This chapter alternates between following Henry and Paige. It also has one of our first glances at the enchanted forest. Enchanted Forest sections are italicized.

The fairytale book certainly was interesting. Henry fingered the page with his mother on it. She wasn't really his mother. He ran his fingers around the edge of his picture. It was disturbing. The woman in the picture shared so many of her characteristics. Her black hair was longer and the clothes were different. The most drastic change however, was her smile. This woman was dangerous. She radiated terror.

There was a soft knock at his bedroom door. Henry hastily stuffed the rather large book under the mattress.

"Henry," she cooed, sitting next to him on the bed. "Are you feeling okay?" Regina stroked his hair gently. It was something she had always done. The action used to calm him down when he was little.

"I'm fine," he shrugged. He really didn't want to talk about it. He was just trying to figure everything out for himself. He didn't have to worry her yet. Henry wasn't even entirely sure he believed it. An entire land, fairy tale land, forced into a small town in Maine.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Henry jerked away from Regina's comforting touch.

"It's nothing."

She leveled him with a look. "Is this about that girl?"

Henry automatically wanted to deny it. This had nothing to do with Paige, but he paused. If this was the curse from his book, it meant Paige was someone in here. Why had Regina wanted to take away her happy ending? Was that why she didn't like him having friends?

"I guess so."

"See was that so hard?" Regina gave him one of her simpering smiles, the one that knew she was always right. "I can sort it out tomorrow."

"No!" Henry moved across the bed from her. "She didn't do anything. I was just trying to think of a way to help with her broken arm. Paige is awfully stubborn."

Henry didn't like lying and yet that seemed like all he was able to do at the moment. He just didn't want anyone to get hurt on his behalf, especially if his Mom was the Evil Queen.

"I don't think this is a good idea," Brenna whispered.

"You worry too much," Paige said, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "It's not like it's not allowed. It's just a shop."

Brenna paused, trying to come up with any better reasoning than "But it's his shop."

"I don't care if it belonged to the man on the moon," Paige said, pushing Brenna up to the shop window. "Do you see all those tea sets?"

Brenna shook her head. Sometimes she worried about her friend's obsession with tea and tea parties. "But he won't actually let us touch them."

Paige put her hands on her hips. "I'm a paying customer."

"You have twenty dollars." Brenna deadpanned.

"That's enough. I mean it's an antique store. That means everything's almost too old for anyone to care about." Paige pushed open the door without any further hesitation.

The bell chimed as the two girls walked in. Mr. Gold's shop was not a common place for children. It was crammed full of fragile antiques. There were cabinets full of things that looked as if they belonged to the medieval times. Brenna paused to look at a flower shaped basket. She rubbed it gently, with a pained expression on her face.

Paige wasted no time in approaching the tea sets. There were six of them in this little portion of the shop. They were all so different. Different materials (brass, ceramic, porcelain and even one of gold although she wasn't sure how well it could withstand the heat.), different sizes (One was so small it looked like it could have been use by fairies), and different shapes stood together on the same shelf. Paige carefully slid back the glass. She reached her hand out to grasp her favorite of the sets. The porcelain was a beautiful color and there was a little blue design. Paige had never seen a tea set so perfect before, well almost perfect. There were a couple cups missing and the closest cup had a small chip in it. But, Paige didn't care; maybe Mr. Gold would lower the asking price because of it. Anyway, you could hardly see it.

Paige turned the chipped cup over in her hand. It was lighter than she expected. There was something special about this set. She could just tell. Everything had a story, but this one seemed particularly interesting.

"What are you doing in my shop?" A gruff voice barked.

Paige whipped around, holding the cup carefully so as not to damage it even more. Mr. Gold was leaning heavily on his cane and leering at them across the counter. "I'm not a baby sitter. I don't want grubby little children pawing all my stuff."

Brenna carefully put the basket down and went to stand by the door. Paige, however, stood her ground. "I'm looking to make a purchase."

Gold took a second to look at the cup in her hand. He gaped slightly, before an even harsher expression adorned his face. He limped over to her and grabbed the cup out of her hands. "That's not for sale." Gold brought his face down closer to hers, "Now. Get OUT!"

Paige didn't hesitate then. She hardly ever interacted with Gold. She'd heard things about his temper, but hearing things and witnessing them were completely different.

Rumpelstiltskin had not expected the backlash from the mirror. He should have. After all, all magic comes at a price, but this was something new. Cora had imprinted herself on the mirror. It was a common trick, one he had taught her. Always give your magic an anchor. An anchor made future enchantments in the environment easier and allowed you to reconnect and alter previous spells.

Rumpelstiltskin picked up one of the shards of the broken looking glass. A pity really. Although Bae wasn't in Wonderland, it had been nice to have another world so easily at his disposal. There had been better odds for finding something to travel farther, to find his Bae.

Now, however he had a new plan. Rumple had known about Regina. She was impossible to ignore in those visions of his. The future certainly did change her. This woman had been meek, almost too meek to take what was hers. She didn't want to hurt anyone. Well, that would change. He could wait. He had waited a few centuries. What was a little longer?

