Okay everyone, I seriously have to apologise for the length of time this has taken. I hope you're all still interested in where this is going, and that you stick with it.

As promised, in this chapter we finally see Henry and find out a bit of what he has been going through. this chapter has not been through beta.

Now that the series premiere has aired, I know there is a chance some of you will lose interest in this story, as it is now officially AU. But please keep reading!

So, read and enjoy!

Chapter 3 ~ Torn Pictures

Henry threw his hands out in front of him as he was thrown roughly onto the floor of the cell. He hit the floor hard, grazing his hands on the cold surface. The momentum carried him forward over his hands and he landed heavily on his back, unable to stop the cry of pain that tore from his lips. The cell door clanged shut. Henry scrambled upright and backed away into a corner, his only thought to put as much distance between himself and the woman who had left scratch marks on the back of his burning neck.

Cora gazed through the bars at him, the slight silvery moonlight lending her face an almost skull like appearance as she smiled. Henry felt his body tremble and knew just from her expression that he looked scared. 'Poor Henry, for all the love your family claims to have for you, you have them to thank for you current predicament'.

She left him in the dark with a sweep of billowing skirts, not waiting for a reply.

Henry swallowed with some difficulty, trying to supress his rising fear. The shadows in the cell seemed to ring with Cora's triumphant laughter. He hugged his knees to his chest, breathing deeply through his nose, trying to calm his racing heartbeat. In the days when he had still been afraid of the dark, his mom had found ways to comfort him. Telling him to breathe deeply had been one way; through what he desperately craved right now was her warm comforting embrace.

Tears pricked the back of his eyes at the thought of his mom. The realisation that he might never see her again hit him like a ton of bricks. The image of her screaming in pain was burned into his memory, a brand that would never be erased. But at least then he had known that she was alive. At least up in that room he had had a glimpse of his family. Now, he wasn't so sure. What frightened him most was that he had no idea why Cora had removed him from that room. She had obviously enjoyed his pain when she forced him to watch what happened in the cell below, and he couldn't help feeling that everything was about to get much worse.

There was a crinkling sound as he hugged his knees to his chest; the sound of old paper rustling. Slowly, he put his hand inside his shirt pocket and withdrew the source of the sound. A single page of his beloved fairy tale book – the only part of it left. When Cora had emptied his backpack and found it, she'd gone into a fit of uncontrollable rage. She physically wrestled it from his grasp and thrown it into the fire before he could stop her. In the struggle, he had ripped a single page out and shoved it into his pocket; determined to have at least one part of the book he had treasured for so long.

He inched away from the wall, into the single beam of moonlight, and spread the page onto the stone floor. The entire page was taken up by a single beautiful illustration. It depicted a very young girl kneeling on the forest floor, gazing up into the face of an older girl. Both had long dark hair and both were smiling. The elder girl's eyes were dark and her beautiful face was split in a wide grin of relief, her arms on the younger girl's shoulders as if she was about to draw her into a hug. The young girl had a pretty face, with skin as white as snow. Beneath the two girls was a single sentence written in fine flowing script. Love, true love, is the most powerful magic of all.

His tears came faster, spilling over his nose and down his chin to land on the page. The story of the Evil Queen's past had appeared the day he had been captured. He'd barely had any time to read it before it had been destroyed for good. The realisation that his mother had been through just as much as the people he had worshiped as heroes, perhaps more, had killed something inside of him. He had tried to believe for so long that she was evil, and that she had to be defeated, that he had pushed away the one person who had needed his love more than anyone. He could still see her heartbreaking expression as she told him that she loved him. He hated himself for not believing her until it was too late.

'Are you alright?' Henry jerked his head up, heart pounding at the stranger's voice. He hadn't even realised that he wasn't alone in the cell. There was a man sitting on the other side of the cell, just in the shadows. Henry could see very little of the person, other than the fact that they were obviously tall and strong. He could make out broad shoulders and muscular arms, a flat chest and a long torso. Long legs were crossed under him, and his hands were resting lightly in his lap. Henry could tell that it was a man, because aside from what he could see of the figure, the voice had been distinctly masculine.

Henry swallowed his fear and said loudly, 'who are you?'

There was a long pause. 'I… I am – was – the guard that came to see you earlier today'.

Henry remembered; a tall, strong man with a helmet covering his face. 'You told me that my mom was alright. You said that she loved me'.

He saw the man nod. There was a distinctly awkward pause before the man spoke again. 'you didn't answer my question. Are you alright?' the man's voice was kind and pleasant. Henry found himself liking him. He wondered who he had been in the Enchanted Forest.

And suddenly, everything he had been burning to say burst out of him. The words and emotions spilled from his mouth. He told the man how he missed his mom, what he had put her through. He told him about Emma, how she was the saviour. He told him about Snow and Charming. And he told him about how much he just wanted to tell his mom that he loved her.

There was a long pause after Henry's revelation. The body sat on the cold floor, breathing hard. He had barely taken a breath during his entire speech. But he felt much better for having said it. Then the man stirred. He moved forwards, extending his hand as if he wanted to pull Henry into an embrace. But then he stopped, just before the light could shine on his face and he sat back again. 'Henry…I know you believe that your mom must hate you after this. Am I right?' at Henry's dejected nod he continued. 'But you have to believe me when I say that she loves you. And nothing will ever change that, no matter what you do. As for whether she is evil or not, I think you know that answer. I think you've realised that nothing is black or white'.

Henry nodded again, though the last words had been more of a statement than a question. He was about to say something when the man spoke again, this time in a sad, extremely apologetic voice. 'I'm afraid this is my fault Henry. Why we're down here I mean. I took food to your family, and water, and I told them what was going on. I told them about you and where you were. I believed, foolishly, that the Dark One would not know. She found out and she threw me in here, promising me that I would regret ever helping them. And now, I believe they may suffer more because of my actions. I'm sorry'.

Once again, Henry found himself wondering who this man was. The sincerity in his voice startled him somewhat. He sounded far sorrier than Henry would have expected from someone who had simply done something out of an act of kindness. He also felt that he should say something to make the man feel better, especially after how he had comforted Henry. 'I don't think you should blame yourself for all of that. Cora seems like the kind of person who enjoys causing pain…I know she does'. He remembered the expression of glee on her face when she was hurting his family. He shuddered. 'Besides, you helped them. You gave them hope. You would be surprised what Snow and Charming can do with hope'.

'Henry…' again the man made that peculiar gesture again, like he was forcing himself to not to try and comfort the young boy. The man sighed heavily. 'Somehow Henry, I don't think that this is your typical fairy tale story. This may now end well'.

The ten year old boy stared directly at the place he assumed the man's eyes were and said, 'it will. My mom deserves a happy ending. So does Emma and so do Snow and Charming. This will end well'.

There was a silence after that, one that seemed to stretch on and on. Until finally Henry lifted his head and broke it. 'Who are you? I mean, what's your name?'

The man laughed softly. 'It's been a long time since anyone asked me that. I haven't used me name in over thirty years'.

Henry set his jaw determinedly. 'Fine. If you won't tell me your name, at least let me see your face. Please'.

There was a long pause. And just when Henry was sure the man was going to refuse, he moved forward, allowing the moonlight to fall on his face.

Henry breathed out sharply, his face transforming in shock. 'You…'

So what do you think? A bit short I know, but the next chapter will hopefully be longer.

Please review! Constructive criticisms welcome, but please no flames.