Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time. Wouldn't be writing this if I did.
XXXXXXXX
The Heir
Chapter 1: Storybrooke
Once upon a time, about 20 years or so, the villains of the Enchanted Forest, having failed in their individual schemes, joined forces against the heroes. In response, the heroes stood together to combat the army of darkness.
These events lead to The Great War. The war did not last long however after the heroes gained a powerful ally with a powerful weapon.
That ally was Arthur with his sword, Excalibur.
With Arthur on the heroes' side, the villains were forced to take drastic action. A curse the likes nobody had seen before. This curse would send the heroes to another world.
Unfortunately, the curse would also send the villains to this other world.
XXXXXXXX
A blonde teenage girl yawned as she walked into the living room of her two-bedroom apartment that she shared with her mother. The girl stopped when she saw her mother asleep on the couch. She rolled her eyes and walked over to the couch.
"Ma. Wake up." The girl said. She waited a second and her mother didn't wake up. "Mom." She gently nudged her sleeping mother.
Feeling someone touch her, the older blonde's eye snapped open, her body already in motion. She grabbed her daughter's arm and flipped the girl onto the ground. Acting quickly, the woman pinned the teen to the floor and held her daughter's neck, choking the young teenager.
"M-o-m..." The girl choked for air, grabbing her mother's hand, desperately struggling against her older woman's strong grip.
"Gwyneth!" The woman, Emma, stopped when she realized who she had attacked. She quickly let go of her daughter's neck.
The girl coughed and wheezed as her lungs filled with air once again.
Emma moved off her daughter. "Are you okay?"
Gwyneth nodded since she couldn't talk yet.
"Don't just nod. I need you to say it. Are you okay?" Emma repeated. She helped Gwyneth off the floor and sat her down on the couch.
"I'm okay." The teen answered weakly, barely able to muster her voice.
Emma sighed in relief. "I'm sorry, Kid. You know better than waking me up like that." She rubbed her daughter's back as the girl took deep breaths.
"You fell asleep on the couch." Gwyneth wheezed.
"I got home late last night and just crashed." Emma explained.
"I thought you said, it was going to be an easy bounty." Gwyneth said.
"It was supposed to be. I caught the guy on a blind date, but he bolted then Hunter and Gunnar Pierce showed up." Emma said.
Gwyneth nodded. "Got it." Her mother was one of the best bounty hunters in Boston, people trusted an Ex-Navy Seal to find and catch bad guys, but being the best, Emma had plenty of enemies, like the Pierce family. They were a family of bounty hunters and hated Emma.
"I still got the guy though." Emma declared. "Big payday."
"Big enough that we could go on a vacation?" Gwyneth asked.
"I suppose." Emma said. "Did you have some place in mind?"
The teenager stood up from the couch. She went into the kitchen and came back with a pamphlet in her hand. She handed to her mother as she sat back down.
Emma looked over the pamphlet. "Storybrooke?"
"It was in the mail yesterday." Gwyneth explained. Something about the pamphlet spoke to her. "I read a little about it. It's a small town in Maine."
"Maine?" Emma repeated as she read the pamphlet. According to the paper in her hand, the town was surrounded by a dense forest. She didn't like the idea of being stuck in the woods. "I don't know."
"Come on. This place looks great and you need a vacation." Gwyneth declared.
Emma looked at her daughter. "What exactly makes you think I need a vacation?"
"Where exactly did you sleep last night?" Gwyneth asked. "And when time did you get home?"
Emma opened her mouth to answer then stopped. "I see your point."
"Can we go? Just for the weekend?" Gwyneth requested.
Emma caved to her daughter's request. "Fine. Just for the weekend. Get packed. We'll leave this afternoon."
XXXXXXXX
It took longer then Emma would have liked for them to leave Boston. All that freaking traffic. They were about halfway to the Storybrooke when the sun started to set and the forest around them became dark. The little town was so out of the way from everything, the traffic that plagued them while leaving Boston became nonexistent.