He hadn't lied when he said she had power. It would be enough to curse princesses, scorch lands and ruin villages. The girl would just have to take it.

Rumpelstiltskin raised the shard and peered into its depths. He looked normal, like the monster he was. It was the wall behind him that made him pause. It was dingy. Shabby, tattered tapestries reflected back at him, definitely different from what one expected in a palace. He turned around with a flourish.

"How interesting," He said, his face slipping into his sly grin.

"What's she doing here?" Henry asked, glaring at the dark haired girl

Brenna slammed her hands on the table. "Well, I wasn't about to let her talk to you alone now, was I?"

Paige sent Brenna a scolding look before glancing apologetically at Henry. Henry bit his lip and looked once again at the bright orange cast. Brenna folded her arms across her chest and dared either of them to argue.

They sat there in tense silence until Ruby came over to take their orders.

"Hot chocolate with cinnamon."

"Peppermint Tea please, with just a dash of milk."

"Chocolate Shake."

The silence continued even after Ruby had left. Henry sighed. This was going to be even harder than he originally thought.

It was Paige who finally broke the silence. "Um, Henry, you said you found something important."

He leaned across the table. "Yeah, something I wanted to tell you," he whispered eying Brenna suspiciously.

"Whatever you say to me you can say to Brenna too."

"Are you sure she's trustworthy?"

"She's still here." Brenna practically sang in a mocking tone.

"Sorry, it's just-"

Paige interrupted, "It's fine. I understand Henry. I was making things difficult before. I almost ignored the note."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I mean. I don't want to lose you Henry. You're my best friend."

Brenna elbowed her.

"Okay, one of my best friends," Paige added. "It's just-" She paused. Paige really didn't want to talk about what had happened. "You said you found out something important."

Henry surveyed the area. He couldn't have anyone untrustworthy listening in. Unfortunately, he wasn't quite sure who was trustworthy yet. He didn't know who would report to the Evil Queen. Henry couldn't imagine Leroy remembering anything. Ruby and Granny would be on Snow White's side, especially if he was right about Ruby. Mary Margaret and Ruby were almost as close as sisters. The only other person in the dinner was a man, dressed in black with a scarf around his neck, flipping through a newspaper. Henry didn't recognize him, but he was far enough away that it shouldn't matter.

"So, Miss Blanchard gave me this book," Henry began.

"Okay, I love books just as much as the next person, but I don't see why this was worth leaving notes and sneaking around," Brenna interrupted.

"I'm getting there," Henry said, pausing long enough for Ruby to set down their order. After she was out of range, he began again. "I know it sounds weird. It's a book of fairy tales, except I don't think they're just fairy tales."

Paige leaned forward. "How can they be more than just fairy tales?"

"Okay, so when Miss Blanchard gave me the book, I could of sworn for a second, I- You're going to think I'm crazy."

Paige gave Henry a look that clearly showed she didn't think he was crazy and should continue. Brenna simply sipped her shake, as if she was reserving judgment on his sanity.

"It'll be better to show you. It won't make much sense unless you see the illustration." Henry pulled out the book from his backpack. He flipped toward the end. "Who does that remind you of?"

It was the picture of Snow White and Prince Charming on their wedding day. He didn't recognize Prince Charming, but Snow White was obviously…

"Miss Blanchard," the two girls whispered together, completely awestruck.

"I thought so too. So I went to ask her, and just for a second it looked like she was wearing these clothes."

"But she could have just known the artist or something," Brenna argued.

Henry shook his head. "No. That's not it. See," he flipped a few more pages, "The Evil Queen cast a curse to take away all the happy endings."

Paige reached across the table and looked closer at the accompanying illustration.

"But Henry that looks a lot like-"

"Regina, I know."

"I was going to say your Mom. When did you start calling her Regina?"

"It's a new thing okay. Anyway if she's the Evil Queen, I wouldn't want her to be my mom."

Paige gave him an all-knowing look. "Are you sure this isn't just something against Regina?"

"Just 'cause you don't like someone, doesn't make them evil."

Henry somehow refrained from glaring at either of them. "It isn't just them. Everyone's in here."

Paige stopped pestering him about Regina and let her curiosity shine though, "Who am I?"

Henry took a long sip of his hot chocolate with cinnamon. "Well, I don't know everyone yet. I mean it's a big book. I know Miss Blanchard's Snow White and Regina's the Evil Queen and Ruby's Little Red Riding Hood-"

Both girls turned in their seats to look at the waitress. It made an odd sort of sense. Ruby always wore red and she stayed close to her grandmother.

"-And Archie is Jiminy Cricket," Henry concluded proudly.

"I understand the others, but isn't Jiminy Cricket a, you know, cricket?" Paige asked.

Henry rushed to explain. "It's more than just appearance. People share certain character traits, some more than others. I think it has something to do with how much the Evil Queen wanted to destroy your happy ending. Can you think of any better conscience than Archie?"

