The consequences of Mary Margaret and David's meeting arise, Graham tries to come to terms with what Regina's made him do, and things get complicated all around.

Thanks to BloodPotion, perseqhone, and Catherine Daniels for following this story, and thanks to BloodPotion (again) for favouriting this story.

Special thanks to Can't-Stop-My-Fandoms for helping me edit this chapter.

BigBadWolfTardis asked: how far are you planning on going with this, seasons wise?

Answer: Season-wise, this will go on to about the end of season six, but I will say right now that I plan to have divergences from canon. I won't say what they are right now. All I can say is that some things will stay the same, but perhaps for different reasons, and some things will be major divergences from canon.

Disclaimer: All canon things belong to Adam, Eddie, and ABC (and also Disney).

Enjoy!

This is Where Things Get Dramatic

November 12, 2011

Mary Margaret knew something was off. She had gotten up, still hurt over David's rejection, but determined to make the best out of her Saturday. After making a quick breakfast for three people - Ruby had said she could go somewhere else, but Mary Margaret wasn't willing to let Ruby leave on an empty stomach - Mary Margaret decided to go out and get some groceries, and maybe stop by the pharmacy to pick up some Tylenol.

Things weren't going according to plan.

Everyone she passed on the way to the pharmacy kept staring at her and whispering to each other. She tried approaching someone at one point, but they just brushed past her in a hurry.

Mary Margaret saw Mrs. Lucas on the sidewalk ahead of her, and she greeted, "Good morning, Mrs. Lucas."

Mrs. Lucas gave her a stink eye that made Mary Margaret want to crawl into a sinkhole.

She didn't know what was going on, but her stomach started coiling in knots of anxiety.

Mrs. Lucas tried to ignore her, but Mary Margaret knew that if anyone was going to honestly tell her what was going on, it was Mrs. Lucas. Even if it meant that Mary Margaret drew the old woman's ire.

"Mrs. Lucas, please." Mary Margaret pleaded, stopping the woman in her tracks. "I don't understand what's going on."

"Don't you?" Mrs. Lucas accused. "You should be ashamed of yourself."

"What did I do?" Mary Margaret asked, trying hard to think about what she could possibly have done, but nothing came up. "Please, I don't know what I did."

"So you didn't sleep with a married man?" Mrs. Lucas accused.

The question took Mary Margaret so off guard that all she could do was asked a highly confused, and somewhat raspy, "What? Why on Earth would anyone think that?"

At this, Mrs. Lucas looked less confident.

Mary Margaret's thoughts began to buzz. She didn't think that David would have wanted someone to think differently. Last night he told her he was-

Wait. Had someone seen them together? Is that where the rumor started?

Mary Margaret sighed, a headache forming far too soon in the day. "Mrs. Lucas, I can promise you, that David and I have never been like that. I sincerely doubt that we ever will be."

Mrs. Lucas eyed her. "Who said it was David Nolan?"

Mary Margaret's eyes widened at her mistake. She tried to explain herself, but it came out as a stammer. Mrs. Lucas lost her ability to be patient, and walked away with a disappointed huff.

Mary Margaret nearly slapped her own forehead, and knew that she had just dug herself into a deeper hole.

She hoped that Mrs. Lucas was more dignified than to spread gossip; it was one thing to listen to it, but to fuel it, well, that was just mean.

Sighing, Mary Margaret braced herself for more stares and whispers. This wasn't going to be easy.

Graham, Emma thought, does not look good.

He looked tired, possibly he'd been drinking the night before, though on that front Emma couldn't exactly judge. That tequila Ruby and Mary Margaret brought over the previous night was pretty good.

Emma had tried to broach the subject, but Graham had just gone into his office, and he hadn't come out. Emma couldn't be sure, but Graham's current behavior reminded her of Mary Margaret the previous night.

Could it be that something happened with Nancy? Things had seemed to be going well on that front. Graham was excited, and the few times Emma had managed to see Nancy in the previous week, the woman seemed genuinely happy too.

Maybe they broke up. That still left the mystery of why it happened unsolved.

The first time Emma saw the two of them together, she knew that they were smitten with each other.

The day was slow, and they hadn't gotten any calls, so Emma decided to go and get the truth for herself. Besides, it was kind of depressing looking at Graham, who now resembled a kicked puppy.

