Okay, this chapter is the end of the episode "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter." What have I changed with the addition of Ada? Housekeeping news: poll is still up, still pretty neck and neck. Keep voting and messaging me! I've gotten a few messages about Jefferson, but none about Robin Hood. What are you (...trying to think of potential ship name for Ada and Robin now...Adin? Roba? Outlaw Ward? Forest...something? Guardian? Huh. Needs work.) people thinking anyways?


December 21, 2012 Continued

A strange trio sat on Henry's bed in the Mayor's house.

The fact that Ada Ward, currently the biggest annoyance to Regina Mills (aside from Emma Swan herself) was in the Mayor's house itself was odd.

The fact that the Huntsman was regaining his memories and came to the son of the Evil Queen who cursed him for answers was odd.

The fact that an eleven year old boy, kept under the thumb of said Evil Queen, had been the one to figure it all, to set the wheels in motion for the curse to break, and was the one in possession of all the answers (or at least most), was also odd.

This trio, as previously stated, was strange.

Henry sat between Graham and Ada, his storybook propped open on his lap, slowly turning the pages, putting the pieces together.

Henry turned to Graham and asked him, attempting to imitate Archie when the therapist asked him questions, "When did your flashes begin?"

Graham thought for a second, "Right after I kissed Emma," he answered. His eyes caught Ada's raised eyebrow but otherwise unsurprised expression.

He couldn't say he was shocked that the redhead knew everything. The only person who had access through all of Emma's walls was Ada.

"You kissed my mom?" Henry's voice conveyed all his shock and disgust, and Graham looked down to give a sort of quizzical half-shrug half-admonishing look at Henry's tone.

"Back to the point," Ada directed them, tapping her finger on the book.

"What'd you see?" Henry asked, shaking his head slightly, as if to remove the image from his mind. Ada smirked. Kids just did not like the idea of their parents kissing. Or doing anything else romantic for that manner. Though she was sure eventually Henry, with his happy-ending beliefs and optimistic personality, would be trying to set Emma up with whomever he considered to potentially be her "True Love."

That would be entertaining.

"A wolf," Graham answered, before continuing, obviously reluctant to tell the next portion of his story to a ten-year-old, "I saw that I had a knife in my hand. And I was with Mary Margaret."

"Were you about to hurt her?" Henry asked knowingly.

"Yes," Graham replied, sounding shocked that Henry had known that. Ada was surprised too. She had thought Graham's "flashes" had been some sort of byproduct of a hangover, a fight with Emma, and hearing Henry's stories. But according to the boy and Graham, Henry had never discussed the storybook with Graham before. Ada thought maybe Emma had mentioned parts of it to Graham.

Maybe what Graham was remembering was partially that, and partially suggestion from Henry's questions. Sort of like leading the witness, Ada told herself.

"How do you know that?" Graham shook his head. Henry turned his eyes back to his precious book, his most beloved possession. He softly smoothed one of the pages before beginning to turn them rapidly.

"Because," he explained, his eyes glued to the pages, "Mary Margaret is Snow White," he paused on a page showing a beautiful princess, dressed in white, approaching a king with his guards behind him. "Which makes you," Henry turned a few more pages, "The Huntsman." Ada looked at the picture. It showed a man, dressed in leather with dark hair and a beard, but most of his face was obscured by the hand held before it, gripping a knife.

Ada was familiar with the story of Snow White (at least, she had seen the Disney movie once or twice), and so she was aware of the Huntsman's tale. She briefly thought the person fit Graham- with his love of the woods, his affinity for animals.

"So, you really think that I could be," Graham's eyes squinted as if trying to grasp the concept himself, "Another person?"

"Makes total sense," Henry said factually, as if it was obvious, and Ada couldn't help but roll her eyes slightly. "You were raised by wolves, that's why you keep seeing one." Ada's brow furrowed- OK, maybe she didn't know the story as well as she thought. "It's your friend," Henry's voice was sensible, "Your guide. It's trying to help you."

"I'm remember this because I kissed your mother," Graham shook his head and began to stutter, "H-how is that possible?" he turned to the boy as if Henry held all the answers.

"Well," he responded, his hands folded seriously before him, and Ada thought perhaps the boy was spending too much time in therapy if he could so easily imitate a therapist. "You two do have a special connection."

"True love?" Ada teasingly asked.

