Ever since time was running again, things were starting to change. It was a slow change, but a change nevertheless. Things weren't the same everyday, now new things were happening and that was amazing. I loved how now I could talk to anyone, and they'd had new things to tell me.

But of all the things that could happen to me, I'd never thought Henry Mills would ask for my help.

It was the third day after Emma's arrival, I think. He was in my porch, begging me to help him. He was looking at me with desperation, his eyes giving me his best puppy dog eyes look. And I was more than confused.

"What?" I asked again, shaking my head in confusion.

"Help me," he repeated.

"With what?" I asked, passing a hand over my hair in exasperation. "And, Henry, why me? We don't even talk—"

"I need your help," Henry said, stressing the 'need' and 'your'.

"With what?" I asked again. "Does your mother knows you're here?"

"Shut up and listen," he said hurriedly. I raised my eyebrows at him, crossing my arms over my chest once more. "John Doe disappeared in the forest, and I know where he's going!"

"Congratulations," I said. "So?"

"So I need you to take me to the forest," he said hurriedly again. "Emma, Mary Margaret and Graham are searching for him—"

"So why do you wanna go to the forest? They probably found him already, Graham's a great tracker." I said.

"Will you listen to me?" he asked, nearly desperate. "They don't know where he's going, I do. If they don't find him he can die! I need your help, Melanie, please, take me to the woods so I can warn them."

"Why won't you go alone?" I asked, though I knew the answer already. The sun was setting, and soon the forest would be very dark, and very dangerous for a ten years old.

"It's dark," he said. "And I'm not a good tracker. You are. Please, help me, Melanie."

I shook my head. "I'm not going to take you to the woods, kid, if something happens to you—"

"My mom would be furious," Henry said.

I started to grin, "She'd be furious..."

"Please," Henry said again, his puppy dog eyes increasing.

"Okay, okay," I said, grabbing my jacket and putting it on as fast as I could. Anything to see Regina angry and worried. "Let's go."

I grabbed Henry's hand, and together we ran towards the woods.

...

It took me five minutes to reach them. Honestly, with the noise they were doing it was matter of time before any animal reached them. Not that I'm worried about them.

We saw Mary Margaret and Emma having a slow awkward conversation as Graham walked away from them. I frowned as we approached quickly. They didn't heard us, they were too busy being awkward around each other. I snapped a brach of three as I passed by, making them both turn around alarmed.

"You should follow him," I said, making them both jump at the proximity of my voice. "It's no use of you get lost here too."

"Melanie," Mary Margaret said surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Kid dragged me," I said, rolling my eyes as I pointed to Henry at my side.

"Henry!" Emma said, clearly surprised to see him.

"You found him yet?" Henry asked.

"No, not yet. You shouldn't be here." Emma said.

"I can help," Henry said. "I know where he's going."

Both of them looked surprised. I met Emma's eyes and I sighed shrugging. I didn't had an option, kid was persistence on bringing me with him and helping him.

"And where's that?" Mary Margaret asked.

"He's looking for you," Henry said.

I rolled my eyes. Tha was typical of Snow White and Prince Charming, always searching for each other and—Oh. The John Doe must be Prince Charming then...

As we walked Emma and Mary Margaret kept sending me reproving looks as I tried to stay as away from them as I could. Henry kept trying to make Mary Margaret believe what he was trying to say, while Emma looked even more worried about her kid's obsession with fairy tales.

"You're the last one he saw," Henry said. "He wants to find you."

"Henry, it's not about me. It just—I think he's lost and confused. He's been in a coma a long time."

"But he loves you." Henry said. "You need to stop chasing him and let him find you."

"Kid," Emma said with a hard voice. "You need to go home. Where's your mom? She's gonna kill me and then you" she pointed at me, "And then me again."

I scoffed. "She can try," I said darkly.

Emma looked at me. "Why did you bring him here? Do you have an idea of how dangerous this could be?"

"One: I didn't had a choice, the kid dragged me here," I said coldly. "And two: Do you? Do you have an idea of how this forest is? It seems to me that the only one here with enough knowledge of forest and woods is me."