Out of courtesy, Emma knocked on the open door of Graham's office. "Got a second?"

"Sure." Graham said, motioning for Emma to enter his office, which she did. Once she sat in the seat opposite of his desk, he asked, "What do you need?"

Emma braced herself, hoping that Graham wouldn't react badly to her butting in. But then, everyone needed a friend to talk to.

And you would enjoy someone butting in about you and Killian? A very intrusive voice in her mind asked, and not for the first time, Emma really wondered if that thing she thought might be her conscience had a mute button.

"So...what's going on with you?" Emma asked, trying not to wince at how blunt that sounded.

"Nothing's going on with me." Graham denied.

Emma gave him a look that said she wasn't buying it.

Graham sighed. "Look, it's...personal business. I really don't want to get into it right now, so can we just not talk about it?"

Emma tried not to let the barb hurt. She knew that she was prickly, but she thought that she and Graham had something of a friendship.

Graham immediately felt bad. "I'm sorry." Graham apologized. "I know you're trying to help. I've just been in a bit of a mood."

"I noticed." Emma tried not to sound huffy about it.

Graham did notice this, and wanted to make it up to her. He wondered if coming clean about it would make things easier, but at the same time he worried about Emma's reaction. Would she be disgusted that he had been with Regina? Would she think poorly of him? Graham respected Emma, and the idea of losing any respect she had for him made him cringe.

On the other hand, Graham did consider Emma a friend, and he knew that she was one of the few people who could stand up to Regina. Also, after telling Nancy last night, the idea of talking about it, while somewhat terrifying, also felt a little easier.

Graham, seeing Emma's defenses slowly go up, let out a long breath, ignored the feeling that told him to keep his mouth shut.

"It's..." Graham wanted to tell her about Regina. He really did, but that wasn't the name that slipped out. "Nancy."

"I figured." Emma snarked.

Graham sent her a look, but continued to speak. "Things were going well for us. We even planned to go out on tomorrow, but...I had to tell her something."

"Something bad?" Emma guessed, already wondering what could be so bad that Nancy called things off. But this was Graham, how bad could it get?

Turns out, pretty bad. Emma listened to Graham talk about how, whilst he want on his sort-of-maybe date with Nancy the previous Sunday, he and Regina were sleeping together. She listened to Graham talk about how it had been going on for years, Graham's dissatisfaction with it, the general hollow feeling he felt, but then something he said pissed Emma off.

"Wait, Regina's house?" Emma questioned. "Henry wasn't there, right?"

Graham's guilty look confirmed her suspicions.

"Oh my god." Emma groaned out.

"He was asleep." Graham offered up.

"Seriously?" Emma shot back.

"He never knew I was there." Graham said. "I snuck out of the window every time."

"Oh my God." Emma groaned. "That's disgusting. What if he woke up and heard you?"

At this, Graham was looked extremely uncomfortable. "I tried to bring that up, but Regina was always sure that Henry would stay asleep."

"So you just took her word for it? God, that's just...so you just jumped every time she told you to?" Emma asked incredulously. She felt dirty having heard this. "How could she guarantee that Henry would stay asleep? What did she drug him? Oh God, would she do that? This is just...sick and twisted."

"I...I don't know." Graham said. "Emma, I'm sorry."

"Yeah, you should be." Emma said as got up. "I've gonna go get lunch. Alone." Emma then walked out of the office, despite Graham's attempts to talk to her.

She needed some time alone, away from Graham and away from anyone that might remind her of what she just heard. If she saw Regina, she couldn't guarantee that she'd turned herself in for socking the woman in her smug mouth.

Emma shuddered at the thought of Regina. Forget Henry in therapy, Emma was going to need professional help to bleach that out of her brain.

Cora marveled at the ease with which she was able to bring a rumor to life. At times, Storybrooke was remarkably similar to the royal court she knew after she married her weak-willed husband, where each word was carefully chosen so as not to breathe any life into any rumor. Cora could even remember the short time she spent when Leopold still held interest in her, before Eva ruined everything.

Perhaps it was appropriate that now Cora could spin a few words to sully the reputation of Eva's daughter.

