August was right, Storybrooke wasn't on the map. In the end Emma went back to the diner she'd met him in and asked around, eventually coming to the conclusion that it was on the coast somewhere, so she'd jumped back into the truck and taken the most direct route to the ocean her GPS could find. Following a whim, she turned north and soon found herself on a single road in the middle of a forest that, even to her, didn't look remotely coastal. After forty minutes or so she began to wonder exactly what the hell she was doing and considered turning back and hoping her new stalker would leave her alone, but for some reason the impulse to keep driving was too strong. Another quarter of an hour passed and her perseverance was rewarded in the form of a cheerful sign bearing the greeting "Welcome to Storybrooke".
The town was small, but fairly busy. Emma parked the truck by the diner and sauntered in, hungry after her trip, and was immediately greeted by the waitress.
"Hi, welcome to Granny's. I'm Ruby. Get you something to drink?"
"Uh, sure."
"Coffee? Soda? We have beer," Ruby grinned and Emma found herself smiling in response.
"Coffee, please, and a club sandwich would be great."
"Coming up. Have a seat, I'll bring it over."
Emma slid into a booth, facing the door through long habit, and studied her surroundings. There were a few people having coffee or reading the paper, but the place was quiet. After a few minutes, her lunch arrived.
"Club sandwich and coffee," Ruby announced, setting down a plate and mug.
"Thanks. Hey, are you free to talk for a minute?"
"Sure," Ruby replied, sliding into the booth with a sigh of relief.
"I'm looking for a guy-"
"Aren't we all?" Ruby grinned and Emma smiled back, charmed.
"Unfortunately this guy is of the creeper variety. He's been stalking me, trying to get me to come here."
"To Storybrooke? Why?"
"No idea. His name's August Booth, have you heard of him?"
"Sorry, no. We don't get many strangers around here though, so you should ask around."
From the kitchen hatch a bell dinged sharply and an older woman's voice called out.
"Ruby! Get off your keister and get back here before this soup goes cold!"
Ruby shot her an apologetic look. "Got to go. I can ask around for you at dinner though?"
"Thanks, I'd appreciate it."
"Are you staying in town? Granny runs the B&B as well."
"Yeah, that'd be great."
"I'll book you a room…?" Ruby raised an inquisitive eyebrow.
"Emma. Emma Swan."
"Welcome to Storybrooke, Emma."
Emma finished her lunch, dropped her overnight bag at the bed and breakfast and took a walk through the town, keeping an eye out for her quarry, but mostly just exploring. She browsed the storefronts until she came to the end of Main Street, then turned off and wandered toward the school, reaching it just as the bell was ringing. Kids streamed out, shouting excitedly, and as Emma stood to one side to let the sudden crowd pass, she noticed a teacher following them out. The woman was intent on her students and didn't notice Emma until they had nearly collided.
"Oh, sorry!" The woman exclaimed, doing a faint double take. "Who are you?"
"Excuse me?" Emma responded.
"I'm sorry!" The woman said again, "That was rude, you just surprised me. We don't get many visitors. Let me start again. I'm Mary Margaret Blanchard; it's nice to meet you." The woman, who looked about a decade younger than her, held out a hand and Emma shook it, frowning as her own hand tingled slightly.
"Emma Swan. I'm just passing through, I'm looking for someone."
"Oh, are they family, or-?"
Emma snorted. "Hardly. I'm a bounty hunter."
"Oh, wow! That's exciting! Hey, would you mind coming to talk to my kids tomorrow? They'd love that! If you're not busy, that is."
This must be the friendliest town in Maine, Emma reflected. "Uh sure, unless I find the guy tonight."
"I'm on my way to the hospital for my volunteer shift. Would you like to come? You can tell me about this man you're hunting."
Without quite realising it, Emma allowed herself to be swept along with Mary Margaret's exuberance. Besides, she reasoned, in her line of work it never hurt to know where the nearest ER was.