Henry looked between the two of us with worry, to then say to Emma. "She dropped me at the house then went right out. I ran to Melanie's and forced her to came with me."

"Well, we need to get you back immediately," Emma said.

"No!" Henry said.

I rolled my eyes at them and stalked off to she Graham was. He acknowledged my presence with a small nod as we both looked around, searching for the famous John Doe.

As we moved, I looked down, only to saw something on a leave. I crunched down. "Graham," I called.

He approached me.

"Flashlight," I asked.

He moved his flashlight to where I was pointing, and he crunched down too to look at it. A hospital band was there, with blood and 'John Doe' written on it.

"Guys!" he called.

They came to us running.

"Is that..." Mary Margaret said in a worried voice.

"Blood." Emma finished.

I took the thing on my hand, and passed my fingers over the blood. Graham frowned at me, but I grimaced at how hot and fresh the blood seemed to be.

"It's fresh. He can't be that far," I said, cleaning my hand with Graham's shirt, to which he grimaced at me. "Move!"

We followed the only road that the John Doe could have taken, and soon we found ourselves at the edge of the water.

"Oh, gosh!" Mary Margaret said, as she looked around frenetically. "Where is him? Can you see him?"

"The trial dies at the water line," Graham said.

We all pointed our flashlights to the sides, trying to see if he was around here.

Mary Margaret gasped and started to run. "Oh, my God! Oh, My God! Oh, my God!"

We ran with her towards the unconscious form of the John Doe. Graham quickly used his telephone to call for an ambulance. We all took parts of the John Doe to move him away from the water.

"Slow down, slow down, slow down," Mary Margaret ordered.

We slowed him down slowly and gently as Mary Margaret started to go hysterics. I swallowed when I catch a better glance at the John Doe's face. He was Prince Charming.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, I found you!" she said.

I felt like an intruder, so I moved towards Henry, not knowing what should I do as I swallowed the lump on my throat.

He looked dead. Charming looked dead.

"It's gonna be okay," Mary M kept saying, putting his head on her knees.

"Help's comming." Graham said to us.

"Is he okay?" Henry asked worriedly from his spot at my side.

I put my hand over his shoulders out of reflex. He was too young to be seeing this.

"Henry," Emma run to us. "Don't look, okay? Don't look."

We both made him turn away from all this scene. Emma hugged him, making his face hide on her stomach as I tried not to listen to Mary Margaret desperately trying to make Prince Charming wake up. She started to push his chest, trying to revive him. I put my hand over Henry's eyes as I saw him looking with the corner of his eyes to them.

"It's gonna be okay," I said softly to him. "Prince Charming's a strong guy."

Mary Margaret put his mouth over Charmings, trying to give him air, but to me it looked more like a kiss than anything. As she moved away in defeat when he didn't responded, his eyes flew open and he started coughing and splitting water.

"You saved me," he wheezed.

"She did it," Henry said, starting to smile. "She did it, she woke him up."

Emma looked really fucked up as she answered him. "Yeah, kid, she did."

I blinked at them repeatedly. Could that have been a true love kiss? He looked pretty dead to me before...But no, it couldn't have been a gruel love kiss since Mary Margaret and him didn't loved each other here.

...

At the hospital, the five of us were looking through the crystal door as they started putting cables and treating Prince Charming.

"David!" I voice approaching us called. "David! Is that you?"

We looked back to see a beautiful blonde woman. She entered the door quickly, looking really worried about Prince Charming. Or David, as she called him.

Dr. Whale dragged her out with gentle words.

"Who is that?" Mary Margaret asked.

I shrugged. I truly had no idea. In all my years here I had never seen her, and I practically knew everybody here.

"His wife," a voice called behind us.

We all turned. Regina was there, smirking at us, specially at Mary Margaret.

I frowned. Prince Charming was married to Snow White—Mary Margaret. So of course, the blonde woman must be a poor innocent woman that Regina is using to hurt Mary Margaret.