She knew that taking the sheriff's heart would unbalance Regina. Cora also knew that Regina still hated Snow White with a fiery passion, so ensuring that the little queen and her prince charming were kept apart in this life would catch her attention. If Cora could take little steps to keep that going, until the curse's inevitable end would see them reunited, then that would go a long way to ensuring that Regina knew that she only had Cora to count on.

The rumor mill would take care of Snow and her prince for a while. Cora now wanted to spend more energy on a more pressing matter.

Gold, as he was known in this life, was still a crafty man. He somehow convinced Regina to allow him significant control and influence in the town, and Cora had no doubt that he had another trick up his sleeve to keep himself in power after the curse ended. She also knew that, like Regina, Rumplestiltskin deeply hated someone in town.

Mr. Gold and Killian Jones clearly didn't like each other. Though they rarely interacted in town, the few times they did were met with short instances of intense vitriol.

It was nice to know that the deep hatred was still mutual between the two of them in spite of the curse.

Cora happened to see a young woman walk in the direction of the library. If memory served her well, she was the same young woman who worked as the pirate's library assistant.

Cora would need to be smart about this, so as not to reveal herself too early to Gold or anyone else, but still, she smiled. It shouldn't be too hard to remind the pirate why he had joined her cause, and why he valued revenge against the Dark One more than his own life.

"How did your meeting with your counselor go?" Killian asked as he and Dada arranged some books.

"It was okay." Dada shrugged as she continued her work. "Frances just wanted to see how I was doing, asking me about online college, etc. Sorry it took so long."

"I told you you could take the day off if you wanted." Killian reminded her. He didn't want Dada to be here if she needed time to herself.

"And I told you it's fine." Dada replied. "Besides, I don't really have anywhere else to go." Dada tried to play it off as a thoughtless comment, but Killian knew better. He knew that for all that she was a good kid, she was still lonely, and as far as he knew she didn't have many friends.

Killian could relate to that. Like Dada, he had lost his parents when he was young, and lost his older brother a few years after. The loss of his family had been devastating, and the desperation to keep his head afloat and try to make something of his life on his own only compounded that. When Dada first came to the library, ironically trying to see if he knew of anyone else who needed a new worker, he'd seen that frantic need the minute she walked through the door.

That lonely desperation that ate away at you.

"It is a Saturday." Killian suggested. "Maybe you could go out tonight?"

"Go out?" Dada laughed. "With who?"

"Well, people." Killian offered lamely. "In the general vicinity."

Dada sent him a look that was both amused and dissatisfied with his answer. "Wow. That was terrible, boss. Even for you."

"Oi!" Killian wasn't really offended, because he knew that she was right.

"If you want to talk about going out, then tell me, how come you haven't asked Emma out?" Dada teased.

Killian immediately felt the argument turn in Dada's favor. "Because, well, just because."

Dada gave him a mocking slow clap.

"Don't you have some books to shelve?" Killian stated, silently giving her an order.

"I suppose I do." Dada sighed playfully. She then quickly added, "Maybe I can find one called 'How to talk to pretty deputies'. I'm sure it would help you out." She then disappeared behind the bookshelves as Killian shouted another, "Oi!"

Killian felt his ears burning. It was a little sad if Dada was able to see his feelings for Emma, and be brazen enough to call him out on it. Not that she was wrong though.

He did feel for Emma. He felt very strongly for Emma. The only problem was that he couldn't figure out a way to approach her about it. He knew that if he was too subtle, Emma might miss any signs he put out. If he came on too strong, he could kiss any chance of being with her goodbye. What's more, Killian didn't want to risk ruining what he and Emma already had.

Her friendship had come to mean a lot to him in the short time that they had known each other. The idea that he should just be satisfied with that hurt, but he wasn't sure of what else to do.

"Oh. Mr. Gold." He heard Dada squeak nervously in another part of the library, immediately bringing Killian out of his reverie. "What are you doing here?"

Gold? Killian thought. He never comes here.

As Killian quietly approached, he found Gold standing in front of Dada with that usual bored-yet-borderline-smug look on his face, while Dada was standing tense in front of him.

"We are in a library. Could it, perchance, involve a book?" Gold asked condescendingly, and upon seeing Dada's discomfort, he gave a short laugh. "No, no. I need to speak with your employer. Where is Mr. Jones?" Gold said Killian's name with thinly veiled disdain.