They arrived at the hospital quickly, having established that Mary Margaret didn't know August either. Mary Margaret chatted to her as she worked and Emma found herself relaxing, comfortable in the woman's company in a way she wasn't often, especially with strangers. After an hour or so, they reached a separate room in which a handsome man lay, unconscious.
"Who's he?" Emma asked.
"Nobody knows," Mary Margaret replied sadly. "He was found like this."
"Nobody's claimed him?" Emma felt a stab of empathy.
"No. I read to him, and talk to him sometimes, but he's never so much as twitched a finger. It's a shame."
Mary Margaret glanced at her watch. "My shift's over. Time to go."
"You hungry?" Emma asked, strangely keen to prolong their conversation.
"Actually yes," Mary Margaret replied.
"Me too. Dinner's on me, let's go."
Mary Margaret smiled and nodded. As they left, Emma spoke to the unconscious figure on the bed.
"Nice to meet you, buddy. Get well soon." She gave him a friendly clap on the shoulder and walked out, not noticing as his eyes shot open at her touch.
At the diner, Emma and Mary Margaret talked all through dinner, stopping only when Ruby came over to introduce Emma to the local Sheriff. He promised to keep an eye out for her erstwhile stalker and left for his patrol. Mary Margaret invited Ruby to sit and talk with them and somehow Emma found herself sharing a bottle of wine with two strangers, laughing and talking until late into the night. When Granny finally kicked them out, Emma walked somewhat unsteadily up to her room and climbed into bed, thinking that it wouldn't be so bad if it took a while to find August.
"I like it here," she told the empty room and fell asleep.
The next day she met several more residents of her new favourite town, none of whom had heard of August.
"You know," she told Ruby when she stopped by for lunch, "for a guy who was desperate to get me here, he sure is keeping a low profile."
Just then, the door to the diner opened and in walked a tall, slim man walking with a cane. He came to an abrupt halt when he saw her, amazement plastered over his face for a second before it was covered and came over to greet her.
"Good morning. I don't believe we've met, I'm Mr. Gold."
"Emma Swan," Emma replied.
"It's nice to meet you, Emma. Are you staying in town?"
The hair on the back of her neck stood up. Gold was staring hungrily at her, a faint, triumphant smirk edging onto his face, and it was creeping her out. Ruby had gone quiet too and, after only a day of knowing her, Emma knew that was a bad sign.
"Just passing through," she told him warily.
"Well, better late than never," he responded cryptically, his tone airy but somehow forced. Emma shifted uncomfortably in her seat and it seemed to break his hypnotic gaze.
"Well, I won't keep you. Enjoy your lunch, ladies."
He turned and left, still smiling oddly.
"That was weird," Emma commented and Ruby shuddered.
"He gives me the creeps," she declared.
"Who is he?"
"He runs the pawn shop. " Ruby's tone implied that was code for something, but Emma couldn't think what.
"Remind me not to go there. Listen, thanks for lunch, I'm gonna swing by the town hall, see if there are any records of my guy. Is there a clerk or someone I should ask?"
"Nah, normally it's just the Mayor, but she's out of town, so you'll have to find 'em yourself."
"Great," Emma glared at Ruby, who grinned unrepentantly. Emma paid for her meal and left.
The route to the town hall took her past the boarded-up library and as she passed it she heard footsteps inside. She stopped.
"You've got to be kidding."
The back door was ajar, the boards pried loose from the frame. She walked silently through the empty stacks, unsnapping the holster on her taser just in case. She turned a corner into the non-fiction aisle and there he was. Emma drew the taser and pointed at him and he cowered slightly.
"Don't shoot! Emma please, listen! Don't you feel it?"
"You're a wanted man, buddy. Walk over here, slowly." She glared at him.
"Emma, please! Don't you see how wrong things are here?"
"No. Walk over, slowly, turn around and put your hands behind your back."
"Have you asked anyone about the Mayor yet?" August demanded.
"She's out of town, so what?"