Henry rolled his eyes, "She owes him her life."

"How?" Graham asked.

Henry turned back to face the Sheriff, "Snow White's her mother. You spared her. If you hadn't...my mom wouldn't have been born." The entire room went a little still at the thought of a world without Emma Swan.

"W-what happened after I spared Snow White?" Graham asked, looking as if he already knew the answer wouldn't be good.

Henry's apologetic face told them it wasn't a good ending for the Huntsman, "The Queen took your heart. She ripped it out. It's kinda her thing. She never wanted you to be able to feel again."

Ada began to wonder what Mary Margaret was thinking giving Henry this book. Ripping out hearts? That seemed a little too graphic for Henry's age.

"Let me see the book?" Graham requested, slipping it from Henry's lap to his. Ada leaned closer, wrapping her arm around Henry as she peered at the illustrations. This conversation was rapidly getting darker and more serious. What she thought at the time had been a conversation that would humor Graham enough to get him home and to bed (hopefully to sleep off his fever) and would perhaps give Henry some other connections and gaps in his curse theory, turned out to be...a tad chilling.

Graham had turned the page to show a crypt with a dark haired woman (who, Ada could admit, did look a lot like Regina, just with longer hair), dressed all in black with a smug smirk, standing before it.

Graham, however, focused on the symbol drawn above the doors of the crypt. "What's that?" he asked Henry, tapping the image twice with his finger, his voice panicked. "I saw that too- the wolf was howling at it."

"That's her vault," Henry told the man, his expression grim, "It's where she put your heart."

Graham nodded woodenly and Ada shifted slightly where she sat. Henry was all seriousness. "The wolf," Graham slowly muttered, "Wants me to find it."

"Graham-" Ada began, before the man cut her off, closing the book and giving to Henry as he stood.

"Thank you, Henry," the Sheriff announced as he grabbed his jacket and practically fled the room.

Ada looked after him in concern, before returning her attention to Henry, who looked contemplative.

"Henry?" she asked, "Can you do me a favor?"

The boy nodded.

Ada thought about how to phrase her request, "Do you get yearbooks or class photos at the end of the school year? I know I did in elementary."

Henry nodded, not thinking any of the request.

"Do you think I could have some?" she tilted her head slightly, watching the boy's reaction carefully, "Without Regina noticing they're gone?"

"Why?" Henry inquired, curious as ever.

And for the first time, Ada lied to Henry. Not omitted details too mature for him, not said something in order to be supportive of his curse theory, but outright lied.

Because if his curse theory, or something like it, was true- she wasn't going to like what she found in those pictures and would need some time to deal with it.

"Because I think it might be nice for me and Emma to see how you grew up," she shrugged casually, "We're curious if you were this cute even when you were six. Or if you had a really bad haircut one year. Don't worry if you did- everyone has one at least once."

Henry grinned, thrilled at the idea. And it was partially true, Ada supposed- these pictures were going to be shown to Emma, who would no doubt be enamored with them (and trying to hide it) as a way of seeing her baby grow up. But...Emma hadn't exactly thought of asking for photos yet.

Granted, she hadn't said Emma asked for them- she just said they'd be nice for Emma and she'd been curious about Henry growing up. All of which were true.

It just wasn't the primary reason for the photos.

Henry dashed over to his desk, rifling through one of the drawers before he produced a handful of photographs.

"They always give you a whole packet of them, but I didn't have anyone to give the extras to," and he grinned at Ada, who was trying to hide how her heart just broke.

"Well," she whispered, not able to get anything louder through her closing throat, "If you have so many extras, give me two each- one for me and one for Emma."

Up until now, the only thing Emma had of Henry's was her copy of the adoption contract she had signed with the agency.

Ada could handle her heart breaking if it would give happiness to Emma and Henry.


As Ada exited the Mills home, photographs in hand, she spotted Emma (who, judging by the bug's open passenger door, had been waiting) talking with Graham. She looked worried while Graham still looked strung out.

Ada approached, eyeing how Emma had her hand pressed over Graham's, pressed over his heart. She smiled up at him softly and said something.

"No," Graham said, pushing Emma's hand away, shaking his head, "It's the curse."

"You can't really believe that's true," Emma exclaimed before her face went blank, eyes peering over Graham's shoulder just as Ada felt a strange pricking run up her spine.

Both Graham and Ada followed Emma's eyeline, to see a wolf, standing across the street, watching them.

