Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time. Only my OCs and my version of the tales.

Chapter 11: The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

"Is he drunk?" Paige asked, eating a fry.

Thea looked around to see Graham throwing darts at a picture of a deer in the middle of the dart board, "The Huntsman." She chuckled, "Pathetic." She turned back, "He prayed over his kills."

"Really?" The blonde scoffed, "That's just sad." She blanched, "There's Emma."

Thea turned back to see Emma, holding Eva, walk around the Sheriff and head toward their booth in the front. Just as she got there, a dart hit the door frame, inches from Eva's face, scaring the five-year-old.

"What the hell?" She pulled her daughter to her in comfort and rounded on the offender, "You could have hit her."

He shrugged as he walked over, "I never miss."

"Like that's an excuse?" Thea growled, coming to her friend's side, "You nearly hit Eva, you dumb ass. Miss or not, that's really bad form, Sheriff!" She aimed her lethal glare at him, "How about you and your drunken idiocy go home. Before Emma has to arrest me for assault."

"No, I think not." He turned to Emma, "You've been avoiding me… since last night when you saw me …"

"Leaving the mayor's?" She finished, handing her crying daughter to Thea, "And, yes, that is a euphemism. I'm not avoiding you, Graham. I just have no interest in having this conversation. It's your life, and I really don't care." She turned to her friend, "Can you take her for the night?"

"Of course."

"Thanks." She kissed Eva's wet cheek as settled her head on her aunt's shoulder, "Stay with Aunt Thea and Paige tonight, okay. Mama needs to take care of some things. Love you."

"Love you."

Thea rubbed the girl's back in comfort, "We'll take care of her." She glared over at the Sheriff, "You might want to stay away from me for awhile."

Emma laughed as turned away and left the diner, Graham following her.

"Hungry?" Thea asked, sitting Eva down.

"Yes, please."

1-2-3-4-5

Thea knocked on the door with Eva on her hip, waiting for someone to answer, "What?!" Emma stood there brandishing a bouquet of flowers, ready to hit someone, "Oh, sorry. Hey, baby."

"Mama! Pretty." As Eva reached for the flowers, Emma picked her up and went to the kitchen.

"Nope. Bad flowers."

"Oh, hey, wait. What are you doing?" Mary Margaret rushed in, confused.

"If Graham thinks flowers will make up for that kiss…"

"Whoa!" Thea exclaimed, "He kissed you?" Emma nodded, "That is over the line. He knows you're married. What was he thinking?"

"He wasn't. Kept saying that he just wanted to feel. I didn't get it."

"Okay, as bad as that was," Mary Margaret gestured to the trash can, "those were my flowers."

Emma paused as she grabbed her jacket, "Oh. David?"

"No." The teacher hesitated as she walked into the living room, "Dr. Whale."

Thea's eyes widened in disgust as Emma tried to put it together, "Why would Dr. Whale…" She stopped at the look Mary Margaret sent her, "Are you serious?"

Thea just grabbed some water to sooth herself. "I hope not."

The timid women sighed, "I know. It's a disaster."

"No, that's amazing." Emma reassured, "You're getting over David."

Mary Margaret disagreed, "First of all, there's nothing to get over, it was just a one-night stand."

Thea scoffed, "Not according to those flowers." She looked down as they stuck out of the trash, "They're not even pretty."

"They're not that bad."

"No offense, but those pretty little fall flowers are something you give to a friend when they're in the hospital. Not for a 'One-night Thanks'. Do you know what flowers Gold gave Rissa, before they started 'officially' dating? He had them all over his gardens. Queen of the Night. Beautiful flowers that only bloom once or twice a year. A rare site. Other flowers that he's always given her were Red Flare Water Lilies, and an assortment of other rare lilies, Dragonfruit Cactus Blooms, Angel's Trumpets, Datura, and Moon Flower Vines. I'm pretty sure there were others. Any flowers that flourished at night, he had them. Beautiful, rare flowers. Why? Because they were a representation of her, and it showed her how much he loved her. Now that she's back home, a fresh bouquet of different flowers finds their way in the house every day. Mostly lilies. Rissa has a thing for them."