"I guess not." Paige took a long sip of tea.

"I'm not sure who you are, but I have a guess. I haven't actually found her story in here yet, so I could be wrong. I mean, these aren't your classic fairytales. But I think it fits too perfectly. You say things that remind me of her sometimes."

"Who?" Paige

"Alice." Henry examined her carefully after that to see if the name had any effect.

Brenna tilted her head to the side. "Um, which Alice?"

Henry leaned closer and whispered just slightly softer, "Alice, as in Alice in Wonderland."

"You think I'm Alice?" Paige asked in disbelief. She tugged on her hair, the way she always did when she was nervous.

Brenna interjected, "But that's impossible."

"Six impossible things," Paige began before stopping herself. "Wow, I really am Alice." She unintentionally spoke her last words much louder than they had been talking. Paige was shocked, but she was happy at the same time. The name Alice seemed to actually mean something.

It went unnoticed to the children sitting at the table, but the man in the black reacted very strongly to her words. Jefferson forced himself to take several deep breaths and bent down to pick up the silverware he had knocked off the table.

Henry smiled. They were going to be okay. "You see what I mean."

"Yeah. I guess so," Paige smiled too now. "But what happens now? I mean we're all cursed."

"We have to break the curse," Henry said certain of their abilities to do so.

"Got that. The question is how?" Brenna asked.

"Well," Henry flipped to the back of the book, to a picture of a baby wrapped in a blanket. "Snow White and Prince Charming's daughter is supposed to break the curse. We're just going to help her."

"She could be anyone." Paige reminded.

"I didn't say it was going to be easy." Henry said. "But once Emma's here, the curse will be broken. You guys are all going to remember and we can all go back to the Enchanted Forest."

"Are you sure?" Paige asked in a very soft voice. "I mean, Henry, weren't you born here? Are you going to be able to come with us?"

"Of course! I'm going to come with and become a knight or something. I'm sure Snow White and Prince Charming will let me. I mean, I'll find their daughter and help her break the curse!" Henry was so sure of his destiny. Paige only smiled.

"Do you think I'll have to go back to Wonderland?" As much as Paige tried to make the question seem like a joke, Henry could read the true worry behind it.

Henry shook his head. "I don't think so. I'm not sure how the Evil Queen could bring you to this world if you were still in Wonderland."

"I guess you're right. Even she can't be that powerful," Paige admitted.

"So are you guys going to help?" Henry asked giving them a pleading look.

"Of course Henry."

"I don't see why not."

"Great!" Henry leaned in closer, almost knocking over his hot chocolate. "Now we need a code name."

"A code name?"

"Yeah. We can't have Regina knowing that we know about the curse."

Paige sighed. "What sort of code name?"

"I was thinking," Henry paused and gave a slightly devious smile, "Operation Cobra."

Brenna snorted. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"Exactly. She'll never be able to guess now."

Paige interrupted before her two friends could get into an argument. "All in favor of Operation Cobra."

Henry's hand immediately shot into the air. Paige couldn't really think of anything else they could call it and anyway Operation Cobra made it sound like a top-secret spy mission. She raised her hand too. Brenna took one look at both of them and sighed. Reluctantly she joined the majority.

Henry's smile practically reached his ears. "I'd like to formally invite you to the first meeting of Operation Cobra."

The three children clinked their glasses together, completely unaware of the progress they had made on the curse that had stood for nearly twenty-eight years.

AN: This chapter introduced the first story, The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Anderson. Although Frozen is based off The Snow Queen, the original is very different. One of the only similarities is that a person who has ice powers is a Queen. In the original, she wasn't all that important either. The original involved a wide cast of characters helping a little girl find her best friend after he was abducted by the Snow Queen. The adventure was something I felt fit better into the Enchanted Forest. With that, I adore Frozen. (The score is currently playing as I type this.) I just felt the original story fits better with the enchanted forest and I used to pretend I was Gerda when I was little.

On another note, the story will make sense. I know it may seem scattered at the moment. I'm introducing important elements bit by bit. I'm using The Snow Queen as an overarching background story, similarly to the way the show used Snow White during the first season. Everything ties together. Storybrooke is a complicated place with a lot of characters. Entire kingdoms were ripped up and dropped into one small town. I wanted to tell new stories so I wasn't just rewriting the show with Paige tagging along.

Rumpelstiltskin doesn't remember until Emma comes to town. He thinks the cup is special the same way some of the other people in town hold on to their past belongings. He can't bear to part with it, but doesn't quite know why.

I know Operation Cobra doesn't come until later, but I felt like it fit now. Emma should be coming next chapter.

Leanne: I always try to respond in some form or another. I'm glad you're enjoying it so far. They might make it to the proper conclusion eventually, but until then they're going with the more obvious answer (Almost everyone's heard of Alice. Grace isn't common knowledge in our world.) Plus Henry hasn't read the Hatter's story yet.

I apologize for the awfully long author's note. I would definitely adore any more suggestions, questions and/or feedback on Brenna.