"Did you get us lost?" Gwyneth asked her mother but didn't get an answer. "Mom?"
Emma hadn't heard her daughter; her full attention was on the road in front of her. Her eyes narrowed as they surveyed the woods that surrounded the road, as if some threat was waiting for them in the darkness. As her mind and body started to tense up, Emma started to accelerate the car.
As the car accelerated, Gwyneth started to get worried. Really worried. She took a deep breath. "Lieutenant Swan!" She shouted in her best authoritative voice.
Emma's eye widened, her body relaxed and returned the car to a safer speed. She glanced at her daughter, who was staring at her. "What?"
"Are you okay?" Gwyneth asked.
The older blonde took a deep breath. "I'm fine."
Gwyneth could tell her mother was lying. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"I said, I'm fine." Emma declared.
"You were freaking out." Gwyneth replied.
Emma fully turned her head to the teenager. "I said, I am fine."
"Mom." Gwyneth was looking out the windshield to the road in front of them.
"Gwyneth, look at me. I'm fine." Emma said.
"Mom! The road!" Gwyneth shouted.
Emma's head snapped back to the front, just in time to see a wolf standing the middle of the road. Emma slammed on the brakes and swerved to avoid the animal. Before Emma knew what happened, the car crashed into something hard and both mother and daughter were rendered unconscious.
XXXXXXXX
"What do you think?"
"I think both are lucky their injuries are minor, and they were found so quickly. They could have much worse."
"You know what I mean, Doctor."
"Yes. I know what you mean. I am more focused on the girl's well-being, then who she might be." The doctor said.
"If she is the heir, we need to keep her in town."
The doctor nodded. "I know." The doctor checked his cell phone. "The girl is awake."
"Keep me updated."
"Yes, Madam Mayor."
The doctor walked out of the room and into the patient room. Gwyneth was looking around the room as her eye adjusted to her surroundings.
"Where am I?" The girl asked.
"Storybrooke." The doctor answered. "Can you tell me your name?"
"Gwyneth. Gwyneth Swan."
"Well, Miss. Swan, I'm Dr. Frederick." Dr. Frederick said.
"Where's my mom?" Gwyneth asked.
"Your mother is in the next room. We have her sedated." The doctor explained.
"Why? Is she okay?" The teen asked.
The Doctor smiled. "Don't worry. Your mother is fine. When she woke up earlier, she became quite hostile and we had to sedate her. Your mother is quite the forceful woman."
"She was a Navy Seal while I was a kid." Gwyneth got up from the bed. "I want to see her."
"Of course." Dr. Frederick nodded. He led the teenage girl to the next room, where her mother laid asleep.
Gwyneth walked over to her mother's bed. "What happened?" Gwyneth asked.
"You crashed into the sign outside of town." Dr. Frederick answered.
"Can I stay with her?" Gwyneth asked.
"I'll give you some privacy." The doctor nodded before he left the room.
After a while, the sedatives started to wear off and Gwyneth's mother started to come to. "Gwyn?" The groggy woman asked.
Gwyneth looked up from her phone. "Mom."
"What happened?" Her mother asked.
"We hit a road sign, just outside this little town and we were brought to the hospital." Gwyneth explained.
Upon hearing her daughter's explanation, the woman immediately went to 'Mom Mode'. "How bad was it? Are you hurt?"
Gwyneth shrugged her shoulders. "I've got a few bruises, but the doctor said that I was okay. He also said, he wants to keep us here a day to be safe."
"Great. Spending a day in a hospital. What could be more fun?" Emma asked.
"Ms. Swan?"
The two women look at the handsome man that now stood in the door. "Me or her?" Gwyneth asked.
"Her." The man answered before he turned his attention to her mother. "I'm Sheriff Thorne. I'd like to ask you a few quick questions. If that's all right with you."