"Still believe Emma didn't see a wolf in the road when she crashed the car?" Ada found it in herself to murmur as the wolf, with a slight growl, began to walk away.

Graham ignored Ada and turned to Emma before running after the animal.

Emma exchanged a shocked look with her sister, "Go!" Ada shouted, "I can't run in these shoes, go make sure he doesn't get himself killed or attacked by a wolf!"

Needing no further prompting, Emma took off after the Sheriff, running practically on his heels.

Ada sighed and looked at the bug- hopefully Emma had left the keys in there so Mayor Mills wouldn't come back to find the bug parked outside her house.

That would not make for a fun reaction.

Ada quickly walked back up to the house, letting Henry know that Emma was taking care of Graham now, and she was sure he'd feel better soon. Henry nodded, trusting her. And Ada asked if she could borrow the storybook, telling the boy she realized she and Emma and burned the last pages (which was, honestly, all of the book Ada had actually read), but she wanted to review the other stories. Henry gleefully handed it to her, proud that he was convincing Ada to believe.

After all, convincing Ada was a step away from convincing Emma, which would mean breaking the curse.


Ada turned the page and shuddered as she read that final line.

"Your life is now in my hands- forever," the Evil Queen told the Huntsman as her guards restrained him. "Take him to my bedchamber," the Queen ordered as the guards dragged the Huntsman away. She turned and placed his heart carefully into the box and closed the drawer.

No, this was not a story for children, Ada decided as she winced over the line yet again. She hoped Henry hadn't understood that and just shrugged it off.

Ada wished she hadn't understood it.

The stories in the book were...well they were certainly interesting, certainly well-done, with several interesting turns on the old-fashioned tales. Snow White as a bandit? A kick ass bandit at that? Who, at first meeting, stole from her Prince Charming and then rode off with a smug smirk after besting him? Ada was all for it- bring on the kick-ass Princess. Little Red Riding Hood being the wolf? Ada totally did not see that one coming. It was a sad story, to be sure, what with Red's boyfriend dying, but wow- talk about creativity! And Rumpelstiltskin? That was one creepy little imp- Ada couldn't quite figure out his motivation for everything, and was still a little chilled over the idea of him demanding a first-born child (that, though, she remembered from the original story, but this time, figuring out his name was not the way to defeat him). But Ada kind of delighted in watching him easily outsmart the various characters, always one step ahead. He was clever, and she could admire that. Now the Evil Queen though? There seemed to be nothing she wouldn't do- no line she wouldn't cross- no act of evil she hadn't done all in the name of revenge against Snow White for the death of Daniel. She usurped Snow White's throne, killed the King, started a massive hunt for the fleeing princess, slaughtered entire villages (this really wasn't a children's book), and sent children (Hansel and Gretel apparently existed in the same world- the Enchanted Forest- as Snow White and her dwarves, Cinderella and her glass slipper, and Little Red the wolf) to a cannibalistic witch to see if they could get her a Poisoned Apple she wanted- if they failed, oh well.

She was the type of villain you loved to hate.

But, wow- what was Mary Margaret thinking giving this book to a ten-year-old? It was a wonder Henry didn't have nightmares. And to identify his adoptive mother as the Evil Queen? Did not speak well to what Henry felt towards Regina.

Ada doubted Mary Margaret had actually read the book herself before giving it to Henry- probably just assumed it'd be fine because it was Fairy Tales.

Maybe Ada should gently hint to the teacher to first read any books she might give her students from now on.

The book was only a distraction for so long though- Ada had cracked it open as a method to avoid looking at the photographs Henry had given her. She had also read slowly, thoroughly, telling herself Henry would probably quiz her on details otherwise.

She knew she was avoiding the pictures.

It was just hard to believe, in the comfort and warmth of her room at Granny's, curled up in bed with a book, having just had a lovely dinner, finishing up a glass of wine she had been sipping while she read, that anything was strange about Storybooke. Maybe it was just these stories- these way too mature for children stories- that Henry had read that gave rise to his idea about the curse. It was probably the passage of the Evil Queen saying "Well, it looks like getting rid of a baby just made my to do list," when she learned from Rumpelstiltskin the child of Snow White would break the Dark Curse.

Ada looked at the time- 11 pm. She should probably go to sleep soon- she could look at Henry's pictures tomorrow. Her eyes were drawn to where they sat on her bedside table, face down so she couldn't see.

