Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon A Time in any shape or form. But I do own my OC.

A/N: Okay, here's the next chapter of Happy Ending. I don't know how much of the show I intend to follow at this point. Season 1 and 2 should pretty much stay the same with the exception of some minor and major changes. The major change will probably be Emma's role in the story. I think she's may make different choices if she has a sister whom she's protected her entire life and is still trying to protect.

This will be the chapter where Annabelle spends a lot of time with Regina, Archie, and Henry. This story takes place at the very beginning of the series, so this is following 1x02.

Reviews:

Smilingbringsjoy: Here you go :)

LMarie99: Thank you! I hope you like this chapter, too!

Ram-Z Malfoy: Here's the next chapter! Sorry to have kept you waiting so long!

Forever Fanfiction Lover22: Thank you! I'm so glad you like it! And sorry, I'm gonna keep the ultimate love interest a secret until the next season, at least ;)

Soccer-Bitch: I'm glad! Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Happy Ending

Chapter 2

The Thing You Love Most

"Want to get that?" Annabelle asked Emma the next morning when she heard someone knock on the door, not feeling like getting up from the couch, where she was lying comfortably. She heard her sister sigh, but she didn't say anything as Annabelle heard footsteps getting closer and closer to the door before she heard the knob turn and the hinges squeak as the door opened.

"Did you know the honey crisp tree is the most vigorous and hardy of all apple trees?" Annabelle heard an all-too-familiar voice, and nearly fell off the couch as she sprung up, whipping her head around, looking at Regina with wide eyes. What the hell does she want now? "It can survive temperatures as low as 40 below and keep growing. It can weather any storm," she spoke with a smile, as if she didn't almost spit in Annabelle's face only a few hours earlier. Emma, probably not even noticing that it happened as she stared at the Mayor, let the door open wider, and Regina's eyes flickered between the two sisters, "I have one that I tended to since I was a little girl..." she trailed off as she looked down at the basket full of deliciously-looking red apples in her hands that Annabelle just barely now noticed, "And to this day, I have yet to taste anything more delicious than the fruit it offers," she said, taking out an apple and holding it in her hand stretched out in Annabelle's direction as the blue-eyed stood up from the couch while she was speaking, walking to stand next to Emma who actually wasn't wearing any pants.

"Thanks," Annabelle finally managed to speak, grabbing the apple from Regina's hand with an expression that probably clearly betrayed that she thought this situation was beyond weird.

"I'm sure you'll enjoy them on your way home," Regina smiled, a bit tensely, holding out the basket to Emma.

"Actually, we're gonna stay here for a while," Annabelle said, her voice revealing that she was almost daring Regina to challenge her.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea," she said, her voice turning colder, and Annabelle raised a brow at her, "Henry has enough issues, he doesn't need you confusing him," Regina said, turning her tone a bit softer and plastering a small smile again.

"With all due respect, Madame Mayor," Annabelle started, clasping her hands together before looking Regina in the eye. "The fact that you have now threatened my twice in the last 12 hours makes me want to stay all that much more,"

"Since when were apples a threat?" Regina asked with an easy smile on her beautiful features.

"I think we can both read between the lines," Annabelle said with a tense smile, glancing at Emma in the process, who stared at the Mayor almost defiantly, "Look, I'm sorry," Annabelle spoke up again as Regina's smile faltered. "I just want to make sure that Henry's okay,"

"He's fine, dear," Regina said, her voice hard and almost like a hiss. "Any problems he has are being taken care of,"

"I'm sorry," Annabelle chuckled humorlessly. "What does that mean exactly?"

"It means I have him in therapy. It's all under control," Regina explained, "Take my advice, Miss Swan, only one of us knows what's best for Henry," she said, for a while now almost completely ignoring Emma, who decided to stay quiet during the conversation.

"Yeah, I'm starting to think you're right about that," Annabelle said, staring at the Mayor, whose eyes hardened.

"It's time for you to go,"

"Or what?" Annabelle asked defiantly, and the Mayor took an almost threatening step towards me.

"Don't underestimate me, Miss Swan," she said quietly, a small smile/smirk on her lips, "You have no idea what I'm capable of," she said, before turning around and walking away. Annabelle stared after her for a few seconds, before taking a step back and closing the door.

