Chapter Three- Lost and Found

Emma was running, she didn't know where she was, only that someone was chasing after her, yelling her name. She was afraid, running like a mad woman, because she knew that if she was caught, the consequences would be steep. Perhaps she would not even be able to make it out alive. The longer she kept her pace, the longer she could keep Henry safe. Suddenly, she tripped over a vine and woke, startled, yelling out, "David!"

She was under the tree, her head in Charming's lap.

"Emma, what's wrong?" Charming asked, concern on his face.

"How long was I out?" Emma asked, stretching. It felt like she had slept for ages.

"Maybe an hour," Charming replied. "If you want to talk to me, you can."

Emma smiled, running her hand through her hair. "It's nothing, just a bad dream."

"Tell me about it." She leaned back against the tree, looking over at him. "I am running, but I can't seem to outpace the person chasing me. They keep calling my name, but I know that as long as I stay away, Henry will be safe. As long as I can keep running, Henry has time to get ready, to prepare himself for something big, but I don't know what."

"You love him, but you can't always protect Henry, Emma. Trust me, I know a thing or two about that." Charming looked down and Emma looked at him, a guilty look in his eyes.

"David, I know that you feel guilty, but I'll be fine, okay?" She stretched a little more and he asked, "Why don't you have another family, Emma?"

"Well, no one wanted me. I found a home early on, but once they had their own child, they didn't want me anymore."

"What do you mean?" He looked at her, confused. She could tell he was doing his best to understand.

"You probably didn't experience much of this in Storeybrooke, but when you're an orphan or in the foster care system, people get paid to look after you until they want a new kid or they get tired of you. Lucky ones get picked, adopted. Not me, though. I don't really get it either. I don't want to sound like I am complaining, but maybe I was the only one that could tell that I was smart or pretty or good. Nobody else saw that in me." She sighed. "I tried to be good enough, but in the end, I was only good enough for myself."

"Putting you through that wardrobe, well, it was the hardest thing that I had ever done, that I will probably ever do. How could they not want you? You are gorgeous, strong, determined, smart, and so much more. They were idiots for not seeing what I see."

"Idiots? No, they just spent time with me and realized what I am. Broken, unworthy." She stood and said, "I will see you back at camp."

Twenty years before

Emma put down the book, looking out into the yard, wondering if she would ever find a real home. Shrugging it all off, she heard the dinner bell and decided she should head down to the table. There were a lot of kids here, so it was better to go down early and stick to yourself; to stay away from all the people that you thought might be your friends. Soon, they might get chosen and then you'll be on your own again. She walked down the hall, thinking about the first time she remembered being in a home like this one.

She was three and the only people she had ever known dressed her in regular clothes. She thought that they were going to park, that they were going to have lunch and she would maybe get to play with the puppy she saw there the last time. They passed the park by and pulled up to a big, ugly building. A lady in a suit came out, holding out her hand to Emma, "Come on, Emma, time to come with me." Those people dropped her off and drove away. They didn't even tell her goodbye.

She knew now that families were like myths and fairy tales. Good ones only existed in books and rich neighborhoods.

"There she is, everyone. Now we can start dinner." The woman that ran the home sat at the head of the table, a sneer on her face. "You know, Emma, maybe if you spent less time reading books, a family might actually choose you."

Emma brushed off the woman's comment, holding her head high, sitting down at the end of the table, wishing that she could disappear from this place forever.

Present day

Charming followed her back into the camp, and Emma wondered if she had been insensitive. She knew that their hearts had been in the right place, but she couldn't bring herself to be so optimistic. She felt bitter, poisoned against the idea of people wanting her. She took a deep breath and went to sit beside Henry, who was next to Leroy, known here as Grumpy, by the fire.

"You woke up," Henry said. "Did you and David fight?" Henry looked from her to David and Emma didn't know what to say.

"No, kid, he just wanted to know about my childhood. I think the truth was just a little tough to hear."

"Oh. Because you weren't adopted?"

"Yeah, kid. So, did you and Mary Margaret have fun?" Emma smiled, wanting to change the subject.

"Yeah, she and Grumpy were showing me all of the plants that we can use that grow by the river. It is so weird to think that there are no grocery stores here, Mom. Can you imagine? We'll never have to wait in line at a store ever again."

"No super stores? I think I could get used to that." She smiled. "You know, Henry, I wish I could have taken you to this little bodega I used to eat at in my neighborhood in Boston. Now, we'll never go." She shrugged and said, "I guess it could have been worse." She cleared her throat and asked, "So, please tell me that other kind souls gathered some food for us while I slept."

"Yeah, some of the dwarves and Snow went hunting earlier. They are cooking it now," Grumpy said, looking at Emma, a strange light of curiosity in his eyes.

"Oh. Okay," she swallowed and continued, "I am going to go see Mary Margaret and see if there is anything I can help with for the moment. See you in a minute, kid."

She walked among the people she had known for a year in Storeybrooke, unable to tell if she had finally broken, or if she would ever be able to fit in here, in this world she only known for three or four days of her entire life.