Reaching for the pictures in an attempt to stop her procrastination once and for all, Ada couldn't help but release a sigh of relief when her phone began to ring and her hand moved to pick it up instead.


Earlier that evening:

"I don't know what I ever did to you, Miss Swan, to deserve this," Regina accused as Graham walked away towards Emma- away from her. Well, she could fix that real quick, "To have you keep coming after everything I hold dear."

Emma was sick and tired of Regina's insistence that nothing was her fault. Emma was tired of Regina's lack of responsibility for her own actions. "I'm sorry," she hissed out, "Did you ever stop to think that maybe the problem isn't with me, but with you?"

"Excuse me?" Regina gaped at her audacity.

"Henry came and found me. Graham kissed me. Both were miserable. Maybe, Madame Mayor," Emma sneered, "You need to take a good hard look in the mirror and ask yourself why that is. Why is everyone running away from you?"

Regina, evidently done with words, gave a quick smirk before she took a swing at Emma- right in her face. Emma fell into Graham who attempted to hold her back, but the blonde was already on the Mayor before Graham's voice shouting "Stop! Stop! Stop!" finally filtered through her red haze of anger as he pulled her away. Emma took a breath and reminded herself- this was Henry's adoptive mother- a crappy one, no doubt, and a genuinely horrible human being, but...

"Not worth it," she pronounced as she pulled away, walking off.

"Graham," Regina tried one more time, approaching him, but he merely backed away and followed after Emma.

Neither Sheriff or Deputy noticed the darkening look on the Mayor's face as her carefully constructed world- her dollhouse of puppets- was taken out of her control yet again.

Ada Ward may be the verbal forefront of disrespecting the Mayor, but Emma Swan was the one who kept cutting her puppet's strings it seemed.


"I'm sorry," Graham sighed as he placed an ice pack against Emma's head, "I don't know what came over me," Graham explained, as Emma held the ice pack and he went back to the First Aid kit, "I kind of lost my mind." Emma noticed that, now that he was calmer (and no longer feverish) his accent had decreased back to normal levels- for a while there it was thicker than ever.

"It's okay," she told him lightly, more than willing to forgive his behavior after her own. Everyone had their limits, and he had an excuse, "You were tired and feverish," she looked up at him before finally admitting, "And heartbroken."

He turned to her and gave a self-effacing smile, "I don't know why I let myself get caught up with her."

Emma knew from experience, "Because it was easy. And safe," she told him as he approached her with a small pout and a piece of gauze, "Not feeling anything is an attractive option when what you're feeling sucks." Graham kept his eyes on her as he gently took the ice pack and held back her bangs as he moved in to disinfect her cut. She flinched as he dabbed the alcohol-soaked gauze above her eye. "Felt that," she whispered as they both gave a small chuckle.


Regina entered her vault, shutting the door behind her. She placed the lilies over her father's coffin, a small smile on her face as her hand caressed the stone before joining the other to push against the tomb, her face still maintaining that smile even as it tensed in effort. The coffin moved with a grinding noise and Regina delicately descended the stairs that had been hidden beneath her father's resting place.

She reached the bottom and walked directly to her wall of drawers, each one containing a heart. Containing a string from which she could control her puppets. She had the hearts- she had the control. But Emma Swan was now playing with her pet- Emma Swan had taken her puppet. She could whisper to the heart- pull the string- and have her pet back- but what was to stop Emma Swan from taking him all over again?

No, Regina needed something permanent for this. Emma Swan was not going to take everything she held dear. Emma Swan would not get to take Regina's life- she wouldn't get Henry and Graham and the respect of the town. Regina had that. She didn't have it naturally- she had to keep a tight reign of Henry and Graham was controlled by the heart, and the town feared rather than respected her. But she had worked for this- her happy ending. She had earned this after the heartache Snow White had put her through.

Emma Swan could not waltz into Storybrooke and gain all Regina had worked so hard for over the years within a few weeks.

That just wasn't fair.

Shoving one of the curtains out of her way, Regina scanned her little boxes- her strings. She was the puppet master, and she got to decide how the story ended.

And it was not happily ever after for Emma Swan.

Only Regina got that.

She pulled out the drawer she desired, lifted out the box and took a few steps away from her hearts, opening the metal box with a slight creak to reveal the beating red heart of the Huntsman.