"Well, isn't she just lovely,"

"Seriously?" Annabelle muttered as her eyes caught sight of the newspaper lying on the table beside her. She and Emma were now in a small diner that was owned by Granny, the woman whose inn they were staying in at the moment, both dressed in the same clothes as yesterday since they didn't bring anything with them. The only thing that was different about Annabelle's appearance today was her hairstyle: the front strands of her hair twisted behind her head and tied back.

Her fingers latched on to the newspaper, and she slid it down the surface of the table until it was right in front of her.

"Seriously?" Emma repeated her sister's words from a few seconds earlier, but a bit louder than Annabelle as she also eyes the newspaper. On the very cover were pictures of them, taken by Sheriff Graham, with the headline 'Strangers Destroy Historic Sign; Alcohol Involved'. Annabelle raised her eyebrows and was about to take a bite of the apple Regina gave her, but didn't have the time to as a cup of cocoa with whipped cream and cinnamon on top was placed in front of her.

"Thank you," Annabelle said to Granny's granddaughter, though her voice definitely betrayed her confusion. "But I didn't order anything,"

"Yeah, I know. You have an admirer," Granny's granddaughter responded with a sly smile, and Annabelle's brows furrowed as she turned around to search the cafe for any guy she might know (though she didn't know how since she and Emma have only been in town for a day), and her eyes immediately found Sheriff Graham. Annabelle glanced at Emma, whose eyes also traveled to him, and rolled her eyes before grabbing the cocoa and getting off the stool she was sitting on, making her way over to the Sheriff.

"Ah, so you decided to stay," Graham observed as he leaned back in his seat with an easy smile on his handsome face.

"Observant,"

"It's good news for our tourist business. It's bad for our local signage," he said, and Annabelle raised my brow at him. Seriously? First the pictures, now this? Is this supposed to be a new way of flirtation? "It's, it's a joke," he said, and Annabelle raised my other eyebrow as I looked at him. "Because your sister ran over our sign..."

"Yeah, I-I get it," Annabelle cut him off, holding her hand up. "Look, the cocoa was a nice gesture, and I'm impressed that you guessed that I like cinnamon on my chocolate 'cause most people don't, but I am not here to flirt. So thank you, but no thank you," she said, placing the cocoa down on the table in front of him.

"I didn't send it," Graham shook his head, and before Annabelle had the time to most likely stutter and blush, an all-too-familiar voice came from the seat only a few feet away.

"I did," Henry said as he turned around to look at her. "I like cinnamon too,"

"Don't you have school?" Annabelle asked, her voice confused as Graham turned around in his seat to look at Henry.

"Duh. I'm 10," Henry said, getting of the seat and walking over to stand in front of Annabelle, "Walk me," he said, and Annabelle turned around to look at her sister, who simply waved her hand in a 'go' motion.

"Alright," Annabelle sighed, before looking down at Henry, "Come on," she said, and didn't say a word to Graham before following Henry out the door, "So what's the deal with you and your mom?" she asked curiously only a few seconds after the two exited Granny's.

"It's not about us. It's about her curse," Henry said.

"Her what now?" Annabelle asked, raising her eyebrows as she looked down at Henry.

"Her curse," Henry repeated as if it was the most casual topic in the world. "We have to break it. Luckily, I have a plan. Step one - identification. I call it Operation Cobra,"

"Cobra?" Annabelle repeated as they walked down the street. "That has nothing do with any fairy tales,"

"Exactly. It's a code name. To throw the Queen off the trail,"

"So everyone here is a fairy tale character... but they just don't know it," Annabelle repeated for what seemed like the hundredth time since she arrived in town, and Henry nodded.

"That's the curse. Time's been frozen. Until you got here," he said, and Annabelle nodded.

"Right," she said to herself quietly, and opened her mouth to get a bite of the apple she was still holding in her hand.

"Hey!" Henry almost yelled, making Annabelle stop in her tracks and looked down at him with wide eyes. "Where'd you get that?!"

"Uh, your mom?" she said, but it came out more like a question than a statement.

"Don't eat that!" Henry yelled, ripping the apple out of Annabelle's hand and throwing it over his shoulder.

"O-Okay," Annabelle stuttered, her wide eyes flickering between the apple now far behind them and Henry, "Uh... Alright, what about their pasts?" she asked, getting back to the topic.

"They don't know. It's a haze to them," Henry said. "Ask anyone anything, and you'll see,"

"So for decades, people have been walking around in a haze, not aging, with screwed up memories, stuck in a cursed town that keeps them oblivious," Annabelle summarized, her voice underlyingly cynical.