"I'm here, Gold." Killian announced in a bored tone, appearing in their view. He then looked at Dada and said, "Dada, I think there are some books in the back. You mind checking them in for me?"

Dada, understanding the message, nodded and walked away, sending Mr. Gold a distrustful glance before she left.

That just left Killian with the wonderful task of dealing with Mr. Gold. "And what business do you have with me?" Killian asked, wanting to get this over with as much as possible.

Mr. Gold stared at him. "I felt it would be better to tell you personally that I'm raising the rent on the library."

Oh for fuck's sake, Killian wanted to swear aloud, but for the sake of keeping his temper in check, he kept that bit to himself. "Why?" Killian asked tersely.

"Time's are hard, Mr. Jones." Gold replied coolly. "Everyone must do their part in keeping this town afloat, and simply put, I don't know anyone who would consider the library a bastion of revenue."

"And being the grand community leader you are, you just have to raise the rent." Killian snarked, though his glare never once strayed from Gold's cold gaze.

Mr. Gold smiled coldly.

It reminded Killian of a crocodile, a creature that would lie patiently in wait for unsuspecting prey, and when the opportunity presented itself, it would drag the prey into the water and rip them apart.

Perhaps Killian was being too harsh. After all, a real crocodile hunted for food. This crocodile hunted just to show that he could.

"Is the raised rent going to be a problem?" Gold asked him, though Killian was under no illusion that Gold actually cared. "If you need to alleviate your stress, you could always relieve yourself of an employee."

Killian felt his hackles raised in Dada's defense. He knew that Gold didn't care one way or another what Killian did, and in fact might be happy to find an excuse to ultimately throw Killian out if he couldn't make his payments, but he wouldn't fire Dada. She was a competent worker who, barring her occasional meetups with her counselor, rarely took a day off or missed work, even when she was sick.

Killian also couldn't help but think of something else. Why would Gold raise the rent now of all times? Did he do it just because he could? That was possible, but Killian wondered if there was something more to it. Gold could be cruel and cunning, but he did have some reason for doing the things he did.

Killian debated whether or not he should ask Gold, but figured that asking would only irritate Gold further and Killian wouldn't get a straight answer from him.

Furthermore, Killian just wanted Gold to leave. "We'll manage, as we always do. Consider your message received." He told the older man icily.

Gold gave him a mocking nod. "I await your next payment." Gold said with a quirk in his smile, and left without another word.

Killian repeatedly told himself to keep clam, to stamp down the special kind of anger that rose in Gold's presence. He managed to keep most of it in check, but still ended up slamming a fist against the flat side of a bookshelf.

He hated that Gold could get under his skin.

"Uh, Killian?" Dada suddenly appeared in his view, looking both nervous and strangely resolute. "I, uh, heard what Gold said." Dada didn't look happy with what she was about to say, but took in a breath to say it. "Look, if you need to, I can work more hours to help make ends meet, or-"

"No." Killian gently cut her off. "It's like I told Gold, we'll make due, and Gold can get stuffed if he doesn't like it." He then placed a comforting hand on Dada's shoulder. "Just do what you normally do, and we'll be fine."

Dada didn't look so certain. "You sure?" She asked.

Killian gave her a confident smile. "Have I ever let you down before?" When Dada shook her head, looking a little more reassured, he gently patted the shoulder his hand was on before retracting it. "Now come on, this library isn't going to get cleared by itself."

Dada smiled a little before giving a little salute. "Whatever you say, captain?"

"Captain?" Killian asked curiously.

Dada shrugged. "It just seemed fitting." She then turned around and got back to work.

Killian shook his head a little before joining Dada, though the captain statement strangely remained with him for the rest of the day.

November 13, 2011

Somehow, during the late hours of the night Graham found himself at the Rabbit Hole. Okay, maybe not so much a mysterious 'somehow' as him trying for the second night in a row to forget the emptiness he felt in his soul.

...He was getting a bit morose for his taste.

He knew that Nancy had to break things off with him. It was the best thing for her and Fernando. They both knew that Regina could and would seek retaliation if they were in a relationship together. Besides, at least he was honest with her about what had gone on.

That didn't exactly make things easier.