"Oh," Mary Margaret sighed, "That's so lovely and sweet." She grabbed her mug and poured herself some coffee, "Maybe I shouldn't have called him."

"Oh, my God!" Emma exclaimed, "You called him?"

Thea chuckled, "That is definitely not a one-night stand."

Emma grabbed a glass and a cup with a straw to fill with orange juice, "

"Okay," Mary Margaret turned with a smile, "I'm still learning. I've never had one before." She scrunched her nose, "I felt guilty."

"Why?" Thea looked incredulous, "There's nothing wrong with what you did. You're human, Mary Margaret. And a woman. You're entitled to indulge a little bit. Besides, there are worse things in the world to feel guilty about."

"She's right." Emma added, putting the juice back, "There's no need to get so emotional over men."

"You don't think you get emotional over men?" The teacher asked, "Emma, I think the floral abuse tells a different story."

"Hold up." Thea intervened, "She thought those flowers were from Graham. A guy who shot a dart at her last night, missing Eva's cheek by mere inches. Then he has the gall to run after her like she's at fault for ignoring him after catching him climbing out of Regina's house, with Henry still there. And if that's not bad enough, the idiot kisses her. A married woman. He's lucky I wasn't there. Emma would have had to post bail on me."

"Again." The blonde shrugged, "What? That what the account's for."

"True."

Mary Margaret looked frustrated, "It just feels that she puts up these walls that prevents anyone outside of her inner circle from getting too close." She reached down and pulled out the flowers, putting them in a vase.

"She has the right after everything she's lived through." Thea frowned, "You've stayed stuck in this town, where everyone knows everyone, living the same day over and over again. You've never had a boyfriend or a one-night stand. Never been in love. Never had your heart broken. You know everything as right or wrong. You never think that there's anything in between. You live in this tiny, sheltered bubble that's slowly disintegrating around you because of your confusing feelings for a married man who just woke up out of a come. Give me a break. I'm sorry to say this, but you don't have the right to judge the rest of us, Ms. Blanchard. Not until you've experience things outside of that bubble." She picked up Eva and grabbed her juice cup, "Emma, I'm taking the Little Pixie with me today. Time for more slave work."

"No problem."

"Bye mama. Time for Slave Mode!"

Emma chuckled as she watched her daughter leave, "Those walls are up for a reason. They're there to protect my family. I've lost too much in my life. I've earned those walls. And there's nothing wrong with wanting to protect my loved ones from outside those walls." She put her badge on, "If you'll recall, I opened a window in those same walls when I agreed to move in here with Eva. I'm here for my family. For Henry. Anyone else has to earn the right to be let through. Not before. That's my right."

1-2-3-4-5

Later, Graham was running through the forest, frantic. When some bushes started rustling, he stopped and stared in a panic. He sighed when he saw Mr. Gold and his wife come out from the trees.

"Ah." Gold smiled, "Good morning, Sheriff. Sorry if we startled you."

"You're sorry. I'm not." Rissa cocked her head to the side, inspecting the Sheriff closely, "What's got you so scared, big boy?"

"Oh, um, sorry. I thought you were a wolf."

"A wolf." Rissa chuckled, "In Storybrooke?"

Gold shrugged, "Maybe it's me." He looked back over at Graham, "Did I forget to shave?"

"What are you two doing out here so early."

Rissa leaned against her shovel, "Just a spot of gardening. Yourself?"

"I was looking for…"

"A wolf." Rissa laughed as Gold interrupted him, "Yes, I'm sure we're beginning to catch on." He leaned against his cane, smiling down at his wife, "To the best of my knowledge, Sheriff, there are no wolves in Storybrooke."

"Not the literal kind, anyways." She smirked, "Why are you looking?"

"You'll think I'm crazy."

"Try us."

The Sheriff sighed, "I saw one in my dreams, and then I saw one for real, just a few hours ago." The couple exchanged decipherable looks and walked toward him, "Did you see anything unusual out here?"

