with fascination as he looked at the people. He knew most of them since their town wasn't a large one but he rarely saw them in a party atmosphere, and his mother said he was not old enough to attend. Not yet, anyway. But just a quick peek and then he would have to go back to bed.

Everyone, it seemed, had a drink in their hand. The smell of his mom's famous apple cider drifted on the air, mixing delicately with the stronger scents of cigarette smoke and perfume. There were twenty or thirty people in his mom's place. She owned a bar called The Mill. Henry had grown up here, the only home he had ever known, and while he loved it he found himself wanting.

"Where's Henry?" he heard someone ask. He flinched, the sound of his name causing his stomach to contract with fear that he had been spied.

"Probably in bed. He's – what, nine now?"

Archie Hopper and Ruby Lucas. Henry knew them both. Doctor Hopper was the town shrink. Ruby had been a teenage runaway his mother had taken in a few years ago. She was something of an aunt and big sister, and she worked in the bar with his mom.

"Ten," Ruby corrected. There was a slight reprimand in her voice, as though she expected better of him. Doctor Hopper's face reddened slightly at the reprieve. Ruby, young and beautiful, had plenty of admirers in town all seeking her approval. Carrying a tray of apple cider glasses, she passed Hopper and into the crowd to hand out the drinks. The party was in The Mill, of course, the only place in this town to have a real party except the stern galas at the Mayor's House. These parties were louder, bawdier, and far more interesting as far as Henry was concerned. The Mill was an old building constructed from heavy oak and solid stone over a hundred years ago. The bar was laden with food and gleamed golden in the warm light. His mom kept it meticulously clean and oiled, running a rag over it each night with tender care. There was a piano in one corner but tonight its pale keys were silent, replaced by a phonograph his mom had bought a few months ago. Bright, cheery jazz music poured out into the room. Earlier, Regina had made a dance space and now, as Ruby passed through the crowd nearly every group asked her to join them. They were a raucous crowd, and how anyone expected Henry to sleep through this, he didn't know, which is exactly what he planned on saying if anyone caught him and handed him over to his mother.

And speaking of his mother…

His eyes scanned the crowd but he didn't see her. Of course, she had a flair for the dramatic and was probably waiting for the right moment to make her entrance.

And just as he wondered where she was, the kitchen doors burst open and the crowd turned to face the woman standing there. She was a beautiful woman, regal, and surveyed the crowd as a queen might. In her graceful hands was a small, golden pot that let off a powerful but pleasant fragrance. Henry recognised the smell of a fresh batch of her famous apple cider. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, feeling his mouth water.

"Good evening, and thank you for joining me tonight," Regina called out to the crowd. There were whistles and shouts in response and she waited for them to quiet before continuing. "I hope you're all enjoying yourselves. I've just whipped up this fresh cider, if anyone would like to try some. I'm sure you'll find it… enchanting."

There were a few knowing looks passed among the guests, nudges, whispers, and eager smiles.

Regina lifted the gold-coloured pot slightly. "For what ails you," she said.

Ruby came through the crowd and took the pot from Regina and the crowd surged forward, everyone wanting a glass, a taste. Ruby's eyes widened and Regina's flashed.

"Hold on, dears," she said. At her words the crowd paused, held by the spell of her voice. Her dark eyes moved over the crowd. "One at a time. Be respectful, because anyone who forgets their manners won't get a glass of cider. Is that understood?"

Her eyes moved through the crowd, and her smile reappeared when she saw that order was restored. She nodded to Ruby, who moved behind the bar and picked up a ladle to start serving. The crowd moved around the bar, more slowly this time, gently, but no less eager. As they moved around her and she through them, Regina touched shoulders, asked about family members and businesses. Henry froze, watching her carefully, as she walked to the back of the room – near his hiding place at the top of the stairs. But she turned her back to him and folded her arms, surveying her handiwork.

Henry could have sighed with relief, but he held back in case he made a noise.

"And just what do you think you're doing out of bed?"

She looked over her shoulder directly into his eyes. Caught. Again. This time Henry did sigh.

"Mom," he protested, pushing his face against the wooden rails and peering at her with the biggest puppy dog eyes he could manage. "It's so loud, how could I sleep? And besides, I'm ten years old, I'm not a baby anymore. Why can't I come to one of your parties?"

Now she turned her whole body toward him. "Henry, you know why. These parties are for adults."

"They're for your clients," he shot at her.

She tilted her head slightly. Her eyes seemed to grow darker and her voice was sharp when she spoke, all warning signs that he was in trouble. "And just what do you mean by that?"

"Mom, I told you, I'm not just some dumb kid anymore. You're selling magic, which is against the law, I might add. Given the situation, I think that's a little more serious than me staying up late and sneaking into a party."

She pursed her lips, definitely a sign that he had hit a nerve. His mother was a dangerous woman. He had the feeling he wasn't going to see any desserts for a while.

"I don't know what you think you know, Henry. But if I were you, I would get certain ideas out of my head, and I would go upstairs and get into bed."