"I knew you'd get it," Henry beamed up at her, and Annabelle couldn't help but chuckle. "That's why we need you. You and Emma. You're the only one who can stop her curse, and Emma's going to protect you,"

"Because we're the daughters of Snow White and Prince Charming," Annabelle finally stopped in her tracks, looking down at Henry with raised eyebrows and a skeptical look in her eyes.

"Yes, and right now, we have the advantage," Henry said, "My mom doesn't know that," he said, before taking off his backpack and holding it in front of him, propping it up on his knee as he opened it, "I took out the end. The part with you in it," he said, taking out few sheets of paper and holding them out to Annabelle, who took them a bit hesitantly. She stared down at the first page, which had a picture of a man AKA Prince Charming, his side bleeding, holding a baby that was wrapped up in a blanket with the name 'Annabelle' on it in his arms, "See? Your mom is Snow White," Henry said.

"Kid..." Annabelle trailed off, chuckling a bit as she glanced at him before looking down at the pages in her hands.

"I know the hero never believes at first. If they did, it wouldn't be a very good story," Henry said, and Annabelle rolled her eyes almost exasperatedly as she began to walk again, Henry following along. "If you need proof, take them. Read them. But whatever you do, don't let her see these pages. They're dangerous. If she finds out who you are..." Henry trailed off, and Annabelle looked down at him, "Then it would be bad,"

"I gotta go. But I'll find you later and we can get started," Henry said once he and Annabelle reached his school where multiple children were running around, the pages from his fairy tale book still in Annabelle's hands, "I knew you'd believe me!" he turned around to yell with a big smile on her face, and Annabelle shook her head as she spread out her arms.

"I never said I did," she protested.

"Why else would you be here?!" Henry exclaimed with a grin before running inside the school, passing Mary Margaret on his way while Annabelle sighed. Beating her son's imagination would be a lot harder than she originally thought.

"It's good to see his smile back," Mary Margaret said, walking up to the brunette, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"I didn't do anything," Annabelle shook her head with a small, confused smile.

"You stayed," Mary Margaret said simply, and Annabelle head snapped up. Perhaps that wouldn't have meant anything to anyone else but, as a foster child herself, she realized just how much her staying might have actually affected Henry. "So... does the mayor know you're still here?"

"Oh, she knows," Annabelle nodded with a tense smile, before shaking her head. "What is her deal? And how did she even get elected? From what I can tell, she's not much of a people person,"

"She's been Mayor as long as I can remember," Mary Margaret shook her head with a small, humorless laugh. "No one's ever been brave enough to run against her. She inspires quite a bit of... well, fear. I'm afraid I only made that worse by giving Henry that book, now he thinks she's the Evil Queen,"

"Who does he think you are?" Annabelle asked, her voice perked with interest. If she was gonna entertain her son with the whole fairy tale games, she had to at least know the rules.

"It's silly," Mary Margaret said with an uncomfortable laugh, looking down.

"I just got five whole minutes of silly," Annabelle chuckled. "Hit me,"

"Snow White," Mary Margaret finally answered the question, shaking her head in an absurd motion while Annabelle's smile faded. If Mary Margaret was Snow White, that would mean she was her... "Who does he think you are?"

"No one," Annabelle said quietly while shaking her head slowly, before snapping out of her little daze. "Can I ask you a favor?"

"Yeah, of course,"

"Regina mentioned Henry's in therapy. Do you know where I can find his doctor?"

"Hi," Annabelle smiled a bit uncomfortably at the man she recognized as Archie from when she and Emma first arrived in Storybrooke as she entered his office after knocking.

"Annabelle Swan," Archie stood up, offering her a small smile, "I was, uh... just reading about you and your sister," he said, holding up a newspaper. "Let me guess - you're here for help with a little post-traumatic stress? That diagnosis was free, by the way,"

"No, no," Annabelle shook her head, chuckling lightly. "I'm actually here about Henry,"

"I'm sorry, I-I-I really shouldn't-"

"I know, I know," Annabelle cut him off, closing her eyes as she sighed, knowing very well that Archie couldn't break the doctor/patient confidentiality, "Just tell me something, please?" she asked, her eyes pleading, and Archie eventually sighed before nodding. "This fairy tale obsession of his... What is causing it? I mean, he thinks everyone in this town is a character in his book, that's... well, for the lack of better word: crazy,"

"I-I hope you don't talk that way in front of him," Archie said after smiling at her, his voice gentle. "The word 'crazy' is, um, quite damaging. I mean, these stories... they're his language. H-He has no idea how to express complex emotions so he's translating as best as he can, this is how he communicates, and he's using this book to help deal with his problems,"

"But he got that book a month ago," Annabelle said, her voice finally betraying the worry she felt for the young boy. "Has he been seeing you longer than that?"