In fact, it made it harder, because it only made his admiration, respect, and affection for Nancy grow. He knew she had feelings for him, that she wanted to be with him like he wanted to be with her, but she knew her responsibilities first. She was willing to push him away to protect her son, and in no way could Graham fault her for that.

Furthermore, Emma hadn't talked to him since he revealed what he and Regina had been doing the day before. Well, that's not exactly true. They did talk, but mostly through a string of terse words from Emma that were strictly business, and Graham's failed attempts at trying to explain himself. He just hoped that Emma didn't hold this against him forever.

He'd managed to potentially ruin two relationships with two different women over the course of two days.

He groaned loudly, banging his head against the bar.

"Rough day, Sheriff?" A voice asked, and upon lifting his head, Graham saw Killian taking a seat next to him at the bar.

"Uh, more like a rough couple of days." Graham admitted, sitting upright once again.

Killian ordered a drink for himself. "Well, we're at a bar and my drink's on the way. This seems like an ideal place to bare your soul."

Graham chuckled. "I thought that was the bartender's job, hearing his patron's woes."

Killian grabbed a nearby napkin, and began to lazily clean up the bar counter like he was a bartender. "Well, I am a man of many talents, and listening just happens to be one of my better ones."

Graham felt a little nervous about letting Killian in on what was going on, but, and Graham suspected his previous drinking's involvement, he just sighed and figured why the hell not. "It's some...women troubles."

"Ah." Killian nodded. "That, I am familiar with."

"With Emma?" Graham couldn't help but tease.

At this, Killian's head hit the bar counter, getting genuine laugh out of Graham.

"We're in the same boat then." Graham patted Killian on the back

"That we are, mate." Killian said as he lifted up his head. "Which woman is on your mind?"

Graham paused before admitting. "Nancy Evans."

That surprised Killian. "Nancy...she works for Regina right?"

"Mhmm." Graham affirmed.

"How did that happen?" Killian asked.

"It...was a bit of a surprise." Graham admitted with a fond smile. "We would see each other when I was over at Regina's house - on business." Graham quickly added, which was the truth. Per Regina's orders, he was never over on the nights Nancy was working. "One day, we just decided that it would be nice to have lunch together. We talked, had fun, and then...we kissed." At this, Graham couldn't keep a smile on his face. "I didn't think it would happen. I mean, I wanted to before, but I didn't know how I would ever bring the subject up, or if it would happen. I'm glad we took that leap though." Finally, the smile melted off Graham's face. "It just didn't work out."

Killian sympathised. "I'm sorry to hear that, mate."

Graham shrugged. "It was my own fault. I…had something with another woman. Not a relationship, but…the thing is, I don't even know why I was with that other woman for so long. It never felt right. I never wanted to, at least I don't think so, but after a while it became habit. Especially considering that she had a…forceful personality, to say the least." The shame Graham felt was building up, and Graham was staring listlessly at the bar counter now. "With Nancy, I never felt like I had to do everything I could to please her. I wanted to, but it wasn't like a duty. She made me feel something, and now all of that's just over, because if we're together then Regina-" Graham cut himself off, realizing his mistake.

"It was Regina?" Killian asked before letting out a low whistle, grabbing his newly arrived drink and taking a gulp. "About time you dodged that bullet mate."

Graham was surprised that Killian's tone lacked judgement. He didn't really know what to say. More than that, it was a relief for Graham to be able to tell someone about this and it didn't blow up in his face.

"I know." Graham sighed. "It was messy. It still is messy. Regina is her boss, and we both knew that Regina would be...less than pleased if she found out about us."

Killian nodded, knowing this to be true. "Less than pleased is quite an understatement."

Graham grimaced at the librarian's words. "So, here we are. Nancy and I can't be together, and Regina can never know."

"That needs to remedied." Killian stated. "Perhaps Emma could help."

Graham winced. "Emma...isn't exactly pleased with me." Graham quickly and quietly explained the source of Emma's ire, particularly the bit about Henry being asleep in the house when he and Regina would...Graham couldn't bear to lift his head from his hands, though he did hear the sharp, almost pained inhalation of breath of Killian.

"That's...that." Killian took another swig of his drink. After taking another appreciative sing, Killian said, "That's quite a predicament you have."

"Yep." Graham said, finally lifting his head. "Any idea on what I should do?"