He opened his mouth to protest, about to argue the unfairness of his situation, when there was a horrible bang on the front door. It rattled the walls and rained dust from the ceiling. Henry flinched and grabbed the stair rails tightly. Regina turned sharply toward the door, her face draining of colour.

"Mom! What - what was that?"

"Henry, get upstairs, now," she ordered. "Ruby -"

Ruby nodded. With the steaming cauldron in her hands, she ran through the kitchen doors and disappeared. The crowd was talking loudly now, confused and frightened, and some of them yelled when a second bang shook the house.

"Everyone just remain calm," Regina said. Her voice rang out loudly and the crowd stilled under her influence. She walked to the door, took a deep breath to brace herself, and then opened it. Immediately the room filled with people in dark uniforms and Regina had to step quickly back to keep herself from getting trampled. "What are you doing here," she said, her face flushed and angry. Like a blue tidal wave, the police officers surged through the Mill, shoving Regina's guests aside with rough hands, searching purses and pockets, they tore apart the bar and the kitchen, opening containers and dumping the contents on the floor. Regina yelled, calling for order and demanding to know why these men were here, but her voice couldn't be heard over the screams of the crowd and the yells of the officers.

From outside the cold, starry night, a single man in a neat brown suit stepped into the bar. He held his jacket over one shoulder and his hat was tilted on his head. A shiny badge glared balefully from his hip. As if sensing his presence Regina went still and watched him, her eyes cold and fierce.

"Regina, Regina, Regina. Imagine, you threw a party and forgot to invite us. I'm insulted."

Her eyes were cold enough to kill and her voice was venom. "Sheriff Graham. I might have known you'd try something tonight. And here I thought my little get-together was a private affair."

He gave her a falsely wounded look and began to walk back and forth, lifting up glasses and opening up the closet door full of coats and hats, moving plates and searching, though for what, Henry wasn't sure. Behind him, a man even crueller than Sheriff Graham slipped quietly into the bar with a second unit of officers. Constable George Spencer, Graham's second-in-command, stood behind his boss and looked at Regina with cold eyes.

"Oh, dear me. I really was hoping you'd just forgotten to invite me. But Regina, you must know, nothing is kept secret from me. Nothing." Graham's voice dropped several degrees at the last word. "You can't hide anything from me." His eyes scanned the room, looking at every face with cold precision.

"You mean a person can't hide anything from you and the Mayor's office. How long has it been since you sold yourself out to them, Graham? How much does the Mayor pay you to run the town his way?"

Something she said must have gotten under his skin. A vein began to twitch in his neck and his eyes were cold. He stepped close to Regina but she didn't back away from him. He glared down at her. "You're going to stumble someday, Regina, and you better believe I'll be there. The Huntsman always gets his witch." He lifted his hand and ran his fingers through a tress of her dark hair. Grimacing with disgust, Regina jerked away from him. He laughed and took a step away.

Constable Spencer turned to the officers he had come in with. "Search upstairs," he ordered, and held his hands on his hips. The pistol on his hip gleamed nastily in the light. His officers ran up the stairs where Henry was crouching, and before he could say or do anything one of them grabbed him by the scruff of the neck.

"Hey!" he said, kicking at his captor and clawing at the man's hands.

"Henry!" Regina hurried forward but Graham grabbed her arm and held her tightly. "Let me go!'" she said, her voice ringing powerfully. "Henry!"

The officer dragged Henry down the stairs, not without difficulty, and Constable Spencer took him by the arm, holding him tightly enough that his skin turned white and Henry grimaced. Spencer was a long time enemy of Regina's and the sight of him hurting her son made her boil with anger.

"Let him go," Graham said to Spencer.

Spencer looked at him as though he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Reluctantly he released his grip on Henry. Free, Henry ran to his mother and threw his arms around her waist. Upstairs he could hear the strange men overturning furniture in the house that he and his mother shared. He suspected they were searching for evidence but he doubted they would find anything. After all, he was cleverer than they were and his mother had managed to hide her spell work from him for ages. Still, he couldnt help but be afraid. Graham and Spencer were out to get Regina, even since Prohibition became law, becoming increasingly intense the longer she managed to elude him. But Graham had never gone so far as to invade her business or the apartment above where she and Henry lived.

Regina jerked her arm and this time Graham let her pull free. She wrapped her arms around Henry protectively and glared at Sheriff Graham ferociously while her life was torn apart around her. "Search all you want, Graham," she said with a growl in her voice, "you're never going to find anything because there is nothing to find."

He narrowed his eyes. "There's something to find, Mills, and I'll be the one to bring you down. You wait."

"Well, with the competency so often displayed by the Sheriff's office I expect I'll be waiting a very long time," Regina said coldly, but she wrapped her arms more tightly around her son.

Graham watched her with a cold smile. Behind him an officer approached Spencer and whispered in his ear. Spencer nodded and then came up beside Graham. Leering at Regina in her purple cocktail dress, to Graham he said, "There's nothing anywhere. The bitch hides it good."