She was sure this was going to hurt her more than him in the end, but it would hurt Emma Swan most of all.


"All better," Graham murmured as he drew his hands away from where he had cradled Emma's face as he had tended to her cut.

He shut the First Aid kit with a sigh, turning back to face Emma and finding an expression he had never see on her face before. Something in her eyes made him give a small grin even as he asked "What?"

She returned the smile softly and stood from where she had perched on the edge of his desk, taking quiet and slow steps towards him. He noticed how steady they were though- not a single falter in them.

She paused a mere inches away from him, her eyes blinking rapidly suddenly and he noticed a slight fear in her eyes even as she exhaled and moved in closer, conquering that fear. He dared not move as she breathed the same air as him for a few precious heartbeats, her eyes darting all over his face even as his remained transfixed on hers- waiting for the last of that fear to be gone, holding himself back, letting her set the pace.

It wasn't till her nose brushed past his that his eyes finally slid shut and his lips connected with hers, his hands automatically rising to gently hold one onto her waist the other helping her to tilt her head just right.

The perfect moment, however, was interrupted by a swarm of memories, and he stumbled back, gasping.

Emma stood still, "Graham?" she checked, her eyes wide and unsure. He hated himself a little for causing that even as he gasped and tried to let his memories settle from the whirlwind they had become.


Regina carefully lifted the heart out of the box, holding it in her hand as she would one of her apples, raising it up so it would be eye level for her to watch as the pulse flashed- mimicked by the beat of the heart the curse had placed within the Huntsman as part of the careful lie that the Dark Curse had caused.


"You okay?" Emma asked uncertainly, clearly wondering if she had done something wrong.

Graham grinned "I remember" he practically sighed the words as he looked up at the most amazing woman he would ever know. Reviewed his memories of meeting her, working with her, slowly working past her walls. And she had kissed him.

And she had broken his curse with her kiss. It wasn't enough for him to kiss her unreciprocated- that would give him some confused jumbles and nothing more- they had to kiss each other and he would know. He knew who he was and he knew what he wanted.

"Graham?" Emma's face was confused, nervous, as he stood up, his eyes caught by her- every play of emotion across her face- he was convinced he'd never be able to look away for the rest of eternity. He'd spend the rest of his life watching Emma Swan.

"I remember," he managed to repeat as he stood at his full height. He remembered everything- Emma telling him a wolf had made her crash the car, forcing her to stay in town. His brother, no doubt, doing what he could to help break the curse. How much it ended up accomplishing.

Graham would have to thank him later.

"You remember what?" Emma breathed out, her eyes regaining that fear that had disappeared right before she kissed him.

He would have to do something about that, he thought as he approached her slowly, like a wild animal in the woods.

She was very much wild and free, Emma Swan.


Regina examined the heart before her with a certain grimness. Sadness, even, if she was being honest with herself, which she strove never to do.

She would miss Graham. He was hers, the best she could expect with Daniel gone.

But Daniel always came first and that meant getting revenge on Snow White and her nauseating Prince. Which meant keeping the curse going, and that meant keeping Regina's happy ending.

Regina's happy ending did not involve watching any part of her world walk off happily into the sunset with Emma Swan.


Graham felt a single tear fall down his cheek as he cupped Emma's face in between his hands. These hands had held a bow with deadly accuracy, had played with his brothers despite claws and nippy teeth, had carved a whistle for Snow White to use should she ever need help in the forest, had spared Snow's life.

He found himself doubly grateful for that- for without that one act of compassion, Emma Swan would not exist.

He did not want to exist in any Realm where that was the case.

He watched as Emma's eyes light up and she grinned as she recognized the happiness that he was sure was spread all over his face, "Thank you," he whispered to her, unable to say more because there was one thing Graham Humbert- the Huntsman wanted to do in that moment.

He wanted to kiss her.

Graham watched her eyes flutter shut as he leaned in, keeping his own open for as long as he could stand- not wanting to miss a single expression on her face.

Of course, he planned on doing this again and again until he had those expressions memorized. And then he would keep doing this- just to make sure he hadn't missed any and they didn't suddenly change on him.


Regina, her eyes beginning to water at the waste of it all (why did Emma Swan have to ruin everything she touched?) began to squeeze.


Just as Graham was about to touch his lips to Emma's, he felt his heart jerk and spasm. He fell with a grunt, and the last thing he heard was Emma's panicked shout of his name.

