A/N: Charming's fairytale name is going to be James in this story to help separate everything out later and it always annoyed me that he doesn't get a second name like everyone else does in Once.
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Here's the next chapter!
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Regina knows now that she should have seen this sooner.
She had been so busy trying to rid herself of Emma Swan she hadn't consisted why or more importantly how she had come to find Storybrooke in the first place. At first she assumed it was because of Henry, having him with her allowed her access to the town Regina had hidden away with magic and spells.
Now Regina has realised it might be something else.
She watched as David and Emma walked out of the station together, heading over to the squad car as Graham left on foot in the direction of the diner. Why hadn't she seen it before? Was the mundane life of Storybrooke taking its toll on her as well as the other residents?
They carried themselves the same way. The same air of honour in their shoulders that it seemed Charming couldn't shake even as David Nolan.
They look…like family. Their blonde heads bent close together as they shared a private joke and started laughing. Regina's eyes widened at the sight because that is simply not possible.
Except maybe it is.
She thought back to that night, her victory and Snow's cries as she brought her newborn daughter into the world. Charming got the baby to safety and Regina never stopped to think about where they had sent their child in her haste to gloat to her enemies.
That was 28 years ago and Regina is now staring at a woman who looked about that in age and seemed to be every bit her fathers' daughter.
She made her way down the street in a rush and she wasn't sure what her plan is now because if Emma Swan is who Regina thinks she is then that changes things. She nearly ran into Gold in her haste and the older man smiled malicious at her.
"Carefully, Madam Mayor," He warned, "Something troubling you?"
Regina looked back at Emma then at Gold once more, "Miss Swan…" she trailed off, her eyes finding the blonde again.
Gold followed her gaze and smirked, "Charming, aren't they?"
She recoiled as if she had been burnt, "What do you know?"
"Plenty." Gold mused, "Of course it would take a long time to cover everything I know."
"About Emma. Who she is?" Regina demanded, her eyes steely.
Gold let out a short laugh, "Oh, I think you already figured that out, dearie." He practically sneered the last word at her.
Regina's eyes went wide, "The baby…"
"Seems to have found her way home." Gold finished, "She's the product of True Love; she was always going to find them."
"That's not possible." Regina shook her head in disbelief.
Gold placed both hands over his cane and looked over at the scene again, "It seems like a touching father-daughter moment to me."
"She doesn't know, if she did this curse would be broken." Regina replied, "I'll kill her before she gets the chance."
"You'll kill Henry's birth mother?" Gold said, "Because your boy will really forgive you for that."
Regina faltered for a moment, knowing Gold had a point, "It doesn't matter. If this curse breaks, if they remember…"
"This curse is already breaking, dearie. Emma Swan will be your downfall just as we both knew she would be."
Regina sneered, "We shall see about that." She replied before stalking away from Gold with a new found determination.
Gold smiled, "Your days a numbered. As soon as she wakes her parents there won't be any stopping her."
Regina kept walking.
…
Gold was right in one thing, if Emma Swan managed to break the curse and give her parents back their memories then they would be a force to be reckoned with. Regina knew the heroes would definitely hold her accountable for losing out on the first 28 years of their child's life as well as enslaving their kingdom and reducing them – especially Snow – to her fate in Storybrooke.
Snow and Charming had always been strongest together and with Emma as well, Regina dreaded to think about the force of good that might create. What she needed was a way to slow the process down until she found a way to get rid of Emma Swan.
She briefly thought back to the task she had given Graham that he had still not delivered on. She would check in on his progress and give him a gentle nudge in the right direction when she next had him in her bed. At least she now knew where his original resistance came from, working in close proximity to Emma was clearly weakening his curse and perhaps the same thing had allowed Charming to rise to the surface as well. Emma Swan was clearly powerful if her mere presence was enough to insight change in Regina's carefully constructed world and that simply wouldn't do.
The obvious answer here was Snow. She wasn't as close to Emma as Charming was and didn't spend all day with her daughter despite them living together. What Regina needed was a way to tear the unsuspecting family apart and separate them before they even got together.
"The heart is the most power thing a person can possess," Her mother told her once, "And the greatest gift a person can give to another." She held a heart in her hand for emphasis as a young Regina watched on in fascination at his mother's lesson, "That's what you aim for, Regina. That's how you destroy all those who would go against you. The heart."