Graham's eyes flashed and Regina smiled.

"I don't know what you think you'll find, Graham. I'm as innocent as anyone." Her voice was light but there was a challenge there, too.

He ignored her, the vein pulsing again and his face reddening.

"All right. Fine. Let's clear out of here." Graham spat the words. Obviously he was beyond disappointed that he had not found any incriminating evidence. Locking Regina away had been on his list nearly as long as he had known her. It would please his boss, who would see fit to reward him greatly.

Spencer didn't like the idea of leaving empty-handed any more than Graham did, but he turned and barked orders for the other officers to clear out of the bar. They filed out, shoving aside guests and making even more of a mess than they had already created. Graham, however, lingered. "We'll be back, Regina. Don't think we won't."

"I'll make sure there's a warm pot of cider on for you," she snapped to his turned back.

At the door he gave her a last, baleful glare. "I will find what I need, Regina. Mark my words."

She followed him to the door, her red lips smiling. Ruby pushed through the crowd and took Regina's place, wrapping her arms around Henry's shoulders.

"You know, Graham," Regina said, smiling in that superior way she knew enraged the sheriff, "you may think you're the big bad wolf of this town but we both know you're nothing more than a mangy cur. Now get out of my bar and next time, don't come back without a search warrant or you'll find more than you bargained for."

The smile had disappeared and she slammed the door in his angry face. Heaving a heavy sigh Regina smoothed her dress, squared her shoulders, and prepared to address her panicky guests. Turning around she met Ruby's gaze and the pair exchanged a dark, meaningful look. The crowd seemed to still under her influence, as if she were their queen giving a royal address instead of some barmaid. They calmed and waited for her to speak. She could smell their anxiety and their fear. "I'm sorry about all that. I'm afraid to say there won't be any more cider tonight, and there probably won't be any more-" she hesitated, her gaze lingering for a moment on Henry's face, "anymore… transactions until things with the sheriff's office have calmed down a little, but I'll do my best to remain of service to my loyal customers and I will let you know when you can begin to make purchases again. Now, if you'll forgive me for being rude, I think it's time you all went home now. The Sheriff will be… upset, so it's best you all be careful. Don't draw attention to yourselves and stay out of trouble."

There was a lot of muttering as her guests filed out of the bar. Most of them looked at her as they left, giving her dirty looks or concerned glances and anything in between. Hopper paused at the door, holding everyone up, his mouth open and Regina knew he was going to offer her a chance to talk. "I'm fine," Regina said, a little sharply, and Archie nodded and left.

With the last person out of the door Regina shut it quickly and slammed the lock into place. "Henry?" she said, holding out her arms and taking his shoulders. She knelt in front of him, shaking, but she tried not to show him how badly frightened she was. "Are you all right? Oh, Henry, I'm so sorry." She folded him in her arms and leaned her head against him. Her little prince. She loved him more than anything else in the world. She would be lost without him.

"I'm all right mom. Really," he said, a little impatiently. She held him a little longer before letting him go. Standing, she paced back and forth, and kicked a chair out of anger. Candles were arranged decoratively on a shelf behind Regina and they flared with sudden fire in time with Regina's anger. Ruby, who had been righting furniture, stopped and watched Regina carefully.

"Magic." Regina spat the word with venom. Her eyes blazed with fire. "Spells. Potions. Selling magic s what got me into all this trouble. I'll have to stop."

"Mom – "

She looked sharply at her son and her face softened. "Henry, I started selling magic because of you – for you – to earn enough money to send you through school so you could get away from all of this. But now the wolves are howling at our door. No. No, it's not safe anymore, for any of us, but especially for you."

"But mom –"

"They could have hurt you. They can still hurt you, and if they do…"

The fire of the candles behind her burned with a bright, angry red light as Regina's face turned dark with malice.

"If they do you'll find me, you always find me, and you'll fight them the way you always do. Mom, you have magic and they don't. It makes you special. You always tell me to live up to my potential and you need to do the same. You can't give up, not now."

His cheeks were flushed and his voice was passionate. He looked at her earnestly and with love. Regina glanced at Ruby, who was smiling. Regina crossed her arms and looked at her son, her anger dissipated like vapour on the wind.

"And how long have you been practicing that speech?" she asked sternly, but she felt the start of a smile at the corners of her lips.

His face relaxed into a broad smile. He knew he had her, and she knew it too. "I've had it in mind since I found out you were selling your magic, but most of it I imprvised." He had his arms crossed over his small chest and he bounced on the balls of his feet, obviously pleased with himself.

It was enough to draw a small chuckle from Regina. Looking at Ruby, who had gone back to fixing up the room now that Regina's temper was diffused, she said, "Now we know they're starting to get desperate. It isn't good, but at least we know and that means we can prepare for another raid." Smiling, her dark eyes flashing, Regina bent to look Henry in the eye. "How about you and I start cooking up some spell?"

His smile was so broad you would have thought Christmas had come early.