"Shoot, Sheriff. It's not like I'm going anywhere." The woman remarked.
Thorne nodded. "Let's start simple. Name?"
"Emma Swan."
"Can you tell me what you do for a living, Ms. Swan?" The Sheriff asked. "Your daughter told the doctor that you were a Navy Seal."
Emma glanced at Gwyneth, who simply shrugged, before she looked back at the Sheriff. "I was a Lieutenant in the Navy, but I'm retired. I'm now a Bounty Hunter."
"Is that why you had not one but two 45 caliber M1911 handguns concealed on your person when you were brought in?" The Sheriff continued. "I assume you have a permit for those."
"In my wallet." Emma confirmed.
"Are you able to stay in town for a while?" The Sheriff asked.
Emma arched an eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"
"Your car took the brunt of the damage, Miss. Swan. You're not going to be able to get it started." Thorne informed her.
"I guess we're staying in town until it gets fixed." Emma declared with a sigh.
XXXXXXXX
"Damn. That must have been one hell of a road sign." Emma commented as she inspected her damaged blue 1969 Dodge Charger.
The front end of the car was crushed, and the engine was damaged. While Emma looked at the car, she let Gwyneth get something to eat at a place called Sabine's.
"Ms. Swan?"
Emma looked up from the car to see a beautiful dark-haired woman standing next to the car. The woman wore a burgundy dress under a black trench coat and black heels. The woman was so well dressed and professional looking, she made Emma feel underdressed by comparison, the blonde woman was clad in a white tank top with a black leather jacket, blue jeans and combat boots, her hair pulled back into a messy ponytail.
"Yeah?" Emma asked.
The other woman smiled. "I'm Regina Mills, the town's Mayor."
"If this is about the sign..." Emma started.
"Don't worry about it, Ms. Swan. That sign has been a thorn in my side for years." Regina explained. "You crashing into it just gives me a chance to replace it."
"Glad I could help." Emma quipped. She walked around the car to the trunk. She pulled a duffel bag out of the trunk.
Regina looked at the damaged car. "Shame about your car. I suppose it could have been worse."
Emma slammed the trunk. "Which way is Sabine's?"
"Follow Main Street." The Mayor gestured down the street.
"Thank you." Emma said before she made her way down the street. As the blonde woman walked down the street, she noticed two things. One, the small town that she and Gwyneth crashed into was very beautiful and two, the Mayor of said town was following her.
Emma walked for several more minutes before she stopped and whipped around the raven-haired beauty. "Is there something else you wanted?" Emma asked with a frown.
Regina smirked in response. "At the moment? No."
"Then why are you following me?" Emma growled, getting annoyed with the Mayor.
"We are headed the same way. You aren't the only one with a child waiting for them at Sabine's Diner." Regina explained as she walked past the other woman.
Emma continued to glare at Regina until they both made it to the Diner. Once inside the Diner, Emma found Gwyneth at the table by the front window. The teenage girl wore a red and black flannel shirt with the sleeves folded up, blue skinny jeans and black sneakers.
Gwyneth didn't bother looking up from the menu in front of her, just held up a coffee mug. "I could use some more coffee, Ruby."
"Coffee, huh?" Emma dropped the duffel bag and crossed her arms. The younger Swan snapped her head up to meet her mother's disapproving eye. "You know I don't want you having coffee."
"Mom, it's not..." Gwyneth started but stopped when her mother's gaze hardened even more, going from a mom upset at her daughter to a pissed off Navy Seal. That look had caused many a grown man to wet themselves and told the teen it was time for her to stop talking.
Emma sat down across from her daughter, her angry eyes never leaving her daughter. "How's the food here?"
"I haven't ordered yet." Gwyneth answered.
"You ordered the coffee." Emma pointed out, moving the mug away from her daughter.
Gwyneth decided it was better not to respond to that remark as a waitress walked up the table. Emma looked up at the young woman. She had red streaks in her dark brown hair and wore a white tied off blouse, revealing most of her stomach with red short shorts and a small white apron. The waitress's name was Ruby, according to her nametag.