Regina frowned, "I don't want to destroy anyone, mother."
"One day you will realise that's the only way you'll achieve the happiness you desire." Cora replied as she placed the heart in Regina's hand and she felt it glowing in her palm.
It would be easy to take Snow's heart and crush it before her eyes but a part of Regina remembered the lessons her mother had taught her a long time ago and when she finally ripped Snow's heart from her chest she wanted it to be her step-daughter staring back at her and realising Regina was her end rather than the weak willed Mary.
No, she had something much crueller planned for her.
Regina was already reaching for her phone as a plan formed in her mind and a smile curved her lips, she tapped in the number she already knew off by heart and pressed the phone to her ear.
He picked up on the third ring, "Your majesty." Jafar greeted with a sigh, "What can I do for you this time?"
"It's about what we can do for each other." Regina explained, "Considering my proposition involves a certain fair skinned beauty we both hold a particular grievance for."
"What did you have in mind?" Regina could hear his smirk.
Regina entered her office, closing the door behind her. She needed to make sure no one overhear her plans. Thankfully the office was empty but Regina bolted the door just in case, "I need her out of the way for a while. Preferably tied up and in the middle of nowhere so she can't be found."
Jafar seemed to pause for a moment, "You want her to be kidnapped?"
"I want you to kidnap her." Regina stated, "There's a shack in the woods, no one will be able to find you there and you keep her there until I say otherwise."
"And what I'm I meant to do with her there?" Jafar asked and Regina could almost imagine his mind working in overdrive trying to figure out her plan.
She smiled into the phone, "Whatever you like."
That seemed to peak his interest, "Really?"
"I understand you must be insulted after your advances fell on deaf ears and it's clear you have your own invested interests in keeping an eye on her for me. I figured this plan would suit both of us." Regina explained.
Jafar sighed, "You're not suggesting that I…"
"I'm not suggesting anything," Regina cut in, "What happens while she is in your care is none of my business, Jafar. You have your own methods of punishment and that's down to you all I need from you is to keep her there and out of the way."
"If I agree to this, then we do it properly. I need security from you that I won't end up in one of the Sheriff's cell nor will I face Charming's wraith if he finds out what we are planning." Jafar replied.
Regina smiled, she was wearing him down, "You have amnesty." She nodded, "And Charming won't find her because he isn't Charming here. David Nolan is a man that makes all the wrong choices and he'll take the blame when he doesn't find her. I made sure self-loathing is a particularly strong trait."
Jafar seemed to gain his confidence at her reassurance, "We'll need something to knock her out, some rope and a car they can't trace back to us. You'll need to tell me exactly where this cabin in the woods is as well."
Regina nodded, "You'll have everything you need."
"I want something else in return." Jafar replied, "I am the one taking all the risks here so you'll understand if just the opportunity to teach Mary Margaret Blanchard a lesson in respect isn't going to be enough."
She frowned slightly, "What do you want?"
"I want Aladdin's memories to be restored, when I get my revenge I want him to know why and who is responsible." Jafar explained, "I also want to rule, Agrabah will never accept me as Sultan after everything but when we go home I want a kingdom to rule and subjects to rule over."
Regina closed her eyes, giving Jafar power was risky but she knew she could always cross him at a later date. She needed him to deal with Snow and that meant it was better to appease him for the time being, he was her best ally right now.
She sighed, "I'll restore Aladdin as soon as this business with the Charming's is taken care of. I don't know if going home is an option anymore, the curse has to remain intact but I'll give you a position of power here. You can have Sheriff and the law will be yours to deal with as you see fit."
Jafar considered her offer, "We have a deal."
Regina grinned wide, "Excellent."
…
"So I'm the distraction?" Henry asked as he took a bite of the cookie Graham had given him while James filled the boy in on their plan. Operation Wolf as Henry had taken to calling it which had gained a smile from James and a distant look out the window from Graham.
James smiled, "You're the most important part. If you fail then me and Graham can't sneak in and get the heart."
Henry swallowed his mouthful, "Gramps, I'm 10 not an idiot."
James and Graham laughed at that, "You're the only one Regina won't get suspicious of. I know it's not the most exciting but no one else can do it. Just you, Henry." Graham explained with a smile.