"I'm afraid not." Gold smiled, "I do wish we could be more helpful."

They started to walk away, but Rissa turned back with an unreadable look on her face, "You know, Sheriff, they say that dreams…" she paused, "dreams are memories…" she smiled, "memories of… another life."

"What do you believe?"

"Oh, we never rule anything out." Gold climbed over a log and reached out a hand to help his wife over, "Good luck, Sheriff. I hope you find what you're looking for. Whatever it may be."

1-2-3-4-5

"One of my Wisps just informed me of something quite nefarious."

Artie looked over as Jess came in with a frown, "That's pretty broad. Especially in this castle."

"Yeah, Red," Nyx called from her potions at the table, "you've gotta be more specific with us."

"Okay. How's this." The pirate turned to Artemis with a very pointed look, "Do you know how your father died?"

The Huntress stopped smiling as she stood up, "The news we received was some genie who was there visiting had done it."

"Oh, he did. Sicked a couple of Agrabahn Vipers on him. And now that genie resides in your step-mother's mirrors."

"Knowing her, it wasn't punishment."

"No. It was to keep him quiet. She made him fall in love with her and made him think that she was in a forced marriage where she was held prisoner. The only way they could be together is if the King were no more. She provoked your father by writing about a mysterious man in her diary. He shut her into her room and sent the genie to find the man, not knowing that it was the genie she was writing about." Artie looked more and more furious that her husband had to wrap his arms around her to keep her from taking off to kill Regina, "The genie then sicked the vipers on your father that night in his sleep."

"Now I know that Regina had ordered the vipers and made the genie think she was going to poison herself with them to get out of her marriage. Because of where the serpents came from is why everyone knew who had done it." She chuckled, "When he realized what she did, he used his last wish for himself to be with her forever and to look upon her face, always. Unfortunately, that's what caused him to get sucked into the mirror that he had given her. Now, she can use him from any mirror to spy on her kingdom." She sat down with a sigh, "Long live the Queen."

"I'm going to rip out her heart." Artemis muttered in fury.

"Oh, but I haven't told you the best part." Jess leaned forward, "She's sent her Black Knights in search of… the Huntsman."

The shifter stopped struggling and stared, "What could she possibly need him for? Between her Knights and her magic, she can do her killing herself."

"She doesn't want it coming back on her when her precious step-daughter dies so suddenly after the King."

Artemis started breathing hard, "Snow."

"Artie, stop." Nyx demanded, pushing her sister back into her chair, "We have to be careful how we intervene. Until now, the Queen has been unaware of interference from our side. We can't expose ourselves now."

"I can't let her die."

"Who's saying that you do?" Persephone asked as she walked in with Rumple, "I figured out who Snow's true love is, and I think they're going to be the final catalyst to get Regina to cast the curse to find Baelfire."

"So," Rumple patted his sister's shoulder, "We wait and watch. We take the steps needed to move forward in the plan. And we guide and protect your sister and her True Love from the darkness. Without anyone understanding why. Then, watch it unfold. With our help."

1-2-3-4-5

"Hey, Ladybug." Emma looked over with a file in her hand as Thea came in, "I figured you'd be bored and could use some company." She held up a paper bag with food from Granny's, "Hungry?"

"Starving. Where's Eva?"

"Paige is watching her. Is that okay?"

"That's fine. I trust her."

"Good." The brunette watched as Emma put the file down on her desk with a sigh, "Don't let what happened get to you. Graham was in the wrong and Mary Margaret needs to get a clue."

Emma picked up a dart and threw it at the board on the wall, missing, "I don't know what to do…" she trailed off as she picked it back up.

"Our tax dollars hard at work, I see." They looked over as Regina came in.

"Graham isn't here." Emma said, pulling the other darts off the board, "I assumed he took a sick day with you."

"So you're aware of us." Regina said, smug, "Good. That's why I'm here." She stepped forward, "Because I'm aware of your relationship with him."

Thea chuckled, "What relationship? Sheriff and Deputy?"

Regina just smirked, "You didn't tell your little friends? How sad for them."