"His name is David Nolan, and that's his wife Kathryn." Regina said. "And the joy on her face—well...it's put me in quite the forgiving mood." she glanced at Emma, who frowned at her. "We'll talk about your insubordination later." she said to Henry. To me she only gave me a nasty look, but she didn't said anything to me. "Do you know what insubordination means?"

Henry shook his head, puffing air out of his cheeks.

"It means you're grounded," I whispered.

"Exactly," Regina said, making me cringe. I hated it when she agreed with me.

After that, it broke my cold heart to see Mary Margaret and Kathryn talking. I must admit Regina did a great job enchanting Kathryn's mind to believe David was her husband. She answered every question Mary Margaret and Emma asked. Every time, the smug smirk Regina wore made me want to kille her even more. It was the same smirk she wore when she told me Jefferson was dead.

The smirk started to wear off her face when Dr. Whale came talk to us. He explained that it was a miracle that David was alive. And that when he woke up, he was delirious, and the first thing that crossed his mind was to find something...to which Henry corrected with a "Someone." I loved the look on Regina's face when Henry said that.

"Henry, let's go." she ordered when Dr. Whale crossed the crystal doors again.

Henry started to walk towards her, but stopped in the middle. "Wait...my backpack."

As he took it and put in on his back, he looked at Mary Margaret. "Don't believe them. You're the one he was looking for." he whispered.

"Henry," Mary Margaret sighed in a whisper.

"He was going to the Troll Bridge," Henry whispered. "It's like the end of the story."

I frowned. "What story?" I whispered to myself. Emma heard me and shook her head.

Better not to ask, then.

"Henry, he was going there because its the last thing I read to him."

"No," Henry said. "It's because you belong together."

"Henry," Regina called.

This time he followed her.

I decided to go then. I didnt had anything else to do there now. As I rose from my seat and said goodbye to Mary Margaret, Graham approached me.

"You need a ride, Melanie?"

"Yeah," I said. "A ride would be perfect."

He nodded.

"Thank you," I said as we started to walk away.

We passed by Regina and Emma talking, which made me sigh. I didn't wanted to hear their drama, but I catch a phrase as we walked.

"Because not having someone," Regina was saying. "That's the worst curse imaginable."

I froze, the truth of her statement struck me. Graham looked back at me, confusion in his face.

How true her statement was, I realized immediately. All my life I'd been alone. The only moments where I didn't felt alone was when I was with Jefferson and Grace—and sometimes with Rumple too. Even as a baby, I'd been alone. Now, here I am. Alone again. And that was truly the most horrible curse of all time.

"Are you okay?" Graham asked me gently.

I looked into his eyes. They were nothing like Paige's, but they reminded me of her.

They reminded me that even if I didn't had Jefferson, I had Paige.

I wasn't alone. Not really.

"Yes," I swallowed. "Let's just go. It's been a long night."

Graham nodded, and we left the hospital.

...

...

Fifteen years old Artemis glanced around at her new master's chambers. Maleficent looked pretty powerful, so she thought that maybe it'd be nice to work with her. Could learn new things and stuff.

"A party," Maleficent was saying. Artemis looked at her, only realizing she hadn't been listening to her for a while now. She had been too lost on her thoughts. "And I wasn't invited?"

The bird man didn't answered. He gave Artemis the creeps. Mostly because he was a bird that could transform itself into a man when he wanted, and when he did he always was naked. And he looked weird, with skin too pale and hair too black.

"How wonderful," Maleficent smirked.

Artemis looked away from the man to look at the Queen of Darkness.

"We're going?" she guessed.

"Why, of course," Maleficent smirked, her eyes shinning with mischief.

"But I thought we weren't invited," Artemis asked innocently. She was too innocent. Even after years of working for evil sorceress she still was innocent. It looked like she hadn't found anything to make her lose her innocence yet. Maleficent was sure she could make the girl be as powerful and dark as she was. It was her new goal.

Corrupt an innocent soul...how wonderful, indeed.

Maleficent smirked, and that was enough answer for the girl.

...

