"Mama, how much longer?" Henry asks from the passenger seat, trying his hardest not to whine.
"Not much longer darling, I'll stop at the next opportunity. I know you're tired, but you can sleep if you need to, you don't have to stay awake." Emma reassures him, fighting the urge to yawn.
At her words, her son tucks a fluffy blanket around him and cuddles his favorite stuffed toy, a monkey he named Algernon, into his chest. Within ten minutes, his breathing slowed, and Emma knew he was asleep.
Now she allowed herself to cry.
Silent tears coursed down her face, blurring her vision of the winding grey road in front of her. Emma and Henry were on the run from Neal, her husband, and Henry's father. Neal was the reason Emma's eye was ringed with black and purple bruising, why her left wrist was aching, and why she had a bald spot at the back of her head.
Neal was the worst man that Emma had ever met, but he was also the best.
when she was eighteen, the pair discovered that Emma was pregnant and they decided that they had better get married, which they did. The pair tied the knot when Emma was only just beginning to show, and soon afterward, Henry was born.
Henry was meant to be a girl. Neal wanted a daughter more than anything, but Emma had given him a son.
The night Emma and Henry came home from the hospital, Neal took out all his frustrations on her, and almost every single night since then, he had done the same. Only it got worse and worse each time.
Blinking away her tears, Emma glanced at the sleeping form of her beautiful son beside her. How could his father hate him so much? Henry slept peacefully, only wincing when Emma braked suddenly, but he didn't wake up. Emma breathed a sigh of relief and noticed a sign coming into view.
"WELCOME TO STORYBROOKE, MAINE"
"Storybrooke?" Emma whispered.
It sounded like the kind of place her son would enjoy living in, peaceful and happy, without a care in the world.
Emma drove straight on, straight towards their new future.
...
The drive into Storybrooke had taken slightly longer than Emma had anticipated, but now she was parked in a vacant lot just off Main Street. She reclined Henry's seat and fetched his pillow, thankfully he stayed asleep the whole time, and now it was time for her to relax. She fetched her own blanket and pillow, reclined her own seat, and made herself as comfortable as she could in the limited space. The yellow bug that she was driving wasn't her first choice for sleeping arrangements, but she and Henry had to make do until she could get a job, preferably in a hotel or restaurant, and could afford something a bit better.
Emma drifted off into an uneasy sleep, dreaming about the kind of house Henry would like to live in.
Suddenly Emma bolted upright, covered in a cold sweat, her heart racing. She dreamt that Neal had found them and was going to make Emma and Henry regret ever leaving him. He had threatened her a million and one times that if she tried to leave him, he would take his own life but now he was going to kill her son and himself, leaving Emma alive to suffer without them.
She looked around wildly, but the street was deserted. The sun was just beginning to peek over the hills and the clock showed the time as being almost five thirty in the morning. Although she hadn't slept much, Emma felt wide awake, so she decided to drive around and explore this tiny hidden town until Henry woke up, she might even find somewhere for some food.
On the other side of town, Regina Mills opened her eyes. The other side of the Queen sized bed was cold and empty, just like every other morning. She sighed softly, pushing her small frame up and out of her cozy little nest, pulled her silk robe around her skinny waist, and padded out of her bedroom.
Being mayor of this town certainly had its perks; for one, she lived in the mayoral mansion. A huge white marble and brick house with a huge garden and a view of the seafront. The inside of the house was equally as beautiful, painted in subtle shades of white, grey, cream, and black. The many rooms were pin neat and perfect. Regina had never known what to do with so much space, so she left the rooms after they were decorated, and aside from the once-a-week cleaning, they remained untouched, as though they were frozen.
Another perk of being mayor is, of course, the money she makes. Quite frankly it was more than enough for her to live in relative comfort for about four lifetimes, though her frequent splurges on designer clothes, handbags, and high heels barely made a dent in her ever-growing fortune.
Though of course Regina was blessed with a beautiful house, garden, and a wardrobe some Hollywood celebrities would be jealous of, she wasn't exactly happy. The house felt depressing at the best of times. The money she spent never made her feel accomplished or fulfilled in any way, she wondered from time to time if she truly had a heart or soul in her chest. Standing in her large kitchen, she brewed her first cup of coffee and sipped it cautiously. The large window in her kitchen faced her backyard, complete with the old, gnarled apple tree that Regina loved. The backyard was her least favorite thing about the whole house actually, in truth, she hated it. it was too big. Much too big for a single woman.