"Honestly, Madam Mayor, you're starting to sound like a broken record." Rissa said, coming in from the door, "We're family. She tells us everything."

"So, she had no problems exposing what happened between them?"

"Nothing happened except him touching what doesn't belong to him."

"How did you know?" Thea asked from her chair as Rissa came over to her, "I mean, it happened on the street, which means you have rats."

"Eyes, Ms. Rose. And loyal ones at that."

Rissa and Thea shot a look over at Emma before the three spoke in unison, "So, rats."

"What do you want, Regina?" Emma asked, "For me to pretend that I don't know anything? Or for me not to tell Henry what you're doing with him in the house."

Regina's face twisted in anger, "You have no right to talk to my son about my personal life. He's only ten."

"That's right. He's ten. And you're sneaking the Sheriff in and out of his house in the dark of night. Don't play high and mighty with me. And he's our son."

"As someone who's so private with her personal life," Rissa muttered, "you're awfully passionate about interfering in other people's lives."

Emma nodded, "She is, isn't she? With all due respect, Madam Mayor, how I live my life is my business. It has nothing to do with you… or Graham."

"Actually, it's only your business until it infringes on my life." Regina's stepped forward as her voice hardened, "Stay away from Graham. You may think you're doing nothing, but you're putting thoughts in his head, thoughts that are not in his best interest. You are leading him on a path to self destruction. Stay away."

When she turned around and left, Thea raised her hand like a student, "Can someone explain why she's acting like his mother?"

"Or a very controlling and jealous wife?" Rissa shrugged.

"Don't ask me." Emma sighed, sitting at her desk, "I want nothing to do with her or her personal drama unless it's about Henry. That's it."

Rissa looked at her girls and smiled, "Food?"

1-2-3-4-5

In her Dark Huntress clothes, Artemis hid behind some trees, invisible, as she watched her little sister writing a letter. When before they were only two years apart, Artie was now, technically, 502 years older than Snow. Everyone in the kingdom thought she had died. For now, she wanted to keep it that way. She looked over to see the Huntsman climb up the hill walk over to her sister.

"I hunt you, yet you stop to compose a letter?" He scoffed, "I will never understand your kind."

Snow kept writing, "I don't know these woods. You're obviously a skilled hunter, you'll find me. No matter what I do, I know how this ends."

"Yes."

She finished and rolled the letter up, "There's one thing I ask that you do after you kill me. Please deliver this to the Queen." She held it out for him to take.

"Your tricks won't work on me."

"It's not a trick." She insisted, shaking the letter, "Please, give it to her. Tell her I mean every word."

Artemis watched as he took the letter and reads it. She stared in shock as he started to cry. When he finished, he takes his dagger out of its sheath at his waist and started toward the Snow. Artemis braced herself, ready in stop him, when he swings the knife down to cut a piece of stalk off a plant.

He drilled a couple of holes in the reed and handed it to her, "Sound this when you need help."

"What?" Snow asked in shock.

"It's a whistle." He explained, "It will bring you aid. You will be lead to safety. Now go, run."

She stared, "I don't understand. You're not going to kill me?"

"Run!" At his yell, she stood up and ran, not looking back.

"Now," Artemis stepped into view, shocking the Huntsmen, "I'm impressed. But, you're going to let me read that letter, or I'm going to kill you before Regina has a chance. And I'll make it hurt."

"Dark Huntress." He stared, "I don't understand. What interest do you have in the princess?"

"That's my business. You're going to let me read that letter. Then you're going to figure out a way to make Regina think you actually killed Snow. Now."

He stopped staring and held the letter out, "The deer." She didn't turn as she knew it was behind her, "I could use it's heart."

"It could work. Temporarily. She'll figure it out eventually." She looked down and started to read what her sister had wrote. What made the Huntsman cry.