"Um... yes, he has,"

"Well, why? What's wrong with him? I mean, is there something going on that..." Annabelle cut her worried rambling short as realization dawned on her. "It's Regina, isn't it?"

"Uh, his mother is a... very complicated woman," Archie settled for saying, obviously being careful with his words, "And, uh, over the years, her attempts to try and bring Henry closer have only backfired," he said, and they were both quiet for a while afterward, Annabelle deep in thought as she looked down at her shoes, sitting on the armrest of one of the sofas in Archie's office, her brows furrowed in a worried frown, "Why don't you take a look at the file?" Archie suddenly spoke up, snapping Annabelle out of her thoughts as she looked up at him in surprise, watching him walk over to his cabinet and take out a folder, "Um... see what I mean," he finished, handing her the file as she looked down at it in shock before looking back up at him.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked in pure confusion and curiosity, knowing very well how much trouble he could get in for this.

"Well, he talks about you a lot. And you're very important to him," Archie said with a gentle look in his eyes, and tears unwillingly came to Annabelle's eyes.

"Thank you," she whispered in gratitude and Archie simply shook his head with a small smile to wave off her thanks.

"Just, uh, see that I get it back, okay?" he asked before walking over to open the door for her, "Ms. Swan," Archie stopped her as she was about to walk out the door, and she turned around to look at him. "For the sake of the boy... be careful how you handle his belief system. Destroying his imagination would be, be devastating,"

"Thank you again," Annabelle said after nodding, before walking out of the office.

"Hey," Annabelle greeted her sister after entering their room, offering her a quick smile as she closed the door.

"Hey," Emma returned the greeting, "Where the hell have you been? I may not be in school anymore but I'm pretty sure it started like an hour ago... What is that?" she suddenly asked, her eyes falling to the folder in Annabelle's hands.

"Files about Henry's therapy sessions," the brunette answered as she slipped off her jacket, placing the folder on her bed. "And before you ask, no, I didn't steal them, Archie gave them to me,"

"Seriously?" Emma rose her brows incredulously.

"Yup," Annabelle simply nodded, making herself comfortable on her bed as she began to open the files, "Ugh, can you get that?" she asked as a knock suddenly sounded on their door, and Emma sighed but stood up from where she was sitting comfortable on her bed and made her way to the door.

"Hey there," Emma greeted the person behind the door. "If you're concerned about the 'Do Not Disturb' signs, don't worry. I've left them alone,"

"Actually, I'm here about Dr. Archibald Hopper," Annabelle heard from the other side of the door which she immediately recognized as the voice of Sheriff Graham. "Is your sister here?"

"I'm right here," Annabelle spoke up, getting up off her bed and placing the files on the mattress before walking over to stand beside her sister. "What about Archie?"

"Well, he mentioned you got into a bit of a row with him earlier," Graham said, though he made the statement sound more like a question.

"No," Annabelle replied, looking at him weirdly.

"I was shocked, too given your shy, delicate sensibilities," Graham said sarcastically, making Annabelle chuckle quietly as Emma rolled her eyes. "He says you demanded to see Henry's files and when he refused, you came back and stole them,"

"Are you serious?" Annabelle asked, and Graham simply raised his eyebrows. "He gave them to me,"

"Alas, he's telling a different tale. May I check your room, or must I get a search warrant?" he asked, and Annabelle rolled her eyes before stepping away to let him in.

"Is what you're looking for?" she asked with a fake smile, gesturing to the files she didn't yet have the time to open which were lying on her bed.

"Well... you're very accommodating," Graham gave her a small smile, picking up the folder and quickly flicking through it as Emma closed the door before walking over to join them, "I'm afraid, Ms. Swan, you're under arrest," he suddenly said, taking out his handcuffs. "Again,"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on a minute," Emma began to speak as Graham grabbed her sister's wrist.

"Are you kidding me righ... You do realize I'm being set up, right?" Annabelle asked.

"And who, may I ask, is setting you up?" Sheriff Graham asked the tiniest bit mockingly as he cuffed her other wrist.

"You know Archie's lying, right?" Annabelle asked for what seemed to be the hundredth time as Graham took yet another picture of her.

