Chapter 10

Two days had passed since the Romani's troupe was in the White Castle and Emma had "met" her mother, grandfather and Regina. Despite the conversation she and Henry had had with Tink, who in fact, they hadn't seen since, she didn't regret her contact with the former Mayor. The now self-sufficient and strong woman had been so fragile once that the young woman Emma had met seemed to be a completely different person. Admittedly sassy, but the blond felt it was all a bluff, a self-preservation move.

"Where are you now, mom, Storybrook or the moon?" asked her son who was doodling by the fire.

"Here, actually. I was thinking about your mother. She was so different before everything happened. I know she already hates Snow, her boyfriend is already dead and she was already forced into a loveless marriage, but all I could see in her eyes was pain, not rage." She remembered.

"Maybe something else happened to her. Something she never told anyone that exponecia… " he tried.

" exponentialized." The mother helped.

"Did that to her anger." The boy finished and went back to his drawings.

"We have a meeting tomorrow about 'Operation Simba'." She told her son. "I don't think you should go. The least you know the better."

"Ok. Aino, Remo's son said he wanted to take me fishing anyway." The boy simply replied. "By the way, I can't believe you are using that name. I was joking!"

"What? It's a good name. Appropriate, but not obvious." She laughed. "And by the way- she mimicked her son- I'm glad you have a friend. It's good for you to mingle with the youth."

"Yeah, he is cool." The kid gave without taking his eyes from his paper.

The blonde stood up contemplating what would be their life if they didn't find a way to go back home. Henry could grow up to be a circus artist, even a tattooist, and she would continue to help Esme with the herbs and carrying things around. It was not a bad life, but not the one she had planned for her and her son.

"Kid... Kid, look at me." He raised his eyes. "I think we should tell Esme about us."

"Everything? Even the 'we're royalty' part?"

"I think so." She sighed. "It's time we began looking for a way home."

##

It was already bed time when Emma and Henry entered the woman's tent. After the festivities, mom and son decided it was time they had their own tent, giving back Esme her privacy. The woman had insisted that there was no problem for her to have them both there, but agreed that the boy was growing and could feel a bit uncomfortable having to be careful every time he entered the tent.

"Hey." Emma greeted.

"Good evening, Emma. Henry." She nodded. "Come in."

"We hope it's not a bad time. After all it's is bed time." She joked lightly. Henry just rolled his eyes. Oh my god, please not another dad joke.

"Don't worry, I still have some accounting and packing to do." She smiled. "Henry could you help me gather that rosemary please?" the boy didn't respond, just began picking up the plant and putting them in their usual paper bag. "How can I help you guys?"

"We need to tell you something. It may be hard to believe, but it's important that you do cause, you know, it's the truth and all. But I digress. Again. Thing is, Henry and I are not from here."

"That, my dear, is obvious." Esme chuckled.

"what she meant is that we're not from this time." Henry said while finishing his work.

"I was going to try a less abrupt approach kid." Emma lightly reprehended the boy. "What he said is true though. We come from something like forty years in the future, but the time will stop for you for 28, so, twelve to fourteen years in your future." She thought out loud.

"What?" asked the confused woman.

"Er.. Emma, I think I'd be easier if we showed her the book." Henry tried.

"Sure. Show her."

It took them over three ours to explain Esme the whole situation and how they got there. When they were satisfied with their interpretation, which even contained some sound effects from Henry, Esme said:

"Let me see: you are Princess' Snow daughter; Henry is not only your son but also the Queen's son, so Queen Regina is your step-grandmother but also your son's mother? - she looked at Henry- and Princess Snow is you grandmother but also your step sister, witch would make you your step uncle?"

Emma laughed: "Something like it, yes."

"I don't know what happened in the future, but I can say the family concept is quite different." She smiled. "I believe you. In fact, all this explains a lot. I always knew you were different, special, I just couldn't put my finger on it."

"We want to go back if not to our realm, at least to our time." Emma said, her eyes filling with tears. She was tired of having to be so strong all the time. The blond felt the older woman's arms around her and broke down.

"Don't worry, sweetheart, we'll find a way for you and you boy –she pulled Henry into the group hug- to go home." They stayed like that for a little longer, and then Esme let them go.

"Sorry kid. You shouldn't have to see me like this."

"It's ok ma." He replied with his eyes also red from crying. "We are a team; you don't have to be the strong one all the time." They all smiled.

"I think my nana had some things about magic and how to break spells, curses and so on." Esme said breaking the moment. "I have read something about this kind of thing, not much, but for what you told me, true love's kiss broke the Evil Queen's curse right?" both mother and son cringed at her title's choice. "Sorry, I mean the curse that took everybody to your realm."

"Yes." They replied.

"And Regina's worst loss broke the second curse that must have taken your family back to their realm, this realm, even though that was what enacted the first curse." Once again they confirmed. "Interesting."

"What is?" curiosity took over the young man.

"It always revolves around her doesn't it?" they just looked at her as if asking for her to elaborate. She just laughed at their dumbfounded faces. "Reason with me: her worst loss enacted a curse broke with true love's kiss. The second curse, Pan's, was enacted with something we don't know for sure, but was broken with her worst pain, by losing the person she loves the most. The third curse, the blessing as you called, was enacted by, once again her, I'd venture to say, true love, which leads me to believe that can only be broken by…"

"Her worst pain." Emma finished.