James watched them for a moment, seeing how good Graham was with his grandson. He had managed to make Henry feel included and essential while protecting the boy from joining them on what could be a dangerous mission.
He thought Emma would have like to see them like this. Perhaps see happiness for herself in the interaction Graham shared with her son.
"I'll do it." Henry nodded, "Later tonight would work. We normally go out after my session with Archie so she won't suspect anything. I'll ask for desert as well so it should give you guys enough time to sneak in and look around."
"Tonight it is." James nodded and looked over to Graham. He sighed and nodded as well. "We'll find it, I promise."
Graham offered him a weak smile, "I know, I'm just worried about what is going to happen once we get it."
James frowned and Henry took a slurp of his hot chocolate, "Don't worry, you guys are the heroes. This is your story, you'll win." The little boy said confidently.
"I just wonder what the cost will be," Graham explain, eyes finding James', "To our family."
James sighed, "I know, Regina is dangerous but Snow would want us to do this. She'd want you to have your heart."
"Emma as well." Henry chipped in, "If you're part of her happy ending you are going to need it."
James placed a hand on Henry's shoulder as a smile curved his lips, "He's right. You've risked plenty of us over the years, Graham. Let us do the same for you."
Graham looked taken back and touched by James' words and the smile he gave was genuine this time. "Then we still need to get Snow."
James nodded, "I'm working on it, no thanks to Regina."
"My mom won't make it easy, she knows you and Snow White are the key to getting Emma to believe. She can't let you find your way back to each other." Henry said, "She doesn't understand how strong your love is though, that's how you win."
"Snow's close to the surface, I know she is. I felt it." James replied, "I just need to show her how loved she is."
"That's it!" Graham exclaimed, throwing a hand in James direction, "That's you're trigger."
Henry looked over at his grandfather with furrowed brows, "Any idea what he's talking about?"
"I think so." James replied.
Graham ignored them, "If redemption was my trigger in breaking this curse then love has to be yours. This whole this has been about love for you, James. Your love for Snow, for Emma, for your family. That's got to be it."
James eyes went wide, "That leaves acceptance and family."
"Emma and Snow." Graham replied, "Although I'm not sure which one is which."
"We can figure that out later, if you're right then it makes Emma's job easier." James replied.
Henry frowned, "She's the saviour, right? She's meant to break the curse."
"Apparently we get to help her with that, something about pure hearts. Rumpelstiltskin's fail safe." James said to the boy.
"Rumpelstiltskin?" Henry frowned before realisation crossed his features, "Gold, of course, why didn't I see it before."
Graham sighed, "We still need to get Emma to believe and let's be honest, it's a bit of a tough one to swallow."
Henry nodded, "She's getting there. She's letting me in and you two. She is starting to believe in her happy ending."
"We might not have the luxury of waiting for her to be ready after tonight." Graham sighed.
James frowned, "What else can we do? I can't go up to her and tell her I'm her father and this town is full of fairytale characters and everything in Henry's book is true and now she needs to break the Evil Queen's curse."
"We need to show her something she can't ignore." Henry explained, "Concrete proof that we aren't crazy."
Graham nodded, "I don't think her seeing my heart not in my chest will help, will it?"
James glared at him, "Probably not."
"Yeah, I didn't think so." Graham replied.
"We need to deal with the Queen first, we'll get your heart back then we can figure out how to tell Emma she's my daughter." James decided and both Graham and Henry nodded.
A gasp had all of them turning to the direction of the door, Emma stood in the doorway with her hand still on the handle. Her face was unreadable but James could see pain in her eyes.
"The door was open so I…" She left the sentence hanging, "What the hell is going on?"
James took a step towards her, "Let me explain…" Emma took a step back and James froze.
"Emma." Graham tried and her eyes darted to him before returning to James again.
"No, you tell me what is going on because I heard… I don't even know what I heard but I definitely didn't expect it to come from you guys. Henry is a kid but you two…" She shook her head and James could see a tear in the corner of her eye.
How much had she heard?
"Emma, please." He begged but her eyes were firm.
"Tell me what is going on," Emma demanded, "You promised you wouldn't lie to me and I believed you. Don't lie to me now. Tell me."
James stood frozen to the spot as Graham and Henry exchanged a glance between them.
This wasn't going to go well.
/
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Next chapter includes: Emma dealing with a whole hell of a lot and some difficult conversations with the men in her life.