"She's been 'out of town' for seventeen years! Ever since she adopted your son!"
Emma strongly considered just shooting him.
"For God's sake Emma, you must feel it! The clocks are moving, it's happening!"
"Of course the clocks are moving. Listen, August," she said, attempting a kind tone, "you're sick, okay? You need to come back with me and get help."
"I…maybe you're right. Maybe I am crazy." He slumped against a bookshelf, defeated. "Okay, I'll come. Just please, promise me you'll come back here. I'll never bother you again, just promise me!"
"I promise, August," she reassured him, thinking that it might be a promise she kept. "I like it here."
"Okay," he seemed reassured and allowed her to cuff him without incident. She secured him in the truck with a steel bar installed for just that purpose and drove over to drop her key off at the bed and breakfast.
"You're leaving?" Ruby asked, the corners of her mouth turning down in displeasure.
"I found him, so yeah. I had fun though."
"Me too. Hey, we're having a town fair soon, you should come back for that."
Emma smiled. "Yeah, maybe I will."
When they had first returned from Storybrooke, Regina had set about repairing the damage done by her curse. The people not taken to Storybrooke had been left frozen in time while the towns and farms had crumbled, so her first order of business had been finding a way to release them without undoing her curse and returning her hated step-daughter. She had spent weeks in her library, usually with Henry sleeping against her chest, feeling his tiny body grow day by day. Finally she'd found the way to free her subjects and her work had begun in earnest. Gathering up her most steadfast followers, she had ridden the length and breadth of the land, supervising the reconstruction effort personally. Seeing their fierce, ruthless queen with a newborn had thrown people, so she made it a habit to send riders ahead of her to spread the word of the new prince. For the first 18 months of Henry's life, she travelled almost non-stop, rebuilding not only her kingdom, but the trust, loyalty and respect of those she'd abandoned.
When Henry was two, he'd asked for a bedtime story and somehow Regina had found herself telling her own tale.
"A long time ago, when I was young, I loved a man named Daniel."
"That's my name too!"
"I know, baby," she smiled as Henry snuggled deeper into her arms.
"We loved each other very much. One day, when we were together in the stables, we heard someone shouting for help."
"You helped, Mommy?"
"Yes, I did. I ran out and there was a girl on a horse. The horse was scared, like Mama's horse got scared last week, do you remember?"
"Horsie got scared," Henry nodded, eyes wide with remembered fear.
"That's right. But I calmed the horse down, and the girl was saved."
"Yay Mommy!"
"The girl's name was Snow White, and her father was so glad she was saved that he wanted to marry me, but I loved Daniel and I didn't want to marry Snow White's father."
"What did you do?" Henry asked, and Regina took a deep breath and swallowed hard.
"Daniel and I planned to run away, but before we could, Snow White told…an evil witch that we were in love. The witch killed Daniel, and made me marry the king."
"Oh no!" Henry hugged Regina, more in response to the pain in her voice than the story.
"I was sad for a long time, baby. I didn't want to be married to the king, but the evil witch and the king were stronger than me, so I had to marry him."
"No-one stronger than you, Mommy!"
"I was very young, Henry. So I waited and I got stronger, and I killed the evil witch!"
"Bad witch!" Henry shouted.
"But I still had to marry the king and live with him and Snow White."
"Even though she told the witch?" Henry's childish outrage on her behalf made her smile.
"Yes, Henry."
"What did you do?"
"I found a genie that would help me. He wanted me to be free of the king, so the genie killed him for me."
"And then you were free?"
"Yes, Henry."
He was started to drift off, so Regina tucked him in and kissed him good night. As she was leaving, he spoke, sleepily.
"What happened to Snow White, Mommy?"
She paused. She hadn't thought about Storybrooke for a long time. A sense of vicious satisfaction washed through her.
"I sent her away, baby; somewhere she could never hurt me again."
"Good," Henry pronounced sleepily. "Love you."
"I love you too. Go to sleep now, little one."