For a few moments, Killian didn't say anything. Graham took a swig of his own drink before Killian finally said, "If you had a way to direct Regina's anger solely at yourself, and not Nancy, would you still seek Nancy out?"

"Yes." Graham replied immediately, only mildly surprising himself.

Killian then gave him a pat on the back. "Then give it time, but don't give up. Try smoothing things over with Swan, and then we can all find a way for you to be with your lady, by your lead, of course. If you're not willing to fight for what you want, then do you really deserve it?"

Graham took in Killian's words, and despite their succinctness, or perhaps because of them, Graham felt his spirits lift. Again, it could also be because of his previous drinking, but...no. This time, he knew it was because Killian was providing him with some backup. Graham lifted up his nearly empty glass with a smile. "Quite right there. Cheers."

Killian lifted up his glass. "To your romantic success."

"And to yours." Graham supplied cheekily.

"And now you've ruined it." Killian jokingly groused.

"Just take the drink, mate." Graham teased, and both men took the drink.

Both men ordered another drink soon after, and also shared a silent sense of relief, as both of them subconsciously realized that they may have just made a new friend.

November 14, 2011

As Emma drove around Storybrooke at a slow pace, Emma was worried about Mary Margaret, and she wanted to kick the ass of the idiot who started that rumor about Mary Margaret and David sleeping together. Few people commented on it to their face, but plenty of people whispered and pointed at Mary Margaret. That kind of stuff died down when Emma would glare them into submission, but she knew it started up the minute she left the room.

Two days. Two whole days of people talking about something that didn't even happen. Emma heard that David had denied it, especially to Kathryn, but given the events of the last two days, Emma wasn't willing to completely trust something from word of mouth.

Not for the first time, Emma wanted to give David a good shake, and ask him what the hell he was thinking getting Mary Margaret's hopes up like that.

Then again, even though Emma had warned Mary Margaret, she hadn't exactly been more forceful with deterring hers and David's budding whatever it was.

Emma sighed. She wondered if maybe she was projecting her own hopes of a successful relationship on Mary Margaret. If she was, Emma knew that it was because she hoped that Mary Margaret and David would act as some sign that her feelings for Killian could work out.

Emma hated to admit it, but some feelings were there. She was still far too hesitant to think too much on them, but she knew that Killian was special. He made her happy, and she could fool herself into thinking that he could make her feel safe.

After witnessing the fallout of Mary Margaret and David, especially with the rumors, Emma knew that she couldn't take that chance. She had thick skin, and she had survived worse, but it wasn't solely for her sake. She knew that Henry liked Killian, and if she and Killian became a thing and it didn't work out, it would only hurt Henry in the end.

Aren't you just using him as an excuse? A voice intruded in her thoughts. Are you really more concerned with Henry's feelings, or are you just afraid of getting your heart broken in the process?

She told that voice to shut up.

Of course she was more concerned about Henry. The kid had such high hopes for everything, and he was still young enough to believe that things would just work themselves out. She didn't want to be the one that force reality on him before he was ready.

Henry needed someone that he could rely on, and Emma couldn't be selfish.

Maybe it was for the best if she and Killian were just friends. Ignoring the unsettled feeling in her gut, Emma continued on her drive. Yes, just friends.

Her heart protested the thought, but even so, Emma just didn't know if she could take that kind of chance.

So, for the rest of the night, Emma put it in the back of her mind, hoping that she wouldn't have to confront that problem any time soon.

Henry knew something unsettled his mom, and he had a feeling that it had something to do with Graham.

At first, Henry just thought that it was something Emma did that put his mom in a bad mood. That filled Henry with excitement, as it could have meant that Emma was breaking the curse. After a while though, Henry began to realize that it wasn't Emma at all. In fact, things kind of seemed at a standstill with Emma. On that front, Henry blamed himself. He'd need to do something to help her figure things out.

When Henry retraced his steps, thinking back to when his mom's bad mood started, he remembered that time Graham left his mom's office, and how his mom stared at his car driving away. Henry wasn't stupid. He knew that there had been a fight, but for once, it looked like Graham was the one who won it.

It was strange, as Graham usually did everything his mom said, doing what she wanted to make her happy. Henry figured that it was a result of Graham being cursed. That made Henry worry for Graham, as he knew that his mom wouldn't take someone doing something she didn't like well. And yet, similar to his mom, Graham had been slowly staying away from his mom, doing what he wanted without asking her first.