The beautiful Kingdom of King Stefan was exactly as it was called. Beautiful. Artemis found herself wanting to explore it deeply.

"You like it?" the bird man asked her.

Artemis jumped a bit, but nodded.

"Soon it'll be Maleficent's," he said. "And then you can explore it all you want."

Artemis found herself smiling. "That'd be nice."

The bird man smiled back. He looked even more creepy smiling. Artemis looked to Maleficent, who was starting to cross the gates now. She turned to look at them, and the bird man transformed himself into a bird again, and he flew to Maleficent's shoulder. Artemis walked behind her.

They entered the castle without any problems. Every time a guard saw them, it looked scared, but before it could run, Maleficent put them to sleep with a spell.

"Sweet Aurora, my gift for you is—" the little fairy that was blessing the baby was suddenly thrown off the crib when a blast of cold air made them all shiver.

The door flew open, the guards fell down to the floor seeming to be unconscious and Maleficent and Artemis entered the room. It was quite an entrance, Artemis noticed. Maleficent seemed to be smirking as she looked at everybody, a green aura filling the air as everybody screamed and tried to back away from them.

It was quite the impact Maleficent seemed to have on everyone, Artemis noticed. The mood that once was joyous and happy was tense and dark now. The three little fairies that blessed the princess were trying to cover the crib out of Maleficent's eyes. The king and Queen looked shocked an scared.

Maleficent made her way between all the people, the bird dragging Artemis gently by her sleeves. Maleficent strolled until she was right in front of the King and Queen's throne. The crib with the baby at her left side. Artemis at her right side, and the crow flying in circles around her.

"Well, well..." Maleficent smirked. She had a deep powerful voice that made everyone cringe with fear. "What a glittering assemblage, King Stefan." the crow posed himself on Maleficent's cane. She instinctively started to caress him. "Royalty, nobility, the gentry, and..." she chuckled darkly. "How wonderful...Even the poor."

Maleficent looked at King Stefan then, and her eyes seemed to darken a bit. Artemis noticed how much she seemed to hate them both, the king and the queen, and wondered why.

"I must say I really felt quite distressed for not receiving an invitation," Maleficent said.

"You're not welcomed here," King Stefan said.

Artemis eyes widened. Surely Maleficent would take that really bad...but she only mocked them. Maleficent seemed to look down in sadness, "Oh," seeming to be hurt, to then seconds later look up laughing. "Oh, dear, what an awkward situation."

She turned her head to look at her apprentice. Artemis wasn't blinking as she looked Maleficent and all she was doing. From all the evil people she had worked with, in a couple of minutes of knowing her, Maleficent seemed to be the most dangerous of them.

"Aren't you offended?" Artemis asked softly.

Maleficent smirked again. "Why, not."

The King and Queen looked at each other.

"And to show I bear no ill will," Maleficent said, turning to them. "I shall too give a gift to the child."

The King and Queen rose alarmed from their thrones.

"No!" the Queen said.

Maleficent raised her eyebrows, and the Queen swallowed in fear. The king, on the other hand, seemed to have lose his ability to speak, because he said nothing.

Maleficent approached the baby's crib, and the three little fairies tries to stood up to her, but with a movement of her hand Maleficent send them flying away.

She looked down at the baby. It was truly a beautiful creature, Artemis noticed as she peeked from behind Maleficent. Aurora's hair seemed to be a beautiful mix of brown and red, and her eyes were wide and very blue.

Aurora giggled at them, causing Artemis to smile a little. Maleficent hummed in wonder as she thought of what to do with the little princess. As she turned to look at Artemis, her eye caught a spinning wheel in the distance, and an idea came to her.

She started to move her hand around the crib, a green light appearing.

"Listen well, all of you," she commanded. "The princess shall indeed grow with grace and beauty. Loved by all who meet her..."

Artemis blinked. That was quite nice. For a moment she thought Maleficent was going to curse the baby, but surely, she wouldn't...right? It was just an innocent baby.

"But..." she opened her arms gracefully, facing the queen and king. "Before the sunset on her sixteen birthday, she will prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel, and fall into a sleep like death! A sleep from which she will never awaken!"