"To the right, please," he instructed, and Annabelle rolled her eyes before turning so that Graham could take a picture of the side of her face. "Why would he lie?"

"Oh, I don't know... Maybe because the Mayor hates me and she rules over practically everyone in this joyful little town?" she said sarcastically, and Graham couldn't help but crack a small smile. "She's probably got something on him,"

"To the left," Graham instructed again. "Regina may be... a touch intimidating but I don't think she'd go as far as a frame job,"

"How far would she go, then?" Annabelle asked. "What does she have her hands in?"

"Well, she's the mayor. She has her hands in everything,"

"Including the police force?"

"Hey!" an all-too-familiar voice sounded from the doorway and they both turned their heads, only to see Henry with Emma and Mary Margaret.

"Henry. Henry, what are you doing here?" Graham asked as Henry ran over to Annabelle, throwing his arms around her waist and hugging her tightly.

"His mother told him what happened," Mary Margaret replied as Annabelle hugged the little boy back, though with a little difficulty because of the cuffs still encircling her wrists.

"Of course she did," Annabelle mumbled bitterly as Henry finally let go of her waist.

"And I helped with the details," Emma spoke up, merely shrugging as Annabelle looked at her with wide eyes. "What? He may be a kid but he's a smart kid,"

"Henry," Annabelle began after giving her sister a death glare, looking down at the boy. "I don't know what your mom or Emma told you-"

"You're a genius," Henry cut her off, and Annabelle's eyes filled with confusion.

"Huh?"

"I know what you were up to," Henry said, but the blue-eyed woman simply tilted her head, "You were gathering intel," he said as if it were obvious, and Annabelle raised her eyebrow. "For Operation Cobra?"

"I'm sorry, I-I'm a bit lost," Graham spoke up, glancing between the boy and his mother.

"It's need-to-know, Sheriff, and all you need to know is that Ms. Blanchard's gonna bail her out," Henry said, and Emma raised her eyebrows at her sister's kid, impressed.

"You are?" Annabelle asked in shock, looking at Mary Margaret with wide eyes. "Why?"

"I, uh, trust you," the teacher simply shook her head, stumbling a bit over her words, while Henry simply beamed.

"Well, then..." Annabelle raised her eyebrows before also smiling, and then turning to Graham. "If you could be so kind as to un-cuff me... I have something to do,"

Regina Mills' ears perked up as she heard loud rumbling coming from outside of her office window, her head snapping up from where it was leaning down above a stack of papers. She hastily stood up and turned her head to look out the window, only for her eyes to harden considerably as she watched Annabelle Swan cut down her apple tree with an electric saw. Releasing a growl of anger, the woman stormed out of her house, and made her way through her orchard as fast as she could in her elegant heels, her eyes full of fury.

"What the hell are you doing?!" she yelled in rage.

"Picking apples," Annabelle replied with an easy smile on her face as she dropped the saw, running a hand through her hair to get rid of as much timber as she could.

"You're out of your mind,"

"No, you are if you think a shoddy frame job's enough to make me run with my tail between my legs. I hate to tell you this, but you're gonna have to do better than that," Annabelle said, "You come after me or my sister again, this tree won't be the only thing I cut down because trust me... you have no idea what I'm capable of, sister," she said, before allowing her lips to turn up in just the tiniest smirk before turning around, walking away fully satisfied when she heard Regina growl in anger. She had never been one to take such drastic measures; no, that was Emma. But damn, did it feel good.

"Well... you look like you had fun," Emma commented as soon as her sister opened the door to their room, making Annabelle give her a look as she proceeded to step in, only to be stopped by another voice from behind her.

"Misses Swan," Granny called, stopping in the hallway once the two young women were in her line of sight, "Oh, my, this is terribly awkward. I need to ask you both to leave," Both women raised their eyebrows in disbelief, and Granny thought that they had never looked so similar. "I'm afraid we have a no-fellons rule, it turns out it's a city ordinance, and destroying a city sign is also considered a felony here,"

"Ah. And let me guess, the Mayor's office just called to remind you," Annabelle said.

"You can gather your things, but... I need to have your room key back," Granny said with a remorseful expression on her face, and Annabelle simply pursed her lips as she handed the key over, before turning around and sharing a look with her sister, both of them rolling their eyes as soon as the door was closed.