"Precisely." The Romani said.

"We will have to break her heart again?" asked the, until now, silent boy. "I don't want to do that! Not after all she's been through, all she has suffered to try and give us our happy ending!" he all but shouted.

"Henry calm down." His mom pleaded. "I don't want to hurt her more than you do, but remember our talk with Tink? She doesn't remember. We will make her forget, give her the potion." She touched her son's face, drying a tear that had fallen.

"Ok. But how are going to break her heart? Daniel is dead, she doesn't love me, not yet."

"You tell her. You tell her everything you just told me." Esme said.

"What can we be sure she won't want to change the future if we tell her all the things she will do?" the blond asked.

"Because of me. If she changes something I won't be born. If we make her believe we won't rest until we find a way back to her, she will help us. Or else she will just continue to live her miserable life here." The kid spoke with wisdom beyond his years. "I'm her happy ending Emma." He whispered.

"Right. We should go try to talk with her after the Operation Simba's meeting. We need a way in the castle though." The blonde informed.

"I can help with that. I have a friend working in the palace's kitchen. I will take you to her and ask her to lead you to the queen." The brunette told them.

"Let's sleep then. Tomorrow will be a long day. Good night Esme, and thank you for understanding and most of all help. Needless to say this should stay between us right? I really want to be born." She chuckled.

"Of course not, dear. I'm glad to repay the favor you're doing all of us. Good night dears."

"Night, Esme." The kid yawned.

##

"And what are we supposed to do?" asked an exasperated Snow. "We can't just sit and do nothing while my daughter and grandchild are stuck in the past!"

"Pull yourself together woman. Nothing good will come of this sort of tantrum." Chastised Regina. "We must gather all the possible information and then think of something. You were saying sir Robin." She motioned for the man to speak.

"Yes. Emma was of great importance in our fight against Alrik. She gave us the idea that brought us victory. She was the one who thought of preventing the goods to get to the towns. We stole from the caravans and gave away to the poor. That way the people would survive, but the army and Alrik's men would have to surrender or starve. Simple and brilliant." He smiled charmingly.

"And have we not heard of her until now? She should be in the history books, songs and whatever the peasants do to celebrate a hero." The former queen sneered.

"She asked not to be mentioned in anything. I can see why now. She also never got the chance to see what we accomplished. Emma and Henry left before the war was completely over. Don't get me wrong, she stayed until our victory was certain, she would never leave if there was a chance of our plan failing." He explained. "You should be proud of them." He looked at the Charmings.

"We are. When was that? When did they go away?" David asked.

"I think it was summer, so after four months of fighting." He replied grabbing the back of his neck.

"How long was that after you've met?" inquired Snow trying to set a timeline.

"Does it really matter? There's no way to say how long they were in our realm before they met sir Robin." Red reasoned.

"Maybe there is. How old was Henry?" asked Regina.

"I can't say for sure, but not over 13 name days. He had no hair in his face, or anywhere that I saw… His voice had not begun to change also." He finished.

"That's good, right? Henry was bit over 11 when we last saw him." Declared smiling.

"Regina, do you think they might have come home then?" Snow asked not as pleased as her husband was.

"If they came on their own, they must have gotten help." She said pensively "Emma could not have become able to do a spell as hard as time and realm jumping in such a short time."

"You know how Emma's magic works on instinct. Half of the things she did were almost by accident." Red chuckled and received glares from her mates.

"Emma could do magic?" exclaimed Robin. Red cringed at her mishap.

"Yes." Regina responded sharply still glaring at the werewolf.

"So what do we do, we wait for almost a year until they magically appear here and then do something I they don't?" exclaimed Snow. She was losing her patience. How was she supposed to just wait for her family to simply puff in front of her one day?

"The only thing I could think of to try to bring them back is to break my blessing. I don't even know if it'd work cause, technically, my blessing didn't work. I meant to give them their happy ending but they ended up there. Here." The older queen sighed.

"Perhaps Emma's magic was mixed with yours. Your friend there said that her magic works according with her mood or something. Maybe she didn't want the things you willed for her. Or maybe destiny planed her time travel so she could help us." Robin shrugged.

"There's no such thing as destiny!" snarled Regina.

Snow and Regina couldn't help but pace around. The sight of them doing so made Red and David smile and think of how much alike they were in spite of all the fights and attempts of murder. Weather she liked or not Regina had been a mother figure to Snow and some of that had definitely rubbed on the younger mother. Red and Charming looked at each other with a knowing look: the women should be separated or their frustration combined would blow up the place.

"Honey, let's finish our talk with Robin and think this thing over. I'm sure Regina has some books at home that could help us figure this out." He said holding his wife and softly pushing her in their 'office's' direction.

"Yes." Began Ruby "Let's try to find something in your library Miss Mills. We can meet again there tomorrow, right?"

"Ok. Tomorrow at twilight. Do not be late." The former mayor turned to leave. "Oh, I still expect you tonight for dinner sir Robin." She left with Red on her tail, who only waved her friends goodbye and jokingly mouthed "help me".

"Intense lady, isn't she?" Robin laughed.

"You have no idea." Replied David.