Regina assumed Henry would forget the story, but he asked for it again the next night and the night after. It became his favourite bedtime story and over time, as the pain of telling it faded, became little more than a story to Regina.
When Henry was four, he found a sack in the river with five kittens and a rock in it. Three were already dead, but two were barely clinging to life. He raced up the riverbank to where his mother sat preparing a picnic for them and thrust the limp, wet creatures at her.
"Mommy!" He sobbed.
Regina looked at the kittens with distaste and laid them on the ground.
"I'm sorry, Henry. That's what people do to unwanted cats."
Henry wailed and picked up the smallest kitten, cradling it gently in his arms and reaching out to stroke the other one.
"It's okay, it's okay," he soothed as the tiny bodies twitched.
Unable to bear his distress, Regina reached out and covered Henry's hand. Purple energy flowed from her and into the kittens and, after a few seconds, the larger kitten opened its eyes and let out a tiny noise. The one Henry held twitched a paw, unsheathing its claws to knead fruitlessly at the air.
"There, baby. They're alright. Calm down now, Henry, look!"
Henry's tears slowed as he gazed up at his mother in awe.
"You saved them! You can do magic!"
"Well of course-" Regina stopped as she realised that she hadn't used magic, hadn't needed to use magic, since she'd stopped actively participating in reconstruction efforts, more than two years previously.
"Can I do magic too, Mommy?" he asked, but was immediately distracted by the kittens, which had recovered from their ordeal and were now climbing all over him. He laughed as a tiny paw batted at his fingers and Regina frowned.
"We're not keeping them, Henry," she warned sternly.
His face fell.
"But Mommy, what if someone else tries to hurt them?" He argued. "If they lived with us, they'd be safe! No-one would hurt the queen's cats!"
"No, Henry." She repeated.
He relented, but there was a stubborn look on his face that let her know she hadn't won this fight yet.
"Okay," he sulked for a moment and then brightened as a thought struck him.
"So can I?"
"Can you what?" Regina asked, absentmindedly stroking a kitten as it rubbed its face against her leg.
"Do magic!" Henry exclaimed, wiggling his fingers determinedly.
"No, baby," Regina said gently.
"Why not? You can!"
Regina tried not to swear.
"Do you remember Snow White?"
Henry's face screwed up into a scowl.
"You sent her away!"
"That's right, to a land without magic, remember?"
"So she could never come back," Henry agreed.
"Well, when I sent her, I went to that land to build her prison. While I was there, I got lonely, so I asked Rumpel…I asked a man I knew to find me the most handsome, smartest, kindest, bravest boy in all the land. Do you know who he brought me?"
"Who?" Henry asked earnestly.
"You," Regina told him, kissing him on the nose to make him giggle. "You were born in that land, Henry, but the woman who gave birth to you couldn't keep you, even though you were the most perfect boy, so she gave you to me and I brought you home with me. That's why you can't do magic."
"So I have another Mommy?"
Regina inhaled sharply. "No, baby. I'm your Mommy."
"But…I don't understand," Henry complained.
"That's okay, sweetie. We can talk about it again when you're a bit bigger."
"Okay," Henry agreed, apparently willing to leave the subject alone, and went back to playing with the kittens.
"Henry," Regina warned sternly, "They have to go."
Two days later, Regina found the kittens curled up at the foot of Henry's bed. She sighed, resigned herself to having pets and informed her Lord Chamberlain that she would be drafting animal cruelty laws. She warned Henry that if they misbehaved they'd go back in the river, but he just giggled and hugged her tightly.
Thirteen years passed. Regina taught Henry to ride, passing on her love of horses, and as he grew old enough she told him more about his origins. His bedtime story became a history lesson and although he couldn't wield magic, he learned about its uses and limitations, benefits and drawbacks. Regina was determined that he should never find himself helpless in the face of magic, as she had been on the day Daniel died.