"She destroyed city property," Regina announced loudly from her position on the ground where she was gathering the apples from the fallen tree as she heard Sheriff Graham coming up from behind her. "I want her arrested,"

"Again?" he asked, raising her eyebrows in an almost tired fashion.

"What are you waiting for?" Regina asked after a second, noticing that the man was nowhere near moving from his position behind her.

"I'm just not convinced arresting her is the right plan," he stated, watching as Regina stood up angrily. "And I'm not talking about your tree. We both know she didn't steal those files,"

"Oh, do we?"

"I mean, she looked pretty shocked when I leveled the charges against her, as did her sister," Graham said, attempting to keep the conversation calm.

"That's because her sister likes to play mama bear, and she doesn't like to get caught," Regina dismissed sternly, turning back around and kneeling on the ground again, planning to resume picking up her apples.

"Or because she was set up," Graham said, spreading his arms out in slight exasperation. "And if she was, that means Dr. Hopper was lying. And if he's lying, that means that someone asked him to. Are we really confident that the man's conscience won't eventually get the best of him?"

"I think your schoolboy crush is clouding your judgement," Regina stated with a small smirk as she stood up again, immediately noticing the ever so small blush that made its way onto Graham's cheeks. "Remember, I made you sheriff. And I can take it away just as easily,"

"You want me to arrest her again, I will,"

"Good," she simply stated, before attempting to go back to picking up her apples, only to be stopped once again.

"But she is gonna keep coming at you. And I know you - you're gonna keep coming at her. And if you come at her, then her sister will undoubtedly come at you, too. And you will do whatever it takes to get them out of here, and you may succeed,"

"No, I will succeed!" Regina snapped, turning around with fire burning in her eyes. "He's my son! It's what's best for him!"

"I know that's what you believe," Graham replied calmly. "Okay? But if this escalates, it seems to me the only one who will get hurt is Henry,"

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," Emma spoke up as she stopped abruptly in the middle of the street, making her sister follow as she looked at the blonde in slight alarm.

"What?" she questioned, only for Emma to point at something off to the side. Annabelle quickly followed her gaze, before closing her eyes in a defeat-like fashion as she saw that their car was now glued to its parking spot. Literally.

"I will kill her," Emma gritted out through her teeth as she began to make her way towards their car, Annabelle following closely before she slowed down as her phone rang suddenly.

"Hello?" she answered, watching smoke come out of her sister's ears as the blonde stared down at their car's wheel.

"Ms. Swan, I'd be happy to continue demonstrating my power, but... am I right in guessing your resolve to stay is only growing?" Regina's voice sounded through the cellphone.

"You're damn right it's growing," Annabelle said as she eyed her car, before her eyes rested on her sister again, who was still trying - and failing - to calm down.

"Well then, I think it's time we made peace," Regina said, a smile clear in her voice. "Why don't you and your sister drive over to my office?"

"You're joking, right?'

"Or walk - whatever suits you," the mayor rolled her eyes as Emma's found Annabelle's, suddenly realizing whom her sister is talking to.

"Fine," the blue-eyed Swan finally answered, her eyes never leaving her sister's. "But this better be good,"

"I'd like to start by apologizing, Ms. Swan. To both of you," Regina spoke as she sat down in one of her chairs with a drink in hand, watching the two sister sitting on her sofa with a pleasant smile.

"I'm sorry?

"What?" Annabelle and Emma both asked at the same time, their voices holding an equal amount of disbelief.

"I just have to accept the reality that you want to be here," Regina said, placing her drink on the coffee table before her."

"That's right," Annabelle nodded slowly, eyeing the woman cautiously.

"And that you're here to take my son from me,"

"What?" Annabelle's eyes widened. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on a second," she raised her finger, completely silent for a second before looking Regina in the eyes. "I have no intention of taking him away from anyone.

"Well, then, what are you doing here?" Regina leaned forward, an amount of vulnerability in her eyes and voice that neither of the Swan sisters had seen before.

"Look... I'm not a mother. I think that's pretty freaking clear," Annabelle said, Emma deciding to stay quiet throughout the conversation, knowing that this was something the two mother needed to discuss on their own. "But I did have him. And I can't help it - he got into my head, and I want to make sure that he's okay. And the more you try to push me out, the more I want to be here, especially after seeing how... troubled he is,"

"You think he's troubled?"

"You don't?" Annabelle questioned. "He's in therapy. And, granted, I barely had the time to even so much as open his file before you had me arrested, but, putting that aside... he thinks everyone in this town is a fairy tale character,"

"And you don't?" Regina repeated her words from only a few seconds earlier, making Annabelle give her a look.