Something had to be going on there, and maybe something in his book could help him out. His book had been the key to figuring out this curse so far.

As he flipped through the pages of his storybook, he thought about everything he knew about Graham.

First, Graham was a man, so that eliminated about half of the characters in his book. Second, he was the sheriff, and he answered directly to his mom, so it had to have been someone he trusted, or someone she knew she could control. Third, he was a decent guy here, so he couldn't have been all bad in the Enchanted Forest.

Henry opened his book and began to read.

The Sheriff of Nottingham? No, he was a bad guy. Robin Hood? No, he's supposed to be dead. The Mad Hatter? Eh, no.

Page after page, Henry searched for who Graham might be. At one point, he accidentally skipped a few pages, but before he could go back to where he was, an illustration caught his eye. It was of a man, with brown hair and, Henry believed, brown eyes. The man was in a forest, and wore some furs, but what really captured Henry's attention was that he was standing alongside a white wolf. This wolf had one black eye, and one red eye.

Intrigued, Henry backtracked until he got to the beginning of their story. It was about a character called The Huntsman, one who lived in the woods, all alone save for his companion wolf. He stayed away from humans because his own human parents abandoned him, and only found solace in the company of wolves, similar to the ones that had raised him.

Henry continued reading, especially when it came to the part about the Evil Queen approaching the Huntsman with an offer. The text read:

The Evil Queen, mistaking the Huntsman's decisiveness in hunting for ruthlessness, chose him to be her assassin, she chose him to end Snow White's life.

That's when Henry remembered reading this before, and a thought struck him. Hurrying to see if it was true, Henry quickly went to the last page of that story, and found the excerpt he was looking for.

The Evil Queen angrily threw Snow White's letter into the fire, and in order to ease her fiery hatred, she went to retrieve what she believed what Snow White's heart. Upon realizing that the heart the Huntsman presented her was that of an animal's, not of the princess she so despised, the Evil Queen sought immediate retribution. She tore the Huntsman's heart out of his chest, and henceforth made him her slave, subverting his own will under hers, forcing him to enact any and all cruel orders she gave him.

Henry's head shot up, reminding him that he was still in Storybrooke, and he breathed out, "Mom stole Graham's heart."

That's why Graham had been so compliant to his mom's every whim. Henry had thought it was the curse, but as he thought about it, he realized that Graham had always been more compliant than others.

His heart had to be somewhere. Maybe in the house? Or his mom's office? It had to be somewhere, and Henry was going to find it.

It was time for another Operation.

Cora remembered the first time she ripped out a heart. It had been her own, and she remembered both the fascination and the horror she felt as she held her own heart in her hand. She remembered the paranoia she felt at the idea that anyone could be nearby as she took out the one thing that could halt her ascension to power. The sheer vulnerability of quite literally putting her heart out into the world.

That was why Cora saw the absolute power that came from holding someone else's heart in her possession, particularly when he was the sheriff.

Cora stood in the woods, and smiled as she saw the sheriff approach her with a dazed look on his face, a multiple of files in his hand.

"Did you get everything?" Cora asked, his heart resting in the palm of her hand.

"Here are copies of all the files I had in my office." The sheriff replied tonelessly. The criminal files Cora ordered him to bring to her were a limited resource, but they would give her information on the people in town, and hopefully they would let her know who was who, and if they could be useful. Aside from that, this was a test to see if the control Cora had over his heart was secure. Ah, it felt just like being home.

Cora then ordered, "Hand them over."

The sheriff did so immediately.

Once the files were securely in Cora's hands, she gripped his heart a little tighter, watching him wince as one hand flew to where his heart should have been. She lifted his heart to her lips and said, "Now, forget my face, forget our interactions, and go about your night like nothing has happened."

The sheriff silently nodded, the dazed look still on his face as he turned around and left Cora alone.

Cora smiled, putting the heart in her purse, and turned around to head home. She had some reading to do.

Poor Graham. It's hard writing some of this time because no one else other than Regina knows exactly what she did to him, and I can't wait until that comes to light.

And now Cora's got some dirt on everyone, at least so much as there's a criminal record.

Let me know what you think in the review box down below.

See you next week!