To her relief, as she told Henry the parts of the story she had omitted when he was younger; her manipulation of the genie; the fact that the witch was her own mother, he supported her actions all the more. She taught him about the war, how she had joined forces with King George and how her own rage had brought about her temporary downfall before her eventual triumph. She taught him the value of patience, the advantage of keeping his temper and using his emotions to further his goals rather than direct his actions. She taught him about Rumpelstiltskin and the need to consider others' motives. Henry became a skilled swordsman and archer and as he approached manhood, she involved him in the day-to-day affairs of running the kingdom. He learned how to rule with a firm hand without inciting resentment, when to show mercy and when to strike hard. Every mistake she had made as queen was incorporated into his education and as the years passed and he grew into a fine young man, Regina was filled with love and fierce pride in her son.
Henry's birthday was fast approaching. A national day of celebration had been declared and people were flocking to the castle and surrounding city to join in the festivities as the young prince officially became a man. Henry himself had been out hunting for two days, mainly in order to avoid the spectacle for as long as possible. Regina had smiled when he'd made the request, barely managing not to roll his eyes at the activity bustling around him.
He returned on foot, his horse dragging a rough pallet on which a magnificent stag lay. Regina met him in the courtyard.
"Welcome home, Prince Henry," she said formally, and he bowed deeply in response, aware of the eyes of visiting subjects on them.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I present you with the bounty of the royal forests, to honour you on this joyous day." Regina was impressed at his apparent sincerity.
"Your gift is gratefully received," she responded. "Leave it here, and walk with me."
The head hostler took the reins of his horse and Henry fell into step with his mother. As soon as the castle doors shut behind them, he smiled.
"Hi Mom," he said. "I came back."
"I was starting to wonder if you were going to stay out there all week," she chastised him gently.
"And miss the party?" He asked sarcastically, sighing deeply.
"Wash up and get changed. The feast starts in two hours, and you're making a speech."
"Mom!" He whined.
"No arguments, Henry. Go!"
He slouched off, pouting. Regina smiled, thinking to herself that teenage boys were the same everywhere, even a prince adopted from another world.
The party was in full swing. Regina sat to one side of the great hall, nursing a goblet of wine and reflecting on how much her life had changed. Where once the ceilings of her castle had echoed to her lonely footsteps, now her son stood at the centre of a crowd of soldiers and townspeople, telling some story that had them roaring with laughter, as dozens more people danced and ate. Where once her servants had tiptoed and cringed their way through the castle, now they smiled at her as they refilled her goblet and offered her a sweet pastry. Her nation was prospering and her borders expanding as her people spread into what was once George's and then Snow's kingdom. Twenty years ago her only thought had been to avenge herself upon Snow White and in all probability die in the process. Her vengeance was long since achieved and in raising a son and ruling her lands, she'd found the kind of peace she hadn't known since childhood.
As the clocks crept towards midnight, Henry called for silence.
"Hello everyone!" he shouted. A cheer went up from the crowd.
"In a few moments it will be midnight, and I'll be seventeen!" He grinned, flushed from his first night of drinking. Officially, anyway. Regina was fairly sure some of his martial training had involved learning how to hide a hangover.
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for coming. Cheers!" Another cheer rang through the hall.
"I also want to make a toast to my mother," Henry said, and Regina's eyebrows rose as the collective gaze of the room landed on her. To her horror, one of Henry's blasted cats jumped into her lap and demanded attention, drawing chuckles from the crowd. She briefly considered wringing the animal's neck.
"Your Majesty," Henry addressed her, as mugs and tankards were lifted across the room, "On this most joyful of days, I salute you. To the Queen!"
"The Queen!" the crowd responded, and as the clocks began to strike, Henry raised his own glass in salutation and smiled at her. As he raised it to his lips, however, he paused and frowned. His expression became somewhat dazed as he raised his free hand to eye level and stared at it. Concerned, Regina rose to her feet and moved towards him. Her hands began to tingle as she approaching him and when he met her gaze his eyes were no longer brown, they were deep purple.