Regina was married young. Too young, she had always maintained, and her marriage was loveless. Her husband, Leopold, was still in love with his first wife, Eva, who had died of a mysterious illness, leaving him heartbroken and her ten-year-old daughter Mary in pieces. Regina had never loved Leopold but she doted on her stepdaughter until Leopold decided that Regina was a lost cause, as she hadn't produced a son and heir to his family businesses, so he packed up himself and his daughter and moved them out. Mary was now 19, the same age that Regina had been when she was married but instead, Mary was studying at the local college to become a Lawyer. When she saw the girl in town, Regina would wave and smile, perhaps exchange a few short sentences, but other than that, Mary never allowed Regina to mother her again. She felt Regina had abandoned her.
That morning was no different for the mayor. She drank her coffee in the kitchen, went back upstairs, and dressed in her usual sensible pantsuit and killer heels. She applied her makeup perfectly, her lips painted blood red and her eyes lightly smoked and brushed with expensive mascara, and her brunette hair was straightened and worn down to frame her features. She left the house at precisely 7:25, hopped into her Mercedes, and drove along Main Street when she noticed something out of the ordinary.
There was a single yellow Beetle car parked outside Granny's diner.
Regina had lived in this town her whole life and had never spotted this frankly outdated and hideous car before. Maybe someone had ordered it from out of town to restore it?
that made sense, it was in frankly appalling condition, after all.
Parking up, Regina walked purposefully into the diner, it was quiet, almost empty. Leroy was slumped at the bar, seemingly nodding off into his plate of eggs and bacon, Ruby the waitress in one of her usual skimpy outfits, and there was a stranger. Well, two strangers sat in a booth across from the restrooms. A young woman with blonde hair in a high ponytail and glasses, and a small boy with one of those infectious giggles.
Regina had never seen this woman or the boy, who she was assuming was her son, before, so decided to introduce herself to them.
Emma was picking at the food on the plate in front of her, wishing she had more of an appetite, though she was feeling quite tired and worn out from all the driving. Henry, on the other hand, had devoured his pancakes and fruit, declaring that it was amazing. The shop bell tinkled, announcing the arrival of a new customer, but Emma didn't even raise her head, she was too busy thinking.
"Regina Mills. Pleased to meet you." Came a voice from beside their table and Emma jumped violently.
"I…I'm sorry?" she stammered, looking up and finding the voice belonged to a woman of around 35 with the most beautiful brown eyes and a concerned look on her face. She coughed lightly before repeating.
"Regina Mills, I'm the mayor of this town. And you are?"
"Swan, Emma Swan. This is Henry, my son. We arrived late last night." Emma said, her heart in her mouth.
"Oh, well, I hope you enjoy your time in our little hamlet. It's a quiet place, not really suited for tourists, though I'm sure you will find it fulfilling until you return home." Regina said politely and turned to go but before she could take a single step, she heard Emma mutter something under her breath.
"I'm sorry Ms. Swan, I didn't quite catch that last comment" Regina spun on her heel and watched Emma flush scarlet.
"I said that we wouldn't be going home, Mayor Mills. I think we might stay for a while." Emma said as confidently as she could, though she felt quite nervous.
"Would you mind if I join you for breakfast, Ms. Swan? I'd like to get to know you." Regina asked though it wasn't really a question.
"Sure, go ahead," Emma replied, giving her a kind smile.
Regina went up to the counter and ordered herself something to eat, nothing too big and carb-heavy but enough to sustain her until lunchtime and went and sat down across from Emma and next to Henry.
After chatting to the mother and son duo for less than ten minutes, Regina knew something was wrong.
She sent Henry to go and play in the kids' corner and she began to question his mother.
"So Ms Swan, where was it you said you're coming from?" Regina asked
"Tallahassee, Florida" Emma replied quickly
"You traded Florida weather for Maine weather?" Regina clarified, gesturing to the pouring rain and howling wind outside the warm diner.
"Yep, this place is nicer than our town back…in Florida," Emma said, glancing around her.
"Whereabouts in town are you staying? Granny has a guesthouse, or there are several Airbnbs dotted around…" Regina trailed off when she noticed Emma turn her head ever so slightly, and in the split second, Regina saw something underneath Emma's carefully applied makeup, something around her eye. It was dark and the skin looked puffy…
Regina swallowed. It was a deep bruise around the woman's bright green eyes.
Suddenly, everything clicked into place: skittish behavior, not inviting conversation, Emma seeming distracted, watching over her son like a hawk…
She was running. She was on the run from someone. Probably the person who gave her that awful-looking black eye.
Regina's dark brown eyes flicked down to Emma's left hand, seeing a wedding band but no engagement ring, so this woman was married to her son's father, but now she had taken her child and driven the length of the country to get away from him.
A battered woman. In Storybrooke.
Yet again.