"The poor kid can't tell the difference between fantasy and reality, and, from what I can tell, it's only getting worse. It's crazy," Annabelle stressed, softly.

"You think I'm crazy?" a voice sounded from behind her suddenly, and Annabelle's heart stopped.

"Henry," she breathed out, turning around in her seat so fast that her hair whipped in Emma's face, "Henry, wait!" she called out, standing up and trying to run to the door, but it was no use. Her son was gone.

"How long was he there?" Emma suddenly spoke up as Annabelle stared into the hallways where Henry ran off.

"Long enough," Regina replied simply, her voice far away from soft or vulnerable and now only smug.

"You knew he would be here," Annabelle stated, leaving no room for doubt in her voice as she turned around, her eyes harder than ever before as she stared down at the mayor.

"Did I know that my son comes to my office every Thursday at precisely 5:00 P.M. so I can take him for dinner before his therapy session?" Regina questioned with a smirk on her lips. "Of course I did. I'm his mother,"

"Oh, yeah?" Annabelle questioned as she took a step forward, "And what kind of a mother uses her own child as a pawn in her twisted game?!" she shouted in anger, before shaking her head as she continued to stare at the mayor, "You have no heart, no soul. How the hell did you get like this?" And without waiting for an answer, Annabelle stormed out of the office, as Emma slowly stood up, having been silent long enough.

"You can go to hell," was all she could say as she stared down at the mayor, before following her sister out of the mansion.

Mary Margaret looked up from her desk as a knock sounded on her door, and her brows furrowed as she stood up and opened the door, only for a small smile to light up her features as she gazed the at the two young women before her.

"Hey," Emma greeted with a small, sheepish smile, "Just wanted to say thank you, and, um, pay you back the bail money," she said, handing Mary Margaret a yellow envelope, though the young teacher's eyes stayed glued to Annabelle, who was uncharacteristically quiet.

"You look like you need to talk," she said, and Annabelle's eyes finally found hers. And Mary Margaret could clearly see the unshed tears that the blue-eyed woman was trying desperately to fight back, "Here," she opened the door a little wider, stepping to the side in order to let the two sisters in, "I just made some cocoa. How about you take it, and I'll make us some more?" she suggested, rubbing Annabelle's back gently as she led her over to the kitchen table, Emma following closely.

"Cocoa sounds good," Annabelle finally nodded, offering the young teacher a small smile as she sat down, taking a hold of the cup she was offered and taking a sip as Emma sat down in front of her, "Cinnamon?" Annabelle suddenly asked with a small smile as Mary Margaret sat down beside them, placing a plate of cooking in front of them.

"Oh. I'm sorry, I should've asked," Mary Margaret apologized immediately. "It's a little quirk of mine, do you mind?"

"Not at all," Annabelle replied with a tiny smile on her lips, "When you bailed me out, you said you trusted me," she brought up. "Why?"

"It's strange - ever since you arrived here, I've had the oddest feeling like I know you. Both of you," Mary Margaret shook her head with a small smile. "I mean, I know it's crazy,"

"Yeah, I'm starting to reevaluate my definition of crazy," Emma spoke up, taking a bite of the cookie she picked up off the plate.

"For what it's worth, I think you're both innocent,"

"Of destroying a city sign, breaking and entering, or just in general?" Annabelle asked, a slightly playful look in her eyes.

"Whichever makes you feel better," Mary Margaret quipped, making the two sisters chuckle.

"Yeah, well, it doesn't really matter what anyone thinks we did or didn't do," Annabelle spoke up after a moment of silence, her eyes on her sister, "We're leaving," she said, before turning her head to look at her son's teacher. "Thank you for everything, but... I think it's for the best. If I stay, Henry's only gonna keep getting hurt, he already has. I've been a crappy mother from the start, I gave him away... I am not going to destroy the good life he has here,"

"What happens if you go?" Mary Margaret asked, her brows furrowed. "I think the very fact that you want to leave is why you have to stay. You care about him. Who will protect Henry if you won't?"

"Ms. Swan," Archie stood up from his spot in front of Henry, startled as he made his way towards Annabelle, who had, admittedly, interrupted a session of his and not even knocked before doing so. "Look, I can explain, the Mayor forced me to-"

"No, I know, I know, don't worry about it," she quickly reassured, before her eyes fell to her son. "Henry... I'm sorry,"

"I don't want to talk to you," the boy replied emotionlessly.