"Mom?" He asked, sounding scared. She reached out to him and as their skin touched, everything went white.
When Regina woke, her head was pounding. She lay on a bench surrounded by guards. Magic fizzed in the air around her and she frantically looked around for Henry, finding him on the floor a few feet away being attended to by her physician.
"Henry!" She scrambled up, not noticing the hands that reached out to aid her as her guards shifted to keep her within their protective ring. The hall was mostly empty save for a few brave souls who had stayed to watch.
Regina reached her son and dropped to her knees, wincing as her joints protested their rough treatment. Although she saw no need to appear her actual age, occasionally her body reminded her that magic could only do so much.
"What happened?" She demanded. "Is my son alright?"
The doctor jumped to his feet. "He's fine, your Majesty."
"What happened?" Regina asked again.
"I'm not sure. From what witnesses have told me, it sounds like some sort of magical outburst."
"That's impossible," Regina stated flatly. Henry groaned and pressed a hand to his forehead, apparently suffering the same headache as her.
"Mom?" he called weakly.
"I'm here, baby." She took his hand, not caring about their audience, and felt the tingle of raw power flow from her son. Her jaw dropped.
"I feel weird," Henry complained, screwing his eyes up against the torchlight. It took Regina a moment to collect herself before she could reply.
"I'm not surprised. What do you remember?" She asked carefully.
"I remember…hunting, then the party. I remember being happy, feeling really good, like I was going to burst. I felt kind of tingly…" his voice trailed off into another groan. "Don't feel tingly anymore," he observed bitterly.
"Henry, baby…"
One of Henry's tightly closed eyes opened, staring worriedly at her.
"You used magic." Regina told him. He sat bolt upright, headache forgotten.
"That's impossible, Mom."
"I know!" She snapped, and he winced.
"People in this world often discover they can use magic in moments of heightened emotion," Henry recited dully, remembering his training. "I can't use magic because I'm not from this world. Could you have done it by accident?"
He was too distracted to see her momentary devastation at the thought, but she quickly shook her head.
"No, Henry, I saw it happen to you. I felt it happen! It came from you!" She stopped abruptly and beckoned the captain of the guard over.
"Clear the room. Make sure no news of this spreads. Keep the party going, I don't want to start rumours."
"Yes ma'am," he saluted and began giving orders to his men. Soon Regina and Henry were alone but for the doctor, who watched Henry unobtrusively from nearby.
"Mom?" He said, leaning into her as she wrapped him in a hug.
"I don't know," she replied. "You were born in the other world, I'm sure of it. No-one in Storybrooke gave birth, the curse wouldn't allow it, but if you have magic…" she trailed off.
"Then the woman who gave birth to me is from our world." Henry finished.
"Someone who wasn't caught by the curse, someone from our land…oh no." Regina's eyes widened. "I'd forgotten about her."
"Who? Mom?"
"The timing fits, she'd have been old enough to give birth."
"Who are you talking about?"
"Did he know? How could he? He wasn't supposed to remember anything!" Regina was becoming frantic.
"Why would he-"
"MOM!" Henry shouted. "What's going on?"
Regina took a deep breath.
"Let me think about this, Henry. Maybe there's another explanation, maybe Rumpelstiltskin knew about that world because others had gone there before."
"Mom-"
"Just let me think, Henry! Go to the infirmary; let the doctor look at you."
Henry stared at her for a moment and then stood and allowed a guard to support him as he limped away.
It can't be, Regina thought frantically, but her mind presented her with image of Rumpelstiltskin grinning with twisted happiness.
Oh yes it can, dearie, and why not? All these years, you'd forgotten about that poor baby, sent out into that harsh world alone. What's one more innocent life ruined, eh?
A loose end, Regina thought, dismissing the imp from her thoughts. And if I'm right, Henry is her son. And…
She felt rage building in her as it hadn't done for years. The power that Henry had called forth hummed through her veins and crackled in the air around her.
"Snow White's grandson."