Dearest Stepmother,

By the time you read this, I will be dead. I understand that you will never have love in your life because of me. So it's only fitting that I'll be denied that same joy as well. For the sake of the kingdom, I hope my death satisfies your need for revenge, allowing you to rule my father's subjects as they deserve, with compassion and a gentle hand. I know what you think you're doing is vengeance. I prefer to think of it as sacrifice, for the good of all. With that in mind, I welcome the end, and I want you to take my last message to heart. I'm sorry, and I forgive you.

By the time she was done reading, Artemis was crying. She ran a hand over the letter and made herself a copy. She handed the original back to the Huntsman and folded hers up, putting it in a bag slung across her chest. "Good luck, Huntsman. Let's see if Regina actually believes you."

She disappeared in a puff of blue smoke and reappeared back at the castle. "How'd it go?" She looked over to see her family, waiting.

"He let her go."

"Without any force?"

"Because of this." She held out the letter and let them read it as she sat down, exhausted, "He plans to use the heart of a doe in the hopes of fooling Regina."

"It won't work." Rumple said, handing the letter off to another, "She'll be able to tell the difference. She collects hearts, just like her mother. She'll know."

"Have I ever told you how glad I am that you don't keep hearts?" Nyx asked, coming up behind to hug him, "You use them and put them back. Or kill them. Either way. Respect."

"I may be the Dark One, but I'm not demented."

"Regina will start a new hunt for Snow." Artie said, brooding, "She'll make her a wanted woman. She'll make sure that my sister never has a moment of peace." She looked up at Rumple with fire in her eyes, "It's time to get things started."

"Now the real fun begins."

1-2-3-4-5

Rissa had gone back home to Rumple and Eva was at the apartment with Paige. Thea had decided to go back to Mary Margaret's and wait for Emma to return, as she had gone off to find Graham.

They were at the island bar, drinking coffee, when the door burst open. Emma came in, cover in sweat with a scar on her right temple. You could tell that she had been crying, "Emma?" They rushed over to check on her, "What happened? Did you find Graham? Is he okay?"

"No. I just came from the station where an EMT was transporting him to the hospital." She sat down as she started to shake, "He… he…"

"Em," Thea interrupted, "Calm down. Start from the beginning."

Emma sighed, "I found him leaving Henry's." She continued to explain how they saw a wolf and followed it to a graveyard. How the walk went straight to Regina's family mausoleum. "Graham said he thought his heart was inside. I let him go in, just so he could see for himself, and I went inside with him. He looked around, half expecting there to be some sort of a secret passage." She looked up, "I really don't understand what happened to him."

"It's okay, Em. Here." Thea handed her a bottle of water, "Get a drink."

Emma took a sip, then continued, "I was trying to reassure him when we heard Regina outside. When we went out, I asked her what she was doing there. Stupid question. It was her family's mausoleum. She said she was bringing flowers to her father's grave, like she did every week." She scoffed, "I'm such an idiot. We had no business being there."

"Just keep going." Thea noticed that Emma's hands had started to shake and decided to make her some soothing tea, "Continue."

"Graham told her that he wanted to see inside. When she asked why, he just told her that it was nothing. She could tell the same thing that I could. He was sick and needed to go to the hospital. He wouldn't listen to me. Or her. She told him that she was going to take him home, be he refused to go with her."

She took another drink of her water and looked at Thea, "You should have seen the look she sent me. Pure hatred and contempt. Like it was my fault." She shook her head, "She looked back at Graham and said that he'd leave with me." Emma chuckled, "I stepped back. I told them to leave me out of it. Honestly, I have no clue how all of this landed on me."

"Regina has a good way of placing blame on others for her problems." Thea said, bringing the tea over, "And it's not your fault that Graham fell for you. He knew you were married and that you had no interest in him."

"Yeah, well, Graham agreed with me and told her that it was between them. Adamant that things had to change. She at me again and wondered why that was. More accusations. Jeez. He said it had nothing to do with me and started talking about how he doesn't feel anything. And that he finally figured out what it was. It wasn't his fault. It was all Regina."

She took a sip of the tea, tears still flowing down her cheeks, "Regina looked like he had just slapped her. She accused him of leaving her for me. Idiot women. I yelled at her to stop saying things like that. I am a happily married woman, for crying out loud. Hopelessly in love with my husband. I had no interest in Graham. None at all."