"Ms. Swan, if she knew you were here-"

"Oh, to hell with her!" Annabelle cut Archie off angrily, before planting herself in the seat in front of Henry. "Henry, there is only one reason I stayed in this dreadful town: you. I wanted to get to know you, I wanted to get to know my son,"

"You think I'm crazy," Henry said.

"No, I think the idea of a curse is crazy, and it is," Annabelle said, "But... that doesn't mean it isn't true," Henry's gaze fell on her. "Look, it's a lot to ask anyone to believe in. But there are a lot of crazy things in this world. Trust me, I've seen plenty. So what do I know? Maybe it is true,"

"But you told my mom-"

"I told your mom what she needed to hear," Annabelle cut him off gently. "What I do know... is that you are a bright, witty, handsome little boy whom I am proud to call my son - maybe not on any papers, but you are my son. And I care about you, I want to protect you. Look, when you found me, you gave me a chance to do something I thought I would never have a chance to do after I threw it away - be a mom. And... I'm starting to like the idea of that," she said, her eyes glistening with tears, as were Henry's. "Hell, I'm even starting to like the idea of Operation Cobra," she chuckled, as did Archie, who was watching the scene before him with soft eyes. "So what do you say?"

All Henry could do was grin, and throw himself on his mother, who quickly embraced him back, running a hand through his hair as she hugged him tightly.

"I knew you were here to help me," he mumbled into the fabric of her shirt, and Annabelle smiled tearfully.

"That's right, kid, I am," she replied. "And nothing - not a curse, nor the Evil Queen - will get in the way of that,"

"Lovely to see you in such high spirits," Mr. Gold commented as he walked around Regina's orchard, making the mayor chuckle gleefully.

"Well, it's been a good day," she replied. "I just rid the town of an unwanted nuisance,"

"Annabelle Swan? Really?"

"Yes. I imagine she and her sister are halfway to Boston by now," Regina replied with a smile on her lips.

"Oh. I wouldn't bet on that," Mr. Gold responded as he picked an apple off the remaining tree branches. "I've just seen her strolling down the main street with your boy. Thick as thieves, they looked,"

"What?"

"Perhaps you should have come to me," Mr. Gold said as he came to a stop in front of her. "If Ms. Swan is a problem you can't fix, I'm only too happy to help, for a price, of course,"

"I'm not in the business of making deals with you anymore," Regina said after chuckling humorlessly.

"To which deal are you referring?" he questioned as the mayor made her way back to her beloved tree.

"You know what deal,"

"Oh, right, yeah," Mr. Gold chuckled. "The boy I procured for you... Henry. Did I ever tell you what a lovely name that was? How ever did you pick it?"

"Did you want her to come to town?" Regina whipped around, her eyes wide but her voice angry. "You wanted all this to happen, didn't you? Your finding Henry wasn't an accident, was it?"

"What ever do you mean?"

"Where did you get him?" Regina asked, but was only answered with a smirk. "Do you know something?"

"I've no idea what you're implying,"

"I think you do. Who is this woman, his mother, this... Annabelle Swan? Her sister, even; who are they?"

"I would say you think you know exactly who they are," Mr. Gold replied with a clear smirk on his lips, "I really must be going," he said and turned around to walk away, only to be stopped by Regina.

"Tell me what you know about her," she demanded.

"I'm not gonna answer you, dear," he said calmly. "So I suggest you excuse me... Please,"

A/N: Hope you all liked reading the chapter as much as I did writing it! It was really interesting writing Henry and Annabelle's relationship, along with Regina's and her reaction to Annabelle being insistent on staying in Storybrooke. Next chapter onwards, we'll get a little more of other characters' interactions with Annabelle since that's when the characters' stories come into play, starting off with Snow Falls. I want to take season 1 to establish Annabelle's relationship with everyone in town, and I don't want to rush any of it. I hope you all liked how I switched away from just Annabelle and Emma and payed attention to Regina as well.

I used this chapter to show that Annabelle isn't exactly like Emma in the series. She's a little more open to the idea of having Henry as her son, but she also has a bit of a worst temper than Emma did in the series. Annabelle can sometimes let her temper get the better of her, but she does want the best for the people she loves. She can also be kind of scary at time, but then again, she did spend a lot of her life on the streets, which affected her differently than it did Emma, she must've learned a few tricks along the way.

Anyway, hope you all enjoyed the chapter and don't forget to review!