"Somebody need a refill?" Ruby offered.
"Actually, could I get a new cup?" Emma asked.
The waitress smiled. "Of course." She took a notepad out from her apron. "While I'm here, are you two ready to order?"
"I'll have two cinnamon rolls and the bacon and eggs." Gwyneth replied as her mother looked at the menu.
"How do you want your eggs?"
"Scrambled." The teen answered.
Ruby wrote Gwyneth's order down before turning to Emma. "Uh... blueberry pancakes and coffee black." She points to Gwyneth. "And she'll have a hot chocolate."
"Coffee black and a hot cocoa." Ruby repeats. "It'll be ready in a few minutes." With that, she walks away to help other customers.
Emma watched as the waitress left the table. "Don't ever let me catch you dressing like that."
"How's the car?" Gwyneth asked, trying to change the subject.
"Not as bad as Sheriff made it out to be but it's not going to make it to Boston." Emma answered.
"So, what are we going to do?" Gwyneth asked.
"We'll have to get the car fixed. At least enough to get home." Emma explained. "When we're done here, I'm going to talk to a mechanic."
"Anything you want me to do?"
Emma nodded. "We're going to need a place to stay."
"I can do that." Gwyneth said as Ruby comes back with the coffee and cocoa. The teen looked up at her. "Ruby, is there a hotel or something in town?"
"My grandma has a bed and breakfast around the corner." Ruby answered.
"Any vacancies?" Emma asked.
"Always." Ruby confirmed.
"Well, my job is done." Gwyneth declared with a grin.
On the other side of the diner, Regina sat down with her two children, Henry and Evelyn. "So that's them? They don't look special."
Evelyn was clad a dark blue sweater, a black leather skirt, black tights and black over the knee high heeled boots. While her twin brother, Henry wore a dark grey button up shirt, blue jeans and black sneakers.
"Yes, Evelyn. That's them." Regina confirmed. "I need to figure out a way to keep them in town."
"Didn't their car get totaled?" Henry asked.
"Yes, but it won't keep them here for long." Regina said.
Henry stood up from the table. "I'll see what I can do." He walked over the Swan table. "Hi. I'm Henry."
Emma remained silent, cautious of the new youth.
"I'm Gwyneth and this is my mother, Emma." Gwyneth greeted.
"I overheard you two talking. I could show you around while your mother deals with your car." Henry offered.
"I don't think that's a good idea." Emma declined.
Gwyneth glared at her mother. "Sounds like fun."
XXXXXXXX
Henry showed Gwyneth around Storybrooke for the next several hours. The two decided to stop for lunch and Henry had just the place in mind.
"Nessa's Fish and Chips." Gwyneth read the sign aloud. "I've never had fish for lunch."
"Well, you get to try something new." Henry assured as they walked in.
Gwyneth looked around the restaurant as they stepped in. The inside of the restaurant looked more like a pirate themed dive bar. The two teens sat down at counter and grabbed a menu that Gwyneth looked through.
"Henry!" A voice called out.
Henry looked up at the voice and smiled. "Ray." He turned around to face his friend. The new boy had long dark hair and wore a maroon hood with black jeans.
The two friends high fived each other before the new boy, Ray, looked at Gwyneth. "Who's the hottie? Are you on a date, dude?"
Gwyneth looked up from her menu and towards Henry.
"This isn't a date. We just met this morning." Henry explained.
"Quick hook up. Nice work." Ray chuckled. "I knew you had it in you."
Henry shook his head. "Ray, listen to me. We are not on a date. I'm just showing her around town." The Mills boy turned to Gwyneth. "Gwyneth, this is a friend of mine, Raymond."
"Nice to meet you, Gwyn." Ray greeted.
"Gwyneth." The blonde corrected. "Nobody calls me Gwyn. Raymond."