Artemis, and the rest of the room suck in a gasp. Artemis was truly shocked by Maleficent's cruelty towards a baby that had done nothing wrong.

Maleficent turned. "This curse shall last to the end of time! No power on earth can change it!"

"Guards!" King Stefan yelled, breaking from his stupor. A few of the guard that were awake started to run for Maleficent, but before they could approach her, she moved her hand, disappearing with the crow and Artemis from there.

...

"How could you do that?" Artemis gasped.

They were back at Maleficent's castle. The older woman was laughing at what she'd done.

"Do what?" Maleficent asked, turning to Artemis. "Curse her?"

Artemis nodded.

"Dear, she deserved it," she shrugged.

"She was a baby!" Artemis said. "An innocent creature."

"Innocent!" Maleficent laughed in disbelief. "She was the daughter of the people I hate the most, of course I cursed her."

"But she was just a baby..." Artemis said.

The bird man, Diaval, as she heard Maleficent call him, put a hand on her shoulder. "Leave it like that, sugar, it's for the best."

Artemis turned to the man with shock. But she stopped when she saw the warning on the man's eyes.

"So...why did you do it?" Artemis asked. "I want the real reason, not the excuse you came over with."

Maleficent blinked. "What excuse? Dear, I cursed her because they didn't invited me to their party."

Artemis mouth opened in shock. "You cursed a baby...because you weren't invited to a party."

"Why, yes," Maleficent said. "What better reason? My feelings were hurt..."

But Artemis wasn't listening to what she was saying. All she could think of was that Maleficent cursed a baby out of indignation for not being invited to a party. That was so...evil, and twisted. Not even Cruella, who skinned animals for fashion seemed as dark and twisted as Maleficent.

"You truly are the Queen of Darkness," Artemis whispered in awe.

Maleficent smirked widely. "That, I am."

She, Cruella and Ursula were. Artemis had worked before for Cruella and Ursula, but with Maleficent things seemed to be darker and more dangerous.

...

For one year Artemis worked for her. The next year, when Maleficent grew tired of her, and had already showed her how to be bad and cold and dark, Artemis received an invitation to the dark castle. The Dark One requested her presence. And she couldn't wait to see how it would be to work for someone so powerful and dangerous as the Dark One.

...

That night, when I was under my covers about to fall asleep, my cellphone buzzed. I stretched until my arm touched phone. I put it in my ear without looking who was calling me.

"Hello?"

"Melanie?" a soft voice called.

"Hey, who is this?" I asked softly as my kind drifted to sleep.

"Thank you," the person said. Suddenly, I recognised the voice. It was Henry Mills.

"For what?" I asked.

"For going with me and protecting me," he said.

"Oh...you welcome, kid," I said softly. "How are you? Regina's not going to hard on you, is she?"

"Nah," Henry replied. "It's okay, I'm just grounded."

I cracked a smile. "So I imagine you're calling me without her knowing, right?"

The silence at the other side of the line made me laugh softly.

"Hey, Melanie...I've been trying to ask you something for a while..." Henry said.

"What?" I asked curiously.

"Back in the woods, when David Nolan was dying...you said "Don't worry, Prince Charming is a strong guy.""

I blinked. "I did?"

"Yes..."

I cursed under my breath. How I was supposed to explain that then?

"Henry—" I started, but he cut me.

"Just tell me something...is it true?"

I didn't had to ask what he was talking about. Somehow, the kid knew about the curse, and somehow he knew who all of us were, and that was just too incredible. "Yes."

There was a long silence then, followed by Henry talking excitedly. "I knew it! I knew it! Its true!"

I laughed amusedly. "Oh, kid."

"But tell me—" Henry started to say, but he stopped himself, probably too excited to think of only one question.

"Tell you what," I said. "Let's meet tomorrow in Granny's for dinner, and I'll tell you anything you want to know. But...you must tell me how you know about the curse and about all of us. Deal?"

"Deal," Henry said excitedly.