His body crashed into his desk before falling to the floor, Emma's shouts no longer heard, her arms not felt as she picked him up, and shook him as if to wake him.


Regina let the dust slide out of her fist, releasing the last of it with a slight tremble.

Such a shame.


"Graham!" Emma lowered her head to listen for Graham's breath.

There was none.

She shook him one last time, still whimpering his name, trying to get him to come back to her.

With a sob, she stopped calling his name, and merely held him as she cried.


Currently:

Ada arrived as the ambulance, sirens completely silent, left. She found Emma sitting on the floor of the station, her arms still held out as if she was holding Graham's body.

One of the EMTs had dialed her number off of Emma's cell phone- he just took the first number on speed dial, hoping it would connect him to someone who could take care of the blonde.

Turns out it connected him to the only person left who could.

Ada had tears in her eyes as she sat beside Emma, her own breath hitching with repressed sobs.

Graham had been a good man.

Emma had deserved him.

Emma was motionless, her eyes still wet, her tears still flowing, her body still shaking with the sobs, but her eyes stared blankly ahead and her hands still clutched the station's phone that she had used to call 911, and Ada curled up next to her sister as they both cried.

"If he could, he would have stayed," Ada told her some time later, when they both had run out of tears and their shakes and slowed to the occasional tremor. They remained on the hard floor, shoulder to shoulder, though at one point their hands had come together and twined. Emma's head rested on Ada's shoulder, and Ada rested her own head on top of Emma's.

"I know."

That, really, was half the problem.


I cried writing the end of this.

I did love Gremma, and to have Graham killed, so pointlessly, was just...heartbreaking. And writing it from Regina's perspective? I felt like I was really stretching my writer's muscles there. Graham was the first causality of the curse (well, actually...second. Henry Senior was the first.), a soldier who went down in a war he wasn't even fully aware he was fighting. And his final moments? God, the way he looked at Emma, the way as soon as he remembered the first thing he wanted to do was thank her and then kiss her again? So powerful. And the fact that OUAT has largely ignored Graham and his influence on the story is a bit disappointing to me (We get a few mentions and Emma still wears his shoelace- be still my breaking heart...actually- does she still have it on? I haven't seen it since pre-Dark One. Oh god, they're going to break my heart and have her not wear it while she's the dark one or something aren't they? God.).

So I shall not do that here! Be prepared for, even as Captain Swan and everyone moves on, the remembrance of Graham, who saved both Snow and Charming, and fell in love with Emma, who had been the first in Storybrooke to get past those walls, and who would've stayed if he could.

Yeah, I still had Graham die. I actually toyed with the idea of letting him live, but then that would've been kind of like having two OCs to take care of and keep track of. Also, asking me to pick Gremma over Captain Swan would've been SUPER uncomfortable.

Also, Graham's death does serve a sort of purpose. So, there we have it.

On a slightly less depressing note: please drop a review. Did you guys cry at all? What did you think of Gremma when you were watching the show way back when we were all so innocent? Tell me your thoughts. It seems like a lot of you are reading, but I'm only getting a handful of reviews (and quick shout out to those who do review- you guys are awesome with a side of awesome sauce!)...I'm wondering about what you quiet ones are thinking. You've got me curious.

It's pretty disturbing to think about what the first ten years of Henry's life must've been like. That's why I think he was just so thrilled to have Emma in town, to having time moving, why he pushed so hard for Emma to break the curse right away- kid did not have time to be subtle. His life has basically been an extreme psychological torture session. Seriously, if governments could get ahold of the ability to make someone repeat the same day, over and over, with only one person aware of it, with only that one person aging? Ultimate torture technique right there. Frightening.

What really upsets me is that we see Regina can leave Storybrooke if she so chooses- she left to get Henry and left again when she wanted to initially give him back & then changed her mind. She could've left town and raised Henry somewhere normal with the knowledge that all the fairytale characters were still in Storybrooke, trapped and miserable, maybe a few trips every year or so to check on things, but she didn't. She chose to raise Henry in that town so she could personally watch everyone be miserable, no matter the cost to him.

That, I think, is probably the most disturbing thing she's ever done.

Either way, sorry for that depressing end note- but yay! Another chapter- and some of Henry's point of view. I like writing Henry; I'll have to see if I can manage to do it more often. We'll see.