The long-haired boy grinned. "Nobody calls me Raymond." He turned his attention back to Henry. "You coming to the party tonight?"
"Of course. I wouldn't miss it." Henry answered.
"What party?" Gwyneth asked.
"School ended last week and to celebrate the first week of Summer, we throw a party." Ray explained.
"That sounds like fun." The girl said.
"You can come if you want." Henry offered.
"I'll see if I can make it." Gwyneth smiled. "But I don't know where it is."
"You're staying at the Bed and Breakfast, right? Meet me at 8 in front of Sabine's and I'll show you the way." Henry told her.
On the other side of town, Emma was getting the Charger looked at by the local mechanic. She watched impatiently as the man assessed the damage to her car. She would have just left the car in town and bought a new car, but the Charger was special to Emma. All Emma wanted to do was to get Gwyneth and get back to Boston. Something about this town made the former Seal uneasy, but she couldn't put her finger on it.
The blonde woman's mind went back to Mayor. Her conversation with Regina felt off, like there was something she wasn't telling Emma.
"Well..." The man finally spoke, getting Emma's attention. "...I can fix it."
"Great." Emma sighed. "How long?"
"About a week." The mechanic answered. "But it ain't going to be cheap."
Emma nodded. The blonde made good money. Along with being a bounty hunter, Emma worked as in-house detective for an expensive law firm and consulted for an old squad mate's private security company. She was by no mean rich, but she had more than enough to make a good life for her family and more than enough to fix her car. "That's fine. I just want it done."
XXXXXXXX
That night, Gwyneth got ready for the party, not that she had much to get ready. She thought about changing clothes, but she didn't bring a whole lot with her, so she decided to keep her actual clothes. She waited until her mother was taking a shower before she snuck out of the Bed and Breakfast.
The blonde teenager walked down the alley to Sabine's Diner where Henry waited for her. "Ready to go?" The boy asked as she approached.
"Yeah." Gwyneth confirmed.
Henry led Gwyneth out of town and into the woods. "There's a shortcut through here."
"The party's in the forest." Gwyneth asked.
Henry shook his head. "No. It's at a mansion by the shore."
"And the owner doesn't care you throw a party there?" The blonde asked. She found it odd they just threw a party in a stranger's house.
"Well, nobody lives there. Nobody ever has." Henry explains. "The place has been abandoned since before I was born. Even my Mother doesn't know who lives there and she's the Mayor."
As the two teens made their way to the party, Emma stepped out of the shower. She examined herself in the mirror, her body was covered in faded scars and burns that she didn't remember how she got. Well, she didn't remember anything from her childhood. When she was 18 years old, she was diagnosed with total amnesia, at the same time, she discovered she was pregnant and thanks to her memory loss, she had no idea who Gwyneth's father was.
Emma sighed to herself as she pulled herself out of her thoughts before she got dressed. The blonde woman stepped out of bathroom and looked around the bedroom. Her eye's narrowed when she didn't see her daughter. She decided to go out and find the teen. Emma walked out of the bedroom and downstairs to first floor of the Bed and Breakfast.
"Mrs. Lucas, have you seen my daughter recently?" Emma asked the elder woman behind the corner.
Granny shook her head. "I haven't seen her since you checked in. Maybe Ruby has." She turned around in her chair. "Ruby!"
The brunette young woman came into the foyer at her Grandmother's call. "Yeah?"
"Have you seen Gwyneth?" Emma questioned.
"Is she not here?" Ruby asked back.
"She's not in the room and she's not down here." Emma said, while her voice would show it, she was starting to worry about her daughter.
"There's a party at the mansion. Maybe she went there." Ruby offered.
Emma frowned. Gwyneth didn't ask her to go to a party, not that Emma would have let her go. "Where is this mansion?"
"Go to Main Street, head south, just pass the park. You can't miss it." Granny answered.
Ruby tossed Emma a ring of keys. "You can take my car."