"He just looked at her and said that he was leaving her for him." Emma rubbed her hands across her face, trying to wipe off the tears, "She just talked down to him like he was stupid. Told him that he wasn't thinking straight."

"She's always been high and mighty." Thea grumbled, "Thinking she's the answer to everyone's problems and she's the only one who knew better."

"Well, he told her that for the first time, he was thinking straight. He'd rather have nothing than settle for less. That it was better than what they had. I was proud of him for that one." The girls nodded in approval of Graham standing up to Regina, "He said that the only way for him to feel anything was to give himself a chance."

When she stopped, Thea scooted over to her, "Emma. What happened to your face?"

The blonde laughed, "Regina turned to me with tears in her eyes. I almost felt sorry. For like a second. Then she opened her mouth and that she didn't know what she ever did to me to deserve this. To have me keep coming after everything she held dear."

"Again, placing blame somewhere that isn't her."

"Graham tried telling her that it had nothing to do with me. Again. But she wouldn't listen. She argued that none of it happened until I got here." She stared off for a moment, "I looked her right in the face and turned the blame back on her. I asked her point blank if she ever thought that maybe the problem was with her. She got all insulted."

"Of course she did. Regina never takes responsibility. Ever."

"I told her. Henry came and found me. Well, you guys."

"He was looking for you. Same thing."

"Right. Graham kissed me, even though I didn't want him to. Both of them were miserable. That maybe she needed to take a good hard look in the mirror and ask herself why that was. Why was everyone running away from her? She snapped and punched me in the face."

Thea just stared, "Please tell me that I taught you well and you punch that bitch back and knocked her on her ass."

"I did. Not for long. We just started going after each other. Graham separated us. I right at Regina and told her that she wasn't worth it." She finished her tea and started crying again, "We um, went back to the station so he could tend to my cut. We were just talking. He kept saying he went crazy. I just was feverish and needed to sleep. Before I knew it…" She took another breath and looked up, "He doubled over in pain, clutching his chest. I caught him before he fell and he just stopped. Moving. Breathing. I couldn't wake him up. I called 911 for an ambulance. Told them what happened. They couldn't do anything. Dr. Whale said it was a heart attack."

"He was healthy." She looked up, "No history of heart problems." She shook her head, "I just don't understand how it happened."

As Mary Margaret wrapped her arms around the blonde, Thea leaned on the table, "I'm gonna tell you something that Rissa and I have always said. You can't explain away everything. Sometimes, there's not an explanation. Or one that you would believe. Nothing logical. Things just happen. And there's nothing we can do about it. We just have to move forward."

1-2-3-4-5

After a call to Rissa, Thea walked into Gold manor, fuming, "That bitch better hope I don't snap and kill her before this curse is broken."

Rissa and Gold, who were relaxing on the couches in front of the fire, gestured her over, "All right." Rissa nodded, "A thoroughly pissed off Huntress. Let it out. Tell us what happened."

Thea related everything that Emma had told them. Everything.

They sat in silence for moment, contemplating, "Her vault."

Rissa turned to her husband, "What?"

"We knew that Regina had take his heart when he didn't kill Snow. If Graham had a heart attack, and everything else he said was true…"

"About not feeling anything." Thea nodded, "Oh, my Gods. She brought her vault over. With all of the hearts that she had collected." She looked up, more pissed, "I knew she did something. She crushed his heart."

"How did that work here." Rissa leaned back, "Fairy tale magic doesn't work. How was he walking around, still alive, with a beating heart…" she looked at her sister, who nodded, "If she still had his from the Enchanted Forest and was able to crush it? Despite the law of no fairy tale magic. I don't get it."

"What if, because she was the one who cast the curse, she was able to still use a form of it." Thea smirked, "Which means, when the curse is broken, maybe we can't bring the fairy tale magic here."

Rumple nodded, "Lake Nostos."

Rissa laughed, "Looks like we have some new planning to do."

"Just like old times."