"Goodnight then, Henry," I said. "Sweet dreams."

"Goodnight...Artemis," he said hesitantly my real name.

I smiled a bit. "Sweet dreams, darling."

...

The morning after the whole David Nolan thing, I was at work when I came across a familiar statue of a crow. I approached it with a knot on my throat.

"Diaval," I whispered.

I slowly and delicately passed my fingers over his feathers, as I used to do.

"Remembering old times, dearie?"

I turned to him. "I don't knew he was here...Hell, I didn't knew he got transformed into a statue."

"You can thank Prince Phillip for that," Rumple said.

I sighed, moving my hand away from the statue. I looked around slowly. I was looking at the store with new eyes now.

Rumple approached me with calmness. "This shop has many things, dearie, you would be surprised to know all the things of your past that are here."

"Like what?" I asked.

"Like...this," he opened his hand, and I saw a delicate necklace. It was simply a piece of thread with a small golden charm of an arrow in it. What made me gasp was the fact that I though it lost in the Enchanted Forest.

"How do you have it?" I asked, looking at it mesmerised.

Rumple simply smiled. He held it up for me, and I slowly accepted it. I was holding it like it may break any second now.

"Let me," he said.

I turned around, moving my hair as I gave the necklace back to him. He tied it to my neck with gentleness. I looked up at the necklace that meant so much for me. He caressed my shoulders with gentleness.

I turned and smiled at him, hugging him. "Thank you, Rumple."

I could tell he was shocked by the hug, but grateful. I wondered when was the last time someone hugged him.

"It's okay, dearie, I know how much it means to you."

I looked down at the necklace Jefferson gave me.

It had been the first gift he gave to me. It was the beginning of everything. I looked back at that day, and the only thing I could think of was that it was the day I realized I loved Jefferson. And for what I've heard, it was the day he realized it too.

"This," I said, holding the small arrow in my hands. "It's the most important thing I have."

...

At dinner time, I saw Henry waiting for me at Granny's.

"Hey, Henry," I smiled, sitting across from him.

He grinned at me. "Hi,"

Ruby took my order of food, and when she was gone, Henry turned to me. He was smiling up at me with awe, something that made me giggle.

"Oh, kid," I said shaking my head.

"Do you remember, then?" he asked.

I nodded. "Everything."

"How?" he frowned.

"Honestly...I have no idea," I said. "Sometimes I think Regina left me have my memories to taunt me...but she acts like she doesn't know I know, so I don't really know."

"So...it's real," he said in wonder. I looked at him, he looked so happy to know he wasn't crazy or dumb for believing. I took his hand on mine, and squeezed gently.

"It's real, Henry," I said. "Everything is real."

His grin lit up the whole restaurant.

"How do you know?" I asked before he could ask me anything else.

He searched for something on his backpack. He took out a big book. I frowned at it.

"A book?" I asked.

He nodded, and showed it to me.

...

As I passed the pages of the books I was marvelled by all the stories that were here.

"All my life is here," I said in awe. "From the begging to the curse...how?"

"I don't know," Henry said, eating some French fries.

I stopped when in one of the pages a visible animated picture of Jefferson was smirking up at us. Henry looked at me and gave me a pitiful look. Then he seemed to realize something.

"You don't know!" he said. "Oh, god, I forgot you don't know!"

"I don't know what?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"Henry!" Regina's voice snapped from the entrance. "Let's go."

Henry quickly put my jacket over the book so Regina wouldn't see it. When she left for the car, Henry turned to ,e. "I have to go..."

"It's okay," I said. "Go."

He quickly put the book back into his backpack, "Can we meet tomorrow? Or someday soon? I have to tell you something, I can't believe I forgot you don't know!"

"Okay," I said surprised by his eagerness. "Okay, let's meet tomorrow." then I remembered. "Actually, tomorrow's my birthday, but I think we can meet here in the morning. Or at my apartment, or something."

"Great," Henry said. "Bye then."

"Bye," I said.

As he left the restaurant, I wondered to myself what was so important that Henry wanted to tell me so eagerly.