"Thanks." Emma said, as she ran out the door.
"Just don't crash it into a sign!" Ruby yelled as the blonde left.
Emma got in the cherry red Camaro and started the car. She peeled out of the parking spot with her foot slammed on the gas pedal. Emma drove followed the directions Granny gave her. She didn't see Gwyneth anywhere on her drive there, but she did see the mansion. Emma stopped at the massive residence and got out of the car to look for her daughter. After a few minutes, she saw Gwyneth walking up the driveway with Henry. "Gwyneth Annabella Swan! Get your ass over here!"
"Mom?" Gwyneth asked in disbelief.
Emma frowned. "Get in the car now!"
The blonde teenager met her mother's frown as she walked to the car. She got in the passenger's side of the car and slammed the door. She waited as Emma started car and drove them back to the Bed and Breakfast. The car was silent and neither woman looked at or spoke a word to each other. Once at Granny's, Gwyneth quickly got out of car and went up to the room.
Emma followed the teen inside. She stopped by the registration counter and handed the keys to Ruby. "Thanks for the car."
"You're welcome." Ruby said as she took her keys back.
Emma walked up the stairs to confront her daughter.
Gwyneth sat on the bed. "I can't believe you did that." She said as her mother walked into the room.
"You can't believe I did that? I can't believe you snuck off to a party." Emma countered. Her daughter was normally so good, this was completely out of character for her.
"I was just a party." Gwyneth defended.
"A party you didn't get permission to go to." Emma declared.
"You would have said no." Gwyneth said, bitterly.
"Damn right, I would have said no." The older blonde agreed. "Why do this now? Here?"
"Because I was invited. I don't get invited to parties at home." Gwyneth explained.
"Your friends don't invite you to parties?" Emma asked.
"What friends? To the kids at school, I'm the hot girl with weird strict mom." Gwyneth answered.
'Weird and strict?' Emma thought to herself. "How come you didn't never told me this?"
"You wouldn't care." Gwyneth replied.
Emma felt her heart break a little. She went over to her daughter and wrapped her arms around the teen in a hug. "I will always care."
"What now?" Gwyneth asked as she hugged her mother.
"We'll figure that out back in Boston." Emma declared.
Gwyneth groaned a little.
"What's wrong?" Emma asked.
"I don't really like Boston." The teenager declared.
"Where would you rather live?" Emma questioned.
"Here?" Gwyneth answered.
"Seriously?"
"Yeah. While you were in the military, you said you wanted to live some place quiet. We could also buy a house instead of a cramped apartment." Gwyneth said. "I've already made at least two friends here."
"And you've already gotten in trouble." Emma pointed out.
"You wouldn't have to deal with the Pierces anymore." Gwyneth countered.
Emma sighed. "That is tempting." She sat down on the bed next to her daughter. "You really want to do this?"
Gwyneth nodded. "I really like it here."
"Alright. Let's make a deal. We move to Storybrooke and you don't sneak off to anymore parties." Emma offered.
"Deal." Gwyneth smiled.
XXXXXXXX
So, I thought I would try a retelling of Once Upon a Time. I'm going to try to focus a little less on the fairy tale Snow White. Emma also doesn't have the same backstory in this story as she does in the show.
For the most part, all the cast is remaining the same, unless I am changing something about the character. I have no problem with the casting on the show but there are somethings I want to do different. I will list the actor they are supposed to be when I do recast characters. I'm also using some main characters from the Disney Channel Movie, Descendants. Because I don't really like the names of some those characters, they might be renamed.
Casting List
Gwyneth Swan – Natalie Alyn Lind
Dr. Frederick – Keith David
Sheriff Throne - Manu Bennett
Ruby Lucas – Nina Doberv
Henry Mills – Tom Holland
Raymond Sheffield – Booboo Stewart (I renamed Jay to Ray.)
Let me know what you guys think. Any comments, questions, ideas.